PC Matic

[Glockster69]

Vista!??? .. lol

I hate change but I think I'm gonna go for it. Thank you sir!

For the record no viruses have got through while I used TM but the few times I called CS it was a less than positive experience.

 

[benenglish]

So that there will be at least one line of this post that's actually on-topic: PC-Matic probably works as well as any Windows cleaner. It should; they all do essentially identical tasks.

Now, on to the threadjack.

There are a million and a half PC de-crap-ifying softwares out there, all of which do the same basic thing that someone with almost no know-how can do themselves periodically, and without risking downloading an illegitimate program/trojan.

Quoted for truth.

Better yet, consider dual-booting with Linux for general web-browsing needs.

No, just switch outright.

I suggest to everyone that they just try using nothing but Linux off a live CD for a couple of weeks. If there's a particular piece of software that they absolutely require that runs on another OS, Linux may not be for them. But I firmly believe that the overwhelming majority of regular users could run Linux, save lots of money, and never miss their old OS.

In fact, I believe that's true of many OS's and office suites.

• Enable (especially on Unix) was blazingly fast and, once you learned to navigate it with the arrow keys, you could get more done far quicker than Windows. But Microsoft bought it and killed it.
• Corel's Linux-based Wordperfect Suite was a direct replacement for Windows and Office and came along back when lawyers still used and preferred Wordperfect. It was a fantastic product that, in many important ways, made Windows look like the crap it was. So Microsoft bought it and killed it.
• Geos (and Geoworks, et al.) worked better than Windows at the time but the overall Microsoft lock-in dynamic had come together literally just a couple of months before it came out. It mostly died, though it lives on in some iterations.
• OS/2 was better than Windows in every way but Microsoft pulled some seriously dirty tricks in their co-development deal to strangle that baby while it was still in the crib. Still, even after 25 years, OS/2 remains in use in plenty of places where reliability is paramount, such as ATMs.
• BeOS was better than Windows in every media-centric way, so Microsoft resorted to illegal interference with their marketing to drive them out of business.
• For a short while, SCO had a product called Tarantella, a product that did for SCO OSR Unix what Wine does for Linux today. It was possible to run Windows software on Unix, with all the incredible advantages that, for example, proper memory management brought to the table. I used it for a while back when the Blue Screen of Death was an everyday occurrence for nearly all Windows users and was astounded at my ability to run all my Windows software for as many days in a row as I wanted without a reboot and without the BSD. It was really amazing. Then SCO imploded; give me enough time and I'll find a way to blame that on Microsoft, too.
• In a complete reversal of that, there used to be a standalone product called Cygwin. It was a bare-bones Unix that ran atop Windows, at least allowing those of us who wanted to get work done to do so without having to deal with most Windows problems. MS then came out with their "Services for Unix", a distinctly inferior product that did roughly the same thing...just not as well. Since it came built-in, it marginalized Cygwin for Windows-centric organizations. To be fair, after a few years in the field, SFU became pretty usable. I still cite it as a good example of the way MS uses inferior products and monopoly market penetration to flatten worthy competitors. When it comes to the OS market, the playing field is not level and MS intends to keep it that way.

Anybody sensing a pattern here, other than my personal hatred of Microsoft?

There are huge advantages to using a non-mainstream OS with the GPL license or something similar. Virus authors generally ignore them because they're such a small minority of the market and all the software most people need is free. I don't know why they don't "break through" and topple the MS monopoly but I'll remain a happy Linux user unless there's some sort of fundamental shift in the OS market and the available technologies. If so, I'll start looking at PC-BSD or maybe even consider returning to the console for everything. (INX worked rather well for me when I tested it a long time ago.)

There's always a better way to get things done and it almost always involves not following the crowd.

 

[Davetex]

Have to agree with Ben here. I switched to Linux several months ago and haven't looked back. Ubuntu (Linux) does everything for me that XP did except for one program. That being a program to watch my outside surveillance cameras.

And there might be one out there I just haven't found yet. Linux is free, it's easy, it has an "Office Suite" for productivity.
I really don't know why more people don't use it.

 

[AustinN4]

Linux is free, it's easy, it has an "Office Suite" for productivity.

I have tons of files that I need on Excel and Word - does the Linux "Office Suite" have a compatability mode? Also, where is the best place to download Linux and its office suite, and can they be run side by side with Microsoft for testing purposes?

 

[Davetex]

It's called LibreOffice. I would think it's comparable but I'm no expert. Here's a good place to start.

Desktop | Linux.com

I'm sure Ben knows more than I do. Maybe he'll jump in here to lend a hand.

 

[Davetex]

This is the OS... Ubuntu | Linux.com

LibreOffice..... Home | LibreOffice - Free Office Suite - Fun Project - Fantastic People

 

[Brains]

FYI OpenOffice was 'donated' to the Apache foundation, so it's not under Oracle control (mismanagement) anymore. I think they realized they had no business interest there since everyone moved lock stock n' barrel to Libre.

Ubuntu is outstanding and my go-to OS (after OSX), except for one thing - UNITY. Good Lord I hate Unity, still not sure what they were thinking when they implemented that mess.

As for Microsoft? Embrace, Extend, Extinguish has been the name of the game for many many years. It's so much fun watching them flop, flounder, and fail now, realizing their previously successful dirty tactics only worked when they held the dominant position. I was curious to see if Nadella was going to be the key to reversing the direction Ballmer took the company in, right up to the point he made this profound statement:

 

[AustinN4]

It's called LibreOffice. I would think it's comparable but I'm no expert. Here's a good place to start.
Desktop | Linux.com

Thanks for that. BTW, what Internet browser works best with it? As long as I am considering switching I might as well do everything!

 

[vmax]

Vista!??? .. lol

...

hell I don't even know what I have.
I kept thinking Visa and I have Win 7

it;s the one that acts like Vista and just ask permission for every little thing it does.

Dell offered a free upgrade to 8 when I bought this machine over 4 years ago.. I never took it
don't know if the offer is still good.

 

[benenglish]

OK, if you decide to go with Linux by, say, downloading Ubuntu, the process is pretty simple.

Download here: Get Ubuntu | Download | Ubuntu
Follow the instructions.
Done.

I strongly suggest, however, that you try before you commit. Download the OS, burn it to a disc, then run your computer from that disc for a while. If you decide you like it and want to install the OS to your hard drive, you have to choose whether to install it alongside Windows or just let it take over the whole machine. Personally, I suggest to people that they pull their old computer out of the closet, the one they know they no longer need any files from, and let Ubuntu take over the whole computer. I'm just not a fan of dual-booting, although I know that many, many people never have a problem with it. I, unfortunately, have.

Want to add more software? Ubuntu comes with a "Software Center" application. You open it, then:

• For an Office suite, do a search for "LibreOffice", click the "Install" button and you're done. It has 99% of the features of MS Office that are used by 99% of users. Most people don't find compatibility to be a problem as long as you pay attention to the file formats you choose to save your work.
  • If you author a Word document in the latest version of Word and fill it full of highly complex formatting, then, yes, when you try to open it in LibreOffice Writer it will probably look wrong. However, if you settle on an established, non-proprietary file format for your word processing, you'll have no problem. Writer supports:
  • 
  • If you're working in Excel, LibreOffice Calc supports these formats:
  • 
• For more browsers (it comes with Firefox), do a search for "browsers" and choose Chromium, Epiphany, NetSurf, Apollo, Dillo, or any of dozens more, each with a different focus. Click the "Install" button and you're done.
• For almost any other type of software you might want, search, click "Install" and you're done.

Notice that I didn't say a word about paying for any of this. It's all free.

If a program is not to your liking, just look it up in the Software Center and click "Remove". You're done.

...what Internet browser works best with it? As long as I am considering switching I might as well do everything!

As for that specific question, I've never felt a real need to go beyond Firefox since it has such a rich selection of add-ons from here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ . (Seriously, browse through that. Firefox is almost an OS unto itself, there are so many add-ons to perform so many tasks that most people didn't realize could be done from merely a web browser.) Most of the other browsers in the Software Center are either lightweight alternatives or special-purpose browsers.

• If you want to install Chrome from here: https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/ , you'll find that it works well. I use it extensively for remote operation of other computers since it has available for free from the Chrome Web Store (here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/apps ) the very simple and generally reliable Chrome Remote Desktop.
• Opera can be installed from: Opera browser - The alternative web browser - Download free . It has a number of unique features that I occasionally use but if you're already a fan of Opera, I don't need to tell you that. If you're not, it's probably best to ignore it for now. Despite the deceptively simple interface, Opera does a lot of interesting things, easily.

Hope this helps.

 

[Davetex]

Thanks for that. BTW, what Internet browser works best with it? As long as I am considering switching I might as well do everything!

Firefox works for me, also using Thunderbird for e-mail.

 

[Davetex]

See, I told you Ben would know. Thanks Ben.

 

[AustinN4]

OK, if you decide to go with Linux by, say, downloading Ubuntu, the process is pretty simple.

-snip-

Hope this helps.

It does. Thanks for all of the detail.

 

[DubiousDan]

OK, if you decide to go with Linux by, say, downloading Ubuntu, the process is pretty simple.

Download here: Get Ubuntu | Download | Ubuntu
Follow the instructions.
Done.

Have you tried Mint Linux? It's supposed to work well with older systems and it has the same programs available as Ubuntu. Mint is the first Linux distro that didn't give me fits with my wireless adapter (Linksys) it was working when the install was finished. I just installed Mint on an older system here for a friend and it's working well except that I can't get it to connect to my Windows network.

 

[Andy]

Install SAMBA - it connects Linux machines to Windows networks and vice-versa.

There's another option to try Linux (without getting rid of Windows), but booting from a USB stick - YUMI:

YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator

You download the images of Ubuntu, Mint, or whatever flavors of Linux you want to try (available at http://www.livecdlist.com ) - and use YUMI to install them onto your USB stick. Once that's done, just boot from the USB stick and you'll get a menu of all the operating systems on the stick - choose one and boot with it. Fast and easy:

I have a 16 Gb USB drive on my car keys and have YUMI installed with a few versions of Linux, Ultimate Boot CD, rescue tools and suchlike in case of emergencies.

 

[DubiousDan]

Install SAMBA - it connects Linux machines to Windows networks and vice-versa.

There's another option to try Linux (without getting rid of Windows), but booting from a USB stick - YUMI:

YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator

You download the images of Ubuntu, Mint, or whatever flavors of Linux you want to try (available at The LiveCD List ) - and use YUMI to install them onto your USB stick. Once that's done, just boot from the USB stick and you'll get a menu of all the operating systems on the stick - choose one and boot with it. Fast and easy:



I have a 16 Gb USB drive on my car keys and have YUMI installed with a few versions of Linux, Ultimate Boot CD, rescue tools and suchlike in case of emergencies.

I'll give those a try.

 

[benenglish]

Have you tried Mint Linux?

Yes, I used it for quite a while (12 through 14, I think). For most users, I'll say it's superior to Ubuntu. However, the last time around (Mint 15) it gave me fits when setting up whole-disk encryption. (And this is coming from the guy who wrote this: Linux Mint Forums ? View topic - Full Disk Encryption (Mint 14) -- using updated installer? ) I eventually gave up and went with Ubuntu, pretty much accepting all the defaults, everywhere.

That was a few versions ago. I would prefer to be using Mint. A little research shows they seem to have fixed the problems that blocked me from installing Mint 15. Next time I completely wipe everything and start over, I'm going with Mint.

 

[DubiousDan]

Yes, I used it for quite a while (12 through 14, I think). For most users, I'll say it's superior to Ubuntu. However, the last time around (Mint 15) it gave me fits when setting up whole-disk encryption. (And this is coming from the guy who wrote this: Linux Mint Forums ? View topic - Full Disk Encryption (Mint 14) -- using updated installer? ) I eventually gave up and went with Ubuntu, pretty much accepting all the defaults, everywhere.

That was a few versions ago. I would prefer to be using Mint. A little research shows they seem to have fixed the problems that blocked me from installing Mint 15. Next time I completely wipe everything and start over, I'm going with Mint.

I loaded Mint 17 on my friends computer and I'll try Samba to see if I can connect to my network. If I can I'll consider changing my main computer to Linux and may try Ubuntu again because mine can handle the heavier desk top. I think to last version I tried was either 8 or 10.

 

[Andy]

Ubuntu major versions are named after the year, so Ubuntu 13 = 2013
They release twice a year, in April and October, so you'll see the minor version is a number based on the month eg .04 was released in April - so something like, say, Ubuntu 13.10 means it was the October release of 2013

 

[Flyingswords]

never did and never will trust those tv ads for pc virus removal. stopsign, pcmatic, etc