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GNOME for Grandma
An anonymous reader writes "PCWorld colmnist Matthew Newton has written an interesting two part article titled "In Search of Linux for Grandma", in which he shares his thoughts on introducing computers to a 75 year old PC neophyte (through Linux).
He discusses the new spatial Nautilus that he is planning to unleash upon grandma, and quote from the article - "Grandma is never going to learn about "opening a file manager" to "navigate her way" to her documents. They are all going to live in plain view in folders on her desktop. And when she opens them, there won't be any surprises."."
That's easy... a garden gnome.
Next
Casual Games/Downloads
for myself. :B right now i'm battling my first red hat installation...
My grandma's a command line hacker. She thinks GUI's are weak. :/
Perhaps one explanation for the poor usability of many open source apps is that while open source may be a great way to engineer software, the lone hacker collaborating via the Internet is ill-equipped to do anything even approaching proper usability testing.
All may not be lost, perhaps a software tool could be written to make such usability testing easier. It could record a user's desktop(perhaps using something like VNC), while also recording their audio commentary on what they are doing.
Do we think Linux is ready for this. Yes I admit if you have some one set it up well, any one can use it. But Grandma might hear of software X and want it. How will the be done, aka, I heard I can do my taxes on the computer with turboTax, can you set it up for me.
what are you going to tell her, if you can not get it to work with wine?
I like the idea, but I am not sure Linux is ready
There should be a distribution that's really straight forward.
During install give the layperson the following menu.
What do you want this computer to do:
( ) Send and Recieve e-mail
( ) Author Documents
( ) Browse the web
( ) Play Music
( ) More options I've missed
( ) Advanced
In the advanced panel there should be "Install Antivirus and Firewall and autoupdater"
automatically checked. (Dear Trolls/Flame-junkies: When linux makes serious dent in the user
market, linux will require AV)
There should be a basic mode and advanced mode interface.
Basic mode should just have the options that were set up during the install.
Advanced mode would allows access to a bash shell and what not.
Both modes should be proactively secure.
One suggestion is that the ability to open dangerous attachments should only be allows
if linked to the use of virus software.
Linux could totally wipe out Windows on all fronts if it had the design philosophy like an ATM:
It performs it's function, and it does it well.
It's an approach i've taken with my mother and the family Windows XP box. I created a custom shell that displayed "Microsoft Word", "Tesco Shopping", "Log Off" buttons.
I have a happy customer.
Simon.
As my recent results showed, Grandma's only going to be okay if you're willing to come over and handle all hardware changed, and software installations. Good luck.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
ack...must...pull...hands...from...keyboard...not. ..strong...enough...to...resist...
I don't see anything spatial about the new nautilus
Dang...
/* oops I accidentally made a comment, sorry */
As a 48 yo grandmother, I am offended that people equate being a grandmother with having a low level of technical competance.
ROCHESTER, MN--Karen Widmar, 33, who for the past two months has been trying to teach her 60-year-old mother how to use the Internet, called the endeavor "a Sisyphean ordeal" Monday.
Above: Lillian Widmar attempts to e-mail her daughter.
"Jesus Christ, you have no idea," said Widmar after yet another unsuccessful lesson. "Every single thing I show her, no matter how simple, totally freaks her out. She's still afraid to click on pictures because she doesn't know where it's going to take her."
Widmar said she introduced her mother Lillian to the Internet at her request.
"It's funny, I was always trying to get her interested so I could e-mail her," Widmar said. "Then, one day, she called me up and said she was watching Today, and they had a guest on who made potatoes, and the recipe was online, and was that the same as the Internet? When I told her it was, she got really excited. Maybe I should've lied."
According to Widmar, the troubles began immediately.
"Trying to show her how to use the mouse took almost a week," Widmar said. "For some reason, she got it in her head that you had to hold the button down to make it move. Then, when I explained that the computer communicates over the telephone via her built-in modem, she kept asking where you hold the receiver. And she wouldn't stop calling the keyboard 'the typewriter.'"
Still more complications arose when Widmar tried to show her mother how to navigate a search engine.
"For practice, I logged onto Yahoo! and had her search for cheesecake recipes," Widmar said. "She got totally confused by the fact that we were searching within a web site for other web sites. She kept typing her keyword searches into the Internet Explorer address bar, not into the Yahoo! search bar. Then, when she accidentally typed 'cheesecake' into the Explorer box, it actually worked, because there happened to be a web site called that, so that just confused her even more."
After nearly a month, Lillian had finally gotten to the point where she could log onto a web site on her own. Almost every time, however, something unexpected would occur, causing her to panic and call her daughter for help.
Above: Karen Widmar with her mother Lillian, who continues to struggle with Internet use.
"It could be almost anything," Widmar said. "She goes apeshit whenever a pop-up window comes up. And one time, she paged me because she got a message about accepting cookies. She was all freaked out because now she thought she was being charged for actual cookies."
Widmar said her mother still does not grasp the difference between the Internet and e-mail.
"Whenever she wants to send me an e-mail, she says she's going to Internet me," Widmar said. "I think that's because we use AOL, so she has to log onto the Internet to do her e-mailing. Then there's chat rooms, which she thinks is e-mail. I just pray she never finds out about message boards. That'll throw her whole world into a tailspin."
Despite knowing next to nothing about computers or the Internet, Lillian will frequently attempt to troubleshoot problems using new terms she had heard.
"Every time she hears a new word involving computers, she incorporates it into her questions," Widmar said. "Last time she called, she said she couldn't get her e-mail working and that there must be something wrong with her firewall. I tried to explain that she didn't have a firewall, so she said her Java must be broken."
Widmar said her mother is a fairly anxious person in general, and that her recent forays into Internet use have only exacerbated those tendencies. Among her mother's greatest fears, Widmar said, is that she will be the target of computer crime.
"Last week, she freaked out because she got a porn spam," Widmar said. "Now she thinks they're targeting her for stalking or kidnapping. She wouldn't go near her computer for four days. She was also convinced that because the computer could send photos, it was capable of taking photos of her, maki
From the description, "spatial Nautilus" sounds exactly like the Finder (file system browser) in Mac OS 9. Nothing wrong with that -- I prefer it to the annoying one-window-per-folder Windows Explorer -- but it's interesting to see this being described as the "next step" in UI design, when it's more of a step back (or a step away from Microsoftianism if you prefer).
when she finds out that this revolutionary idea of opening a new window for each folder is one of the first features users turned off in windows 95
Have you Meta Moderated t
Sigh, I should have finished RTFA before I posted, instead of reading a bit then posting. Grandma really will use GNOME. Stupid me.
Where's the CowboyNeal option?
Note the label "FileSystem" in the Nautilus screenshot.
You just lost Grandma. Heck you just lost my dad.
You want to know how to design a computer for Grandma? You design it like a TV or a toaster is designed. Task oriented rather than open ended.
"For a successful technology, honesty must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled." -Feynman
I recently visited my Grandmother, who is quickly approaching 80 years of age. She is *highly* non-technical, and her spouse recently passed away, so she is pretty much on her own (in more ways than one, obviously).
We bought a simple Compaq for her back in the late '90's which was running Windows '98. It was a constant source of consternation and trouble. I spoke with her, and after a little debating, convinced her to 'revolutionize' her computing experience by installing Linux.
This I infact did, putting SuSE on her machine. I told her: "now, just leave the machine on all the time. You can leave the 'internet' window (aka, browser) always open. Be happy!"
Happy she is. While the DE used is actually KDE, the success of her transition goes to show that Linux is ready. In all honesty, I was surprised with the rapidity with which she grew accustomed to her system.
The most advantageous thing about moving her over: no longer are there long stretches of time where she can't email because her computer is on the fritze (she often had to wait for me or her son to visit and correct things). We've been in constant electronic communication since. It's wonderful.
Modern distros install all you'd really want for your PC as a grandma, Namely a web browser, an email program and a word processor.
The big problem's setting it up - so the focus should presumably be on a setup and install system that basically runs itself. This is where Linux can be tricky, but to be honest, when I installed SuSE 9, it was fine.
A clueless n00b will always need help, especially if they've never seen a computer being used before (which is the worst case scenario), so why not teach Grandma how to use it and set it up for her at the same time? And why not get used to using Linux rather than Windows as a first system? Importantly, Linux is harder to break, if you stay out of root, and doesn't suffer from viruses etc.
I think Linux for grandmas is perfectly feasible with modern distros.
---
"I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing and it was everything that I thought it could be."
Unless Granny is very bright and willing to learn, get her a Mac and use "Simple Finder" or whatever it's called.
Mine's 71. I gave her an old iBook running Mac OS9 and she's happy as a clam (no pun int.) She uses the bundled OE & IE. Nothing else.
I'm not really a web designer, I just play one on the Internet.
Grandma got run over by a penguin
Mmm....
My grandma is running Debian/woody on the machine I setup for her.. I locked most of her config files so that no matter what she does, it will not automaticaly save session information.. so if she messes it up, she can just reboot.
I setup 4 icons for her to click on.. OpenOffice 1.0 (writer), Mozilla, Mozilla Mail, and a button that does a shutdown -h now.. that's it..
I also setup the system with diald, so she doesn't have to figure out how to startup a ppp session.. works great.. she only calls me once a month about "problems with the computer" which always mean, something she forgot, and is doing incorrectly.. like when trying to click with the mouse, highlighting text in OOo, and then typing over the top of whole paragraphs of text.
"grandma, just use the keyboard"
This has been a public service announcement from the Grandparents are not Clueless Idiots Association...
Normal service is now being resumed... flame on...
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
Yup, I introduced my grandma to spam, viruses, a trojan horse that allowed some kid to pop up gay porn on her screen and open and shut her CD tray, a continuously quitting internet connection, and finally, the Blue Screen of Death... Windows eventually gave my grandma a heart attack.
How do you sleep at night, Bill Gates? Oh, yeah, that's right. On a bed of money.
But then again, now that Grandma's dead, so do I. Thanks, Bill! Now I know why everyone buys your stuff!
I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."
Its my job to make sure that all the people I know have their videos set to the correct time, the TV is tuned, the remote control works and the computer prints, e-mails and connects to the "interweb"
They don't care what "operating system" they use, they can barely pronounce "operating system" without strange facial contortions. All they want is e-mail, instant messaging, printing, document writing and something that makes them look cool with all the other "oldies" that are "getting into it".
"Can I still get my Hotmail on Linux?""Of course."
"How does that work then?"
"Hold on. Right. You click on this picture of an envelope with Hotmail written underneath. See?"
It doesn't matter if Open Office has "a squirrely install" - so does Microsoft Office. Grandma isn't the one installing the software, or setting it up. Heck, Grandma keeps all her documents in one directory!
"So what about those virus things?"
"Its OK. They won't affect you"
"Why is that?"
"They are just for Microsoft. There isn't any Microsoft on here"
I'll certainly agree about the world of spyware, virus updates, daily patches, scandisk. Gives me a headache, gives Grandma a colonic!
At the end of the day as long as the user has piece of mind and can do everything they want to do, what does it matter which OS, desktop or colour scheme they use? After all, their friendly neighbourhood systems administrator is the one who has created the work environment in exactly they way Grandma feels happy with.
Isn't there a theory that says whenever you want to check if a software is _really_ user-friendly, give it for your mother to try it. If she can use it easily, then anyone will.
Not necessarily. An interface that is easy to learn the first time might be a nightmare to use repeatedly. An interface that is intuitive for a non-computer-literate person might seem idiotic to a more experienced user (MS Bob, anyone?). And an interface that is fundamentally good might seem bad to someone who spent 10 years using Windows.
...presenting windows 3.11 for Linux.
What if my Grandma had been, oh, let's say Grace Hopper?
It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
One of my grandmothers started using MacOS when she was about 78. She joined the local Mac users group, and was everybody's favorite. She had them photoshop pictures of herself and remove the waddle under her chin. Yeah, vain, I know.
My other grandma is strictly mainframe.
"I know all about computers. My first job was running a computer. What the hell do I need a computer for?"
She ran a database system for a police department. On punch cards, in 1954. She would probably use vi, if we ever got her near a PC.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
I more or less forced my family into the posititon of working on a FreeBSD workstation running Gnome. My sister, who has recently turned 18 has adapted amazingly well, as has my mother. My dad couldn't really use a windows computer, so i guess he's the "control" group saying it is equally has difficult. I took back my 1.2Ghz Celeron w/ 1GB of RAM because they were not actually /doing/ anything and I needed my server back. Now all parties are well served. I login via SSH w/ forwared X11 via my iBook G4 and do what I need to do on the FreeBSD machine. They use it physically.
GNOME is "good enough" the way it is. Personally, I wouldn't attempt to make my grandparnts change. My grandpa is 91 and my grandma is 81. They don't really use their computer much, but can do what they do (email and that's about it). For christs sake, they're old enough, you know? why make them suffer more over so trivial an issue?
Rarely do I come across UIs on the mac that are confusing. Grammas everywhere should be so lucky.
Unless of course, YOU DON'T LOVE YOUR GRAMMA!!!
what your grandma needs is for her windows to burst into flames when she closes them.
K.
I like Linux and all, but looking at spacial Nautilus reminds me of the biggest problem with the Linux world is- it replicates, but doesn't innovate.
Spacial Nautilus just makes Gnome that much more like pre-OS X Mac OS. The new features they're advertising have been around since System 7. I like the changes, and I'll probably take advantage of them when using Gnome, but they aren't anything new.
To get back on topic, even with these "new" features, Linux is still much more complicated than Grandma can probably handle. Just because you like Linux and understand it doesn't mean that it's the right choice for Grandma. Think, why do you use Linux? Are any of those reason anything that you honestly think that Grandma cares about?
I remember when we first got my Grandfather a computer. We got an old Mac Plus running System 6.0.8 and set him up with a word processor and a printer. After a while we upgraded him to a IIsi. Then we got him a modem and put him on AOL. By the time he died he was on his fourth computer- a G4, and one of the better models at the time.
The point is that he learned slowly, but eventually got the hang of it. System 6 was a perfect place to start him at because it was simple, and let him adjust slowly to more modern technology. If I would have set him up with a modern OS I don't think he would have ever progressed past the word processing stage.
Sun did studies like the ones you are referring to and contributed the results back into Gnome. Sure enough, I found a reference to this on the Gnome.org HIG website.
Your original comment makes it appear that you have not used a recent version of Gnome (2.4 or 2.6) because it that project a very prominent example of how free software can have a focus on usability and still provide useful applications. You really ought to try it out if you haven't lately.
501 Not Implemented
Anti-virus software will be needed if Linux goes mainstream because a lot of security problems aren't the result of a software vulnerability. Trivial passwords, socially engineered virus emails, trojan horses, etc. Patch your code all you want but an uninformed or careless user can still let all sorts of malicious code in.
Feel free to mod me "-1 - Angry Jerk".
Hrmmn...
A local exploit is found in kde. or how about a remote one found in Gaim?
Everyone is reccomended to upgrade.
Can grandma do this? Most linewbies couldn't. I mean, I'd think twice about waiting until the next distro; with current rpm packaging systems, I've broken things past my knowledge of repair more than once.
It could be said that a point release wouldn't be as dramatic, but all but the largest projects just tell people to upgrade to the new version. How long will even KDE keep up with older releases?
Oh, and that's not even mentioning if the problem is with the kernel...
With all due respect, you're 48. You may be a grandmother, but there's no way (I sincerly hope) that your grandchild(ren) are old enough to build you a computer and be this bent on forcing Linux on you. Those that do have granchildren of that age aren't likely to have nearly the level of technical expertise that people from your age group. My pop's older than you, and uses PGP, open GPG, and absurdly complicated VB scripting regularly, but his mother would be greatly helped by this kind of GUI.
I thought the article to be very insightful/interesting, as it would greatly simplify my grandmother's life.
Sorry, but there are a lot of people who just want it to be a TV, i.e. just another appliance. Not the way most /.ers think of a machine, but try talking to people in other fields (biology, fine arts, etc.). They're not stupid, or lazy, they're just not interested in learning all the cool tricks. Show them a good browser, and be accessible to answer the "how do I..." questions, and that's all they want. Remember, something like 90% of machines are left in default configurations, so make sure those defaults make some sense.
There's been quite a buzz on Slashdot lately wrt open source and usability. Making a computer easy to use for "Grandma" (an insulting label for non-Slashdorks) isn't about limiting the number of icons on the desktop, or choosing the right text labels that these "Grandmas" of the world will understand. The slashdot communal mind needs to understand that usable software isn't just about adding a shiney coating to the outside--usable software has to be designed that way from the very beginning, and is a huge undertaking!
If you're interested in usable software, consider checking out these books: "The Inmates are Running the Asylum" by Alan Cooper, and Designing from Both Sides of the Screen by Ellen Isaacs and Alan Walendowski.
Personally, I hope that the recent trend on slashdot to talk about usability is more than just a fad and the open source world is finally starting to come around. These books are good starting points.
Hooray, they have re-invented Mac OS 7's spatial finder. And guess what: I've been explaining to users how to navigate Mac OS since 1995, and leaving everyting on the desktop only works if a) you don't mind a cluttered desktop (many users do) and b) you have a large enough monitor.
And there are plenty of surprises. (Not sure if Nautilus copies this or not, but this is what OS 7-9 did.) Double-click on the hard drive (or your home folder, or whatever) and put it in list/details view. Double-click on a folder--say, Documents. Go back to the parent window. Click the flippy triangle or plus sign or whatever next to Documents. Watch the "Documents" window close itself. Start explaining "spatial" to the user. Prepare for blank stares.
Face it: computers are complex devices that can perform a multitude of functions. Unless you are going to do only the most basic things (for example, only run a word processor and always save all your docs to the same folder) it will always be complex.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Begging your pardon, but I would respectfully have to disagree. Equating being a grandmother to a low level of technical incompetence has its basis in statistics. Even if one were simply forming hypotheses, one could easilly assume that the older one is, the less technically oriented this person is LIKELY to be. Perhaps not inherently because of age itself, but because of the kind of learning experiences these various groups of people have had.
It's all a matter of making learned guesses and rationalizing ones way through the given information. Not all grandmothers are old. Most seniors have little to no technical training. I can't say for certain whether one becomes harder to train the older one gets.
As for the statement on discrimination: while I certainly disagree with discrimination in any form, I don't see it happening here or in the article. Discrimination is a directed action against representatives of a group. When software developers develop or talk about designing software for grandmothers, they are simply making assumptions based on numbers. If one were to turn down a job applicant for a technical job, for instance, for simply being a grandmother, then THAT is discrimination.
I would say Linux is great for programmers and geeks, but also for complete neophytes who need to do very little with their computer; email, browsing, word processor, etc.
However I felt deeply alienated trying to use it myself. It had all this great bundled stuff, but I struggled to customize anything, save the wallpaper. Installing programs lead to aggravating dependency-something-or-others and it would take hours to do something that would take seconds in Windows.
However once it's all setup I'm sure it would be great, especially for grandma. I just don't have that kind of patience for headaches.
Corporations: your universal scapegoat for all society's ills.
Red Hat and Suse, and I'm pretty Sure Mandrake have all installed an autoupdate tool for the last few major versions, complete with a panel applet that is just as point-and-click friendly as Microsoft's WindowsUpdate systray program. And yes, they even handle kernel upgrades.
Pure debian doesn't have one, but I'd be more inclined to call debian a distribution framework than and actual distribution. I'd have to assume that Xandros, Linspire, Libranet, Lycoris, and all the other debian-based consumer desktop distributions do include such a tool.
The ease of use of windows is a myth; you have been trained for many years to use and accept windows. Windows is a complex beast that requires frequent attention. There is the requirement for an anti virus due to an inherently insecure default email client. You also have a web browser that allows popup hijacking. How will Grandma deal when the entire screen "corner to corner" is a porno picture? How will your Grandma deal when she gets a fresh install of GATOR?
Now please tell me that knoppix or mandrake move requires the same attention.
Get a free ipod.
Folks, it wouldn't hurt to learn a bit of history. Don't re-invent the wheel.
IBM's OS/2 WorkPlace Shell (WPS) has been using the spatial browser method for many, many years.
Open up a folder anywhere, one window for one folder. It retains it's size and position from the last time you closed it, and yes, even scroll bar position and view (different views are possible).
SHIFT+double-click to close the parent while opening up the child, and just right-click to bring up the menu to open the parent.
Sound familiar?
The features go on and on...and by the way, here's one thing that Nautilus doesn't have yet. The concept of a "Workspace".
Designate a folder as a Workspace in OS/2 WPS, and next time you open it, a complete environment will be restored. All open applications, all documents, any web browser links, etc. Close the folder, and everything closes up shop automatically.
You insensitive clod! You're thinking of a beowulf cluster of grandmas!
Crushing dreams at the speed of sarcasm
Almost every home PC I see where kids are not in picture still has the default icons on the desktop. You know, like 5 Dell icons that they never use but don't delete because they don't understand the difference between deleting an icon and deleting/removing an applicatoin. That and you end up seeing a dozen verisons of AOL;AOL 6, AOL 7, AOL 8 etc.
They only buy new PC's because a) things are so screwed up and the PC(Windows) doesn't work anymore or b) at work they got a new PC and broadband and they finally realize their Pentium 233 is out of date.
Like I said add kids in the picture and all I've said goes out the window. But for empty nesters and older people without children its mostly like I stated above. Just like the parent stated they are not likely to want new software once they have their basic needs met. This of course can be done with a good Linux distro. I'm obviously not saying its for everyone, but considering many home users just know 2 or 3 programs at most(one of them being Freecell) using Linux for such basic tasks is very much a realistic option. The problems Linux has still lies with slight more advanced users who want to use programs from work, play recent games, actually browse at the computer store, etc. This group will still have tons of problems with Linux.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
If you mod this up, you're sadder than I thought.
If you mod this down, you've no sense of humour.
And your comments make it appear that you aren't reading my comments properly. Please explain exactly when popular Gnome applications receive ongoing usability testing (which consists of the passive observation of people using the software within the experimental circumstances I have previously described).
Perhaps *you* aren't reading your own comments properly. You said usability testing wasn't being done, I showed you that indeed it was. So now you twist your original comment and pretend you were talking about ongoing usability testing. I get the distinct impression that you will continue arguing this point by adding new definitions and specifications as to what defines 'usablilty testing' so that you can continue to make your point. I know, I know, you're never wrong...
If your point is "free software projects don't do ongoing useability testing" that is seemingly correct, but that is a far cry from "Free software lacks usability testing" which was the title of your original post and a good summary of your original argument. The fact is that Gnome has done this type of testing and come up with a set of guidelines that they adhere to pretty closely.
Does this mean that they couldn't benefit from more usability testing? I'm not saying that... they probably could, and I imagine they will. But in the meantime the good folks at Gnome have proven than free software can produce a desktop with usability as a primary focus and that free software isn't "ill-equipped to do anything even approaching proper usability testing."
501 Not Implemented
... just why is everyone so eager to accept the idea that only a techinically incompetent individual would want something simple?
For that matter, who's to say the even techinically incompetent individuals may not want things simplified? I work with techinical incompetents (of diverse ages) who seem to have a definite preference for keeping things as complicated as they possibly can...
A desire, preference, or choice for simplicity over complexity is not necesarily an indicator of technical competence or lack thereof.
Competence and a desire for simplicity are unrelated functions of the human mechanism.
There even some who believe that simplicity is Good, and the ability to make things simple is an inidcator of technical compentence.
The whole "it's statistics" excuse for stereo-typing is a) old and tired (it was already worn out the the 70's, ferchrisesake), and b) bullshit.
Of course, on the other hand there are the L33t tech freaks who are afraid that if they are subjected to something simple it will fry the Acme Complexity Generation(tm) implants they so recently spent the big bux on...
"The Internet is made of cats."
Do any other operating systems suffer from the list of problems that plauge Windows but not (currently) Linux?
To narrow it even more;
Does Mac OSX suffer from the list of problems that plauge Windows?
My point;
Why should Linux, in comparison to OSX, be worse for the same list of issues?
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
Grandmas don't typically install/uninstall things, buy new hardware or software, upgrade their drivers, but when they do their IT staff (children or grandchildren) take care of it. It would be assinine to expect everyone in the world to become amateur sysadmins, most people just want to use their computer not fiddle with it.
Linux provides a rock solid, easy to use system to check e-mail, surf the web, write letters or balance the check book. If major changes in functionality are needed, then call in the IT support (grandkids, etc.). Many issues can be handled remotely via SSH.
OS X is another low maintenance option.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.