Hun-Speak

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March 04, 2003

Is It Time?

The other day I was thinking about upgrading my Linux installation to Mandrake 9.1 when it comes out. I made a backup of my /home and /etc directories so all my files and configuration information would be saved. As I thought about it, I wondered, "Why not go one step further? Why not eliminate Windows altogether?"

Right now I have two hard drives in my computer. The first one has a fully-patched version of Windows 98. The second has Mandrake 9. LILO (my bootloader) defaults to booting Mandrake unless I manually chose Windows. Realistically, I don't use Windows for much anymore. It's mainly for Quicken. Is that worth keeping the extra hard drive?

Since I've got my old box running Windows 98 for the kids games, I could put Quicken and any other Windows stuff I need on their box. Actually, I could slap my Windows drive in there since the one that is currently in their box is extremely old and very slow. I've got the two boxes networked together, so I don't even have to go downstairs to access it. I can just use Samba.

The only loss would be Windows games. My old box isn't powerful enough to play them anymore (although it might be able to handle Freelancer with a newer video card). Before the Freelancer demo came out, I hadn't played a game in Windows in months. The ones I mainly play--Unreal Tournament 2003, Quake III Arena, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and (coming soon!) Neverwinter Nights--all have Linux clients available. Doom III will have Linux support when it comes out.

The times I have been in Windows have been frustrating due to driver issues, random lockups, and garbage like that. Some would argue that it would be better if I got Windows XP, but if you think I'm going to drop several hundred dollars to upgrade my OS and my software, you've got another thing coming.

When you see the news on The Haus that Mandrake 9.1 final has been released, you know that the debate has begun. I'm leaning more and more towards dumping Windows. On those rare occasions that I need it, I'll have it downstairs. When I don't need it, I won't have to bother with it. My box will use less power and produce less heat. I'll save money by not buying games that I really don't need anyway. It seems like a win-win situation to me.