Post B4fYkTKVbiAboRCdKy by purple@nya.social
 (DIR) More posts by purple@nya.social
 (DIR) Post #B4fUTT7ej1TEQipNFQ by codemonkeymike@fosstodon.org
       4 likes, 5 repeats
       
       For many people, the #Linux vs #Windows vs #Mac debate is a privilege — it assumes you can choose. But working with the Computer Upcycle Project, I've seen the real choice is often Linux vs no computer at all.~95% of donated computers are "too old" for Windows 11 or macOS. Linux installs on them anyway, adding 10+ years of life to machines #Microsoft and #Apple  called trash.This isn't Linux vs Windows. It's Linux vs e-waste.
       
 (DIR) Post #B4fUTTLTtcWt7bIPnU by vwestlife@mastodon.social
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @codemonkeymike Older versions of Windows and Mac OS install on them anyway, too. (I'm typing this from a computer running Windows XP.)
       
 (DIR) Post #B4fUTToY9XmWZktd6e by codemonkeymike@fosstodon.org
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       @joeress this was a thought that popped into my head while listening to @latenightlinux
       
 (DIR) Post #B4fYkTKVbiAboRCdKy by purple@nya.social
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @vwestlife@mastodon.social @codemonkeymike@fosstodon.org brave to bring it on the internet :\(yes, old crap is still in the wild)
       
 (DIR) Post #B4fzOZ7i5G2uAkzkEi by anatudor@mastodon.social
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       @vwestlife @codemonkeymike I have tried that for my dad. Win 7 install worked fine, true, but then using it didn't... at all. Couldn't even get it to connect to WiFi and he works remotely, so he needs that. Maybe someone who's a computer person could have done it, but I'm not one, my dad even less so and can't afford to pay for that. So then Zorin OS it was. Everything I couldn't get working on Win 7 worked right out of the box. My dad has a working computer instead of a dead one.
       
 (DIR) Post #B4p9ncRTd4wRfZStwe by hyc@mastodon.social
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       @codemonkeymike is this an example of "worse is better" ?
       
 (DIR) Post #B4p9ncr06BMGwjPHjE by Tock@corteximplant.com
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       @hyc @codemonkeymike Especially "newer is not always better".  ("Almost Human" was such a great TV Show.)Windows 11's clarion call back in 2021 was "hardware vulnerabilities have changed the game."  Here in 2026, AI backed exploits are impacting cybersecurity in a manner that resembles the rein of Caligula. Now consider the quantum computing threat that almost no one is talking about thanks to AI. This is essentially a promise of remaking encryption from the ground up... Making everything a degree harder and slower online for all. No hardware choices are reasonably going to stop those issues.  Then throw in RAMpocalypse: Prices skyrocketing on storage and RAM, but not just RAM, CPU shortages are next.  AI datacenters are eating up the consumer supply, threatening to destroy the entire tech market for computers below $500 (I'd argue $1,000 with Trump in office)... so it's all a wash anyway.TL;DR: When the decision is "have a laptop that isn't perfect, or have nothing at all", fuck it.  Keep going with Linux.