Posted on 08/13/2019 6:44:30 AM PDT by econjack
““and having to go in and make sure all the privacy settings have not been reset to factory is a pain in the backside.”
And the factory privacy settings open up even more backdoors on top of the ones that can’t be closed.”
Absolutely!!!!! some of the best items to fix are changing the consumer/customer ID which is what gets bought and sold, search anonymously with duck duck go or one of the others, turn off targeted advertisements (more of an android thing), subscribe to a vpn service, or the big drop, learn enough Ubuntu or Fedora to get off the M$ train all together.
Good hunting!
KYPD
I moved some of those XP games to my Win7 desktop and laptop. IIRC, I just copied the XP exe files and a dll file.
I put these in the same XP Games directory and added the file ‘cards.dll’:
freecell.exe
mshearts.exe
sol.exe
spider.exe
I don’t see an XP version of mahjong.
Then, I made a shortcut for each game.
I did rename each .exe with an XP prefix and put them in a different Games directory.
“learn enough Ubuntu or Fedora to get off the M$ train all together.”
Tell you what, It’s not even like that anymore. Especially with the new Linux versions. It is just like using Win XP/7 and no knowledge of using the command line interface is needed for the average user. They have come a long way and it is now a very easy to use graphic interface OS that will do anything MS will do. :)
I thought that too, until I pulled the trigger and gave a new linux version a try. What I found was that all my assumptions about it being a huge change and reeducation were absolutely wrong! I have only “needed” to use the command line now a couple times, and it was only because I took on the more complicated tasks of building my own VPN tunnel server and setting up virtual machine software. Other than this it has been all just easy point and click like windows.
And the advantages, features, and security cannot be beat. :)
May need to look into it again. Last linux distributions used were whatever Kali was before it was Kali, and a Fedora multiboot. Like the sound of your experience.
...now where was that old (4 years) laptop?????
KYPD!
See, now you just made me go play Islands of Danger (old DOS text mode game) in a DOS box inside an XP VM that I have!
Absolutely, It’s now a whole new critter. And it likes to renew older equipment like that. I just recently installed an up to date Linux Mint version on a 2004 32 bit HP laptop. They make even the newest versions in both 32 bit and 64 bit so that older 32 bit equipment can be brought back to life. :)
I have all the particulars assembled if you need them, just drop me a FR mail here and I will set you up with all the links and such needed. You will love the automatic installer package, it does all the partition work for you and everything. Just a few clicks and it does it all for you.
Just holler.
Which is BS. Gates and Allen bought the rights to DOS from the Seattle Computer Company (I forget the name of the guy). This is well documented in PC history. His contract had a loophole that he could only sell DOS if "sold with a microprocessor". In later years, he sold copies of DOS, and enclosed a processor chip with the discs.
My copy of Photoshop Elements 15 has become useless due to Windows 10 updates. Neither Adobe or Microsoft seem interested in fixing the problem. I have tried a couple of “fixes” from Internet sources without success. I will probably buy a newer version of Elements and just hope that will work
I thought that too, until I pulled the trigger and gave a new linux version a try. What I found was that all my assumptions about it being a huge change and reeducation were absolutely wrong! I have only “needed” to use the command line now a couple times, and it was only because I took on the more complicated tasks of building my own VPN tunnel server and setting up virtual machine software. Other than this it has been all just easy point and click like windows.
And the advantages, features, and security cannot be beat. :)
You're correct, I've been using Linux for almost 10 years now and it just keeps getting better and easier to use. I like Ubuntu and Lubuntu flavors depending on the machines. Lubuntu is a light OS so it runs well on older machines and fast on newer ones.
Just like Windows, it doesn't hurt to learn a few basic command lines but it is not necessary. I use it because I like to do a lot of customization in Lubuntu where I customize the desktop environment to resemble Windows XP/7. Ubuntu comes with many programs already installed where in Lubuntu I have to install more programs but it's not a big deal. Installing software in both is very easy to do.
As far as card games in Linux goes, Pysol is very good but I like KPatience. KPatience may not have as many games as Pysol does but the interface is much cleaner plus KPatience has autoplay and will tell you if a game is winnable or not. For Mahjongg, I like KMahjongg, it has an option to change the format from Chinese characters to the English alphabet/numbers/color and is much easier to play.
Glad to hear there are more enjoying the Linux OS's these days.
CGato
You have to reinstall the Winaero game files after each major update to Win 10, so just leave the zip file in your download folder.
I just noticed that Paint was gone, too. However, I thought I remembered that Paint was still distributed, so I typed it into the search bar and it can up. I clicked on it and it was restored. So I tried the missing games...also restored. I’m starting to think the files are still there, but the visible flag is turned off.
You can, but I’m old and like the old versions I had.
I am using Mint with the Cinnamon desktop. As it was reviewed before I settled on it, it is the most familiar to use for a new user coming from Windows and it is boxed with a great software bundle and flawless installer. Every windows user can jump on it and fly right away.
A lot of Linux users talk about “lighter” versions than this. But I see no reason to even worry about not taking up too much room with any linux version when this fully loaded Mint Cinnamon is still only 2 gigs compared to 17 gigs with Win 10. It seems to be a complete non-issue with today’s storage capacities.
I find what you are doing with customizing desktops to emulate win 7 very intriguing. You should consider boxing that up as a desktop option. For windows users new to Linux it would be fantastic!
Actually, I am looking at this Cinnamon and everything is laid out the same as Win 7. Maybe that is why it felt so familiar right out of the box. :)
You are right, that is what is great about Linux Mint and it works, with much software already installed, right out of the box. I have used it some. It is a great distro to start with, for those using Linux for the first time.
I started with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and have mostly stuck with the newer versions. It was a whole different desktop environment to learn but it wasn't too bad. If I hadn't started with it, I'd probably use Linux Mint.
Lighter OS's can also mean lighter hardware requirements to run the OS. That's why I like Lubuntu for older machines because it doesn't require the latest and greatest of hardware to run. The best way to find out if it will run on an old machine is to use the live CD and operate the computer from it to test things out.
As far as packaging the customization I do in Lubuntu, I've just done that for family and friends computers is about far as that goes. I may look in to that though.
CGato
for the future
The win10 Solitaire is one of the ones to avoid like a plague... It install more spyware and bloatware.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.