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I love Linux Mint and would run it 100% — if I could. Unfortunately, I have not found either a satisfactory Linux PDF editor or a satisfactory Linux text search and retrieval tool, both essential applications for me. I am not satisfied with any of the Linux file managers, either. Nautilus comes closest to what I like, but I really want something that works like the old ExplorerPlus for Windows. The Norton Commander clones for Linux leave me cold. So I keep Win7 for my production computer, but my wife does great with Linux Mint while my daughter prefers Ubuntu Netbook Edition.

The friends and neighbors I support (most of whom seem to be blue-haired ladies over 65) do just fine with Linux Mint. They browse the web, send email, and use Picasa to manage photos. One did not even notice that I had changed her OS from WinXP to Linux Mint. (A few tweaks can make Mint look almost like Windows.) From a support standpoint, the users I’ve converted to Linux never call anymore. It just works. The few remaining Windows users still call regularly, having encountered malware or some other gremlin.

On balance, I prefer Linux for the casual user. Windows is still required to perform many of the tasks required by more sophisticated users. My dad (who is 86) has an iMac and iPad. I don’t mess with Apple because their DRM policies appear even more predatory than Microsoft. Nonetheless, Mac products make the latest Windows machines seem antiquated. I suspect that Mac-style products will be the standard in another ten years or so. Both Linux and Windows will have to improve dramatically to keep up. John Dvorak said it best: “Apple took the original MacBook Air and improved it by replacing it with a lighter more elegant model. If it were NEC, Toshiba, Lenovo, Dell, or just about anyone else, they would have made it heavier, uglier, and clunkier with each generation. At least one company – Apple – gets it right. What I don’t understand is why the others can watch this, apparently slack-jawed while doing so, and not figure it out.”

Fred, thanks for the great article! It’s going in my archive for future setups. Besides MSE, I like to add one more free program: Classic Shell. It brings back some of the lost functionality to both Windows Explorer and the Start Menu.

@Clint Rossmere: +1 to all your suggestions as well. The so-called Ultimate Windows Tweaker is also helpful because it brings together a lot of potential changes in one place for review and evaluation.

Yo Eike, you’re pretty snide but you make a good point. Win7x64 is not unstable by itself. It’s the programs I ran under Win7x64 that were unstable. I wrote with imprecision. The specific programs that slow down, choke, or lose functionality on my computer under Win7x64 are: A-PDF To Excel 2.8, Adobe Acrobat 9.4.1 Pro, Audacity 1.2.6, Kofax VirtualReScan 4.50, PowerDesk 8, and Sony Player Plug-in for Windows Media Player. All of these programs are mission-critical and must work consistently and correctly to get my work done. They do not do so under Win7x64. Once I installed Win7x32 all the problems went away.

Raymond Thompson, I appreciate your suggestion about using the same activation key for the 32-bit or 64-bit versions. The x64 was Home Premium while the x32 was Pro. Did not bother trying to use the Home Pro activation key for Pro. Do you think it would have worked?

I’ve got everything fixed now and am zipping along with the x32 version. I’ll happily trade half-a-gig of RAM for a stable, smooth-running system.

I cannot agree with Woody’s recommendation for Win7x64. Despite providing access to more than 4 MB RAM, the x64 version has proven very unstable in my experience. As Woody pointed out, the scanner was the deal-breaker. It would not work under x64. All my problems, including hangs while the x32 programs tried to figure out the difference between Program Files and Program Files (x86), resulted from the 64-bit OS. When I switched to Win7x32, the problems went away. Microsoft and its OEM co-conspirators have tried to force developers to write native 64-bit code by ramming a 64-bit OS down the throats of customers. Microsoft’s licensing arrangements prohibit large OEM vendors from selling consumer-grade computers with Win7x32 installed. You have to purchase a business-grade computer to get the x32 version. Many developers have failed or refused to move to x64, or their attempts to port their applications have been poorly done. I had to buy a separate copy of Win7x32, wipe Win7x64 from my system, and perform a fresh install to resolve my problems. Win7x64 is not ready for prime time and will not be ready until mainstream software has moved to 64-bit code. Even Office 2007 recommends installing the 32-bit rather than the 64-bit version.