I have been using Linux only as my daily OS for many many years now, I am not a big command line person however I like my GUI! My brain is just not good at retaining all that command line stuff any more but most of the new Linux distros you really don't need it since they have a great GUI. I have used a few distros but my main go to is Mepis Linux, I am currently still on Mepis 8 which I love but will have to upgrade soon to the newest version because they are no longer going to be doing updates for 8. I hate that because I am so happy with what I have now but as DA said we must move forward! I go to the Mepis Lovers forum since it is the main forum supporting Mepis. Very very nice helpful folks there. I have also used Ubuntu, and Gos which was a google version from a few years back that did not go anywhere and is as far as I know defunct. I want to try Linux Mint it is highly recommended as a very easy one to use also. I went with Mephis because honestly everything just works with it, very little fiddling around to get going, and they have built in assistants that are great for helping you if you do have a problem. I recommend trying one of the live CDs of the distro you might want to use and see how it runs on your pc if it runs ok from the live cd it probably will do just fine when installed. You can just use it from the live cd too with out installing it but it will be slower. What I do is not mess with my windows hard drive at all. I have a second hard drive with my Linux installed on it like it is the only one, It is plugged into the mother board so I have 2 hard drives when I boot up I immediately hit to go into boot order and select which hard drive I want to boot to. If I just let it boot normally it boots to the windows drive. I like doing it this way because there is no way you mess up your windows you never touch it. And I can always pull the hard drive and put it in another pc should I care to. There is also WUBI which is a method to install say ubuntu right onto your windows it runs it as it would a program you installed, so if you decided you no longer wanted it you just remove it from your add remove programs. No partitioning to deal with. I have never used WUBI but know people who have and liked it. Welcome to the MEPIS Community the version I have MEPIS Linux 8.0 the new Mepis version MEPIS Linux 11 you can order free live CD of both ubuntu and kbuntu from online. Or you can download and burn an iso file of any Linux distro for free from sources online like distrowatch. I do every single thing I did on my windows computers and probably more using Linux every day. I use firefox as my browser just like I did on windows. You automatically get update notices for your OS just like windows, the main difference is that you do not go download and install programs from various websites, you have a built in resource where pretty much every thing you need is located you just access it and select from the vast array there and it will install it right to your pc. All of these have been well checked prior to being put up for install. Every distro comes preloaded with most of what you will need anyway. the link below is screenshots of various linux distros so you can see what they would look like, some are out dated. Here is a link that might be useful: screenshot directory

you are absolutely correct, I did want the MSI wind and it is an excellent netbook, I ended up getting the acer because I found it for a very good price and after reading many reviews felt it was also a good choice. I had to make a fairly quick decision and purchase since I needed to have it for my house search and use it while on the road, I found the pink acer that I bought on walmart.com the price was right and it would accomplish what I was needing at that time. I have not regretted my purchase. I am using it right now in fact sitting in my recliner. Since I have not tried any other brand all I can offer is my personal experience with mine. I have the 3 hr battery which has not been a problem for me because I usually have it plugged in to an outlet, and I got a cigarette lighter adapter to use in the car. I do let it run on battery and discharge on occasion to keep the battery fresh. My only complaints so far with mine is the touch pad which I can not manage so I have a usb mini wireless mouse that I use, I have loss of feeling in my right hand which complicates my using a touchpad of any type. The other complaint which I know is a common complaint on most netbooks is the volume of the speaker, it is minimal at best. In a noisy room I can not hear it so carrying a little set of earbuds is a good idea, of course it can be hooked up to an external speaker or headset also. My personal specs I was looking for were that it have the Intel Atom processor, plenty of memory, a nice size hard drive, and have good user reviews. MSI wind would have been my first choice the Acer second but price had to come into play and being able to get a better price on the Acer made the decision for me. Having an AMD processor that would have been my number one spec since I am a huge AMD fan. I know that AMD is now getting into the netbook realm but I have not checked into it and I know the price point would have been more than what I was wanting to pay because I really did not know how much I would be using my netbook. Now that AMD has put out netbooks with an athalon procesor in them I would most definitely be looking at those. Here is the info on the one from Acer/Gateway. Gateway LT3103u AMD Netbook most of the netbooks are fairly similar, the thing to look at is what operating system it uses and what one do you want to use> the type of processor> the type of hard drive, some use solid state hard drives so will have much less capacity than the regular type hard drives> memory> connectivity some come with various extras like antivirus trials or office trials, none of that was important to me since I wiped that out and put on AVAST and open office. Just determine the amount you want to spend and if it will do what you want it to do, in how you will be using it. I have to say I am surprised that I am using mine as much as I am. Over all have been happy with my choice.

I have several pair of Merrell Arabesque shoes in various colors of leather. They are so comfortable and show no wear at all, still look new. I get lots of compliments on them. They have a zipper top closure so they are very easy on & off which is important for me. Can dress up or casual. My favorite keen sandals are my Daytona in black olive, I have an extremely flat wide foot so these are perfect for me. I love that they are made to go in the water or whatever you you throw at them. I really like the new Uneek sandals too, just two cords and a sole! I am thinking of getting one of the custom made keen sandals, I love bright colors and I could go crazy with those. They last forever. I wish Skechers would make some cute sandals like the Go Walk shoes. Here is a link that might be useful: Keen This post was edited by ravencajun on Fri, Jun 20, 14 at 23:57

Hi Sue! Glad we finally connected re: my computer. FullCircles is a sister to FreeCycle here in my city. They have a little site much like this, where you can ask for any help or information (The Cafe). I posted a query for Firefox, and after a few emails this fellow generously offered to look at my computer today. He wrote and said his wife asked if I'd like to go over. (If I was uncomfortable, we could just go to a wi-fi coffee shop) I'll be heading over to his house hopefully mid-morning. Anyway, I use Yahoo. Just a web-based email....not outlook express or anything. What's Thunderbird? Google, Yahoo, and my frequently used Vermicomposting Forums sites are all slow to upload, and these I use frequently. I have my business site still on QuickLaunch as the "e" . (Good thing, cause it doesn't support Netscape or anything except IE). Anyway, I clicked on it this morning and it jumps up instantly. I mentioned to Tom yesterday that he might be my HC. He was miffed. Didn't like that one at all. He said the same thing that I (and you) said....the cats could qualify for that distinction!. For ease and to keep it simpler I do refer to him as DH in these things, or Tom. I suppose it's best to keep some privacy which is why I people say hubby, hubs, etc. So DH he is. Ooops another novel, sorry!