I just finished volunteering at the local library, where five Dell Optiplex All-in-One computers were replaced by several newer All-in-One PCs running Windows 11. The library’s tech support does not support Linux, so the older PCs, which have i5 CPUs and 8 GB of RAM, were deemed obsolete. These Dell computers were manufactured in January … Read more
I was volunteering at the local public library, where I find myself frequently these days. The library has some older Dell OptiPlex All-in-One desktops that have been in service for over 10 years. They came to the library as Windows 8 machines. The computers were delivered to the library in January 2015, and they have … Read more
I got a telephone call this morning from a person I had never met before. He’d been referrred to me by a mutual friend who I had helped with a technology problem a couple of weeks ago. This fellow said, “my computer is no longer getting security updates and a technician with my internet service … Read more
Last week, Windows 10 users faced a dilemma: transition to Windows 11 and potentially purchase a new computer, or embrace the growing Linux community. Personally, I’ve been using Linux as my primary operating system for over two decades and have been an advocate for it ever since. Just last week I was helping a client … Read more
A trip to Denver and the System76 factory in 2018 afforded me a chance to meet their technology team and look at the products they were building. One of those was the mini computer they call the Meerkat. I said to the engineer that I spoke to, “That looks like an Intel NUC.” He said, … Read more
A few weeks ago, someone at the faith community I attend asked for my help logging into their computer. I suspected it might have been hacked, so I created a Windows 11 boot disk to rescue the computer. The device was a four-year-old Dell Latitude 5320, which was running Windows 11 but not very efficiently. … Read more
I’m always shopping for laptops to outfit with Linux and one of my favorite stops is DellRefurbished.com. On the weekend while surfing that site I came upon a good deal on a Dell Latitude 5410 laptop. The (new to me machine) came with an i7 processor. Using the ‘inxi’ command it easy to see that … Read more
I volunteer with Meals on Wheels once a week, and one of the clients on my route is a man my age. We frequently spend time visiting when I bring his meal to him. Last week, when I stopped, he asked me if I could help him put his laptop computer back in working order. … Read more
An urgent plea for assistance reached me from our local library director concerning a patron grappling with an unresponsive Dell laptop. Upon arriving at the library, I encountered the early-morning visitor facing this issue. Activating the laptop, it became evident that it refused to boot, displaying no prompts to access the startup disk via F1 … Read more
I have owned several MacBooks and purchased one for my wife a few years ago. She’s not a power user, mainly utilizing it for shopping, email, and discovery. As it approaches the end of its life, each new OS upgrade renders it less usable. Although my wife has never used a Linux computer, transitioning might … Read more
