Okay, so I've broken the images from my old posts; well, maybe this will prod me into upkeeping a web server again, for consistency's sake.
Hope all are well. Perhaps I'll just begin by describing a little about my views on Linux. Basically, I see Linux and its accompanying GNU libraries and applications as this all-absorbing pit of anguish that from time to time floats down from the heavens to devour bits of my soul and optimism. That's not to say I dislike Linux, GCC, Eclipse, X Windows, etc; it's just that they IME tend to increase time for many projects ported from Visual Studio. Your mileage may vary, and I certainly give that they are better for certain applications. And free and open source is great for such critical system components (not for applications in general, though, IMO).
Oftentimes old, heavy machines get passed along to those who need a computer. Sometimes one is called upon to make these old mares dance. The system disc is always gone and it's never worth buying a copy of Windows for these things, so installing Linux seems a foregone conclusion, assuming the HDD and other components are in decent shape. Luckily most users only want to play music, video, surf the web, write documents, and play a few games. Anything you do beyond this is essentially wasted effort - actually, worse than wasted, because you may accidentally negatively affect those core experiences.
There is nothing difficult about setting up Linux in this day and age, except that it still can easily become like a flowchart beginning with a box 1 labelled "Install Linux" and with every arrow pointing back to box 1, while the arrows represent headaches, embarrassment, and lost sleep. After the initial installation, one may be tempted to do logical things like install the latest graphics drivers, install various programs based on their installation instructions, perhaps search out some obscure software that you believe will be up the alley of the user. If working with an old machine meant for someone "not really into computers", I would advise again these things. Instead, here are simple instructions for getting a lot out of little effort, and maintaining your smile.
--Download Ubuntu and install it.
Ubuntu fits on a single CD, whereas some distributions have expanded to a DVD. Ubuntu's Gnome desktop and menus look clean and are easy to understand. The distribution includes basic applications, like the OpenOffice core, but not much else.
--Open a terminal window and type the following without quotations:
"sudo apt-get install rpm"
"sudo apt-get install libboost*"
"sudo apt-get install build-essentials"
"sudo apt-get install gxine"
"sudo apt-get ubuntu-restricted-extras"
"sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/examples/install-css.sh"
"sudo apt-get install gimp"
"sudo apt-get install pingus"
"sudo apt-get install wormux"
"sudo apt-get install frozen-bubble"
"sudo apt-get install lbreakout2"
"sudo apt-get install xpenguins"
This will install a few components, including some games, their associated libraries, and a more robust movie player.
--Place a movie DVD in the drive. When asked which application to use to run the DVD, select "custom command" and type the following:
gxine -f
--From the menu, go to "System">"Administration">"Users and Groups" and set up the other users.
There are plenty of other routes to a clean, simple, stable but useful OS on an old computer, but maybe this will save somebody a little searching.
