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Which Linux For Non-Techie Windows Users?
obarthelemy writes "Having at last gotten Linux to run satisfactorily on my own PCs, I'd now like to start transitioning friends and family from XP to Linux instead of Windows 7. The catch is that these guys don't understand or care much about computers, so the transition has to be as seamless and painless as possible. Actually, they won't care for new things; even the upcoming upgrade to Windows 7 would be a pain and a bother, which is a great opportunity for Linux. I'm not too concerned about software (most of them only need browser, IM, VLC, mail and a Powerpoint viewer for all those fascinating attachments). What I'm concerned about is OS look-and-feel and interface — system bar on the bottom with clock, trash, info on the right, menu on the left, menu items similar to those of Windows. Is it better to shoot for a very targeted distro? Which would you recommend? Are there themes/skins for mainstream distributions instead? I've been looking around the web, and it's hard to gauge which distros are well-done and reasonably active."
Welcome to Niggerbuntu
Niggerbuntu is a Linux-based operating system consisting of Free and Open Source software for laptops, desktops, and servers. Niggerbuntu has a clear focus on the user and usability - it should Just Work, even if the user has only the thinking capacities of a sponge. the OS ships with the latest Gnomrilla release as well as a selection of server and desktop software that makes for a comfortable desktop experience off of a single installation CD.
It also features the packaging manager ape-ghetto, and the challenging Linux manual pages have been reformatted into the new 'monkey' format, so for example the manual for the shutdown command can be accessed just by typing: 'monkey shut-up -h now mothafukka' instead of 'man shutdown'.
Absolutely Free of Charge
Niggerbuntu is free software, and available to you free of charge, as in free beer or free stuffs you can get from looting. It's also Free in the sense of giving you rights of Software Freedom. The freedom, to run, copy, steal, distribute, study, share, change and improve the software for any purpose, without paying licensing fees.
Free software as in free beer !
Niggerbuntu is an ancient Nigger word, meaning "humanity to monkeys". Niggerbuntu also means "I am what I am because of how apes behave". The Niggerbuntu Linux distribution brings the spirit of Niggerbuntu to the software world.
The dictator Bokassa described Niggerbuntu in the following way:
"A subhuman with Niggerbuntu is open and available to others (like a white bitch you're ready to fsck), affirming of others, does not feel threatened by the fact that other species are more intelligent than we are, for it has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that it belongs to the great monkey specie."
We chose the name Niggerbuntu for this distribution because we think it captures perfectly the spirit of sharing and looting that is at the heart of the open source movement.
Niggerbuntu - Linux for Subhuman Beings.
Wow, good job at being full of shit.
I installed Windows 7 on my HTPC, on Thursday and it has 5 hard drives. it didn't complain.
Raid 0,1 and 0+1 are normally set up in the bios, not the os. As long as 7 has the drivers, any version will install on a raid.
Gone!
The very fact that you are asking this question shows that you do not know a huge amount about Linux and the different distributions. If you did then the choices would be obvious.
Your family and friends know NOTHING about Linux and the different distributions. They will be looking at you to fix everything, and since you obviously don't know that much, you aren't going to give them the best answers. Then they will think "this Linux crap sucks" because you can't help them.
Instead of foisting Linux on these people, they should stick with Windows or Mac. When things go wrong on those platforms there are plenty of places to go for help (including the vendor) rather than you being the sole source of support.
When you've had more experience with Linux maybe then you can try foisting an OS on other people. By then though you won't be here asking this question.
Penny - plain text accounting
Leave your poor friends and family alone. Unless they specifically ask for it or there is some tangible benefit to you changing their OS from Microsoft to Linux, you are just being pushy.
There's no money savings because they've already paid for the license and that's about 99% of Linux's value proposition. I can't think of many compelling reasons to go out there and harass people you know with a new OS.
I know it would not work for me because my friends and family rely on the Windows platform for video games and easy access to any software they want. Also, I do not want the trouble that comes with helping to continue to support my friends and family after I ruin their whole PC experience with an operating system that will cause them all kinds of headaches.
Just leave your family alone, let them use their PC's in peace. You don't need to terrorize them with changing OS's and ruining their whole daily routine.
How do I best trick those around me into participating in my fringe activist activities? I understand it has no real benefits for them, but it is important to me that other people live as I want them to, and I have identified an opportunity to stealth-recruit some new saps.
Did you try installing the latest storage driver? You need to slipstream it into the install disc, ideally even removing the entries for the originally-included version from the inf file that loads drivers during windows install. This is the most likely culprit. Which host adapter chip/version is in the system in question?
Wow, that so won't work for Grandma. How much longer until Windows is ready for the desktop???
"suse is the retarded fat kid of linux distros"
Give me a Linux distro that offers the hardware support that Linux has but has the polished userland that FreeBSD has, the ease of use of the ports system, the clean src tree that builds without trauma, and a simple installation with minimal fluff.
Agreed. Ask first, and ESPECIALLY keep in mind the 'LOT of questions' part. I've figured out the hard way that this is a bad idea. Unless you enjoy being unpaid tech support. I find it easier to go with Vista/7 and switch it to classic appearance mode. Far fewer headaches from end users.
I know, it's great to promote OSS...but desktop Linux is still a ways off from being ready to replace Windows or OSX (psst..this is where you start flaming me). It works great out of the box, but as soon as you want to do much tweaking aside from desktop backgrounds and install some additional software, you will run into headaches. "I can't install X without Y and Z dependencies?" And then it's off to google to find out how to get them...in a way that works with the current version of said dependency on your distro...
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