[Dclug] "Linux isn't compatible with most existing computers"

[Ed James]

Keith,

    Not likely at all.  Especially since it's virtually impossible
to buy a 'puter from a Big Name Store without Windows in the first
place.  And if they've already paid for Windows, there's not much
incentive to install Linux - until the machine is so old that it
won't run a later version of bloated MSware.  And I really hate
seeing useful machines trashed when they're considered obsolete.
This is where (IMHO) Linux really shines - making an old machine
work as well as a newer MSbloat machine.

    What I'd like to see become common, is the conversion of old
MS machines to Linux machines and given to people who find them
useful.  I would hope this would increase the ranks of Linux
users one brain at a time.

Ed James

Quoting Keith Ivey <keith at iveys.org>:

> Ed James wrote:
>> I think there's a world of difference between a "computer" and a "card
>> added to a computer".  Yes, there are chipsets used in cards which don't
>> have Linux drivers for them.  But there ARE chipsets used in cards which
>> DO have Linux drivers for them.   Replace those from the first group with
>> cards from the second group (ignoring laptops for a bit), and you prolly
>> have a machine that happily runs Linux.
>
> I think for most people a computer is something you buy from Dell or
> CompUSA or wherever, not something you install cards in.  So the
> question is how likely it is that they'll be able to install Linux on a
> computer they see for sale somewhere, in which case the statement might
> be more defensible.
>
> -- 
> Keith C. Ivey <keith at iveys.org>
> Washington, DC
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