[GTALUG] Advice -- Building Debian 8 PC To Replace Win XP PC;

[Steve Petrie, P.Eng.]

Hello Hugh,

Thanks for your response.

My comments are inline below.

Steve

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "D. Hugh Redelmeier" <hugh at mimosa.com>
To: "Steve Petrie, P.Eng." <apetrie at aspetrie.net>; "GTALUG Talk"
<talk at gtalug.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2016 9:27 PM
Subject: Re: [GTALUG] Advice -- Building Debian 8 PC To Replace Win XP
PC;


>| From: "Steve Petrie, P.Eng. via talk" <talk at gtalug.org>
>
> | I donlt really have a few weeks to spare. I need to get the Linux PC
> up
> | and running, so I can get back to the rest of my life.
>
> If you are not used to Linux, and you are used to Windows XP, and you
> don't have weeks to spare, you really should think carefully about
> switching to Linux.
>

Sorry for causing the confusion.

There is actually no hard deadline date when my Windows XP system goes
offline. I have the "luxury" of keeping the Win XP system running for as
long asI like. Until it dies from a major hardware failure, and it will
die eventually. The Dell WIn XP system is already 12 years old, and Win
XP is way too obsolete and too insecure now.

So my motivation for getting the new Linux PC up and running now, is
that it's going to be way easier to port files from a functional Win XP
system to a new Linux PC, than it will be to struggle to get the Win XP
stuff from a dead Win XP system.

> If you have a bunch of applications that you are used to, you may well
> find the Linux substitutes unsatisfactory.  After all, you have likely
> invested a bunch of time in learning the old programs.
>

Good point. You have inspired me to make a list.

The two main applications I use are email (Outlook Express) and web
browsing (Firefox, Comodo Dragon).

The first big porting task will be to convert my Outlook Express mail
folders (2.38 GB) to Thunderbird on Linux. And then start using the
Linux PC for my email.

I hope I can find satisfactory open source software for the porting
task. If not, I'm thinking of writing my own export & import utilities
(or paying someone else to write them), using the standard
Microsoft-provided API on Win XP for access to OE mail folders.

The absolutely vital objective is to get a 100% reliable dump of all the
OE mail folders exported into an equivalent Win XP directory structure
containing *.eml files. With rock-solid byte counts and checksuming.
This will provide a very open and accessible version of all my email
history, that faithfully replicates the OE mail folder structure. Copy
this export over to the Linux PC, import it into Thunderbird, and then
run an independent audit check of the Thundrbird mail folders, of the
byte counts and checksumming (if feasible). Call me paranoid.

Web browsing -- I understand that there are some really great web
browsers for Linux, that will make me weep with joy, as compared with my
Firefox experience under Win XP (even allowing tor my slow dial-up
Internet link).

Other apps -- although I have accumulated a vast quantity of different
applications on the Win XP system, most of them are unused.

Mainly I need:

-- a replacement for Word and Excel in Windows Office 2003 (!!), I've
already switched to using Open Office (Writer, Calc, Impress) on my Win
XP system (Open Office Impress in particular, hugely "impresses" me by
producing presentations that are rock-solid compatible with MS
PowerPoint . The OO apps are not as slick as MS Office apps, but they
are sufficiently useable for my purposes, that my "inner rebel" can cope
with any rough edges, for the pleasure of not paying Microsoft for an
Office upgrade.

-- C / C++ compilers (available on Linux);

-- PostgreSQL (available on Linux);

-- HTTP server for website development (PHP, HTML, SQL) I'm using Apache
HTTP server on Win XP. I'm planning to use Nginx (available on Linux) on
the production Linux server (in the cloud), so I will install Nginx on
the new Linux PC.

-- ftp client, tty client, ssl client, vnc client (should all be
available on Linux);

-- OpenSCAD solid modelling tool www.openscad.org (available on Linux);

> You may even have important data in a proprietary format, tied to a
> program that isn't available on Linux.
>

I do have many MS Office documents, that I occasionally need to
reference. But I do not need to convert them all in some massive swoop.

> Switching environments is often a challenge and a learning experience.
> It is a bit risky to do it in a rush.
>

Good advice -- be assured -- I do not underestimate the challenges
involved. Fortunately for me, I am a "retired" softeare engineer.

Hope I clarified above -- there really is no "rush" at all. Except for
the fact that an older-type guy like me, is running out of life
expectancy :)

The only real rush is getting the Win 7 (OEM). Because I believe that
Microsoft has announced that Win 7 will not be available after (1? /
31?) October 2016. I want Win 7 for its support for Win XP
compatibility. Win 7 will be the last time I pay money to Microsoft.

> Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things in favour of Linux.
> That's what's been on my desktop since before Windows XP.
>

Lucky you. Soon, lucky me, too.

I agree that Linux does offer advantages over Windows.

Example: the open source Open Modelica app www.openmodelica.org for
modelling physical systems.

On Windows, Open Modelica requires OMDev (with MSYS) to emulate Unix
functionality. Open Modelica, being a native *nix app will be less
complicated to install and should run better, on Linux.

> ================
>
> Assuming that you are intending to use a legitimate copy of Windows 7,
> you may well find it cheaper to buy a suitable machine from a big PC
> manufacturer.  Their incremental cost for Windows is apparently close
> to $0 rather than the $100+ you have to pay to add it to your own
> build.
>

Yes -- I absolutely intend to install a legitimate Windows 7 (OEM).

It seems that Microsoft does not permit system builders to quote a
separate price for Windows 7 (OEM). The  builder just quietly includes
the cost in the overall price, and pays Microsoft in the background.

Without an explicit price quotation for the Win 7 (OEM) on a retail
system build, there is no room for bargaining over the Windows 7 price.
This is the Bill Gates style that made him so rich that he has a 20-car
underground parking garage for guests, under his mansion ...

> A machine you build yourself is quite possibly better, but I don't
> know that you'd actually notice the difference.
>
> (I have assembled machines for myself but more often buy off-the-shelf
> machines when I see good sales.)
>

Yes -- this is the big decision I have to make -- build from parts or
buy a pre-built system.

> ================
>
> Just to amplify what Len said:
>
> - external serial modems are very standard and well-supported
>
> - FAX is less standard.  With care, you can select a supported modem.
>  But FAX has died, thank goodness.  About once a year I find it would
>  be handy to send a FAX, but it is usually possible to just say that
>  you cannot do it.
>

I never send faxes.

> - I don't know about external USB modems.  With luck, they emulate
>  serial modems.  I have one in my cupboard "just in case".
>
> - avoid "WinModems".  Those require proprietary drivers.  Some have
>  been reverse-engineered but I would not trust the drivers to have
>  been well-maintained (my opinion is not based on experience).
>
> I would not expect serial modems to be worth the bother.
>

All good advice.

> ================
>
> I have no idea of the longevity or robustness of blu-ray disks.
> Consider
> diversifying to external HDDs.
>

My concern with external HDD is their potential for susceptibility to
damage by mechanical shock.

> The LG drive supports "M-DISC" media.  They supposedly have very long
> life.
>

I did look at M-DISC. Very impressive, great for massive permanent
long-term archive storage. But not a reuseable medium.

All my archival data resides on the HDD. The cost of the M-DISC media is
prohibitive for my backup methodology, which involves twice yearly full
backups, and incremental backups in between. I really need rewriteable
media.

> ================
>
> Don't retail Processors come with coolers?  Generally, they are OK
> (not outstanding) -- good enough.
>

True -- retail processors do come with passive coolers (finned heat
sinks) and cheap noisy little fans. OK for usage that is not 24/7.

But heat is the great enemy of electronics. So I did a lot of research
to find a suitable fan-based cooler (with sealed heat circulation
pipes). Because I want to be sure that my new Linux PC will run cool and
reliable for many many 24-hour days, even at 100% CPU load, during July
and August in my non-air-conditioned appartment. Call me paranoid.

> ================
>
> 2 x 4G RAM is a waste of memory sockets.  Go for higher density.
>

Others have mentioned this too. Makes good sense.

I will change the spec to 16 GB and assure expandability to 32 GB.

> ================
>
> debian (quirk: no capital letter on the front) is a good OS.  It might
> not be the best intro to Linux.  People seem to recommend Mint.  I've
> never used it.
>

Oh -- I didn;t know about the debian capitalization culture -- thanks
for the tip.

Yes -- it seems that debian is the Linux OS for conservative boring
users (like me:) who focus obsessively on reliability and prefer to
avoid the bleeding edge.

> If you don't have a broadband internet connection, all sorts of things
> that I don't notice might become problems.  Like updates.
>

On the new Linux PC, I'll install the debian Linux from ISO on optical
media. Updates could be impossibly slow over dial-up. Time will tell.

I do plan on upgrading to a DSL connection on the new Linux PC. But I
want to try the dial-up first, because that's all I use on the Win XP
system, and I don't want to have to mess with switching the Win XP PC
over to use DSL

> ================
>
> Good luck and have fun.

Already am having fun -- especially on talk at gtalug.org ...