Linux Works (And Shines) On ANY Computer

[Leo Mauler]

--- On Sun, 10/12/08, Hal Duston <hald at kc.rr.com> wrote:

> On Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 04:19:29PM -0500, [irrelevant guy] wrote:
> > On Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 15:07, Leo Mauler
> > <webgiant at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > > Linux can run on modern quad-core processors, 
> > > but you can strip it down to run on
>
> > [irrelevant, inevitably wrong,]
> > [blanket overgeneralizations  ]
> > [deleted ]               

> I'm pretty sure that NASCAR doesn't have ABS, 
> power steering, radio, etc.  I'm also pretty 
> sure they run, and drive.

And everyone is interested in how these featureless, bare-bones cars drive around in circles.  Season Tickets to see these featureless cars drive around in circles cost hundreds of dollars.

Meanwhile, hardly anyone wants to know what any given feature-rich Lexus is doing at any given point in time.

> > [irrelevant, inevitably wrong,]
> > [blanket overgeneralizations  ]
> > [deleted ]               
> 
> They might not be overpriced, but they still 
> cost the same as a months worth of groceries, 
> or a car payment.  

Or a NASCAR Season Ticket to see featureless cars drive in circles around a track (Kansas Speedway price: $378 for the good seats, but Pit Passes cost extra).

> If I got rid of all my old computers, I'd be 
> back to pencil and paper.

Exactly.  What people want to hear is "You won't have to spend any more money to get a better computer.  In fact, use Linux on your existing old computer and you'll get a better computer and still be able to afford those NASCAR Season Tickets."

They don't want to hear "Why on earth would you want NASCAR Season Tickets?  Shut up and buy a new computer to get a better computer!"
 
> > [irrelevant, inevitably wrong,]
> > [blanket overgeneralizations  ]
> > [deleted ]               
>
> Granted this isn't a 200mhz Pentium Pro 
> (it's older and slower), but it does 
> what I need.

Computers are only "garbage" if they can't do anything useful for you (much like most other things) which cannot be duplicated by a cheaper solution (hence "doorstop" is not a good use for a computer as a brick is cheaper, easier to move around, and does a better job).
 
> root at charon:~# uname -a
> Linux charon 2.6.23.9 #1 Tue Dec 4 17:23:50 CST 2007 i586
> Pentium 75 - 200 GenuineIntel GNU/Linux
> root at charon:~# cat /proc/cpuinfo 
> processor       : 0
> vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
> cpu family      : 5
> model           : 2
> model name      : Pentium 75 - 200
> stepping        : 5
> cpu MHz         : 100.296

> root at charon:~# free
>              total       used       free     shared   
> buffers     cached
> Mem:         11848      10812       1036          0       
> 476       3372
> -/+ buffers/cache:       6964       4884
> Swap:        31144       1516      29628
> root at charon:~#

I've got a similar system in the kitchen as the "cookbook" and general "type notes" computer, a PentiumI-90Mhz system with a whopping 16MB of RAM.    I loaded icewm on it just because I occasionally enjoy playing Freecell while waiting for the cookies to finish baking (about ten minutes at a time).

While there are those who may suggest that a deck of cards would be "easier", they're wrong.  Cards stick together when you spill or set things on them, whereas the laptop can be closed quickly and stuff set on it without damage to the contents.