I have been using Windows XP for 20 years or so without any problem. Lately, many websites did not load properly, because I have been using MyPal 29 web browser, and it is not only slow but also kind of outdated. I just discovered Supermium web browser today, and it is a game changer. Every website works! I was about to switch to Linux. In fact, I installed SparkyLinux 7.3 LXQT on my computer in April, and I began using it. I used it for about 3-4 months, and it was okay. However, XP is a lot easier & faster to use.
* Over the years, I have written a lot of JScripts and HTA programs, and they do not work on Linux. So, I began to learn Perl programming language, so I can control Linux, but Perl is such that you have to write a ton of stuff to accomplish the same that you can do in a few lines of JScript code.
* The start menu configuration on Linux is a nightmare. In Windows XP, I can just grab a menu item and move it or delete it or rename it. In Linux, the start menu is made up of several XML files, which describe the menu items. I had to spend a whole day trying to figure out how to move a single menu item from one place to another. There is a menu editor program that you can download, but it doesn't. Some things in Linux don't work, and many times you have to figure out the solution on your own, because nobody else knows either. That said, SparkyLinux is a very stable system, and it never crashed. I was able to use my Brother printer after downloading the Linux drivers from the Brother support site. I was able to use my Windows TTF fonts on Linux. But there is a learning curve. I had to use Google constantly to look up how to do this and how to do that.
* What I like about XP is when I click on Microsoft Word, it opens instantly. I don't have to wait a single second. In Linux, when I open LibreOffice, it takes at least 5-6 seconds to start.
* Unlike Windows, Linux has many different flavors and editions. They're called distros. I have tested about 20 of them, and I found that SparkyLinux LXQT is the closest to XP. It looks and feels like Windows XP. If you install it correctly, everything just works. Linux has all the video drivers, chipset drivers, and storage drivers included in the OS, so in most cases you don't have to worry about drivers. You can forget about drivers. Probably the most amazing thing about Linux is that you can copy the entire OS onto another hard drive and put it into another computer, and it will run without a problem. You don't need a serial number or activation or registration. The entire OS is designed so it can be copied and run anywhere. Once you install it, you never have to reinstall it, which is also a revolutionary idea.
* I like XP because it is fast. Many of the programs that I use open immediately. Some programs take one second to start up. On Linux, I can use still use some of my Windows programs, but they are slower and glitchy. For example, on Windows XP the paint program opens immediately. When I click on, it immediately starts. I don't have to wait a single second. It's there! On Linux, when I run Windows paint using wine, it takes 3-4 seconds for the program to start up.
* I like Linux because there are tons of software, which are all free. Almost every piece of paid software that is available for Windows has a free counterpart under Linux, which is great. If I had to do professional video editing or sound editing or modern software development, I would definitely switch over to Linux just to do that. In fact, right now my computer is set up so I have three SSDs. One of them holds all my data. Another one has Windows XP on it, the other has Linux. If I turn on my computer, it automatically starts Windows XP. If I press F12 to bring up the boot menu, I can select the other SSD, and Linux will start. I use a Dell Inspiron 530s which has 2.4GHz dual core processor, 3GB RAM, and Intel builtin video card, LAN, and it's connected to high-speed internet all the time.
* The Intel LAN drivers on Linux are glitchy. Linux will not properly load the driver every time during boot, so it has to be restarted. Most of the things you can do in Windows by clicking here and there is usually done by typing into a terminal window on Linux. So, you have to learn a lot of commands to access and change things on Linux. Most of the settings are not accessible by mouse clicks. That's also why I like Windows. I don't like typing too much.
* I have a couple of Windows programs which do not work on Linux. Not every Windows program works on Linux. For example, there's a program called Notepad2 on Windows which I use for coding. It will start up on Linux, but it has all sorts of glitches.
Anyway, overall I like Windows XP better, but Linux is an interesting toy, and I may use it in the future. Maybe not. We'll see... I like Linux, because it can display and convert AVIF, WEBP, and HEIC images without an issue. In Windows XP, displaying WEBP images is difficult, and AVIF is nearly impossible.
* People often say that one of the selling points of Linux is that it doesn't get viruses. Well, Windows XP doesn't get viruses either. It's been many years since I last had a virus. I tweak my Windows, so it's pretty secure. ( Those tweaks are documented here: http://www.wzsn.net/xp ) Currently, I use Windows XP to basically everything. I shop online, write documents, check emails, surf the web, watch YouTube videos, save my pictures to my computer. Well, that's another one. When I connect my phone to my computer, copying files in Linux is a breeze. In Windows XP, it's sluggish and sometimes doesn't work. I think, this could be a driver issue or a design flaw. But Linux performs better when it comes to copying files from my phone. When I have to copy files from one folder to another folder on my hard drive, Windows XP performs better.
* Over the years, I have written a lot of JScripts and HTA programs, and they do not work on Linux. So, I began to learn Perl programming language, so I can control Linux, but Perl is such that you have to write a ton of stuff to accomplish the same that you can do in a few lines of JScript code.
* The start menu configuration on Linux is a nightmare. In Windows XP, I can just grab a menu item and move it or delete it or rename it. In Linux, the start menu is made up of several XML files, which describe the menu items. I had to spend a whole day trying to figure out how to move a single menu item from one place to another. There is a menu editor program that you can download, but it doesn't. Some things in Linux don't work, and many times you have to figure out the solution on your own, because nobody else knows either. That said, SparkyLinux is a very stable system, and it never crashed. I was able to use my Brother printer after downloading the Linux drivers from the Brother support site. I was able to use my Windows TTF fonts on Linux. But there is a learning curve. I had to use Google constantly to look up how to do this and how to do that.
* What I like about XP is when I click on Microsoft Word, it opens instantly. I don't have to wait a single second. In Linux, when I open LibreOffice, it takes at least 5-6 seconds to start.
* Unlike Windows, Linux has many different flavors and editions. They're called distros. I have tested about 20 of them, and I found that SparkyLinux LXQT is the closest to XP. It looks and feels like Windows XP. If you install it correctly, everything just works. Linux has all the video drivers, chipset drivers, and storage drivers included in the OS, so in most cases you don't have to worry about drivers. You can forget about drivers. Probably the most amazing thing about Linux is that you can copy the entire OS onto another hard drive and put it into another computer, and it will run without a problem. You don't need a serial number or activation or registration. The entire OS is designed so it can be copied and run anywhere. Once you install it, you never have to reinstall it, which is also a revolutionary idea.
* I like XP because it is fast. Many of the programs that I use open immediately. Some programs take one second to start up. On Linux, I can use still use some of my Windows programs, but they are slower and glitchy. For example, on Windows XP the paint program opens immediately. When I click on, it immediately starts. I don't have to wait a single second. It's there! On Linux, when I run Windows paint using wine, it takes 3-4 seconds for the program to start up.
* I like Linux because there are tons of software, which are all free. Almost every piece of paid software that is available for Windows has a free counterpart under Linux, which is great. If I had to do professional video editing or sound editing or modern software development, I would definitely switch over to Linux just to do that. In fact, right now my computer is set up so I have three SSDs. One of them holds all my data. Another one has Windows XP on it, the other has Linux. If I turn on my computer, it automatically starts Windows XP. If I press F12 to bring up the boot menu, I can select the other SSD, and Linux will start. I use a Dell Inspiron 530s which has 2.4GHz dual core processor, 3GB RAM, and Intel builtin video card, LAN, and it's connected to high-speed internet all the time.
* The Intel LAN drivers on Linux are glitchy. Linux will not properly load the driver every time during boot, so it has to be restarted. Most of the things you can do in Windows by clicking here and there is usually done by typing into a terminal window on Linux. So, you have to learn a lot of commands to access and change things on Linux. Most of the settings are not accessible by mouse clicks. That's also why I like Windows. I don't like typing too much.
* I have a couple of Windows programs which do not work on Linux. Not every Windows program works on Linux. For example, there's a program called Notepad2 on Windows which I use for coding. It will start up on Linux, but it has all sorts of glitches.
Anyway, overall I like Windows XP better, but Linux is an interesting toy, and I may use it in the future. Maybe not. We'll see... I like Linux, because it can display and convert AVIF, WEBP, and HEIC images without an issue. In Windows XP, displaying WEBP images is difficult, and AVIF is nearly impossible.
* People often say that one of the selling points of Linux is that it doesn't get viruses. Well, Windows XP doesn't get viruses either. It's been many years since I last had a virus. I tweak my Windows, so it's pretty secure. ( Those tweaks are documented here: http://www.wzsn.net/xp ) Currently, I use Windows XP to basically everything. I shop online, write documents, check emails, surf the web, watch YouTube videos, save my pictures to my computer. Well, that's another one. When I connect my phone to my computer, copying files in Linux is a breeze. In Windows XP, it's sluggish and sometimes doesn't work. I think, this could be a driver issue or a design flaw. But Linux performs better when it comes to copying files from my phone. When I have to copy files from one folder to another folder on my hard drive, Windows XP performs better.