How to Configure an Ubuntu Linux Computer for Less Than $200

I watched maybe 1 minute of the 10-minute video. He bought a huge monitor from geeks.com and used an old computer lying around. He could've used the monitor he had and spent $0 ...

I picked up two monitors at a local Goodwill, 1280x1024@60Hz, one IBM, one Dell, for $5 each.

They were nice about letting me test them before I bought them. I took my Eee PC, plus a standard AC power cord for the monitors. They tested fine, obviously.

Lots of places sell refurbished off-lease computers for $100 or less (the place I've dealt with is http://www.intechraoutlet.com ). You can buy a refurbished off-lease monitor for about the same amount. So you really can build a complete Linux system for just over $200 with shipping.

Don't be naive ... it's Microsoft's definition of Open at work here.

Opps, hit the wrong thread. It was meant for "Looks interesting but ... "

It works here, too.

"Looks interesting but... *snerk* $200? Bwahaha. You're going to build a Windows-capable system for $200?"

Followed by hysterical-hyena laughter.

(Wasn't "Hysterical Hyena" an Ubuntu release? If not, it should have been.)

I recently took out a rather old Compaq, with a 250 MHz Cyrix processor. I put Tiny Core on it, hooked up an old monitor, and for $0 I had a working computer. Tiny Core works great, though YouTube is a bit much for it. For visiting LXer, checking email, or typing in Abiword, it works great.

> You're going to build a Windows-capable system for $200?"

Sure. As long as you don't specify the version of Windows. Any machine less than 5 years old should be able to run Windows 2000 (or an even earlier version if you desire).

Something that would really be useful would be a Windows equivalent to DOSBox tailored for running old Windows games that won't work in newer versions of Windows.

I'm sorry - "Windows capable" is an Oxymoron

Oh the gratuitous Windows-bashing! Come on folks, Windows is capable of all kinds of things. It can boot. Sometimes. It provides a warm, welcoming, fertile environment for homeless malware. How many of you would adopt a nasty little Trojan horse, or an unlovely virus? Ha! I bet none of you. So there you are. Right there, there, and there.

Tuxxy: Are you saying that we will know when the Linux desktop has arrived -- it will be able to run a test suite of Malware products, viruses? I can hear it now "The Linux desktop has arrived! Linux now capable of running Gator!"

Several years ago, Robin Miller (co-founder of Slashdot) tried to infect a Linux system with several Windows malwares. When he failed miserably, he said Linux must not be a very capable system. All tongue-in-cheek, of course.

Sadly with the increase in compatibility via wine, I have discovered that there really are windows virii that can survive happily there.

So if you run Wine and that part of your system picks up viruses or other malware - what happens, do you have a hosed Wine area that you have to wipe out?

Would this affect Linux files that you access through Wine-enabled Windows apps?

Do Wine users need to be running antivirus? And would Linux antivirus apps such as clamav offer any protection in this regard?