Comment Re:And this is why Linux will never win the deskto (Score 1) 555
Please, when you want to get a new version of your graphics driver or update something too big (say KDE, Mate) you end up replacing the whole OS.
Graphics drivers tend to have minimum requirements, same as in Windows. Minimum kernel version, libc, etc? Minimum Windows release, DirectX version, etc. Using an open-source driver, my package manager grabs the new module, usually along with the current version of the kernel. With a closed-source driver, the installer compiles the interface module and copies the files to the right places. It's hardly replacing the whole OS, just the kernel in the worst case.
In replacing something large like the desktop environment, I haven't tried doing something like trying to get KDE 1.x running under a modern Linux, so I can't address it directly. I know two things though: it's more possible than getting the Windows 98 desktop working on a modern Windows.
setting targets for fan control, looking for voltage drops - linux never allowed me to read ANY of the half dozen or so voltage sensors built in any PC, it doesn't even acknowledge their presence.
YMMV, based on hardware support in the kernel, but lm-sensors supports a large list of drivers, including temperature, voltage, and fan speed sensors. I get readings on my machine, but I can't speak for yours, of course.
It would be good to have a low footprint Windows clone to do the low level tasks that are just impossible on linux.
More choice and more ways to do things is always good. I won't say that an actually-working Windows clone would be a bad thing. ReactOS didn't impress me, last time I tried to run it.