XP will not connect to wired network

Discussion in 'Windows XP Networking' started by PA-WOODCHUCK, May 23, 2018.

  1. PA-WOODCHUCK

    trimis

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    After having discussed what is required to burn a disc with Elizabeth (like a twenty-step process), I find no big need to do so, plus add on the process of downloading, messing with the MD5 checksum, etc., and I'm even less inclined. Maybe the day will come when something provides sufficient motivation for me to change my mind, and learn this stuff...but maybe not. I paid over $70 for the cheapest of my used XP Pro install discs, having only one activation left. I think I can afford $10 for a Linux CD, considering the fact OSDisc knows how to do this stuff (I've bought over twenty CDs/DVDs, and not one dud), and does the MD5 junk too. Convenience and reliability (and zero irritation for me) is quite worth that price. Speaking of which, my choices for Puppy are:
    Bionicpup 8.0
    Xenialpup 7.5
    Tahrpup 6.0.5
    Slacko Puppy 6.3.2
    Google has not been cooperative in providing any useful info for choosing one or the other. I'm running Dell Optiplex 755 /w 8GB RAM, in case you would like to recommend one as best for my rig. If I'm going to test-drive Puppy again, I'd like to get it the best chance to impress me, as the previous two did not.

    At the very least it has to be internet ready without me messing with it, as are MX Linux, Linux Mint and TAILS. Puppy 4.2.1 failed that test, as did the other version. I vaguely recall a series of questions about the 'internet connection', one of which I seemed to of guessed wrong. I had been using Puppy to teach myself Linux, but after about two months of no internet, I lost interest. At that point I was ready to call it quits, til I stumbled across MX Linux and later Linux Mint. The first two versions of TAILS I tried failed the test too. The guy at the computer repair shop gave me a TAILS install CD marked '64_3.01', which works perfectly. As for MX vs Linux Mint, I found the latter slightly less easy and intuitive than MX Linux....just slightly, but that edge was all it took.

    My opinion would be that once upon a time Linux was much better than Windows, but that was long ago before Torvalds and his cadre sold out to the TCG, Entertainment Industry (and their DRM demands), etc. Now Linux is only slightly better than Windows, but that edge will not last, as Torvalds seems to be headed towards copying the worse elements of M$. Only a matter of time before the kernel becomes infected (or should I say infested?) by the same corporate malware that Vista, Win 7, and especially Win 10 carry.

    It is not specifically the "rather 'snotty' attitude" of the CLI elitists at Arch (or similar distros) that I was referring to , but the unrealistic attitude of them that want the MS expats, yet seem entirely clueless how to attract us, and upon failing to do so, blame us. There are many such distros, and I suspect I tried most of them, yet so far, only three passed muster. Linux has a huge learning curve, even with those three distros that got it right. Probably the worst is learning which apps mirror those in Windows, and how to use each one. The Table of Equivalents (http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html) is some help for the former, but the actual use of each seems to be relegated to trial and error....a major flaw in the Linux community.

    I have no problem pushing Linux onto others, nor pushing XP Pro either. Considering the atrocious alternatives, and the rabid fanboys pushing these alternatives, I stand by my advice to have either two HDDs or a dual-boot scenario, for both XP Pro and a Linux distro. We differ on the topic of XP Pro. I have had it running at least five hours a day, at least six days a week, for the past couple years. I go wherever the CA nazis have not blockaded me from, and now that I have Mypal & Centaury browsers, I can reach most of their forboden URLs too....and yes, that includes those dens of iniquity (and malware) porn sites. In two years I've gotten the sum total of 2 or 3 PUPs, probably from downloading at Softpedia or MajorGeeks. I keep hearing how XP is "no longer safe" from M$, yet where are are the viruses, trojans, rootkits, and assorted malware long ago promised to overwhelm my PC, and turn it into a botnet? Apparently everywhere but actually in my PC, or perhaps such only really exists in the wetdreams of M$. So long as such musings continue to reflect fantasy, and not reality, I will continue to be cynical. Maybe when I have my tech guy over and he finds a nasty, or I haul my massive PC to the computer repair shop for the yearly checkup, and they ferret out a hidden enemy, I'll be more openminded. Until then I will consider the idea XP is no longer safe to be a prime example of that old adage "If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed", and yes, considering the sordid history of both M$ and Lil Billie, I've no doubt either would resort to such a propaganda technique to pad their coffers. That said, I'll admit I no longer use XP Pro for online shopping/banking. Better safe than sorry. Using MX Linux for that costs me nothing, so no reason not to. For everything else, I got no problem nor paranoia using XP Pro...and I'm an old tinhat paranoid kinda geezer.

    Right now I use MX Linux and TAILS in LiveCD mode, but MX Linux is not really designed specifically for that, and TAILS is iffy for online shopping/banking. I'd definitely like to have Puppy or some other mini-distro for this. Right now the only option I have found, but not yet tried, is browserlinux (https://www.browserlinux.com/).
     
    trimis, May 11, 2019
    #41
  2. PA-WOODCHUCK

    Mike_Walsh

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    Hallo, trimis.

    Good to hear you keep a very open mind regarding all this. Okay, I've been solely a Linux user for the past 5 years or so, yet I run a fair number of Windows apps under WINE. To my way of thinking, there's absolutely no shame in using the best tool for the job, regardless of platform.

    And yes, I find myself agreeing with both of the points you made. Despite Linux being an awesome way of keeping older hardware still useful, you're right when you say that the Linux community in general has problems when it comes to not only attracting, but keeping hold of Windows 'refugees'. 'Customer service' is not one of their strong points, not helped to any extent by the degree of fragmentation & lack of standardization between the major distros. They all want to do the same things in slightly different ways.

    I, too, think that all the dire prognostications regarding XP were totally unfounded. The oft-trumpeted warnings about a tsunami of malware hitting XP users did indeed come to naught, and was in all likelihood simply a way to frighten people into parting with even more of their hard-earnt pennies. M$ is nothing if not a money-making organization, first & foremost.....and I think the realization of just what a resilient OS they'd built with XP kinda shocked them.

    My own case was quite simply that I'd become fed-up with the constant battles with Windows maintenance, and yearned for a change.....probably fuelled by the fact that I've always relished a challenge. I've been messing around with these boxes of black magic since the late '70s, and have what would be best described as an enquiring mind, coupled with a love of customization and of finding off-beat solutions to 'problems'. I'm unquestionably a 'lateral thinker'!


    Mike. ;)
     
    Mike_Walsh, May 12, 2019
    #42
  3. PA-WOODCHUCK

    trimis

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    Don't know just how openminded I am, but probably a lot more than the creeps at raymond.cc and bleepingcomputer, where I was banned for not allowing them to cower me into dropping XP Pro, and for tearing apart their arguments for why I should. Dissidents are far fewer these days, and tolerated far less. I'd say the reasons for an XP user adding Linux to his repertoire is the same as learning a second language, or adding a new skill. It don't hurt, and may one day come in handy.

    As I see it, the problem is not so much lack of ''Customer service'' as laziness. There are likely millions of Linux users. I find it difficult to believe there is no one able to write a how-to on using abiword, gnus,lftp, etc., as was done for GIMP, Inkscape, or mariadb....nor anyone to write a how-to on using their distro, as was done for MX Linux. The Linux community seems to believe that Windows expats will be so desperate to jump ship they will gladly do the research to find which distro best suits, and then be content to muddle around on a trial'n'error basis, til they learn how to use it. Well, I'll grant that's basically what I'm doing, but I'd bet few are willing to do so. Differences between distros is not the problem, so much as the lack of instructional material on how to use the given distro. Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc., has entire books written on them, while MX Linux has at least some instructional materials....many distros have nothing. Sorta like making a fancy new kind of PC for sale, then not being bothered to write any sort of how-to-use-it, or how-to-set-it-up instructions.
     
    trimis, May 13, 2019
    #43
    cleverscreenname likes this.
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