I got this for free!

I like free stuff as much as anybody else.

And, it’s hard enough to save money without being bombarded by advertising trying to sell you stuff that saves money, too. Seems wrong to me that we can’t enjoy free stuff that is truly free.

In the case of commercial computer operating systems, there is macOS and Windows.

MacOS and Windows are of course not truly ever free. I’m not talking about free updates, I’m talking about free initial installations. In the case of macOS you do need to purchase a Macintosh computer to use their latest free OS. How’s that for free or not free? In the case of Windows you may get a lesser copy of Windows with a new Windows PC computer purchase, but hey, you’re still buying a new computer.

How is that free? The answer is it’s not.

If you want free when it comes to all things computer related, you need to be on some form of the Linux operating system. In my case, my daily driver is a 12-year old Asus laptop running AntiX debian-based Linux operating system.

I had the Asus laptop’s Windows 10 hard disk die on me. I was through with all things Windows on this particular laptop after the hard disk’s untimely demise. I had a Solid State Drive (SSD) in an external enclosure that I installed AntiX on.

AntiX is purported to run well on older computer hardware. I can vouch for the fact it does. I tried AntiX as an external boot drive which really worked well on the Asus.

When my lazy ass finally got around to removing the dead internal drive, I opened the external case protecting the SSD, removed it, and installed it as the laptop’s internal hard disk.

After I put the PC back together, I pressed the power button and away I was running to the fast lane that is AntiX on an otherwise obsolete computer. To be clear, its obsolescence related to Windows and macOS.

I did this Frankenstein-like operation about four months ago and I have not looked back since. Had a computer that would have been done regarding commercial operating systems brought back to life by a free alternative.

I didn’t want to turn this post into an AntiX recommendation, but there you go, anyway.

Other free stuff

In other recent free stuff adventures, I fixed my ancient weed whacker for free. Well, it was sort of free. Several years ago I noticed the whacker’s head was getting a bit long in the tooth and I ordered a replacement on eBay. It was one designed by the merchant to fit many whacker models, mine included.

Well, I tried to install it not long after it arrived, but I was scared off by the number of washers and screws involved with the procedure. I put the new head on a shelf and only last weekend removed it from its packaging once more to try to replace the old one in earnest.

As these things go it took me longer than I originally planned, but when I went to fire up the old whacker, the head spun, stayed on, and I was once again in whacking business.

I used to like to go to yard sales and get free stuff whenever I could find something that I might use one day. Nowadays, due to space constraints, I no longer frequent yard sales. Same thing with frozen food in the store in that I would get taken for the buy 7 and get 1 free deals that used to always make me salivate. But alas, not enough freezer space any more.

I know there are other things I get for free (like my manual labor), but instead of telling you more about my free stuff, why don’t you readers chime in with some of the free stuff you’ve managed to light your life up with over the years. The leave a comment area below awaits your feedback.

Thanks for your support.