Been there, do not, and yet for some, due to their aversion to MS, they cannot tolerate the reality that some users have tried both Linux and Windows, and find the latter superior in terms of the means of customization for efficiency, (without paying MS, or enabling elementary, or autoupdates). Thus such cultic example. I choose freedom to chose, and thank God their are options.
As for Linux, I have found PCLinuxOS KDE Plasma to be the best for customization, though TMK I did not use available propriety codecs due to the questionable legality of them.
If MS ever prohibits free safe alternatives to its out-of-out "improvements, such as ExplorerPatcher) and thus 7+ Taskbar Tweaker and Open-Shell-Menu. and the over 200 tweaks available in Ultimate Windows Tweaker 4 and now there is Ultimate Windows Tweaker 5 , then I may have to engage in the extensive time and energy to make Linux my main OS with the customization I want.
Thank God for choices.,
Thank God for choices.,
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Yep. I’m a unix guy but you are correct. Choice is Good.
Although I am a little irritated about it... There are multiple choices for dealing with the upcoming Windows 10 end of life event. The most obvious is to purchase alternative is to purchase a license for Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC which will be getting security updates until 2032. I have purchased one license from a place that has served me well for years and will probably getting a couple more depending on how some other options work out.
I am grateful to Microsoft, Apple, Linux developers and the many computer software and hardware companies that came before them. We have so many choices and as people on this forum like to remind us, antiquated Operating systems and hardware are still fun to play with.
This is true even if precautions must be taken to keep sensitive data from falling into the hands of criminals and in prevent your old system from being hacked. Your old TI994a, Commodore 64 or Apple 2 probably is not going to be on many malcontents’ radar screen if you can actually figure out how to do something fun with them over the internet.
Visiting questionable sites on an old computer running Windows 7 even using a browser like Firefox and up to date antivirus software is likely a bit risky, because a lot of people still do it. If you don't get too adventurous and don't go off the beaten path probably not so much. I would guess that sites like Free Republic pose little if any risk.
I love old games and programs. I like to use them both on emulators and working original equipment. I have a huge pile of old original equipment along with a treasure trove of old programs to run on them. And why shouldn't I? Browing the internet wasn't even a thing when I was using some of this equipment.
Many times, fixing the power supply by installing a few new capacitors is all it takes. And old equipment typically has components that you can see even without your 100x electronic microscope. (Speaking of that I just bought a new one for $100 that is absolutely amazing for soldering and inspecting using a laptop, tablet, LCD TV, or an old monitor.)
Threads like this always surprise me a little because of the number of bitter people griping about what are actually very minor issues. But it seems to be part of the human condition to be unsatisfied no matter how great we have it.