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My System© Copyright Darrell Anderson. For several years I have wanted to migrate away from The World According to Bill Gates. Although generally I have been content with Micros~1 software, there are many irregularities not easily resolved with proprietary software. Sometimes I have wanted one little bug fixed, but the M$ people only offers users an all-or-nothing approach. Second, the M$ people are known for “shady” behavior regarding how they design their software to function. Thus, I rarely install new software or update to current versions. This might seem a bit strange to many users who actually like installing the latest bleeding edge software. I don’t. I still travel in a 1980’s pick-up truck. Change is sometimes good, but I don’t embrace change simply for the sake of change. My current system is an NT4 box, running Word 97 and a few other apps. Other than three DLLs to support Eudora, there is no trace on my system of Exploder or Outspook, and hasn’t been for many years. I am not into videos, games, MP3s, file sharing, etc. My connection to the internet is minimal—to check email and do some surfing for information. With a rural phone line connection, I really can’t do much more anyway even if I wanted—which I don’t. Some time ago I decided to improve my hardware. I had a reliable ASUS TXP4 motherboard with a 233 MHz Pentium-MMX CPU and 128 MB of RAM, and a dependable but noisy 3.2 GB hard drive. Because of my minimal needs and purposes I never filled the hard drive to capacity. However, in addition to controlling costs, I am particular about noise and I wanted to avoid another noisy computer. So instead of buying a new motherboard with a screamer CPU that needed a jet turbo engine for cooling, I decided to install a 400 MHz AMD K6-III+ CPU, add another 128 MB of RAM, and replace my hard drive with a 40GB Seagate Barracuda IV using fluid dynamic bearings. I added a regular chassis fan to cool the CPU heat sink; and to reduce fan noise I reduced the fan supply voltage by adding some conventional carbon resistors in series with the fan as well as doing the same with the power supply fan. I have a quiet and faster PC. For a glorified typewriter and email reader I was content. I really had no need to migrate to Linux. If I migrated away from Uncle Bill’s myopic way of doing things, then my next phase was to begin learning more about Linux. Now mind you, my “old” NT4 system is stable. My main reason for wanting to migrate was to learn Linux, and to have a Plan B to counter some of Micros~1’s draconian ways of doing things. I actually am and could continue to be content with my “aging” NT4 configuration. Over the years I have so fine-tuned and optimized my system that I actually don’t want to change. I probably have one of the leanest NT configurations ever. If I don’t want something on my system it simply is not there—including any version of the security nightmare known as Internet Explorer and the virus magnet otherwise known as Outlook. I needed a lot of time and trial and error to strip stuff from NT, but I have succeeded. BSODs and general crashes are rare on my system. The migration issue for me was about choices and principles. Microsoft products are okay, but the “suits” running Microsoft Corporation are not. People still can buy parts for a 1945 Ford tractor, but the M$ talking heads tell customers to fly a kite if they want to keep using software more than a year old. Get real Bill, I still have an old 486 system with 16MB of RAM and a 540 MB hard drive with DOS 6.22 and WFWG 3.11 installed and the system works wonderfully. So my response to Bill is the same—take a hike. Fortunately for me, none of my computer needs are dependant upon updating to newer versions of software. I have no need or desire for bleeding edge technology and I simply refuse to play such a game. Therefore, because my system is stable and quick enough for my needs, I will migrate to Linux—but slowly and at my own pace. I am in no rush. However, I also never will proceed with anything M$ related. Finis. |
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