From Planet Green: Fix Mom and Dad's Computer
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 11.27.08
A year ago when Planet Green was in beta, we did a big push on Thanksgiving. We recycle a few of them here.
You know how it is when you head home for Thanksgiving; Lifehacker describes it:
I keep getting these pop ups, he'll say. It's just been so slow lately, she'll say. I keep seeing this flashing picture of a roulette wheel that just won't go away. Can you take a look at it?
So many people give up on perfectly good computers because they think they are old and slow, but the folks aren't playing War of the Ring or building in Second Life, so processor speed is no longer of the essence. The greenest thing to do is to get those Windows computers into fighting trim:
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Nice one TH.
My mother receives my ThinkPads after I've finished with them and (touch wood) they work perfectly well for her until the next one is passed on.
Another aspect of reusing old computers in this way is that you can talk your folks through the solution if they encounter a problem very easily because you know where everything is.
One more reason to delay the move to vista!
If malware is a problem, Ubuntu Linux is a surprisingly good alternative for Normal People. The change from Windows to Ubuntu is about as different as the change from Windows to Macintosh -- except that you can use all but the weirdest PC hardware that you already own.
http://www.ubuntu.com
It's also great if you freecycle a computer, since copies of Ubuntu may be freely redistributed. No worries about Microsoft's copyright cops coming after you or the person you gave the computer to.
Changing operating systems isn't for everyone -- but it really is worth looking at the option to see if it would work for you, or for a machine in the family that needs malware removed at every visit.