It's been a while since I've used this box for various reasons. Things in the Linux world have certainly picked up and I'd like to share my experiences. I don't need the latest gizmo gear to satisfy my computing needs and the last version of Windows we have in the family is Win98-the first edition and this is still serving us well. Seems to be less nalware for it too. This machine is running Redhat 7.3. Window Maker is my window manager of choice. It's a lot less resource hungry than Gnome or KDE and looks cool IMHO (which is what really matters) I have a couple of modern web browsers, instant messengers (yes I can comunicate with my MSN and Yahoo! freinds using aMSN and Yahoo! Messenger for unix) , time management software, spreadsheet, wordprocessor, graphics and many more usefull applications. Why an older Linux.distro-BECAUSE!!. http://www.fedoralegacy.org/ has security updates so no issues there. So it can't play the latest and greatest wingames. So what? The grandkids bring their X-Box over and plug it into the TV. Happy pingy computing to you all!! Mark

Forgot to mention they are both networked and share files quite happily. Hell even have the win98 box serving the internet to the Linux box. Bit backward I now but it is functioning pecfectly fine. The reason I haven't latched on to the wireless craze is because batteries require continuos replacement. Ok you can have rechargable ones, but thats still another expense/maintenence task I can live without. Once a wiring is set up it's there for good. One less security issue as well. Also Linux is a good way at recycling that older kit deemed obsolete by market forces. It's also so a good way to learn a lot more about ones PC if you are that way inclined. As with any Operating system you need to make sure the hardware is compatible. A no brainer really. Hey even the grand-kids can use Linux. I'm listening to my favorate music as I type this. So if you have an old PC gathering dust in the closet/attic/garage. Try something different. Even if you don't like Linux in the end at least you've given it a shot. Try not to be intimidated by it, one step at a time. I felt the same when I first started using PCs. There are plenty of distributions out there to choose from, Linux User Groups and sites with plenty of information and helpfull forums like this one. As I've found out you don't need the latest and greatest kernel/distro either to get good usage out of Linux. Once set up the way you like it, after much research and head scracking I may add, Linux tends to stay that way. Ok it does hickup every now and again but no worse than the cousins XP box with all the current updates ;). Bit more about my setup. I'm using Gnome commander as my file manager, SAMBA/LinNeigborhood for SMB network tasks, Abiword,Opera/Mozilla browsers with lynx as a backup, Gnumeric, VNC for remote computer management, Gimp, the stanard command line utils, Synaptic/Yum for updates, Evolution/Ical for time management tasks, the standrd Gnome 1.2 games for time wasting-Gnome 1.2 libraries of course and the KDE libraries to support Ark for decompressing files graphically. I've tried to whittle files/applications down to those I actually need for day to day tasks. Similar to what I've done on the Win98 box.

i been tinkering with Linux 2 years & i like it. I still consider myself a newbie. I ran RH 7.3 & was very happy with it on my 400mhz 384MB Ram PC, before my present distro which is Libranet 2.7 Classic , my favorite so far of the many distros. I like XFCE as a window manager. My machine is very fast with Libranet, a little faster than using $H 7.3. For those with Dialup, this is a good place to order CD's of Linux. Cheap prices & excellent service http://www.edmunds-enterprises.com/linux/

Dude why do you write this post? You are a f---ing moron! Did you just write this post to brag? Who cares what you are running. "Oh look at me, I'm running outdated software on outdated hardware." I hope your 98 box gets a horrible virus that stops your *nix box from connecting to the internet. Which is so odd it's not even funny. Spend the money and get a cheap router you dumb f---. In your setup you have to boot the 98 box just to get online with the *bix one. How silly.

How sad, most people who use old computers are glad to get information on using perhaps an old mmx p1 to the fullest. maybe with win98 or an old linux distro. more power to hmmm for doing so. I'm sorry many of us dont need a 5.5.GHZ. machine to surf the web or play games for those of you who want to buy the latest hardware every two weeks,GO back to the store and give all your money to the eveready upgrade venders. Many of us like running old or have to run old computers.