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Moms Go Linux, And Other Windependence Winners
An anonymous reader writes "There's an entertaining article over at DesktopLinux.com entitled "Why Aren't All Our Moms Running Linux?", one of the winners of their recent wIndependence Day essay contest. From the introduction: 'Why aren't all our moms running Linux? This is a serious question, so don't laugh. I used to get phone calls about once a week, on average; it's my mom, telling me that "my computer is running out of virtual memory" or "my email keeps beeping at me" or "I can't read this document" or (the best one) "my computer is *broken*." I knew that, at the time, she was of course not running Linux. Then, one day, listening to yet another complaint, it hit me. Why aren't all our moms running Linux on their computers?" Maybe it's the cuddly Penguin logo? ;-)" They're adding the winning entries to the site week by week - I wonder how many are from Slashdot readers.
Hoyle card and board games...
Linux needs a super scrabble game then we'll get all the moms.
Boy this makes no sense! I find Linux to have a steep learning curve, and I've been using computers since the 60's. Yes, I finally got mom on a computer, but there is no way I could support her on Linux.
But the big issue is why in the world does this story have a megaphone icon rather than the cuddly Penguin logo?
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
As a Linux user wanting to spread The Word, I tried to get my parents interested in Linux and Open Source Software. I showed them Mandrake - all the cute little icons and the cool games and screensavers. Since they dont do much other than web-surfing (mainly reading email thru a web interface), it seemed like a natural choice.
Then, I made the mistake of showing my mother a Gentoo Linux install - a screenfull of bizzare and verbose gcc flags scrolling across a text console. She became frightened and intimidated. I tried to explain to her that all I did was type 2 words, "emerge gnome", and that it was nothing to be scared of - and I tried to explain the process. Now, shes afraid to try Linux - and everyone I try to recommend Linux to gets scared off by her proclamations of how "difficult" it is.
*sigh* Oh well.....who was it that said "GUIs are like diapers - everyone grows out of them eventually".
I started off with the Redmond theme & window decorations, so that they would at least feel a little comfortable. I removed the Console from the kicker, and put up a minimum icon set on the Desktop:
I taught them how to log in, and they were pretty much set from there. They had access to everything they needed on the desktop, and had no problem figuring it out. Since I configured everything for them, they didn't have to worry about the guts of the OS, and since they really only browse the web and check email, they don't need to install software or anything else. Eventually I moved their window decorations away from the Redmond theme, so that they wouldn't confuse it for Windows; I still think it was a good beginner decision though.
Basically it came down to me asking "Why DO they need Windows?" one night, when my one sister asked me if she should buy XP. First I shuddered at the thought of her using XP, then I realized she really doesn't NEED it! And when I told her that her own copy of SuSE 8.0 would only cost $40, she was thrilled. (Yes, I had her buy a copy, I wanted to support SuSE. Besides, they each liked the idea of having a manual just in case). Let's face it though, for a lot of people, Linux does exactly what they need it to do. We just need to make it even easier so that they can set it up for themselves. And we as a community are getting there.
In the mean time, give your Mom Linux, and save yourself and her a headache
would you prefer to have a two hour telephone support call from your mom, or a 10 minute SSH session to fix your mom's computer long distance. ask yourself that question before you ask yourself why your Mom is using Windows.
~ a low user id is no indication I have a clue what I'm talking about.
" Look, my mom has trouble with Excel. You think she'd be able to run Linux? You think she'd be able to build a kernel module? Even install an RPM package?"
:) Linux window managers should stop emulating MS Windows so damned much. I use the command line, and the computer semi-illiterate don't know how to use MS Windows anyway.
Right. So here's the deal. My parents have installed two software packages intentionally in the entire lifetime of their latest computer which runs Windows 98 or XP or 2K or what-fucking-ever (a couple years). Their installs were roughly as simple as Mozilla's Linux installer, interestingly enough. Any other software on the box either came there, or trojaned itself on (Gator et. al.).
They don't change their video resolution. They don't create new shortcuts. They fire up the box, click on one of about 5 icons, use the program, and close it. Sometimes they switch between programs. When they need to do something more difficult (send e-mail attachments, open an unrecognized file extension in a particular program, etc.), they ask me or someone else who knows more about computers.
So, if they were using Linux instead of Windows, and the two programs had installers as sophisticated as Mozilla's (a faulty assumption, so assume they just asked me to install 'em while I was in town), what would be the difference? The difference would be they wouldn't have Gator, and that's about it.
Is there a reason for them to switch to Linux, given they already have something that basically works? No. Would they get anything extra out of it? No. But Linux wouldn't be any more difficult for them than Windows already is.
Interestingly, though I meant for this argument to be pro-Linux, it looks a lot more pro-Mac.
A Linux install and SSH saves both of you time and effort. For example:
...two hours later...
You: ok mom. i need you to bring up a shell so i can grab your IP.
Mom: a what? oh...you mean like that C:> prompt?
You: yeah mom. just click...etc.
Mom: is that a right click? where am i clicking again? oh..on the icon down at the bottom? Which mouse button should I use?
You: ok. now that you have a terminal up. i need you to type in ifconfig.
Mom: what's "effconfig?" should I be typing that by the squiggly line? here. lemme...oops. i clicked on something else. hang on....(hand to phone) It's in the cabinet, dear. No, the other side! I'll HELP YOU IN A MINUTE!! I'M ON THE PHONE!!! (phone back to ear)...ok. now what did you need me to type?
You: ifconfig. I-F-C-O-N-F-I-G.
Mom: ok...what was after that first I?
You: F
Mom: ok...F. oh poo! I just typed a G. how do i cancel this? oh wait..wait...hey. what's this uppy arrow plus H mean?
You: (your mom hears the sound of a gunshot)
Mom: honey? honey, are you there? what about my email? honey?
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -David Hume
Hi,
"My Mom *does* run linux....cause I set it up for her."
Do you prefer:
"My Mom runs Windows... because the manufacturer set it up for her."
I mean, that's the only real difference here, that one OS comes pre-installed by the manufacturers, and one OS comes pre-installed by the kin.
To Mom, it's the same. It's not like Mom sat there flawlessly installing Windows XP or what have you.
So if you're willing to put in Linux, go for it.
(My Mom ran Windows, and had to reinstall, and just accepted that, after the reinstall, her printer and modem wouldn't work right. So I don't see "had to install" as a good step for any beginner!)
A.
Did you check the link or just copy and paste?
I may be an idiot (which is quite possible) but the link you found in an amazing 0.22 second (God your mom must be proud) is tools to help someone play scrabble. My mother doesn't want to increase her ability to play scrabble. She wants to play it. She wants to double click on the icon that is on the desktop (it's on the desktop since it's on of the three items ever used) and play scrabble.
And the final note, whatever scrabble game you'd find for linux might the the most amazing thing in the world but it's missing one thing. It's not Hoyle. It doesn't matter.
Another note: Linux games often (there are quite a few exception) don't look as good as their Windows counter parts. Find me a Linux Risk game that looks as good as Hasbro's Risk II (http://pc.ign.com/previews/13205.html is a good review).
Think of it this way before getting your panties in a bunch -- someone may go into a car dealership and ask for a yellow honda civic, you being the prick you are tell them that statistically white cars get in fewer accidents (it's true btw). The customer would look at you, they don't give a fuck - they what a yellow car because it's cute - it looks good.
> But don`t blame Linux for your being too lazy .
I don't blame Linux, I use Linux myself. My father couldn't set it up though and even if he did he couldn't go into Future Shop and buy a decent card, board or word game for his Linux system. He doesn't spend hours on end on the internet. He uses as a tool, not as a replacement for the lack of girlfriend that so many people here do.
Yeah, I guess you could consider me lazy - I could just write the scrabble game myself but I do have better things to do with my time. I'm not sure if many people (like yourself) get one thing. Most people use a computer like a TV. They don't want to build it from the ground up, they don't want to be a leet h4x0r. They use it for e-mail, a couple simple games and likely shut it off when not in use (so uptime as a penis measuring contest is pointless). The rest of the time these people are doing other things...going out with friends (not to LAN parties), raising their kids, going to their jobs or possibly reading a good book.
Thanks for the comment though...
Never ever show Gentoo/Slackware/Debian to your family and tell them "That's Linux".
.deb files for download, but then you'll still be stuck with the dependancy problem.
From their point of view (it's very important to try to see things from their point of view), that 'Linux' thing is like Windows: one single thing, set in stone. It is not obvious to them that there as many kinds of Linux as there are types of needs to fulfill.
If you're gonna evangelize your family, FIRST tell them that your Linux is geeky because you wanted it so, but that if you were to install them a Linux of their own on their computer, you'd choose an easy-to-use version. Success stories with, say, Mandrake, abound: I switched my girlfriend from Windows to Mandrake and she's very happy with it.
Do NOT try to convince them to use your Slackware/Gentoo/Debian. You'll scare them off.
On the other hand, it can go a long way if you make them an account on your machine, add plenty of links on the desktop so that they never have so see a command-line, and then let them play around with KDE, PySol (a *great* solitaire game that many moms seem to love), Konqueror (or Mozilla, or Opera), Open Office, etc. It also helps to use the Redmond theme at the beginning, so that they feel 'at home'. Also be sure to tell them that the system is secure, and they CAN'T mess it up even if they tried to. You can even try to explain them the concept of privilege separation, if you feel able to put it in simple words.
It worked pretty fine for me. My family knows that 1) my computer is geeky because I wanted it so, but Linux is much more versatile than that; 2) The desktop (KDE) is pretty fine and sleek, and easy to use; and 3) There are lotsa nice apps.
Result: my dad is gonna get a new computer soon, and he told me he wants to remove the mandatory preinstalled XP, and put a 98 (that's what he's used to) AND a Linux.
This said, there's still a major usability issue with Linux, the way I see it: there's still no easy way to install new software. When my girlfriend wanted to install the Psi instant manager, I couldn't get her to install it herself. It was too complicated to hunt for the right lib RPMs and everything.
We must design a non-centralized, click-and-install way to package Linux software. And no, RPM doesn't cut it: if you try to install some stuff that wasn't packaged for your distro, or you don't have the right lib installed, or whatever, it'll often fail. Portage and apt-get don't cut it either: they're centralized things, and there's thus no easy way for the amateur software developper to, say, offer his software for download on his Web page. Well, you can put
I've started working on it, but it's an extremely tricky problem, because, due to the nature of Linux, we can make no assumption about what libs are installed. Anyone wants to contribute ideas?
-- B.
This sig does in fact not have the property it claims not to have.