Improving my computer.

For some years I have been using an old TV for a main computer monitor. This has never been satisfactory since the full screen was always cropped at the edges, but I was used to this.

I have treated myself to a new (but inexpensive) monitor for my machine and it is amazing the difference it makes.  The screen is a perfect fit.
This computer is a Windows 10 machine with an Intel i3 processor and a small graphics card.  It is not fast, but it does all that I expect of it.  I use it for web browsing, photo editing and simulated airport design amongst other things.  It is also used for updating websites and blogs and I have 4 different flight simulators on this system, including X-Plane 11.26 which is the latest stable version of the sim.

The Windows machine is a difficult beast to work with, as updates tend to happen at random and can upset many of my chosen settings. I do get frustrated with the complexity and lack of control of the software on this computer.

My other computer is a 3 monitor Linux Mint "Tara" machine with an Intel i7 processor and a whacking big graphics card.  It is a clean machine with the X-Plane 11.30 flight simulator loaded.  I use this computer for flying my simulated aircraft and using my airport designs.  The system is set to respond like a real aircraft and I prefer flying my Diamond DA40 with its "Glass Cockpit" and Garmin 1000 system aboard. 


The Linux machine is fine.  It updates when I ask it to and nothing will run on it unless I have given permission.  I can install the support software that I need, when I need it. The utility file names and locations are up to me and are unique to my computer, so this makes it a safe and easy machine to use.  It does require a degree of computer coding skills, but there is a very helpful Linux community out there who are willing to lend a helping hand. Oh! and all of the software is password locked.

My laptop is also a Windows 10 machine and I only use it infrequently (once in a couple of months).  It takes 2  hours or more to update every time I switch it on, which is a nuisance.  Microsoft is not a good system for the specialist user.