Linux or Windows? Wrestling with technology.

I MENTIONED that I am planning to take my wife's old (but small) laptop overseas with me. It has a Pentium M processor (single core, 1.6GHz) and, these days, a 120GB hard drive. It also has one of the better screens I have seen, 12" wide-screen and very clear.

Some people might say, "Oh, that's an old-fashioned equivalent to a Netbook. Cute, but useless." However, the Pentium M was a much more competent processor than the processor in the Netbooks.

But here's the rub: it came with Windows XP, and everything in it except the graphics subsection would run with Windows 7. Of course, what is the use of a computer if you can't view what it is doing?

I wanted to leave Windows XP behind, as it will not be supported beyond April, but what could I use?

I installed Linux Mint. It was quick and easy to install, has an interface that most Windows users can get used to fairly quickly, and looked quite good. However, too many things either didn't work, or only worked with a lot of fiddling. It didn't even install Samba (necessary to connect to a Windows network) by default, and I kept getting messages asking me to update, but then telling me that required updates were not available.

So then I installed Lubuntu -- the version of Ubuntu for lower-specification computers. Like Mint, it took about half an hour to install, and about three days to make it talk to the other computers in my home network. It wasn't too hard once I found out how to do that. I only had to find the right file, edit it to move one line of code to a different location and change the order of items in that line. Suddenly everything worked.

I had to read post after post to find that solution.

Then I couldn't get the SD card reader to work, and it was one thing I really wanted. Nor could I get a wireless-n USB device to work due to lack of drivers (the inbuilt wireless-g works). It didn't play nicely with my plug-in 4G device either, again due to driver issues.

Someone had given me a copy of Windows Vista. There were a few on-line grumbles about the combination of an Inspiron 700M with that most unpopular of operating systems, but I had used Vista on another laptop where it wasn't too bad, so I decided to try it.

The installation was greatly slower than for either kind of Linux. But it is tolerable. The "Windows Experience Rating" is a measly 1.0, but that's mainly because of the graphics subsystem. Other parts of the laptop have ratings around the 3 or 4 mark. I can still read Facebook posts, watch Peter Paul and Mary on YouTube, and edit photos using an older version of Photoshop.

Once Vista was installed, I only had to map the shared folders in the network to drives, and everything was fine. Updates are coming through daily - I will be glad when that becomes weekly, The wireless-n device drivers installed fine. Sadly, the driver for the SD Card reader still seems dodgy, and it looks like that isn't going to work. So, external reader...

And Singapore Air has 110 volt power at seats in economy, so I can play endless games of Solitaire while underway.

I am disappointed about Linux, though. It seems to me that its diversity makes it less useful than it could be. Programs like The Gimp, Open Office, Firefox run pretty much like the Windows equivalents. But get a millimetre away from that territory, and not only does it become suddenly a lot more complex, but the information is too version-specific. What works for Ubuntu doesn't necessarily suit Red Hat etc.

You really shouldn't even have to download Samba or other under-the-bonnet utilities before you can do common household computing tasks. If they don't like having those services on a standard installation, it should be possible to tell the computer, "I want to connect to a workgroup named WORKGROUP and map folders to drives," and the computer should be smart enough to know what has to be downloaded. You shouldn't have to manually edit the hosts file to make networking work, and you definitely shouldn't have to read through hours of Google conversations to find that elusive one which tells you how to edit it.

Linux is a remarkable idea, and seems to work happily as a server operating system, but I have to say that it just isn't quite ready for the desktop yet.

Anyway, the little Inspiron is getting itself together, ready to head for cold climates. Now, about International Roaming and Vodafone...

Preparing to travel

THE COMPANY I work for decided that all untaken leave had to be used up, so I found myself taking some 12 weeks of Long Service Leave. My wife (who is currently unable to travel) suggested that I should visit my son and his family in the UK, and get to see a few places I hadn't seen on my previous two trips.

The project grew, and I am now planning to be away for just over two weeks.

So far, I have renewed my passport, booked my flights and sorted my seating, and arranged to stay for a week with friend and former work colleague, Rachel and her family, and for a week with my son, Luke, and his family (including our grandchildren, of course!)

I plan to take two days in Berlin during that second week, and to make a couple of bus or train trips to places like Stonehenge and Bath that I have not so far seen. I have to book some of these things.

This blog will follow my progress.

This morning I found out about charging phone/laptop while travelling. I need to work out the best solutions for using my phone while underway. I have set up Vista, the final version of Windows that it supports, on Chris' much more portable and little-used old Dell, and, once a new battery arrives, it will be reasonably ready to use. So I am close to ready to keep this blog up-to-date while I am away.

Keep in touch!