Windows Computer or Chromebook?

ZDNet has an article called "Windows or Chromebook? A Best Buy salesman told me it isn't even close".  I really want to call it dumb but I guess it's just your usual clickbait.  If the Best Buy salesman was someone that really knew anything, he wouldn't have answered the question that way.  The only thing a Window's computer at an entry-level price is good for is proprietary software that is low on system resources.  That's it.  If you're a gamer, if you use Adobe Creative Suite or a CAD program, you're going to buy a high-end Windows computer with lots of memory and a high-end CPU and graphic's card.  If you are smart you'll have one built to match your needs.  That's the only reason to buy a Window's computer.  I wanted to scream when my step sister-in-law made my mother-in-law buy an HP Windows computer.  Now it doesn't work from her visiting kids and grand children's abuse.  I bought her an Amazon Fire HD8 and she's a happy camper.

For people that need Windows, it's a tool.  That's all.  Yes, gamers use them but I still call it a tool.

My 9-year-old Window's laptop still runs perfectly.  I've got Linux on it.  Now is Linux for everybody?  No.  See the reasons I listed above for buying a Windows computer.  My 10-month-old Chromebook still runs great.  It does everything I need it to do and it cost $200 less than a comparable Windows computer.  My 2-year-old AmazonFire HD10 still runs great.  I use it daily.

Buy what you need, and don't listen to a salesperson that just wants to push a product.  Shop around and get what suits your needs.  Remember in the article what the salesman said when asked about updates and freezing?  Then explain it to someone that just wants to read what on the internet, check their email or God forbid, Facebook.  Tell that to the person that only has a few minutes for a presentation and has to wait for Windows to update.  The only other product like that are Android phones, and that's only 3 or 4 times a year, not monthly.

I don't know about Apple, but I LOVE watching Loius Rossmann on YouTube.  Watching him is entertaining. I know nothing about the repairs he does or electronics but I learn about business and enjoy his points of view, whether I agree with him or not.  So no Apple for me.  Is Apple better than Windows?  I don't know how updates are on Apple but if you buy a high-end Apple and compare this to the specs on a similar priced Windows box and Windows will come out on top.  

Now, put two-thirds of that money on a Linux computer and you got a supercomputer.  Just remember gaming is getting better on Linux. Valve has Steam and Proton now for lots of games you can play in.  Add to the fact that if Google Stadia really takes off then it sounds like Linux will have more games since stadia is probably going to be supported.  It even looks like Linux is going to get NVidia support, kinda maybe(?).  But right now Windows is top dog on gaming right now.  But is Windows on life support right now?

Why I'm glad I Use Linux . . .

Microsoft Issues Warning For 50M Windows 10 Users
by Gordon Kelly Senior Contributor at Forbes.com

Between this and other problems like not backing up its registry, along with a host of other problems, see Chris Titus thank Microsoft for all the fish here.

Now that gaming is happening with Steam on Linux for most of you gamers, I don't play games so I don't use it, and a lot of programs are cloud-based, like Microsoft office, probably the only reason not to use Windows is the Adobe suites and yes, some games won't work on Linux.

Watch the Chris Titus video, he suggests using Linux or going to Apple.  Linux is not as hard as you think.  There are a handful of Linux distros out there for people switching from Windows to Linux.  Linux Mint, Zorin Linux, Pop!OS, even what I use, Manjaro XFCE can be used by newbies.  In the time that it takes you to update your Windows system you can watch youtube video's that show you how to customize your Linux of choice. 

Am I Window's free?  No, my wife wants us to buy the disk when it comes to tax programs, so I have to maintain Windows.  Also, the drive that has Windows on it has a protected partition so the build partition won't get erased.  I don't have the drive in my laptop that has Windows, but I have it and will put it back in when I don't want to use my computer because it will take all day to update my computer.

But whatever you do, switch, stay or buy an Apple, just do it on an OS that fits your needs, not an OS that doesn't match your needs.

Speeding Up My 8 Year Old Laptop (Part One)

I've got an old Acer laptop or notebook or whatever they're called and It is just dragging.  Not only have I had it 8 years but it had probably been on the market a couple of years before I bought it. I've always dual booted my computers between the latest release of Ubuntu and Windows 10's developer version, using Ubuntu most of the time. But everything drags.

I always install the freshest release of Ubuntu and everything drags.  It takes a couple of minutes to boot, then Firefox takes 30 seconds to load and all the other programs take a while, then when I get into Windows that just takes that much longer.

So I bought a Kingston 120GB SDD for $20.00 on Amazon and Ubuntu flies now, and Windows, well that has been an utter failure.   I don't have a copy of Windows since it's on a separate partition on my old hard drive so for now, it's Ubuntu 18.10.  Ubuntu boots in just under 30 seconds and Firefox starts in tow or three seconds.  I quit using Chrome because it would seem to stall my computer, but this weekend when I redo everything I'll get back with Chrome.  I'm not too worried about Google tracking me and there are a few things that Chrome does better.

This weekend I'll put my old hard drive in and follow some instructions I've found on Microsoft's website and I'll hopefully have windows working.
Until then it's Canonical all the way.