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yes i agree; in Ghana they don't even care if the software is stolen as long as it works (my empirical observation since 2005 )
With regards to wireless there needs to be a greater effort to produce totally free firmware but while companies that produce cards that are designed to only work with windows with proprietary stuff then that is like shoveling --------------------- up hill.
I will be pushing Slackware in Ghana ; if only for the reason that Mr P V doesn't seem to like noobs and I can't think of anything more entertaining then a lot of Ghanaian noobs bothering Mr P V etal with dumb questions. I'm working on 2nd draft for a talk for Owasp Ghana which will mainly be about WordPress and it which will be my first opportunity to mention Slackware ! Since Windows is usually the first OS that users use that sets , psychologically a preference . Ghanaians generally see computers for entertainment rather than doing something useful. But there is an odd oasis in the desert; they have OWASP ghana and Linux user group AccraHello Captain, I've run into a med-tech who has clients in the USA and overseas. He tells me that *most* of his overseas clients still use Windows XP. FWIW.
In addition, while casting about for a new OS (in lieu of Windows 10) I ran across ReactOS, which, if memory serves, is a Russian OS and is completely compatible with Windows (by which I guess is pretty much a copy of Windows). I would not be surprised. In the military, the Soviets would copy every thing from gas masks to missiles and proudly tout them as Russian (there was a B-29 bomber forced down in Russia in the closing days of WWII. The Russians returned the crew to America, but kept the bomber, copying it to the last detail. We found that they even copied where the fuselage has suffered bullet holes from enemy action and had been repaired with sheet metal).
As far as which distro of Linux I will be using, the jury is still out. In my search I've loaded and discarded Linux Netbook Edition, Xubuntu, Zorin, Peppermint, Ubuntu, Porteus, Lubuntu, Mint, Linux Lite, LXLE and Q4OS.
Settling on a distro has been hampered by my specific mission: revive 32-bit architecture for donations to the needy and theme it with Windows-like icons. This means I need very light distros which also look pretty and behave much like Windows XP or 7.
So far it's a toss-up between LXLE (which is very good in recognizing all sorts of hardware), but which is difficult to adjust the themes and icons to resemble Windows' start button, task bar and other aspects; and Q4OS which themes extremely easily into a Windows look with a single download, but has a real tough time recognizing a lot of hardware out of the box.
Another reason both distros are good is that they both have excellent memory management and can run at respectable speeds performing basic (e.g. not AutoCAD or gaming) operations on 1 Gig of RAM.
One group of recipents overseas (Panama) has suggested that they prefer the Linux machines to the old Windows XP machines (but the kids like the XP machines because they were loaded with games).
Another reason Linux is good is because Windows has burned its bridges behind it, deleting drivers for all but Window 8 or 10 from their support sites. Loading LXLE (ubuntu-based) brings most of those motherboards and devices back to life. The biggest challenge is getting new users to understand and use the Command Line Interface. If I can find a distro that satisfies the above requirements AND has a GUI for most purposes, then that will likely be the distro I settle on. I understand ROX is WM or DE that is point and click, in the tradition of the Windows GUI, rather than the CLI.
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Yoda: He is too old. Yes. Too old to begin the Linux training.
Skywalker: But I've learned so much.
Yoda: [looking toward the sky] Will he finish what he begins?
Skywalker: I won't fail you! I'm not afraid.
Yoda: [grimly] Oh! You will be. You will be.
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PS you are one digit off in user name it should be HAL_2001 -stanley kubrick ?