This is just a short little feel good post. About 7 years ago I gave away my prize possession to my brother in law. My beast of a desktop then. I call it a beast, but in reality you might imagine that cat looking in the mirror and seeing a lion meme.

When I handed it over, initially it was running Windows XP. But soon it started given hassles and I would constantly be called out to fix a computer riddled with malware. He would let his kids on it, and within a month, the problem repeated. Browsers just full of toolbars, all kinds of crapware, spyware, trojans and god knows what, even with Anti virus and Spyware, nothing seemed to help.

I got annoyed and decided “You’re getting Linux”.

I can’t remember the exact version of Mint I installed, could it be 10? I honestly don’t remember, but since installing Mint, that was the last time I’ve ever had to deal with a technical call from my brother in law.

So roughly 6.5 years that exact same install has been running. How exactly it has survived in 6.5 years without 1 reinstall or complaint is a god damn miracle.

He’s also the type of user who can only click, and can barely type. He uses the web browser, watches some movies, and checks his email. Occasionally downloading the odd joke presentation. He has no idea what a terminal is, how to sudo apt-get, or any other cool stuff. The best way to describe him would be utterly content.

About once a year I ask him how his computer is, and each time he gives this rhetorical kind of “Yup it’s fine” almost like he completely trusts it by now, and I am sure he does.

When asked if he wants an upgrade, he replies, no it’s fine as it is 🙂 God only knows about the kernel optimisations he’s missing out on and other stuff, but who cares, he loves that computer, and since its running an OS that was lightning fast on it when the hardware was fresh, it is still fast, and hasn’t slowed down at all with enhanced updates.

When that computer lasts 10 years. I am officially getting 2 Penguin outfits made up, and inviting 2 hot strippers over to his house for a lapdance and a show to celebrate.