Jackson_Slugger
$50 Site Donor 2022
It's based on Windows XP apparently but is a free OS that works well on older systems:
https://www.xda-developers.com/reactos-hands-on/
https://www.xda-developers.com/reactos-hands-on/
Basically says it all. I may try it in a VM for grins.ReactOS is fast and fun but may not be much more than an intriguing diversion, something to dabble with on a spare piece of hardware on a rainy afternoon.
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Try it on a spare system, but don't expect anything even remotely close to really good.
And you don't dare run an older, "leaner" one or you'll be vulnerable to security exploits.The problem with all the distros that claim to friendly to older PCs is the web browser itself. Web browsers nowadays are pretty resource intensive if you open a bunch of tabs. "But I just want a PC to browse the web" it takes memory if nothing else.
I remember when the mantra of Linux in 1995 was "ready for the desktop". How'd that work out ?
Really ? It's 30 years later.... There was no Teams or Skype on Linux back then either.Really well; 100s of UIs to choose from; enterprise reliability, zero cost.
Teams for Linux, Skype for Linux; what does that suggest.
Don't worry. It's been the "Year of Desktop Linux" for like 25 years. And yet Linux is still under 5% market share.Really ? It's 30 years later.... There was no Teams or Skype on Linux back then either.
And don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Linux for over 10 years and used it as my primary software (desktop). My computer did dual-boot Windows (this was pre-Grub but the name escapes me). I started with RedHat and still have the dozen+ floppies and CD somewhere, moved to Mandrake and after that, I can't remember the others besides Debian and Ubuntu. I was custom-building kernels, running enlightenment, WindowMaker, Gnome, KDE, etc, etc. I continued that theme with Android, rooting all of my devices, installing custom ROMs.... until I got tired of constantly tweaking/hacking. Now I use macOS and and iPhoneAnd yet Linux is still under 5% market share.
Linux is a good idea on paper. A flexible lightweight core kernel that can be built on in practically any way that a user/group wants. But the core of what Linux is and what it does is also one of the core reasons why adoption has stalled out. You can't just make a program for linux. You have to make it for a few major core distributions if you want to hit the majority of the Linux user base, and then there's 10,000 distributions based on those core few. And it just spirals out of control into madness. This is also the reason hardware driver support can be kind of a pain in the tail as well.And don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Linux for over 10 years and used it as my primary software (desktop). My computer did dual-boot Windows (this was pre-Grub but the name escapes me). I started with RedHat and still have the dozen+ floppies and CD somewhere, moved to Mandrake and after that, I can't remember the others besides Debian and Ubuntu. I was custom-building kernels, running enlightenment, WindowMaker, Gnome, KDE, etc, etc. I continued that theme with Android, rooting all of my devices, installing custom ROMs.... until I got tired of constantly tweaking/hacking. Now I use macOS and and iPhone
You need to have Linux sysadmins to make that zero cost enterprise reliability work, a resource many smaller orgs don't have.Really well; 100s of UIs to choose from; enterprise reliability, zero cost.
Teams for Linux, Skype for Linux; what does that suggest.
?!?!?!?!?!!The core idea of Linux is a good one, but the implementation is holding it back from mass adoption.
Linux is a good idea on paper. A flexible lightweight core kernel that can be built on in practically any way that a user/group wants. But the core of what Linux is and what it does is also one of the core reasons why adoption has stalled out. You can't just make a program for linux. You have to make it for a few major core distributions if you want to hit the majority of the Linux user base, and then there's 10,000 distributions based on those core few. And it just spirals out of control into madness. This is also the reason hardware driver support can be kind of a pain in the tail as well.
With Windows and Mac OS you get exactly that. If you want to make an application for windows, you only have to target it to the main operating system versions which at this point are really windows 7, windows 10, and windows 11. And Win7 support is completely optional as the OS is out of support and slowly dying out.
The core idea of Linux is a good one, but the implementation is holding it back from mass adoption.