Computing?!?

[paulkincaid]

Takes deep breath. I am about to begin a process for which I feel singularly ill-equipped: I am going to play computers. The situation: neither my computer nor Maureen's is apparently suitable for an upgrade to Windows 11. Now I have been getting increasingly irritated by Microsoft of late: the rather hectoring tone, the insistence on pushing AI at every opportunity, and now this flat insistence that if I don't shell out for a brand new computer I am not worthy of their attention (and given the rather dire reports about Windows 11, I am not sure I really want that attention). So I started thinking about alternatives. I thought about Linux, but when I went to a Linux website I didn't understand a single word. But still, everything seemed to point to Linux. I did more research, I found out about the "distros" (how I hate that word!), watched countless videos, and eventually narrowed things down to two potential choices. In the end, by the narrowest of margins, I picked Linux Mint (and no, I don't want commentators to come back and say oh you really should choose X or Y or whatever; I have reasons for this choice and it fits my needs). So, what I am going to do is use Maureen's computer, which really hasn't been used since she died. Today I am going to link my external hard drive to that computer and copy over everything on her computer (photos, documents) that I might want to keep. Then, at some point over the next couple of days, the scary bit: I will download Linux Mint and install it on her computer, wiping out Windows in the process. This is where I am taking a leap into the dark: everything to do with computers was Maureen's province. She would take care of downloading and installing and all that technical stuff; I would come along later and play with whatever was new and get it working smoothly for us. But now I have to be the one to do the technical bit. I have read and re-read the instructions, I have watched and re-watched the videos, it should be relatively straightforward. But this is a computer we're talking about and computers are never straightforward. But, if all goes to plan I will have one Windows computer (mine) and one Linux computer (Maureen's) and I will be able to compare and contrast, and learn my way around the new system so that before my extended security elapses next October I'll be able to convert this computer also. But I am dreadfully nervous. Wish me luck!