Need a Lighter (free) Word Processor

bonitakale · May 16, 2011

Clair Dickson said:
Well, when it comes to upgrading from WinXP, for some of us, there's the pesky little problem of money.

Yep. Heck, only after reading this thread did I realize you have to BUY an OS. I've just used what comes with the computer.

Margarita Skies · May 16, 2011

bonitakale said:
I've just used what comes with the computer.

Me, too.

AmericaMadeMe · May 16, 2011

bonitakale said:
Yep. Heck, only after reading this thread did I realize you have to BUY an OS. I've just used what comes with the computer.

Trust me, you definitely "BUY an OS" when you purchase a Windows PC. The additional cost of the Windows OS is unofficially referred to as the "Windows Tax," and in some markets, you can actually get a refund of the additional cost of the Windows OS if you plan on using a free, open source operating system instead.

AmericaMadeMe · May 16, 2011

Magali said:
The only operating system I've ever had problems with, in the 6 computers I've owned (this being the sixth one) was Windows Millennium Edition, commonly called Windows ME. It was so horrible that I couldn't do anything on the computer without having a whole bunch of ridiculous error messages, so the technician upgraded me to Windows XP. This happened back in 2002 when XP was kinda new. My first laptop that I had before this one had Windows Vista on it, and while everyone has problems with their computer every once in a while, in my opinion, I wouldn't consider Windows Vista horrible because I never had a problem that made me want to downgrade to XP or upgrade to another OS. I couldn't have done it anyway because the hardware on that computer was only compatible with Vista, but I had an okay experience with it. I only got this computer because I needed more advanced hardware, and it would've cost a lot of money to buy that hardware and install it on to that computer, so I just got this one. As long as I have a computer, the OS doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't cause me a tremendous PITA like ME did.

Windows "Mistake Edition" was indeed disastrous from the standpoint of many users, since the OS was far less stable than 95 and 98, and even more unstable than early XP. The biggest improvement was System Restore, which proved to be a brilliant way to back up Malware infections.

I'm inclined to say that the woes of Windows ME contributed to the negative perception of the Windows brand in the XP era, which in turn undermined confidence in Vista. As I've said before, Vista wasn't bad at all, but users were conditioned to distrust new Windows releases.

AmericaMadeMe · May 16, 2011

Clair Dickson said:
Well, when it comes to upgrading from WinXP, for some of us, there's the pesky little problem of money. My laptop's hardware cannot handle upgrading from WinXP to Vista or Win7. I don't have money for a new laptop (not since my job got cut in half the summer my son was born.) So, I use WinXP. I have all my files in Dropbox and a copy of WinXP ready to reinstall if I catch something that Avira doesn't stop.

I'm not a big fan of buying a retail version of a new Windows operating system to upgrade a PC. I didn't do it back in the 90s when it was actually the popular thing to do and I still wouldn't do it today. No, there are plenty of free Linux alternatives, and even Red Hat if you need support. It just takes a little research. In the last year, Ubuntu has become nearly foolproof, not that it's my favorite distro for old hardware. Far from it.

Clair Dickson said:
Similarly, the car I drive is not nearly as safe as the newest model of car, but I can't afford a new one so I have to accept the risks of driving an older car without all the special safety features.

Cars don't have the same cycle of obsolescence as PCs. It might not be advise to browse the internet with an unsupported operating system, but even a well maintained 55-60 year old car is able to cruise safely on an Interstate.

kuwisdelu · May 16, 2011

We are, however, getting to the point where older hardware can usually run newer operating systems pretty decently, so there's less of the problem of obselescence with hardware than there used to be.

Need a Lighter (free) Word Processor

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Margarita Skies

AmericaMadeMe

AmericaMadeMe

AmericaMadeMe

kuwisdelu

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