Mammies Love Linux

bobbytables

Something I've noticed is how the 50 - 60 somethings use computers is that the number of use cases tends to be quite small. To that end my own mother got a laptop a few years ago. It's more or less an Email/Web box. It came with Vista and she got on with it. Anwsy as Windows machines do, it slowed to a **** pace.

So I install Oneric, and booted it up. Her password to login was the same, and her firefox shortcut was on her desktop. After using the machine on her own for 15 mins. I asked her did she like it and she said other than being much faster she noticed little difference.

Mammies should be using Linux. Rant over.

djmarkus

bobbytables wrote: »

Something I've noticed is how the 50 - 60 somethings use computers is that the number of use cases tends to be quite small. To that end my own mother got a laptop a few years ago. It's more or less an Email/Web box. It came with Vista and she got on with it. Anwsy as Windows machines do, it slowed to a **** pace.

So I install Oneric, and booted it up. Her password to login was the same, and her firefox shortcut was on her desktop. After using the machine on her own for 15 mins. I asked her did she like it and she said other than being much faster she noticed little difference.

Mammies should be using Linux. Rant over.

My mammy uses JoliOS

PrzemoF

My mother in law is a hardcore ubuntu user (version upgrades without my support :eek:). Used to be windows xp user, never looked back since upgrading to linux.

spannerotoole

I've put Linux Mint on machines that are 11 years old and they run very, very fast using xfce. My clients can run the programs they need using wine.

I have had no complaints.

Eliot Rosewater

It's very satisfying putting Linux on a "n00b's" computer because they aren't affected by loyalty or computer conservatism or anything else: they'll judge the software solely on its merits.

I put a kind of Lubuntu on a friend's 10 year old PC a few months ago and he's been raving about it very since, mainly because it actually does what he wants his computer to do: browse the net, watch videos, save files. These seemingly complex tasks were confounding the old Windows XP install!

(It was 10 years old admittedly.)

Lubuntu is quite good for old PCs, incidentally. Doesn't look too ugly either.

BopNiblets

Mint Mam here too, apart from a few connection issues to our wireless printer, she's capable with it!

spannerotoole

BopNiblets wrote: »

Mint Mam here too, apart from a few connection issues to our wireless printer, she's capable with it!

That's flaky even on windows. If you really want, try adding it as a device in your wireless router or if you're lucky enough to have an ethernet port, connect via a cable, voila, a network printer.

BopNiblets

spannerotoole wrote: »

That's flaky even on windows. If you really want, try adding it as a device in your wireless router or if you're lucky enough to have an ethernet port, connect via a cable, voila, a network printer.

I got a HP one as they seemed the most Linux friendly and it works beautifully, but I think the IP of it changes when it's turned off/on so when my mam tries to print something Mint doesn't know what is happening, it's a minor niggle for me but she's no troubleshooter...
For example, she was wondering why the TV wasn't working a few days ago, it's because the UPC box was powered off...!

PrzemoF

BopNiblets wrote: »

I got a HP one as they seemed the most Linux friendly and it works beautifully, but I think the IP of it changes when it's turned off/on so when my mam tries to print something Mint doesn't know what is happening, it's a minor niggle for me but she's no troubleshooter...
For example, she was wondering why the TV wasn't working a few days ago, it's because the UPC box was powered off...!

Tried to set static IP for the printer?

Johnboy1951

BopNiblets wrote: »

I got a HP one as they seemed the most Linux friendly and it works beautifully, but I think the IP of it changes when it's turned off/on so when my mam tries to print something Mint doesn't know what is happening, it's a minor niggle for me but she's no troubleshooter...
For example, she was wondering why the TV wasn't working a few days ago, it's because the UPC box was powered off...!

I bought one for about €60 some time ago ..... unfortunately had to set up the wireless part through Windows .... but once set up it has been ultra reliable from PCLinuxOS.
I don't recall if I gave it a static IP or not ..... I think not. But if I had problems that would be the first thing I would try.

Galen

Mint Mom here too, she's in her early sixties and is quite happy now with Gnome Shell (Mint 12). I helped her switch to Linux a few years, found alternative apps etc. and she hasn't looked back. It's great not to be getting calls from her about how slow Windows has gotten.

Stuxnet

my 3 nearly 4 year old year old uses Doudou and qimo linux and my 87 year old grandfather uses ubuntu 10.04

Jagera

I am planning to buy the kids a cheap laptop and put Edubuntu on it. The parents-in-law are Mint'd up and fly along (mostly Skype / Facebook & email)

I just bought a lovely new Dell Inspiron, and on my very first boot (into Windows) I had a trojan alert from McAfee. "A trojan Generic.dx!vux was quarantined from C:\Intel\Bluetooth."

Cool.

Galen

Nothing is perfect especially windows. now would be a good time to at least dual-boot or dump windows.

bobbytables

I'm delighted other mammies are benefiting from Linux also. All nail on the head motives above.

Take most high street computer shops for instance. How many people will go in there this Xmas, buying a "computer", not realising that the bundled OS will be the reason their new machine will be causing them problems in a matter of weeks.

Most people who buy in high street shops don't understand the separation between hardware, software (operating systems, drivers, applications, etc), to them it's all just a "computer" and its not their fault either. My mammy couldn't care less what an OS is or which apps she uses as long as the user experience is speedy & intuitive.

It's amazing the size of the market that exists there full of people like our mammies that, when it comes down to it don't actually "need" windows. My mother keeps telling me her "computer" is faster than ever. What changed, just got rid of Windows and installed Linux, and she took it from there.

My OH's mother was no different.

Galen

It so damn hard to find Linux computer retailers except stateside and The Linux Emporium in England.

PrzemoF

I have funny feeling that M$ is actively working on that. Sort of a proof:
ACER Travelmate laptops with linux:
TM5670 LX.V560C.018 or
TM5740 LX.TVF0C.077

Yet I failed to find any info about them on official acer webpages. How's that possible?

(I'm waiting for someone to prove me wrong)

Some linux laptops (in Polish)
link
and more useful version (English)
link

P.S. currency is 1 euro ~ 4.4 PLN

bobbytables

Galen wrote: »

It so damn hard to find Linux computer retailers except stateside and The Linux Emporium in England.

To be honest, the latest ubuntu distros are usually able to detect and drive most if not all hardware components with stock drivers in modern machines. This IMO has been a key factor in the accessability of Linux to the masses. There are still quite a lot of people out there that do not realize how easy it is to install & use, compared to Windows.

It's not for everyone just yet, but for the majority of mammies it's a really good choice.

Johnboy1951

PrzemoF wrote: »

I have funny feeling that M$ is actively working on that. Sort of a proof:
ACER Travelmate laptops with linux:
TM5670 LX.V560C.018 or
TM5740 LX.TVF0C.077

Yet I failed to find any info about them on official acer webpages. How's that possible?

(I'm waiting for someone to prove me wrong)

Some linux laptops (in Polish)
link
and more useful version (English)
link

P.S. currency is 1 euro ~ 4.4 PLN

I came across this site ......

http://www.linuxireland.info/Linux-Laptop.php

I have no further info except I found the site recently ... they appear to be over priced for the hardware listed ....

Galen

It doesn't look like it has been updated since 2010.

bobbytables

You don't need to buy a computer that ships with Linux pre-installed. If you can't install an OS yourself, it doesn't matter what part of Ireland you live in, you should be able to source a local techie that can do it for you. Even through boards.

Never let software sway your decision when buying a computer. For the majority of tasks you will perform on a computer, there are numerous application choices, many of which you can legally obtain free of charge. Lack of awareness is often the cause of excessive spending.

Jesus the last thing we need is a business screwing people on hardware costs just because they installed Linux beforehand. It isn't a privilege, everyone has the right to choose what OS runs on their PC, along with their choice to use whatever web browser they want or security tools, etc.

PC hardware has no technical obligation to the software it runs, OS included.

Galen

Yeah and driver support is much better these days.

Johnboy1951

Galen wrote: »

Yeah and driver support is much better these days.

It is, but it is also comforting to know that all the hardware plays nice with Linux before splashing out

In addition of course I would prefer not to contribute to MS coffers and statistics when making my purchase.

ZENER

My sisters WinXP PC went the way of most windows machines and decided to act up. Not necessarily the fault of Windows but rather the fault of a teenage daughter downloading videos and pics of Matt Cardle :rolleyes: and 'Free' video converter codecs that infected the machine every other week.

In desperation one evening and after numerous visits and lengthy phone-calls I decided to download Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and install it for her. What a difference !! Fast reliable and every application she needed absolutely free (avoiding dangerous 'cracks') including the KDNELive Video Editor and software that read and synced her iPod, Transmission BitTorrent client and converters for video and audio, Skype, Photo management thanks to DigiKam and disc burning using K3B . . . Not a single call since !! They love it !

I was so impressed I built a system for myself with Ubuntu 11.10. What a joy it is to use

2 converts for the price of 1 though my main system is still Mac OSX.

Ken

Plowman

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