Today I grew tired of constantly fixing my cousin's old PC by removing all the viruses, trojans and malware from it. I knew damn well that in a month or so, I'll be back repeating the process. The problem is amplified by the fact that this old PC works with Windows 98 only (at most Windows 2000 if I want to slow it down even more), so the security is garbage and my options are very limited.
So! I carry with me, on my laptop, an ISO image of SAM Linux 2007 which I tried many times as a Windows replacement. And it hit me - Linux equals no viruses, no trojans and no malware! Plus, its security prevents not only outside intervention but inside as well. Without the administrative password, the regular user is powerless! Just what I need. The installation took 15 minutes and all was ready. I only had to install aMSN (MSN Messenger alternative) and aMule (eMule alternative). The rest was already there (Skype, Opera/Firefox, XMMS as Winamp alternative, VLC and Mplayer instead of Windows Media Player etc.). My only concern was how will my cousin, who couldn't care less for all the technicalities and just wouldn't learn to operate a simple OS like Windows, would react to the unfamiliar interface. Imagine my surprise when she exclaimed after 5 minutes of explanations: "So this is, like for lazy stupid people! I get it!" I left her with it and after another 10 minutes she was already at it, downloading music and playing it, chatting on aMSN and checking mail on Nana via Opera. I'm not advertising SAM Linux here. It has any flaws and I know it is not that ready to be a complete alternative to Windows. But apparently, for "stupid lazy" people or those who just don't care - it is a good solution. Now I'm feeling content that I won't be hearing from her for a long time. Maybe I'll even start missing her... ;-)
So! I carry with me, on my laptop, an ISO image of SAM Linux 2007 which I tried many times as a Windows replacement. And it hit me - Linux equals no viruses, no trojans and no malware! Plus, its security prevents not only outside intervention but inside as well. Without the administrative password, the regular user is powerless! Just what I need. The installation took 15 minutes and all was ready. I only had to install aMSN (MSN Messenger alternative) and aMule (eMule alternative). The rest was already there (Skype, Opera/Firefox, XMMS as Winamp alternative, VLC and Mplayer instead of Windows Media Player etc.). My only concern was how will my cousin, who couldn't care less for all the technicalities and just wouldn't learn to operate a simple OS like Windows, would react to the unfamiliar interface. Imagine my surprise when she exclaimed after 5 minutes of explanations: "So this is, like for lazy stupid people! I get it!" I left her with it and after another 10 minutes she was already at it, downloading music and playing it, chatting on aMSN and checking mail on Nana via Opera. I'm not advertising SAM Linux here. It has any flaws and I know it is not that ready to be a complete alternative to Windows. But apparently, for "stupid lazy" people or those who just don't care - it is a good solution. Now I'm feeling content that I won't be hearing from her for a long time. Maybe I'll even start missing her... ;-)
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