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0 pointseitland5y ago0 comments

> For the majority of users, this is irrelevant because linux is unusable for them.

I got Ubuntu recommended by an electrician back in 2005 or 2006. (I used to be using Red Hat/Mandrake/Mandriva back then.)

Soon after I realized it had come to the point where Ubuntu was not only possible to install and use but simpler to install and use than at least OEM-loaded Windows machines.

It seemed to work well for grandmothers, kids and sysadmins.

Notable exceptions:

- certain people refuse to learn (certain Windows sysadmins)

- people who depend on powerhungry software that doesn't exist on Linux (for less power hungry software there is RDP or Citrix and Windows Terminal servers.)

0 comments

Ductapemaster5y ago

I've thought about this as my grandmother has had a host of computer issues, some of them resulting in fraud scares.

The real problem for me is that support is really hard to come by if something goes wrong. Grandma can't access the internet on her Ubuntu system — who can help her? I'm 500 miles away, my parents are equally as far in the other direction. Neither myself or my parents use Linux as a daily driver either. Her neighbors have Windows or Mac machines. Does she drive to Best Buy with her desktop? Call in external help?

If she uses Mac or Windows machines, help is just a lot closer. My dad can replicate her issues on his machine and walk her through it on the phone, or I can. Her neighbor will at least potentially be familiar with the way the OS looks, so can offer greater help.

I'm not sure how you can close that gap if you're not next door to the individuals who would benefit most from it. While it may be a great individual solution, the support burden just isn't a solved problem in my opinion.

pixelface5y ago

you've touched on the problem and the solution - number of people using it. for people who were children in the early 2000s it's a distant memory now but adults used to be generally bad with computers and windows was just as much wizardry as anything. be the linux userbase you want to see in the world and help others when they want to join just like the 10 year olds of 2003 handheld parents through computer use. there's never going to be a magic solution, there just needs to be a sufficient number of people using it so that your outlined issue of proximal support gets better.

ubuntu (and i'm sure others) are in a great state for casual users already -- i've handed multiple family members an ubuntu machine with no more instruction than "use it like any other computer, don't be scared by the icons looking a little different" with great success. for the increasing number of people who do almost all of their work in a word processor and a browser exclusively, it's a complete solution with almost zero hassle.

C1sc0cat5y ago

You must be new: the rules of software development from time immemorial.

There is no such thing as to much RAM

There is no such thing as to much DASD (Disk)

There is no such thing as to much Screen Size

There is unfortunately never enough Budget :-)

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