I am writing this post on an older IBM thinkpad T30 running Xubuntu. Xunbuntu is a flavor of Linux that is easy to install and meant to run on older machines that don’t have the same resources as newer ones.  So far it is fast, clean, and pretty.  The interface is Mac-like with frequently used programs in a customizable dock.  I haven’t even had time to play with all the software and there is a lot more available for download.  I can watch youtube videos which was not possible on an older machine.  Unfortunately the sound card is not functional (it wasn’t before) so no listening to music but other than that I am very pleased with it.

This laptop is about six years old. It was running xp but barely, boggy and ugly.  If you want to do a lot of graphics or are a heavy Microsoft Office user then this probably isn’t for you.  If you just want to be able to write, email, internet, play a few games – this seems to handle it beautifully. And it didn’t cost anything but a little time.