After 30 years of computers I'm finding them scary again

[bucolic_frolic]

My pc's do a lot, but I fear upgrading and new machines. Word processing compatibility remains a problem. I use LibreOffice, but we're still not completely Word ok? Same with Quickbooks more or less?

I have a full backup XP pc for archiving, and a Linux laptop for everyday. But the software gets complicated. I'm faced with upgrading the kernel at some point, and going with a WIN 10 machine too because I need to run certain things. (Has anyone noticed how the supply of laptops shrunk with everyone staying home?) And cutting edge machines have SSD and no DVD? Are these supposed to be improvements?

Last time I tried to update the Linux Kernel from 14 to 15, it froze the system and wouldn't use the wireless on this 2009 laptop. So I started over with a virgin install of 18.1 and upgraded to 18.3 At some point 19.1 will be mandatory I guess. I might try cloning the hard drive so I can go backwards, and go with upgrades from there.

Maybe there's not a question here. Just observations. PC's have made life complicated.

[lpbk2713]

1. I bought a new laptop about two weeks ago.

Like you I was disappointed with the SSD and the lack of a disc drive. But the biggest
disappointment was Win 10 S. I removed that on the first day. I think I can get used
to the other stuff. I have external hard drives and disc drives. So far I've been lucky
in finding workarounds to keep using some of my old software.

[cos dem]

2. Apple, Microsoft and Linux all need to stop with the operating systems.

The OS is done. We don't need new ones. we need the current ones improved. There's no longer a need to change anything, just fix the bugs and security holes.

Microsoft especially needs to go backwards. Get rid of the stupid ribbon interface. It's eats up screen space and is hard to find what you're looking for. Pull-down menus are best.

A word of warning on the SSD, from experience. When a spinner HD goes, it typically starts making weird noises and you get more frequent errors. If you're paying attention, you think "I haven't backed up in awhile, now might be a good time." Not so with an SSD. They can go from 100% to 0 in an instance. Fortunately, I had a recent system backup, but it is always a hassle to get your system up and running again after a hard drive crash.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. HD gave me many months of warnings

That part was easy. Installing Linux was a lot of learning, but tolerable I guess. What really made quirks was the phaseout of Vista. They said it would have security vulnerabilities. But it actually stopped working on various sites at greatly different times. Few sites explained it was an OS incompatibility problem. It just failed to load, or gave errors. Some sites don't support Linux.

I sure agree with you on the OS. Upgrades drive me crazy, like with VLC. But code keeps changing, new programs/apps invented, and the OS has to keep up.

I don't want an SSD. Sticking with HDD. Hope they keep making legacy HDD's because there will be demand for replacements for decades.

[katmondoo]

4. I have a Toshiba 8.1 and I am so afraid it may crash and I will be forced to buy a windows 10

Lately I get lots of notices to upgrade my browser. It becomes complicated, I haven't found a good browser, they all suck and create problems give all my sites access to advertising. I am beginning to almost hate our new technology. Everyday there is some new obstacle to overcome.

[Midnightwalk]

5. Yeah computers are a pain

I get my techie kicks at work, so I treat my home pcs as necessary tools that just need to be good enough. I splurge on 16gb because upgrades are cheap but scoff at 32gb.

SSDs are nicer than spinners imo. Much faster, less heat and less energy so battery lasts longer. Not sure if that holds with intensive writing, but if you wrote that much you might wear them out anyway.

Someone else mentioned that spinners often give you more warning about an impending failure. That’s true, but head crashes are no fun either. Beyond wear life, SSDs have massive amounts of code that sometimes has bugs.

I actually prefer not having built in dvds. USB drives work fine for me when I need one. I also have a backup drive for each active pc

Just giving some opinions/comment on how laptops are configured these days.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Are you saying you have a separate USB DVD for each pc, or do you mean SSD backups

[Midnightwalk]

7. Just the backup.

I have 1 dvd gathering dust that i plug in maybe once a year.

I could probably figure out how to use one backup drive, but haven’t bothered. I have 3 at the moment, but am only using 1. Cheap enough for me to like having a backup per machine

Btw I saw you prefer spinners and wondered about replacements. I think they’ll remain available for high capacity users for a while but the costs are getting close. They are shipping ssds with sata interfaces though, so there should be compatible replacements available even if they don’t spin. So long as sata interfaces are available.

I think nvme will be standard on everything new, but slapping a sata interface onto a drive is easy enough for a vendor so that you should he able to get replacements for quite a while. A block is still a block...

[hunter]

8. I'm done with Microsoft and Apple, that's for sure.

I do almost all my browsing, email, etc. on a little Chromebook, the kind you can buy "refurbished" for less than $100. This is my second Chromebook. Our idiot dog broke the screen of my first. (She is sixty pounds of flying enthusiasm...)

One reason I love Chromebooks is that I don't have to worry much about them. I HATED babysitting expensive laptops when I traveled. I'm really good at losing or breaking stuff, or leaving it out where it will be stolen. It's the same reason I use a cheap flip phone.

My desktop machines are built from e-waste and run Debian with Mate or LXDE. In general I spend more on backup drives than I do on computers. I have files going back to the 'seventies. Most of the computers I've ever used are emulated on my Desktop machines. Building a new machine is easy. I install Debian and copy my home folder over. I'll install less common apps as I need them which keeps the machines from getting to crufty.

The first real operating system I used was BSD. My favorite computers of all time were the Atari 800 series.

When I started using Debian it was like going home again. Most of my BSD files and skills just worked.

When I first signed up to DU back in 2002 I was using a highly stripped down and modified version of Windows 98SE and the Opera web browser. I switched full time to Debian when the browsers caught up -- Firefox, Iceweasel, and then Opera. Now I mostly use the generic Chromium on my desktop machine.

Over the years adhering to the KISS principle has saved my stupid ass on numerous occasions. I write everything in some version of Markdown which works on any sort of text editing program on any computer. I save all my data as comma separated values

[bucolic_frolic]

9. Thanks for the perspective

I love my Linux Mint. Computers are becoming like cars, a spare or two is not insane. I will check out Chromebook. Do you get to do word processing, spreadsheets on them? Is there storage as a matter of course in the cloud, or do you use thumb drives? My backup is physical, but inadequate. And I have a major amount of family photos, movie/video capture/conversions to do. But for browsing as you say, I would consider a Chromebook to go to the library for example. Hate to think the consequences of having my laptop stolen from my car without electronic locks.

[hunter]

10. I use a 128 gigabyte micro SD on my Chromebook to store my files...

... and USB stick memory to backup or transfer files. My Chromebook works with my big USB backup drives, but I generally don't do that.

Transferring jpg files from my phone or camera to the Chromebook isn't a problem. The Chromebook photo editing software I have isn't sophisticated, it's not Photoshop, but it's fine for editing photos for email.

I store some stuff "in the cloud" but mostly that would be stuff I'm working on from multiple computers and sharing.

For many purposes Chromebooks work without internet connections. I can write eight hours without an internet or power connection. The battery on my Chromebook lasts a long time.

I don't often use Google Docs, which has fairly good word processing and spreadsheet capabilities. My wife's sister considers Google Docs her first choice in word processing and spreadsheets. The files she creates are easily exported and shared. She's the one who convinced me Chromebooks were worth looking into.

My previous favorite laptops were dual boot Windows/Debian machines. I still have one I use when some job requires Windows but that's also the laptop I hate taking with me, the one I have to babysit. Losing that would hurt at least seven times more than losing my Chromebook.

I was irritated with my idiot dog when she broke my old Chromebook, but I got another one, moved the SD card over, and was good to go. All my apps transferred automatically when I set it up.

If my idiot dog had broken my Windows/Debian machine replacing it or repairing it would have been so easy, which is why it lives in my home office.

[ThingsGottaChange]

11. Nothing as complicated as what you do

but, I've had a new computer sitting here, still in the box, for about a month. Terrified of botching it all up. Going from a 9 yr old Win 7 to a new Win 10 is bad enough. Now I have to set it up by myself! Have done this numerous times in the past and looked at it as a nice challenge. Probably the stroke a couple years ago......I'll just keep dusting the box off....

[bucolic_frolic]

12. Procrastination is my thing too

What seems to bother me is new things. I need to constantly learn new things to repair and keep life going. I have upgrades for my desktop - RAM and CPU. I made sure the hard drive works. The others are low ticket items, so I'll only get to it when I am motivated.

But the stove, the car, the drain also need attention. And the yard, and the wallboard. The only thing that works is to go slow, plan a window of time, tackle one thing at a time. But it's still a when I feel like it kind of thing.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. I reset my linux because Menu disappeared and icons scrambled

Today when I boot it's not Linux Mint anymore, it's calling itself Ubuntu. I think this system is a Debian based.

Then it wouldn't boot once. So tonight I reset it as Linux Mint Cinnamon. Hoping that solves things for good, but one never knows if it will boot in the morning. And CPU powersave has vanished. And online the site that list the 10 things you should do with Linux when you first install it? Specific to Mint 18.1? Gone. Vanished.