Ubuntu MATE Brings the Speed Back to Ubuntu

This was exactly what I said when Ubuntu MATE was announced. Why? We already have it in Linux Mint MATE.

Speaking of Linux Mint MATE... I've been going through my storage of old computers and parts - trying to do something with the stuff or toss it in the garbage. Anyway, I have four older PCs that were either missing power supplies, memory, hard drives, or any combination of those items. I was able to find most of the missing items in my parts bins.

Well, one of these PCs is a 2006 Dell B110 with a 2.53 GHz Celeron D processor (which was slow even in 2006). After adding a like-new 350W Antec PSU, 2GB of PC3200 DDR memory, and an 80GB WD IDE hard drive, I installed 32-bit Linux Mint 17.1 MATE. I was worried about the integrated intel graphics, but it runs surprisingly well. It even plays Youtube videos fullscreen on a 17" 1280x1024 LCD monitor. Still, I disabled the Compiz bits, along with compositing, to avoid any potential issues.

So, what am I going to do with it? It is going into a clubhouse at an RV Resort, for public use. It's free to them, and cheap advertising for me. And on the desktop, I placed a PDF letter titled, "About This Computer".

Here is most of what it says...

Quoting:Hello,

The computer you are using was found next to a trash dumpster. It was sold by Dell in 2006. The owner probably never imagined it would still be in use by others today.

Upon examination, the system would no longer boot. A virus had destroyed critical files on the hard drive. The owner probably lost a lot of valuable data, if he didn't have a recent backup.

All that was needed to revive this PC was to reformat the hard drive and reinstall an operating system on it. But, why not put a safer and faster OS on it this time?

So, we installed Linux Mint on this PC. Linux is immune to Windows viruses and malware, because it's not Windows. Linux is safer and more secure than Windows by design. In fact, there is no anti-virus software running on this computer. This PC doesn't need to have it's drive cleaned every month, like some other operating systems. In fact, it will still be running as fast as it is today (barring any unforeseen hardware failure) – 5 years from now.

Linux is the operating system used by NASA, Wall Street, Internet backbone servers, Google Android phones and Chromebooks. The largest and fastest computers on earth run Linux.

We are happy to provide this PC for your use. We are also proud to be your local computer service provider.

This computer is an example of how we can restore older computers and make them useful again. If you are having computer problems, or wish to stop having computer problems, please call us today.

We also provide new customized computers, websites, blogs, data recovery, local area networking and data backup assistance.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Just my way of promoting Linux to the public, and hopefully getting more clients.