"Linux, this is Mom, shes looking to adopt you so you be nice Okay?" "Mom, this is Linux"
this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2022
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I'd suggest something like Linux Mint for someone switching over - but rather than me make assumptions about what she's used before, I usually recommend librehunt.org as a nice starting point to help choose.
oooh that site is so cool, didn't know about it
People need to experience something before they can ascertain if it is a viable option. Install Ubuntu or Linux Mint on a secondary device, let her see how familiar it is to her.
Then you can explain some of the other advantages of using Linux.
I'm going to go with this strategy.
Seconding this! I've had the best success by using Linux to revive people's old laptops that just couldn't run other modern OSes fast enough, and if they've been impressed enough, they've ended up installing it on their other devices. Even if not (say, if it didn't support some applications required for work, for example), they've usually at least kept it on said laptop.
Install ElementaryOS on an old laptop, and let her use it.
She runs a business, so sell the 'free, but used by lots of people' standpoint, hard.
I like ElementaryOS as well, but there is one big downside in my opinion that makes it less user friendly and that is that it does not officially support upgrading between major versions (e.g. 5.1 to 6.0). You have to either mess with repositories on the terminal and hope for the best or you have to do a complete reinstall. So if you install Elementary OS, make sure to create a separate /home partition so you can perform a major upgrade without loosing too much data.
Otherwise, I believe that Elementary OS is quite nice. Although I had to help them at first by pointing out where the application menu is and to help them install LibreOffice (they were already used to it on Windows and it apparently did not show up in the App Centre), they mostly seem to be able to use it themselves with the same amount of assistance required as while using WIndows.
Nice suggestion!
A decade ago, when my moms laptop stopped working, I installed Fedora on it and set everything up for her, and she loved using it for years until my dad got her a mac 🙄
Now her mac is deprecated and I'm sure that fedora laptop still works just fine lol
Yes... I think that's probably the solution : find an old laptop, and flash something user-friendly onto it. Make sure it's got LibreOffice, a browser and an email client (if that's her thing).
This is the solution. Also use a distro that doesn't need 3gb updates every week. Those tend to be annoying for casual users.
And a distro that has solid hardware compatibility and helpful, non toxic community.
and flash something user-friendly onto it.
Which distro should I use? I was thinking of using Ubuntu.
I think Fedora is just as user friendly, but better than Ubuntu. But, yeah, I know Ubuntu is popular ( I just don't like it).
Yeah. Why not?
I was thinking the same thing. I just wasn't certain until now.
I think Ubuntu is a good start. If it runs smooth. The flashy look is impressive for newcomers I think.
That's what I was thinking too. Ubuntu also has the most support, if I remember correctly.
P.S How do you post on one instance with an account in another instance?
You can look at feddit.de and copy a local sub and paste it into the search on lemmy.ml and then it will show up there and you can subscribe as well
Ah. I understand now.
That's how the federation works :) You can have your account on one server but follow other sublemmies that your server is connected to!
True tbf
I think you should pick a good desktop OS like Linux Mint, and install it and just put it in front of her.
I would avoid complex presentations about what Linux is and stuff like that because that can introduce all kinds of nuances that aren't strictly necessary to know, which can scare people away.
I was thinking Elementary OS since the DE is similar to MacOS and Windows, but I agree with you.
My mom has a business and mostly uses Windows and Mac OS X
Do all her applications run on Linux? If not, please don't switch. She makes money with that. Money > ideology if you can't afford losing it ;)
My grandmother was completely happy with elementary because more user friendly and she just need a browser and office apps
Elementary 6.1 is astonishingly good - and pretty, too.
- Check ElementaryOS or Manjaro. They are typically beginner friendly and well documented and their full versions coming with good preinstalled packages.
- Show here the benefits and explain the benefits of FOSS to her. I would not only pull the money argument, also the security and usability factor should play a role.
- Show here examples.
- Find weak spots, aka problematic software and show here alternatives which run on every OS e.g. Jami over MS Teams and so on. Help here pre-install necessarily programs.
- Run a test for a month before you come to a final conclusion.
- Make GNU/Linux presentations to explain Debian itself.
- Buy the Debian Handbook and read it to her every night.
- Make her to memorize and practice the install procedure with gnome-core as main desktop dependency.
install it everywhere and say it's Windows 12 Update
Windows 10.5*
Is she using anything besides a web browser?
On her business computers? No. There's only one web service she needs to use.
On her home computers? Yes.
What does she use on her home computer?
Mac OS X.
Which apps does she use on macOS? I hope she doesn't use OmniGraffle.
Well, first of all, is it worthy? If she uses photoshop and stuff like that, maybe she just can't switch / it's just not worthy. If she uses excel, it's only getting used to libreoffice. If she uses stuff on browsers, well she can switch easily. If she's in the second or third category, just say this things: free, open source, fuck microsoft/apple/google, no viruses, it can run even on toaster, I always used it and never had problems (don't laugh while saying this), r/unixporn, active community and more stuff that I can't think of rn. If you're lucky at this point she'll want to switch and then just guide her in the distro choose.
I recommend Trisquel. Use plasma DE for sure, it provides amazing user experience. Tell her to not expect things exactly like those of Windows or Mac and learn till she becomes comfortable. Initially she'll struggle, later she won't even think of using Windows or Mac.
I recommend Trisquel.
This is assuming her computer can run without any proprietary drivers. Trisquel uses the Linux-libre kernel, so some stuff like WiFi may not work. But if it's just a desktop workstation that connects to Ethernet, she should have no problem.
She can test out different distros in her browser on https://distrotest.net/index.php
Really though, if she's just gonna use it for text processing, web browsing and emailing it's more about the DE than the distro.
Mint, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Elementary, Fedora... should all be good choices.
I think it's most important to teach her about the differences, no more exes, but instead repo, debs, appimages, flatpaks, and stuff like that. Watching those recent Linus videos might give you good insight in what differences might confuse her.
I agree with you.
Explain the concept of free software to her: that it is free to use for everyone, and reproducible in case the original programmers aren't interested in it.
Since she is going to use it for her business, she will want to know if it can use peripherals well, which it can in most cases, and if it runs Office. The main document format of the world is .docx, so recommending LibreOffice for the regular user isn't a good idea since the document isn't translated well after edited by LibreOffice. I would recommend OnlyOffice - it's like Google Docs in its features, but it works offline. And it comes bundled with Manjaro, which is an easy to use distribution.
I wouldn't mention it unless she had problems with either Windows or MacOS and expressed a desire to switch to something else.
She wants to try it, because she's interested in saving money.