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

[Glenn Ashton]

I have been running an old version of Slackware on my Pentium 75 since I
got it from what was then VA Research in 1995.

Granted it's got a Number 9 video card, but it runs X windows just fine.

I've installed and run more recent SuSe, Redhat and Debian distros on
everything from Compaq Pentium Pros to old Toshiba laptops.  I have had
problems with X, but always get around them.

Of the 4 machines that I personally own that run Linux fine, two
are salvage- literally stuff that was given to me.  Of the many Linux
machines that I work with at work, most are castoffs from the Windows
world that aren't fast enough as Windows boxes but do great work in other
capacities.

It's actually quite a practical idea for charities to enlist support from
organizations like BLUG and use open source, because if a machine is too
old and tired for the charity to use, it can be used as a firewall or
something else.

Lots of companies are getting rid of machines that are very Linux worthy
for lots of useful tasks.  I guess it all depends on what you are trying
to do with Linux and what you define as 'old'.

I guess that it depends on whether you view the glass as half empty or
half full.

-Glenn Ashton