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The Fox Report Barry Fox’s technology column Trying Linux Mint W e are now into the year when Microsoft is cutting Windows 10 users adrift by ending official security updates – unless the PC owner pays heavily for special treatment. It remains to be seen whether the grey economy finds a way to share these purchased updates between different users. Whatever happens, awareness of the problem is spreading and resentment is mounting. Best estimates are that some 250,000,000 Windows 10 PCs will be made obsolete, which is an awful lot of people looking for a fix. As previously recounted, I have had success (so far) with forcing an update by editing the Registry of a Windows 10 PC that meets most of Microsoft’s security requirements, but for reasons that are unclear, fails the CPU test. Microsoft is now warning that in cases like mine, Windows will refuse to provide updates. So far, my forced PC has been successfully updating. I suspect that this is because Microsoft will tolerate a slightly underpowered CPU, but not more security-centric inadequacies. It could also be because Microsoft now realises that a lot of users won’t just obediently buy a new Windows PC; they will look for alternative operating systems that will run on their existing PCs. Certainly, I have been researching alternative ways of keeping my hardware going if I have to cut it loose from Windows. The obvious prime candidate is to ditch Windows altogether and install Linux, as several of my computer enthusiast friends keep telling me to do. And Microsoft’s hostile Windows 11 upgrade policy could be the jumpstart needed for widespread switchover to Linux. I’ve previously tried Linux, in the shape of Ubuntu, but for an easy, lazy life have always returned to Windows. So, posing as a non-tekkie Windows 10 user, blocked from upgrading to Windows 11, I tried again. First, I needed to know which of the many available versions and flavours of Linux to try. I have not yet found any website or posting that directly advises on which version and flavour of Linux is the closest to Windows out-of-the-box. After some research, I chose the most recent Cinnamon version of Linux Mint 36 (https://www.linuxmint.com/download. php). Perhaps there are better choices; I can’t know without trying them all, which I cannot do. The Mint download is an ISO file that must be written to a bootable USB flash drive (or DVD). The Mint site tries hard to help newbies through the need to download and install the correct Etcher “asset” to do this. Other sites suggest installing different software, such as Rufus. I tried and found that the required site is (as often the case) cluttered with big green button “Start Now” click traps that suck innocents into downloading completely different software. Windows warns the user about the risk of ‘harming’ their computer if they continue with downloading and installing software not approved by Microsoft. At a time when we are all being told to be on our guard against inadvertently downloading malware, it takes experience and skill or brave stupidity to click past these warnings. Writing to the USB with Etcher is made as easy as possible, but the user has to find where their PC has stored the ISO file (which can vary) and then click to write it to the correct target, not mistakenly overwrite another attached drive. Armed with the bootable USB, the user has now to know how to temporarily change the boot sequence at BIOS level to force the PC to boot from the USB rather than Windows (unless that is the default). The choice of what function keys to tap at the right time and speed during Windows PC startup varies with the brand. In the case of my new Acer, repeated attempts at forcing USB boot by tapping the designated boot key (F12) failed with the message “Keyboard Error”. Pressing Del for BIOS setup also failed. At first, I thought this might be because I am using a wireless keyboard and mouse (Logitech), because plugging a wired keyboard directly into the PC let F12 open the Boot Menu. But I cannot simultaneously plug in a USB flash drive because there is only one full size USB socket on the front of the PC. Using a passive USB doubler for a wired keyboard and flash drive still gives the Keyboard Error. I can’t hot-swap them either. Replacing the wireless keyboard dongle with a wired keyboard gave the same Keyboard Error. So I tried with another older PC, which has a wired keyboard and mouse. This booted into Mint with no problems. I now think it’s likely that my use of a KVM switch (which lets me share keyboard, mouse and video monitor between two PCs) blocks F12 access to the Boot Menu (and BIOS). None of these problems is insoluble, but they will make a lot of Jack and Jill users give up. When it all works, and the PC boots from the Linux stick, the Mint screen shows three square icons on a dark background. One icon is to Install Linux Mint. I suspect this means it will install to the hard drive, wiping Windows. If so, it’s a big pitfall for the uninformed that needs a big red flag. The other two icons are Computer and Home. Clicking Computer shows square icons for assets like attached drives. The screen looks very different from Windows. Clicking Home shows green square icons for Desktop, Downloads, Music etc. These do look a bit like Windows. Clicking available options by trial and error may perhaps kick Mint into some kind of Windows-like shape. I haven’t yet mustered the enthusiasm to try. Like assembling flat-packed furniture, it would all be easier next time. But, like assembling flat packs, most people will only be needing to do the job once. And on their learning curve they may end up over-writing Windows by “installing” Mint. Personally, I believe the big breakthrough for Linux will be when someone offers a version that defaults out-of-thebox to a Windows-like screen and has clear warnings of pitfalls like inadvertently wiping Windows. Time will tell whether anyone does this. Now there is a new dark horse lurking in the wings, if you will pardon the mixed metaphor. The word from the herd is that Google is working towards a version of the Android phone operating system that can be used on desktops and laptops. This would effectively replace the Chromebook OS, which has hardly been a roaring success for Google. If ‘Android for PC’ were packaged as an easy-to-install replacement for Windows, the options for waving goodbye to Windows would change overnight. Practical Electronics | April | 2025 The Fox Report Barry Fox’s technology column At last, a real torch! T o misquote Crocodile Dundee, “That’s not a torch. This is a torch!” Over the years, I have bought many torches (or “flashlights”) and have thrown most of them away. The switches fail. Connections corrode. They mysteriously only light up after just the right kind of shaking. And they eat expensive batteies. So I jumped at the chance to try one from Sandberg, the Danish company that has carved a nice niche for making satisfyingly solid bits of electronics and IT kit, and has now branched out into torches. Apparently, it has been a year and a half since Sandberg introduced its first torch. Rather scarily the company attributes its “huge success” to “an increased focus on increased awareness of the need for prepping”. If and when there is a catastrophic disaster or emergency, or civil war, or just a grid blackout, the first thing everyone needs to be have on hand is a reliable light source. You also need a guaranteed light source when hiking in the wilds or navigating the streets in a city that is saving money by switching off the street lighting. It’s also a good idea to have one in case your car breaks down on a country road at night. Sandberg is now expanding its ‘prep’ range of super-rugged torches to four models, all weatherproof with a five-year warranty. Three of them can be used as power banks for charging a flat mobile phone or other USB-powered accessory. Erling Hoff Petersen, Sales Director at Practical Electronics | April | 2025 Sandberg A/S, says his torch “lights up an entire horse paddock!”. I don’t have a horse or a paddock, but I had a chance to try Sandberg’s Active Survivor 7-in-1 Torch Powerbank 10000 (Item no: 421-09) on a dead black night at a deserted sea beach. I can vouch for the fact that it’s more like a searchlight than a torch! The front lens telescopes to tighten or widen the beam. Pressing the main button once gives full brightness; press again for a bit less light, and again for a flashing an “I’m here” signal. Pressing the same main switch more rapidly cycles a small flat LED between bright, not-so-bright and emergency red steady and red flashing. Be warned, though, that there is a knack to pressing at just the right speed to toggle between the main beam and flat panel modes. At first, I thought the switch was faulty, but I persisted on the assumption that the world would probably end before Sandberg sells a device with a dud switch. The body is tough aluminium, and the lens is shielded with large teeth that can be used as a hammer to break glass in an emergency, for instance, a sinking car. This also has the benefit that if you put the torch bright-end-down on a flat surface, it will illuminate the general area with the light leaking out between the teeth. Quality does not come cheap. Prices range from £16 to £54 (including VAT) for the 10Ah/1000 lumens model. All models use lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. For the same price, you could buy half a dozen Mickey Mouse torches that are guaranteed to let you down when you most need them. PE 37