It's an interesting article. He rejects Linux because he has a "day job" and no "time and enthusiasm to tinker with computers for their own sake instead of using them productively as a means to an end".
I mean... isn't this a little rich for someone who wants to devote time to tracking down retro computer parts being sold by "two-bit resellers", just so he can keep using Windows XP?
At some point, maybe you should admit you're a retro-computing enthusiast (high-five to that!), and none of this has anything at all to do with productivity.
It's the difference between keeping your 1948 Dodge Custom 6 running (work on it or pay someone to work on it, everything else remains the same) and buying an entire new car. I can certainly believe it's productivity; Linux itself is annoyingly "changing" over time, Windows 95 will never change.
I don't think anyone keeping a 1948 Dodge Custom 6 deludes themselves into thinking they're being productive in doing so, or that they're doing it because they're been too gosh darn busy to learn how to operate a new car for the last seventy-five years.
People who keep '48 Dodges running (or Windows 95 running) do so out of love. And I'm totally on board with that. I just find it a little silly to pretend otherwise. It's not a rational decision to keep a '48 Dodge running, or Windows 95 running. There's no productivity gains that aren't immediately devoured by the expense and time of upkeep.
Thankfully, not everything in life needs to be productive or rational. Do what you love, be unproductive, kick dirt, boot Amigas!
Eh. That would be worse. Software made a few months later would require newer libraries. The only “stable” (in the sense of unchanging) API out there is effectively win32. I can easily make software written for Win2K or Win95 work on Linux through WINE, but I cannot do the same for Loki games, or even for some abandoned application written a year ago.
It's not productive because it gets progressively harder as time goes on and support/hardware availability gets worse. It's the opposite of futureproof
I mean... isn't this a little rich for someone who wants to devote time to tracking down retro computer parts being sold by "two-bit resellers", just so he can keep using Windows XP?
At some point, maybe you should admit you're a retro-computing enthusiast (high-five to that!), and none of this has anything at all to do with productivity.