Slashdot Mirror
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."
We all know Vista is crap, so if they're using that, switching to anything would be a reasonable upgrade.
There is often a difference between what the geek "knows" and what he "believes."
Case in point - the crap Win 7 stories that have been making their way to the front page of Slashdot.
they care about what they can do rather than who makes their OS, and their are reasonable alternatives to XP and Vista.
Pretty much everything of interest in Linux [FOSS] is ported to Windows or begins as a native Windows app.
That is not true the other way around - and it matters.
The gold standard for the Windows user is the OEM system bundle of hardware and software. The system works as advertised or it is returned for service or replacement under warranty.
The platform has strength and visibility as a consumer product. It has the attractive mass market price - and better specs than the bottom feeders.
The Win 7 PC in store or at WalMart.com comes in essentially two flavors:
Win SE for the Atom netbook. 64 Bit Windows Home Premium for everything else. 150 or so systems in all, with a bare handful priced over $1000. The laptop will be dual core with 4 GB RAM. The desktop quad core with 6 to 9 GB of RAM.