[Harp-L] Close to making the change,,again

["Robert Laughlin" <harmonicaman1968@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm close to making the switch to Linux, if only because I'm retired, on a fixed/limited income, and wish to convert to a free OS, with less vulnerability than Windows. 

I probably shouldn't go with one of the "edgier" distros, based on Slack or Debian and difficult if not impossible for the newbie to navigate. I have no desire to punish myself into learning something, though I assume that it must give those who have the cajones to use the more basic distros a real boost in the area of self confidence, and a more technically powerful perspective. 

I'm still using my old faithful Windows XP Pro, SP3, and am using a Shuttle motherboard circa 2002 or so. It's only a USB 1.0, but it works, and I've kept it limping along with a program called "NoScript" for safety sake. It allows me to control what scripts are allowed and which are not.

I have several drives, both virtual and physical. I have a 20 gig sector on my main drive set aside for "whatever", apart from the other sectors, which host W2000 Pro and XP Pro, respectively. I'll have to install Linux in that empty sector, and include it in my boot choices when I fire up the box.

Anyway, I'm considering trying a Linux version, and am tossed between Arch (suggested by some as a means of "forcing" the beginner to "learn command-line") and Mint, or "Puppy", something simple, but am in no way familiar enough with the territory to make a firm decision on it at this point. 

I've read that some discourage going straight into the "easy" versions, with a GUI emphasis and KDE or Gnome or whatever. But maybe with me that's not immediately possible, due to time constraints. 

But me, a retired electrician with "skills" and a brain, I really want something to get up and running quickly, since I do use my computer for banking, browsing, collecting (Pinterest, etc.), accessing and communicating, and can't afford much downtime since I'm using it to pay bills and respond to emails.

I have a PCI card in this box giving me (allegedly) USB 2.0, as far as USB is concerned. I have several spare USB thumb drives, 4 gigs up to 32 gigs. 

Just wanted to know what this group, or individuals within the group would suggest for me, a lurking newbie. All the "commands" I know at present are "ping", "tracert", and "del C" (lol), so I'll have to come up to speed eventually if I want to master this realm.

Suggestions?

As is the usual situtation, it's not that there's no information out there, it's that there's way too much information out there, and I could use some help filtering through all of the opinions, including, perhaps, some of your own,,haha.

The idea of more "control" attracts me, and yet, there are many times I just want the thing to work, do its job without much of a learning curve. The downside of that is obvious, in that the less one knows, the more dependent one is on others, creating more vulnerability. 

So,,,  ?

Bob Laughlin