Agree to the malware stuff, yes parental control is needed is any case of the OS, as well as an Anti-virus. Malware is not the issue with Windows, rather it depends on how popular an OS is. There are open holes in Linux as well, but there is no vested interest in finding them by public domains, due to its market share.
For Example, I just moved from OpenSuSE 10 to OpenSuSE 11 and my X server freezes, but this will not be the case with Windows, there is huge driver support for most of the hardware out on any upgrades. We do not want the kids or the administrative people in the orphanage to do system administration or search for drivers or ping the Linux forums for a patch and perform rpm updates.
I am for Linux, but Linux has its own users and market, why get it to a place where its potential will not be seen and bring more people against it.
Though I am Linux user, I would still prefer a novice to use Win XP, how does it matter if it is going to be un-supported, unless the charity people are going to install all latest and greatest software/games. Even for another 5 yrs it would work with the software available today or another year or so. So timeline of OS shouldn't matter, rather how much people can use it matters. Putting Linux might not solve the novice problem and the machine might just stay there as a box.
So, lets be realistic and make sure the donated comps get used well.
Slashdot Mirror
Agree to the malware stuff, yes parental control is needed is any case of the OS, as well as an Anti-virus. Malware is not the issue with Windows, rather it depends on how popular an OS is. There are open holes in Linux as well, but there is no vested interest in finding them by public domains, due to its market share. For Example, I just moved from OpenSuSE 10 to OpenSuSE 11 and my X server freezes, but this will not be the case with Windows, there is huge driver support for most of the hardware out on any upgrades. We do not want the kids or the administrative people in the orphanage to do system administration or search for drivers or ping the Linux forums for a patch and perform rpm updates. I am for Linux, but Linux has its own users and market, why get it to a place where its potential will not be seen and bring more people against it.
Though I am Linux user, I would still prefer a novice to use Win XP, how does it matter if it is going to be un-supported, unless the charity people are going to install all latest and greatest software/games. Even for another 5 yrs it would work with the software available today or another year or so. So timeline of OS shouldn't matter, rather how much people can use it matters. Putting Linux might not solve the novice problem and the machine might just stay there as a box. So, lets be realistic and make sure the donated comps get used well.