Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Ask Slashdot: Some Good Linux Desktop Option For Kids?

Posted by msmash on from the help-a-friend-out dept.

New submitter TIWolfman writes: I'm looking to re-purpose some of the older hardware that I've held onto to create something of a starter machine for my kids (both aged below 10). At this point it's still just a few shortcut icons I can setup on the desktop for them, primarily to web tools/sites they use, but I'd like some flexibility; everything I've read suggests options that haven't had any activity since 2015. Is there an option out there or is this just a custom job?

31 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. The year of Linux Desktop! by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 5, Funny

    The world in general is still waiting for a good Linux Desktop for adults...

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    1. Re: The year of Linux Desktop! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Turns out, we're about to get a consumer friendly Linux desktop from an unexpected place. ChromeOS is currently under very active development to get full support for running Linux apps. You can already see a developer preview if you have a Pixelbook and set a couple of flags. But most modern ChromeOS devices should get official support my end of the year.

      I've had Linux desktops/laptops exclusively since 1993. This is the first year I only have Linux remote servers and a Chromebook.

      ChromeOS with both Linux and Android support is literally the best Linux experience you can get

    2. Re:The year of Linux Desktop! by dbreeze · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No it's not. There are several fine desktop options available for those who decide to use Linux. What the world is waiting for is adults who recognize the advantage of breaking free from monopolistic, profit-driven, central control of their electronic/online experience.

      --
      When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
    3. Re: The year of Linux Desktop! by joetomato · · Score: 3, Informative

      Thereâ(TM)s a company called neverware that releases a free-for-personal-use distro of chromium OS customized to install/run on x86 called CloudReady. Iâ(TM)m not affiliated in any way, just evaluated it for use at work. Seemed to work decently, we ony decided against it because lf the cost of using it commercially.

    4. Re:The year of Linux Desktop! by Hylandr · · Score: 2

      I have all my kids Laptops running Ubuntu and the emulation software allows my teens to install windows games like Wizard101 through wine. They know how to install and troubleshoot Java and get minecraft and tekkit running etc.

      Perhaps the issue with the Linux destop is perspective. My kids 6 though Adult don't seem to have any trouble.

      Ubuntu for the Desktop, Centos for the server. ymmv.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
    5. Re:The year of Linux Desktop! by Hylandr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The Earlier kids master these skills the better they will be when it's time to enter the workforce.

      As the following article confirms:
      https://news.slashdot.org/stor...

      My kids have always had a computer. Literacy was taught on a PC. My 17 yr old is getting 80%+ on her AWS certification practice tests and is almost ready to enter the tech workforce while most other kids her age are almost ready to start flipping burgers.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
    6. Re: The year of Linux Desktop! by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 2

      I can confirm, for Older personal Laptops, this is a good option.

      If you want commercial version for older laptops (Business accounts), you'd be better off getting an actual Chromebook, which can be had for as little as a couple hundred dollars US. Not a normal computer, but it works for 90+% of what average people need these days.

      The OTHER option I offer up, is a Raspberry Pi, which can be had for $35, and a full kit is under $75. All you need is mouse, keyboard and monitor(HDMI) (another $100 maybe) and you have a full computer for under $200. A real, linux, computer. Raspbian is decent Desktop.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  2. Edubuntu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    https://www.edubuntu.org/
    Last release was in 2015 but it's on a 5-year LTS cycle

    1. Re:Edubuntu by GoTeam · · Score: 5, Informative

      I agree, edubuntu is a great option. My oldest is 7 years old and she enjoys using it.

  3. Linux Mint by bmimatt · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Nice UI, stable, easy to install. Consider launching in VM, so you can easily snapshot/restore or even clone the whole environment.

    1. Re:Linux Mint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you want them to be successful later in life and be able to integrate seemlessly into the modern business and financial world, I would suggest Microsoft Windows - it's universally used in the modern professional engineering and financial industries. If you send them off on a dead-end path down the road of hobbyist and non-commercial operating systems, you will confuse the hell out of them and set them up for scorn and failure when the time comes for them to get a job. They literally will have nothing to bring to the table for any employer to even consider them above a more qualified and trained candidate.

    2. Re:Linux Mint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you want them to be successful later in life and be able to integrate seemlessly into the modern business and financial world, I would suggest Microsoft Windows - it's universally used in the modern professional engineering and financial industries. If you send them off on a dead-end path down the road of hobbyist and non-commercial operating systems, you will confuse the hell out of them and set them up for scorn and failure when the time comes for them to get a job. They literally will have nothing to bring to the table for any employer to even consider them above a more qualified and trained candidate.

      Except independent thought and the ability to understand how a computer works by getting hands dirty if desired?

    3. Re:Linux Mint by Riceballsan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I've used linux as a primary OS since I was 13... and I repair windows computers for a living. If we are talking non-IT jobs, the basic window manager and libre office will have a near negligable shift between OS's. Most likely as little or less than the inevitable shift between windows 10 and windows 13 or whatever version is next to release. If computers does turn out to be what they want.. then expose them to a bit of everything. They should know windows, and linux etc...

    4. Re:Linux Mint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      If you want them to be successful later in life and be able to integrate seemlessly into the modern business and financial world, I would suggest Microsoft Windows - it's universally used in the modern professional engineering and financial industries. If you send them off on a dead-end path down the road of hobbyist and non-commercial operating systems, you will confuse the hell out of them and set them up for scorn and failure when the time comes for them to get a job. They literally will have nothing to bring to the table for any employer to even consider them above a more qualified and trained candidate.

      True story.

      I attended a conference about scientific computing, and Microsoft sent a rep to talk about Azure.
      His slides and presentation noted that Azure adoption across the board was rather stagnant until ... ... wait for it ... ... they allowed Linux VMs to run on Azure.

      Whatever 1990s notions you had about "modern professional" operating systems are ancient history today.

      And in five years when everybody is compiling C++ to WebAssembly and running their apps in the browser, absolutely nobody care what the underlying operating system it happens to be running on.

    5. Re:Linux Mint by dbreeze · · Score: 2

      I see Windows users as the abused members of a dysfunctional relationship. Constantly treated as though their opinion or desires are worthless, threatened that they couldn't survive or be wanted in another relationship, or, their success is dependent on staying with the abuser.
      Good parents don't raise their kids on monopolistic, corporate profit driven, malware/spyware.
      Microsoft is evil. Don't tell your children otherwise.

      --
      When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
    6. Re:Linux Mint by squiggleslash · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you want them to be unable to adapt the next time Microsoft revamps the Windows UI, or their boss asks them to use a Mac, or even a Ubuntu machine, then teaching a kid the current Windows UI and refusing to expose them to anything non-Windows is a good way to do it.

      If you want them to have generic skills that can apply across all platforms, and not assume that because one thing works one way everything else does, then providing them with something different to the UI used on the school computers, etc, is a better approach.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    7. Re:Linux Mint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you want them to be successful later in life and be able to integrate seemlessly into the modern business and financial world, I would suggest Microsoft Windows

      Nope, nope, nope. Better to be more flexibly educated than locked to one platform. Expose the kids to multiple environments.

      People tote out the "just learn Windows" line all the time, but nobody seems to pay attention to the fact that the Windows UI has changed radically more than once, to the point where, for example, if you only familiarized yourself with Windows 9x/2000/XP/7, you would probably have been better off switching to a Linux environment running something like XFCE, Cinnamon or MATE than being forced to use the schizophrenic horror that was Windows 8 and that has made its way, however slightly tempered, to Windows 10.

      Many (most?) business eschew changing platforms because "OMG, retraining" but when Microsoft makes radical changes they don't bother retraining because "hey, it's just Windows, so you must already know how to use it". Bunk. Win8/10 is a more significant change from WinXP/7 than many Linux environments. Even switching from XP/7 to OS X is a lot cleaner than WinXP/7 to Win8/10. The same was true when Microsoft forced the ribbon on us in Office. "What's the big deal, it's Microsoft Office so why do you need training?" However-many-years-later, it's still a PITA finding stuff on the ribbon that was easily located in the menus.

    8. Re:Linux Mint by jedidiah · · Score: 5, Insightful

      > If you want them to be successful later in life and be able to integrate seemlessly into the modern business and financial world, I would suggest Microsoft Windows

      These are modern children we are talking about, not middle aged dinosaurs ready to be put out to pasture.

      Kids aren't nearly that stupid. They can manage to use one brand of app and apply the same concepts to another. Someone under the age of 10 might be exposed to Linux or MacOS and not even percieve these as distinct platforms.

      Your sort of zealotry is gravely outdated.

      Besides, whatever they learn in the Microsoft space today will be gravely outdated by the time they might be exposed to it in the "real world".

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    9. Re:Linux Mint by StormReaver · · Score: 2

      My kids handle MATE just fine....

      My kids handle Kubuntu just fine, and have since they were each three years old.

      There have been lots of good posts here, and they completely reflect my experience with kids. They will easily move from one computing environment to the next, as they see them all as just minor variations on a common theme. Moving among Linux, Android, iCrap, Windows, Mac, etc. is just as easy for kids as it is for a competent driver to move among Ford, Chevy, Chrysler, Saturn, etc.

      Kids exposed to this stuff from birth aren't as absurd as their parents' and grandparents' generations that needed to memorize mouse clicks and keystrokes. They know to look for the print function on a program, rather than memorizing the specific keystrokes and mouse clicks needed to print on Microsoft Word. Once they are exposed to the idea that Print means output to paper or file, they then know to look for the Print function on ANY other program they use.

      This is the way it should have always been, but morons teaching computer classes taught specific applications rather than concepts. And more often then not, those morons taught that way because other morons promoted the idiotic notion that they should limit students to only what was popular in the day. And sometimes to just specific versions of those applications.

  4. What about Mint? by GTRacer · · Score: 2

    If you're looking for an easy to use Linux desktop, have you considered Mint? It's ben two years since I used it, but with the Cinnamon DE it was very Windows-like. Easy enough to put some icons on the desktop.

    If you were looking to do something more locked-down and kiosk-like, then I'm no help - have never researched that.

    --
    Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
    1. Re:What about Mint? by skidmarek · · Score: 2

      I agree. My 8-year-olds are using Mint without any problems.

      XFCE and Cinnamon are perfectly customizable for their needs.

      They don't need the gigantic icons the "kid-linux" flavours come with....they're young, not blind.

  5. Try the various “Tux” apps. by xack · · Score: 2

    Tux Racer, Tux Paint, Super Tux Kart etc.

  6. SLACKWARE! by Daltorak · · Score: 5, Funny

    And none of this modern shit.... give those little snots Version 2.1 on 70 floppy disks! Thatâ(TM)ll showâ(TM)em! If I had to struggle as a youth to learn Linux, so should everyone!!

    1. Re:SLACKWARE! by q_e_t · · Score: 2

      Back in my day we had to write our own kernel. Regards, Linus.

  7. Options for what? by Translation+Error · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I really don't have any idea from the submission what it is you're looking for. What is it you want for kids that's different from what you'd want for adult users? Give us some idea of your objectives.

    --
    When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
  8. Edubuntu by Thelasko · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Edubuntu used to be what you are looking for. However, it seems to be abandoned.

    I found the GCompris program to be very good a few years ago. I don't know how well it aged. You should be able to install it on any version of Linux.

    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  9. 'Ubermix' by Dusanyu · · Score: 2

    I hear good things about "Ubermix" http://www.ubermix.org/about.h... The project focuses on a reduced complexity environment and includes educational applications. might be worth looking at

  10. Linux for my nephew by steveha · · Score: 4, Informative

    When my nephew was 9, I set up a computer for him. I gave him a MATE desktop, which basically works similar to Windows, and he was able to use it right away.

    I didn't give him root on his own machine. However, I gave his user sudo permission to run the Software Manager. I gave him Linux Mint, which is a tweaked version of Ubuntu, so it was basically the Ubuntu Software Manager. This is pretty similar to the app store on mobile devices. So he had no ability to screw up his system, but he could browse the Software Manager, find a game or something, and install it with a click.

    My goal was to set his baseline expectations to Linux. I wanted him to see Windows and say "wait, there's no app store thing with free games on Windows? How primitive, give me my Linux please." I wouldn't say my brainwashing attempt succeeded, but he just turned 12 and he still uses the Linux computer for most of what he does on a computer. He also has a Windows laptop that he uses to run some Windows-only stuff he likes. But he chooses which computer to use just based on what he wants to run; he has no particular preference for Windows or for Linux.

    P.S. His Linux computer is an all-in-one made by Lenovo, with a really nice and big screen. I got it really inexpensively on eBay; I believe it was off-lease.

    --
    lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
  11. Raspberry Pi by Billy+the+Mountain · · Score: 4, Informative

    The latest Raspberry Pi model 3's come with Wi-Fi and four USB ports. The OS is on an SD card. You can make up several SD cards for different purposes using any of the many interesting distros available. Raspian is a decent basic Linux OS. As far as using old hardware goes, just retain the mice, keyboards and montors. Give each kid their own Pi and a few distros depending on their interests.

    Distrowatch will let you look at distributions based on hardware type: Distro Watch Raspberry Pi

    --
    That was the turning point of my life--I went from negative zero to positive zero.
  12. Kano by American+AC+in+Paris · · Score: 2

    If you're willing to drop a few bucks on a Raspberry Pi, Kano is an impressive project, acting as both kid-friendly desktop environment and programming education tool. Lots of built-in coding tutorials, a "learn how to use the shell" game, and a code-oriented version of Minecraft, to boot.

    http://developers.kano.me/downloads/

    --

    Obliteracy: Words with explosions

  13. Re:What a Luxury! by steveha · · Score: 2

    Congratulations! You spoiled him!

    It's my prerogative as his uncle to spoil him if I want. His mom, my sister, was fine with it.

    And actually, he never asked for a Linux computer... I just wanted him to have one and I made it happen.

    But thanks for telling me your opinion! I always worry I'm not getting enough input into my decisions from Anonymous Cowards on Slashdot.

    --
    lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely