Thought I'd tell you how the Linux conversion is going. If you choose the right distribution, it's hardly noticeable that you've made the change. While the dedicated geeks for whom a computer is a competitive sport or obsession might scoff, I've found Linux Mint to be very easy to get used to. I was using Libreoffice for my word processing and for those few times a year I need a spreadsheet so that part of it was no effort and I'd used the free Audacity audio editor so that was no problem, especially after I found my preferred old, now unsupported Acoustic Labs audio Editor worked perfectly well with the Wine application. I have yet to try the tiny little programs I use to type with French accented and other foreign language characters but I'll try that soon.
Once I decided to forego downloading distributions and going through the extremely trying and difficult ritual of checking security codes, etc. and bought the very inexpensive discs of them from OSDiscs.com, I have found the experience easier than pie.
And with that corny lead, my new computer adventure of going back to the beginning with Raspberry Pi (a model 3 B+ for now) has been a learning experience. The hardest thing about it has been handling the tiny micro SD card that the Raspberian operating system resides on (I'm going to try the USB stick boot option that you can with that model) and putting the tiny wires on the right pins to put it on a monitor have been the hardest thing. That and having to order pieces I didn't realize I'd need.
I've found having the operating system in a form that can be easily copied, so I can have as many erasable backups as I need, NOT ON A HARD DISC WHERE IT COULD BE CORRUPTED OR SCREWED UP to be extremely liberating and an incentive to experiment. It has also led to the good habit of backing up work instead of just shoving it onto the hard disc where it will be lost if something gets screwed up. But you've got to discipline yourself to make the backups. I got really lazy about that having a really big hard disc which I never came close to filling up.
As it is, I'm hoping to have a fully functioning computer that does what I need it to do for less than two-hundred dollars -if you have an old monitor or spare TV, a USB keyboard and mouse, it'll cost way less - and if it needs fixing will not need to go into the shop but which I can cheaply replace parts for or fix by erasing a card or a USB stick. The most expensive Raspberry Pi board cost less than a repair visit and from what I'm told they're quite durable under normal use. I don't feel smug about any of this, there's nothing fashionable or posh or terribly kew-el about it, it's just a machine. I suspect if I could afford one I'd feel about as smug about having a stand mixer so I wouldn't have to knead bread by hand anymore. And what's that to feel smug about?
I'm tempted to try doing something with a Raspberry Pi Zero which, even if you get the option of pre-soldered pins, costs less than $15 right now. It's got more power than my first PC did.
I admit the title is a tease. Bet the trolls thought this was going to be a suicide note.
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