[lug] M$ does it again...down under

[John Karns]

On Tue, 7 Aug 2001, John Hernandez said:

> Bill Thoen wrote:
>
> > So maybe Linux could be used with old parts, but it's a bit of a
> > job figuring out all the tweaks and problems. You need to have a
> > set of skills beyond what most people have, and you will probably
> > have difficulties with upgrades.
> >
>
> Part of the reason I floated the question was an attempt to gauge how
> much of a headache Linux would present to a charitable organization
> that deals with a hodgepodge of old hardware.  After reading some of
> the answers provided, even if installation challange was ironed out, I
> think the resources required by X and its associated apps
> (particularly productivity suites) are beyond the capabilities of many
> older machines.  RAM and video hardware seem to be the biggest
> problems.

How about installing an older version of Linux?  Back when my machine was
a 100MHz 486, I found that Slakware was more easily installed than the
others I tried.  Re: office suite software, for resource starved machines
of the older generations, I think perhaps Applix would be a smarter
choice than StarOffice.  I don't know how the Corel suite stacks up as an
alternative though.


> > Seems to me that since Microsoft made such a fuss about insisting
> > that all computers be sold with Windows, what right to they have
> > to insist that just because a new human is behind the same
> > keyboard that that human must buy the latest copy of Windows? And
> > good luck getting Win2000 to work on old computers!
> >
>
> As everyone else pointed out, Microsoft has the legal right crack down
> on them -- and even the obligation to defend the copyright, but I
> still think they should choose their targets with more tact.  I am
> convinced they MUST practice selective enforcement already, because as
> a matter of time and efficiency, they cannot possibly follow up on
> every piracy lead, aside from perhaps sending a toothless nastygram.
>
> Yes, yes, the charity pirates software and breaks the law.  It's
> analagous to the tale of Robin Hood.  Sometimes ethics, morals,
> philanthropy, and the law don't agree.  In cases like these, every
> interest has a strong case, but my (perhaps irrational) romanticism
> makes me want to side with the law-breaker.

There are some examples of OS's & applications which are distributed to
educational or other non-profit org's with relaxed license terms.  One
example is Caldera's OpenDOS (evolved from DR-DOS) ver 7.01 which is
available to educational institutions without a fee:

"Caldera grants you a non-exclusive license to use the Software in
source or binary form free of charge if (a) you are a student,
faculty member or staff member of an educational institution
(K-12, junior college, college or library), a staff member of
a religious organization, or an employee of an  organization which
meets Caldera's criteria for a charitable  non-profit organization" ...

Perhaps those people who refurbish the older hardware could be somewhat
creative in chosing alternatives, for example they might look into the
availability of the old GUI that was a would-be Windows competitor, GEOS
IIRC.

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John Karns                                        jkarns at csd.net