Author Topic: My Mom Runs Linux!  (Read 2459 times)

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Offline Blizzardnh

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My Mom Runs Linux!
« on: September 27, 2016, 09:23:23 am »
People are coming to Linux in droves these days. They each have their own reasons. It could be a desire to get out from under the thumb of proprietary software’s limitations, privacy concerns or just plain old economics. Some of them find a whole new world of computing happiness and others walk away frustrated. Why is that?

How you approach learning something new usually will determine just how successful you are at learning it. It’s all about attitude. Learning is a journey and those who cling to the fear of not reaching a pleasant destination usually quit before they start and stay right where they are. Those who are born with an innate curiosity and a sense of adventure often find that learning something new brings great rewards. Thus, they are constantly looking for new things to learn. It’s the naturally curious ones who tend to do well with Linux.

If you sit a child in front of a Linux computer, they usually just start using it. It’s an amazing thing to watch. Kids are curious by nature and they also have the added advantage of not having any preconceived notions when it comes to how a computer ought to work. I have found, on the other hand, that the hardest kind of person to teach Linux is the crusty old Windows power user. They are lost from the start and tend to get easily frustrated when they come across something they don’t understand. Their outbursts of anger can be quite animated! The Internet’s public forums are full of vitriol flung at the Linux Community by these sorts of folks. I learned a long time ago that the best way to deal with them is to simply ignore them. The psychological reasons for their bitter negativity are beyond my expertise to deal with, therefore, I don’t. What I try to do is focus on the positive and help folks who want to learn.

For me, the most important aspect of Open Source software is the freedom it gives users. Freedom isn’t just for those who crunch code, either. The average user who is just trying to do something with a computer benefits as well. I have helped hundreds of people to get started with Linux and I’ve heard from very few who didn’t continue with it. Many of them send me notes telling me how much fun they are having and how much more they can do with the very same computer that used to run a proprietary OS. This flies right in the face of those both within and without of the Linux world who constantly bemoan the fact that there is still software that is awesome on Windows and Mac that isn’t yet available for Linux. For many, it doesn’t really seem to matter at all, though. Once they let go of what they knew, they find new ways of doing what they need to get done and many say that they find the Linux alternatives simpler and more logical. Their words, not mine…

more. https://freedompenguin.com/articles/opinion/mom-runs-linux/

Offline ShadowAce

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Re: My Mom Runs Linux!
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2016, 10:02:04 am »

@BikkFire @geronl @Smokin Joe @roamer_1 @Blizzardnh @markomalley @VarmintAl @Doug Loss @Unlimited @guitar4jesus
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Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: My Mom Runs Linux!
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2016, 11:07:18 am »
Thanks!
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Oceander

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Re: My Mom Runs Linux!
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2016, 11:49:19 am »
Linux has definitely gotten very close to general-purpose RTM.

I find one of the biggest helps is the greatly improved GUIs.  I know that linux purists see GUIs as crutches, but I can tell you that, as a lifelong Windows user, that crutch can be vital to easing your way into linux.  It's a lot harder to visualize the file directory structure, for example, without being able to take a peek every so often at the GUI to confirm that you are where you think you are.

Linux is definitely something that I would love to see, for example, start becoming an option as the pre-installed OS on some computers from the mainline computer stores, online and brick-n-mortar, labelled carefully, of course, so nobody gets their expectations hurt.  Having a system come with dual boot out of the box would also be fantastic.

Offline roamer_1

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Re: My Mom Runs Linux!
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2016, 03:22:14 pm »
Linux has definitely gotten very close to general-purpose RTM.

Linux is definitely something that I would love to see, for example, start becoming an option as the pre-installed OS on some computers from the mainline computer stores, online and brick-n-mortar, labelled carefully, of course, so nobody gets their expectations hurt.  Having a system come with dual boot out of the box would also be fantastic.

I have a few dozen of them out there now... I have been setting them up as TV/Media machines - Ubuntu/Unity is pretty nice to use across the room. The choke right now is USB Wireless NICs that work, and getting SAMBA shares to stay put (I have always had big trouble keeping linux and win talking to each other over the LAN)...

But where the TV/media can be stand-alone, and wired NIC can be delivered, I almost default to Linux on the machine. Generally I pick up cheap used boxes for that purpose, which usually have win32 onboard, but are capable of 64bit, so upgrading it with Linux is almost a no brainer, performance wise.

Oceander

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Re: My Mom Runs Linux!
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2016, 04:06:15 pm »
I have a few dozen of them out there now... I have been setting them up as TV/Media machines - Ubuntu/Unity is pretty nice to use across the room. The choke right now is USB Wireless NICs that work, and getting SAMBA shares to stay put (I have always had big trouble keeping linux and win talking to each other over the LAN)...

But where the TV/media can be stand-alone, and wired NIC can be delivered, I almost default to Linux on the machine. Generally I pick up cheap used boxes for that purpose, which usually have win32 onboard, but are capable of 64bit, so upgrading it with Linux is almost a no brainer, performance wise.

I got one of these network attached storage devices earlier this year (Western Digital MyCloud); it runs on linux, and I have noticed a time or two that getting a Windows machine to talk to it occasionally has a glitch or two.

Offline Blizzardnh

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Re: My Mom Runs Linux!
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2016, 04:48:40 pm »
I have a few dozen of them out there now... I have been setting them up as TV/Media machines - Ubuntu/Unity is pretty nice to use across the room. The choke right now is USB Wireless NICs that work, and getting SAMBA shares to stay put (I have always had big trouble keeping linux and win talking to each other over the LAN)...

But where the TV/media can be stand-alone, and wired NIC can be delivered, I almost default to Linux on the machine. Generally I pick up cheap used boxes for that purpose, which usually have win32 onboard, but are capable of 64bit, so upgrading it with Linux is almost a no brainer, performance wise.
I have the same problem with win and samba . And some printers you have to dig for drivers that work properly . For media all my tv plays  is what I find on the net which is about anything and send it to chrome cast.

Offline Taxcontrol

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Re: My Mom Runs Linux!
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2016, 06:16:52 pm »
My mother-in-law is approaching retirement.  Has learned to HATE Windows.  When she was ready to throw out her "old" computer, I recommended that we try Linux Mint 17.  She loves it and refuse to go back for any reason and has started to ask her work, why cant they go to Mint.

My wife who is a TurboTax user for years (thus Windows) has finally decided to back her system up, wipe it and install Mint.  She is even looking at KMyMoney to start managing the checkbook / bills.