I’m pretty stoked right now, so I decided to make a thread.
So, my little brother has a pretty darn old Gateway 2000 PC. It was my family’s first computer, that we bought in 1997. It was top of the line in it’s time - I believe it was purchased with 64 MB of RAM, an 8.5 GB Hard Disk, and a sub 500 mhz processor.
We’ve since upgraded the RAM to 128 MB, and upgraded from Windows 95 to Windows 98. Still pretty slow, but somewhat more reasonable for the day-to-day tasks of a technologically uninterested nine-year-old boy.
About a year ago, after having a wireless network installed in the house, we decided to have the serviceman configure a wireless adapter for my brother’s PC (which he used maybe once a month before this, to play Reader Rabbit, or a similar thrilling game from our “just bought a new PC” 1997 software shopping spree :)). So, a nice little USB wireless adapter was installed and configured in Windows 98, and worked for the duration of that day.
The next morning, upon booting up, there was no detection of the wireless adapter, and hence there was no way to bring up the internet. I checked the drivers, and they were there. None the less, the WWW was out of reach for that old box. We gave the serviceman a call, and he claimed that “the computer is too old,” and we “should consider upgrading.” So, we just left it. We didn’t feel like getting my brother a new computer all together, because he isn’t the enthusiastic computer geek that I am, and didn’t really complain about not having internet access. He just surfed some on my parents’ computer.
Just a few weekends ago, during a lazy Saturday morning, I decided to try Xubuntu on this computer that was only collection dust in my little bro’s bedroom. In case you’re not familiar, Xubuntu is a version of Ubuntu Linux that is optimized for low-spec machines. It features a smaller DE, and the simplest apps available. It seemed perfect. However, it once again did not work with the wireless adapter. Darn.
This morning, I had an inkling that maybe, just maybe, that wireless adapter would work with regular old Ubuntu, not Xubuntu. I looked up the adapter on a Linux hardware compatibility page, and sure enough, it is supported. Super!
I downloaded the Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon LiveCD, and booted to it. Bingo! The wireless applet popped right up, and our home network was immediately recognized! I’ve got Gutsy installing now…
Moral of the story? The newest version of Ubuntu worked flawlessly on a PC from a pre-Windows 98 era. Try that with Vista, or even XP! 
What’s more, it worked instantly with the wireless adapter, with not a single tweak or driver download. Whine all you want about fanboy-isms, but here’s a real-life example that Linux is just better sometimes.
