[ale] open source solutions for Win 98 on an old laptop

[Geoffrey]

Daniel Howard wrote:
> OK, I know this is going to lead to some interesting responses, but it's 
> actually a serious question.  I've got a donated Toshiba Satellite Pro 
> 225CDS (Pentium CPU, 80MB RAM, 1 GB HDD) I'm working with again because 
> I have a needy person who would like to sell some of their stuff on 
> eBay.  I can't seem to turn it into a thin client (no built in Ethernet, 
> no CD ROM drive, only USB 1.1 and a floppy drive), and I've tried Puppy 
> Linux and DSL (Damn Small Linux) on it with a variety of issues in both: 
> Puppy can't launch X on the screen (and I've tried every combination of 
> xorg.conf fixes I could find), and DSL is really slow on the Dillo web 
> browser, word processor and spreadsheet (believe it or not, MS Office 97 
> loads pretty fast and runs well on this machine), plus DSL also freezes 
> up after a few hours of being left on.  As a stand alone machine for 
> this person, I'm really tempted to leave it as a Win98 platform with an 
> earlier version of Opera as web browser (say 6.0), and ClamAV and/or 
> Avast antivirus, both of which still run in 98, and just put newer USB 
> drivers on it so new USB memory sticks can be used.  The intended user 
> is likely to use an ad-supported dialup service with their handful of 
> free hours per month until she gets enough money to upgrade Internet 
> access and/or the PC.  But this would be a start for her to get some 
> revenue flowing, and you guys know I hate to toss one that could be put 
> to use.
> 
> With 80 MB RAM and only 1 GB HDD, any other suggestions of Linux 
> versions to try on it?

Slack.  Slackware has never failed me when loading it on low end hardware.

> If I do leave it Win98, any other other open 
> source or other recommendations to protect it (e.g., shutting down any 
> specific TCP/IP ports, etc.)  I think if she could go to Google for 
> gmail and eBay to sell stuff, as well as write letters for job 
> interviews, and do spreadsheets for budget minding, it'd be very useful.

Security wise, you're screwed with win98, it's no longer supported by 
Microsoft (July 2006).  I would expect that if you stick that puppy on 
the internet, it will get infected and/or cracked.

-- 
Until later, Geoffrey

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
  - Benjamin Franklin