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Mom Meets Linux - A Lindows 4.0 Review
JimLynch writes "We just put up the first review of Lindows 4.0, with a twist. I actually gave it to my Mom to see if she could use it. Find out if Lindows 4.0 passed the "Mom Test.""
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Linux needs advertising in the popular media. Sure, I can see Linux ads in computer magazines; however, when I turn my TV on, I see ads about how much money you can save by switching to .NET. We need advertising to gain the mindshare we need to become popular. A friendly desktop is a good start; now we have something that we can advertise. Now we need to get the word out there.
I can't say that I don't give a fuck. I've just run out of fuck to give.
A thought for GNU/Linux users, BSD users, Mac users, and even MS users:
The more the desktop market becomes fractured, them more open standards have to be. The more companies will be willing to release hardware documentation (let the community write drivers, instead of attempting to write for 8 OSes). So, even if you don't like this distro, consider that the 'the average home user' buying a distro like this might still be a good thing.
-t
http://unmoldable.com W:"No one of consequence" I:"I must know" W:"Get used to disappointment"
Sorry, but in my case, Windows doesn't even pass the "Mom test."
I know you were joking, but I want my Karma, so I'm going to reiterate your post in a serious tone.
The most glaring issue that I see, was the ability to run "apt-get," without a root password.
Ok, so Lindows can replace Windows on the desktop at home, so that the average user can be productive.
But have we really done ourselves any favors?
It seems that we have done nothing more than create a windows "clone", with a brand new feature set of security problems.
Do we really want to compete with microsoft at that level? They have far more experience in the insecurity realm than we do.
They'll beat us to death with experience.
I feel like this "feature" is going to make or break Lindows. I can see there being a problem with updating that will screw up all the users and kill Lindows forever.
Sadly, when Microsoft does this several times a year people just shrug and wait for the patch of the patch.
I just don't know if Lindows will be able to survive if they don't implement the update process in any way less than perfect - they don't have the acceptance and power of the Redmond giant.
myke
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
I know that this test wasn't stiving to be scientific or anything, but it appears that he had his mom play with Lindows for a couple of hours. Wouldn't a better test be to have her use Lindows for a week or so totally replacing her normal windows machine? This would offer better insights into what typical users of Windows are looking for in an OS and how Lindows can better meet thier needs. Just my 2 cents
I think that's exactly the problem that the poster was trying to show: people use computers in ways that designers may not anticipate. Even though Lindows looks a lot like Windows and has many equivalent applications, it may not pass usability tests like this, where people are so ingrained in their habits and only learn one way to do things and they stick with it. Sometimes, they learn the process and not the concept, so a small change in the interface may mean big changes for the user. In this case, the mom, may not be able to use Lindows without a learning curve.
If you read the article, you'll see that about two paragraphs are devoted to the "Mom Test" (which they conclude that she passed). Basically the "Mom Test" involved her watching a Lindows tutorial, clicking on the "start" menu, and launching OpenOffice. Color me unimpressed. Perhaps they should have extended the "Mom Test" to cover a week or two of normal usage. See how she reacts when she can't open those cute e-mail attachment programs (no, not VIRUSES) that her friends forward to each other. See how she reacts when she brings home the label-making software she bought that won't install under Linux. See how she reacts when the webcam she bought so she can send "video emails" to her family members won't work because Linux doesn't have drivers for it.
Somehow, I think the results of the "Mom Test" will be a little different under those circumstances.
It's not much of a "Mom test," is it? I mean,all she did was boot it up, poke around the desktop, and eventually find the office suite. How about something a bit mor robust, like letting her use it for a week for everyday tasks without tech support?
--R.J.
Electric-Escape.net
Perhaps you could get your mom to write up a review. What was she thinking? What parts she found hard. What parts she found easy.
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
A surprising amount of the time, the command prompt is a HELL of a lot faster. Say I want to copy all the MP3 files from a directory to a floppy, and they're mixed with a bunch of other files. In Windows Explorer, there's no way to sort by extension. At the prompt: "copy *.mp3 a:"
.... blank look.... oh, that's too hard.
..... oh, that's too hard.....
I don't know how many times at work I've watched people spend 5 or more minutes going slowly through all the files in Windows Explorer, reading every filename, ctrl-click selecting all the *.blah files, so they can then drag. A couple of times, I've said "You want to see an easier way?" and start/run/cmd, cd \blah, copy *.blah d:\temp. There. 15 seconds, we're done.
Then watch someone trying to navigate to my computer on the network....Network Neighborhood....Microsoft Windows Network....Company Domain.....Workgroup....."Wait, what workgroup are you in?....back out....other workgroup....Ah, there's (my initials).
"So next time, why not click start/run, and type \\(my initials) and you won't have to worry about what workgroup or domain or whatever I'm in?"
YARGH! I swear, people WANT to be stupid. Either that or they think they can catch a disease from the keyboard and not the mouse.
I've given up.
Seriously...
The 'Mom Test' is a serious benchmark; it's name is not to be invoked lightly. The Mom Test involves nothing less than installing an OS on your mom's home desktop and seeing if she can figure out how to do all the things she would normally do with MS-Windows. If, after a month or so, your mom hasn't called you and demanded that you return her to Microsoft-Land, then (and only then) can the OS be said to have passed the 'Mom Test'.
lysergically yours
The Linux community really should try to push the penguin a little more. Something as simple as a mascot or logo really does help people who are unfamilar with your product. I bet they see the penguin, and think "I've heard something about this". It really helps to break the ice.
In Soviet America the banks rob you!
Mom: Hi. The power went off over here and now I can't get my computer to work.
Me: Uhm, OK. Does it do anything at all?
Mom: Well, the printer is on, and the screen says "Check connection".
Me: Hmmm. Alright. Is everything plugged in?
Mom: Yes, it looks like it. All the little doohickies are in the back of the computer.
Me: (avoiding this until the last--it just can't be the cause) Is the computer turned on?
Mom: I think so. There's something on the screen.
Me: Uhm, I meant, did you actually push the power button on the computer?
Mom: Nooo. Should I?
Me: (after a pause) Yeah, that might be a good idea.
Mom: Oh! There it is! Now it's working!
Me: (sigh) Well, there you go. Let me know if you have any other problems with it.
Now, if they'd tried their test with my mom, I don't think they would have faired quite as well.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to the adoption of Linux on the desktop has been the nerdish nature of the whole installation, configuration and user experience. Your average PC user (and most likely non-/. reader) is doing good to figure out how to get a printer connected to their Windows machine. The typical Linux distro is a no-go for these folks. Forget configuring a NIC, modifying the defaults for Gnome or KDE, or trying to figure out how to FTP a file from an xterm shell prompt. It just won't happen. MS has made Windows what it is not on its technical merits, but because it's been dumbed-down to the point where almost anyone can make it do something useful right out of the box with only a modest amount of coaching. A while back Russ Mitchell offered this rather negative view of Linux's chances on the desktop. While not everything he says is golden, a lot of it does apply, and should be seriously considered by anyone with dreams of seeing MS pushed into the backseat. Apparently someone at Lindows did bother to pay attention and start to make the Linux experience less painful for those without the inclination or ability to fiddle around under the hood.
And before you poo-poo those poor sods who can't grok a regular expression or launch a background task from bash, just remember this: They're the ones with most of the disposable income, not us nerds, and Bill Gates et. al. know it.
In Windows Explorer, there's no way to sort by extension.
funny... clicking on the view->details menu function and then clicking on the type tab sort's by extension for me.
click on top boob.mp3 and shift-click on the last Zeeb.mp3 drag to Jaz drive/network drive/kazaa share and it's magically done.
in fact I can do it faster than you can open a shell and type your command....
I agree, most users are so brain-dead they smell bad, but you are just as mis-informed as they seem to be.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
You, my friend, are a genius.
Do you realize there are now at least 5 responses telling you how to copy 'all of the *.mp3 files in a directory to a floppy'.
I realize that the mp3 format may be used for things BESIDES individual songs ripped from CDs or downloaded, but the VAST majority of mp3 files are exactly this.
So... back to the genius part - you just had some (presumably) computer gurus explain how to take a directory full of 3-4 meg (average) sized files, and copy them onto a floppy disk.
LOL!!
Oh, and to ensure I don't get a shitload of 'offtopic' mods, I'm typing this from my parent's machine... with a fresh copy of Lindows 4.0 installed... and they are already enjoying it.
PC: Press the space bar to continue... ;-)
Mom: What happened!? What do I do now?
Me: Um, did you read the screen?
Mom: Oh.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Amen brother. Why the hell can't you filter files by extension? I won't rant for long, but I loved using IRIX in the early 90s because all I had to do was type "*.blah" in the (what is now called the address bar) of the graphical file manager, and, wala, only those files would appear in the window. How hard is this to do? Not very. Why doesn't ANYONE do it? Because no one does it, and IRIX did not penetrate far enough (carefully avoiding a mom joke) for that feature to gain attention. Maybe Apple OSes let you do it, but if so I would think M$ would have adopted the feature. Oh well, I guess my computer is only as usefull as the applications let it be.
Do YOU realize the slight difference in wording between what he said and what all of those other responses are chastizing him for?
HE said "there's no way to sort by extension". All of the replies calling him an idiot are telling him how to "sort by 'Type'". In most cases, "file type" is unique enough that each extension has it's own file type. However, the "file type" varies depending on what software you've installed on your computer that decides to 'claim' those extensions.
If the software decides to just give multiple extensions the same file type name, you end up with multiple filename extensions that are sorted as though they are identical to each other. So in the example he gave: if you'd installed Winamp (or any number of those crap media player packages that many OEMs put on their computers before they ship them), then you COULD have multiple extensions including
So if you have a folder with lots of files in it, ending in
There ARE ways of getting a list of files that match a certain extension from within the GUI (like other people have pointed out, using the Search/Find tool), but what he actually said was correct, and does not deserve your sarcastic bashing. Your post should not have been modded 'offtopic', but rather 'flamebait'.
Most people that don't want to learn console commands aren't going to want to learn "WindowsKey+F, copy current folder location, paste in 'Look in' box, type file extension in 'Named' box, click 'Find Now' button, select all" either.
Sometimes the best solution to morale problems is just to fire all the unhappy people.