I have been running this laptop on Linux Mint Cinnamon for some considerable time now – that is considerable in modern computer language terms – and find it to be very good and in many ways better than Windows. An article in Computeractive Magazine told how Microsoft themselves were advising Windows users to make sure that their computer was switched on for at least 8 hours continuously on order to ensure that it picked up the latest updates – a minimum of 2 hours to get the update and then 6 connected hours to “reliably update”. I think this is terrible, and the magazine is obviously not impressed either as it asks its readers to let them know whether they regularly spend eight hours online uninterrupted ? And, of course, there is the great Windows 11 affair where many people (of whom I am one) find that their computer is not able to update to the new operating system – or that if it will update despite not being technically up to speed, the users may find things breaking down later on. I, personally, think that Microsoft needs its bottom spanked and being sent to bed with no supper, until it repents itself of its anti-consumer sins and comes to its senses.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Linux Mint are busy developing a version of their operating system based on Debian Linux instead of Ubuntu in case, as they say, Ubuntu ever becomes unavailable. It is snappily called, Linux Mint LMDE (ie : Linux Mint Debian) and is currently available for download in a beta version. So, game to the last, I have done just that, tried it out for a few days without hitting any snags, and have now installed it as the operating system for this laptop. So far, so good, I have not met any problems, there are minor differences here and there but they do not affect the user, and the Software manager seems to have all the same programmes on offer that it did when a Ubuntu derivative.
