Klarinet Archive - Posting 000456.txt from 2005/04

From: rob <roomberg@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Paypal Messages Linux plug POSTER CHILD
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 18:04:57 -0400

I have an aging group of friends, HAM radio operators in their 50s ,60,
and 70s
and they lost the use of their windows PCs because of viruses.
We switched them to Linux and they have been online , doing email, and
playing games
on those PCs for more than a year now so those of you who think you
need elevated computer skills to use
Linux, thats bogus and unfounded at this time.
Linux has evolved into a USER system that is supposed to work out of the
box without being a UNIX expert.
My friend Bud, not quite the brightest mind, is our Linux poster child.
He was frustrated to the point of anger and tears when his wife tried to
show him how to surf the
web and the pop up windows just deluged over him.
Once we gave him Linux, which does pop up blocking...its built in..not
something extra like on windows....
Bud is online every day and just loves his PC.

We like KNOPPIX because it fits on ONE CD and can be downloaded for free
or bought for $5.
It includes web browsers, email, games, office software, all you need,
on the one CD, so it is possible
to load it and not ever need to add anything at all to upgrade it.
It DID NOT used to be like that. You would load it like windows and then
have to go find a web browser
and word processor. Thats all changed now.

You can buy or download any number of versions of Linux and its good to
find somebody who can help you
get started.
I can be that person but I am suggesting that you locate a local
friend who is helpful.
I like KNOPPIX because I can tell you what to do to get it working for you.
Someone else might like mandrake or fedora or suse.
It doesn't matter which one , other than you will need 18 minutes to
install it on a hard disk
and if you have any difficulty it is good to have some help.

Andy Jablonski wrote:

>Oh, and though it has greatly improved over the past few years, I wouldn't
>recommend linux for anyone that isn't confident of their computer skills.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Rob Chaney [mailto:robratc@-----.com]
>Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 2:23 PM
>To: klarinet@-----.org
>Subject: Re: [kl] Paypal Messages Linux plug
>
>Where can you get the Linux? I can download it if you have a source I
>can get it from and which one would be a good one to run?
>
>On 4/29/05, Mark Charette <charette@-----.org> wrote:
>
>
>>On Fri, 29 Apr 2005, rob wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>Linux does not run the email viruses that eats all your windows PCs.
>>>
>>>
>>Depends on your mail client; there's no rationale why a Linux client
>>_can't_ run a virus, just that today it's not a popular thing.
>>
>>Firefox was targeted with an HTML exploit very recently. If you think
>>Thunderbird on Linux isn't next, you're not as security concious as you
>>should be.
>>
>>Mark C.
>>
>>Remember, the whole idea of email being a mass carrier of system exploits
>>started on Unix ... November 2, 1988, "The Internet Worm", target for Suns
>>(and DECs but had a bug in the DEC code)
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>

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