Linux for new users-A cautionary tale

[MurphCID]

I showed him Synaptic

Oh, look at all those things I can delete. I do not need linux-firmware as I use Linux Mint.

Exactly, he was entranced by all the fonts he can add. I seriously doubt he will do much of anything else since he is a computer user, not a computer adventurer.

[MurphCID]

My other buddy (the one who just had the quadruple bypass), came back from hospital, and discovered that his monitor that he had plugged into the Darter Pro was not working, so he called me for tech support. I fired up POP!_OS and we tried many things. Nothing worked. Hmmm. Then he discovered that the monitor was unplugged......

[Hoser Rob]

My other buddy (the one who just had the quadruple bypass), came back from hospital, and discovered that his monitor that he had plugged into the Darter Pro was not working, so he called me for tech support. I fired up POP!_OS and we tried many things. Nothing worked. Hmmm. Then he discovered that the monitor was unplugged......

That's why I try to ask the most simple stupid thing I can think of first on these forums. You need to get that out of the way.

[MurphCID]

Are the others here who have provided friends/family with Linux devices that they know are Linux and no not have any problems using the computer? My other friend Pete has not found anything yet he cannot do on the Linux laptop. I just wish I could have upgraded it to 16gb of ram which is my current standard for ram in anything.

[AZgl1800]

I don't recall what the RAM was in my sister's PC when it blue screened,
she bought it at Wally World, for what that is worth.

it runs LM20.3 Cinnamon just fine,
just not near as fast as my laptop does though

[RollyShed]

Are the others here who have provided friends/family with Linux devices that they know are Linux and no not have any problems using the computer?

Yes.
Over 50 people. Actually over 100 SSDs done.
Classic cases -
My partner, MS wiped her computer in 2018 so Windows one day, Linux the next since then. No problems, simply carried on using the computer (everything had been backed-up), business spreadsheets, violin lessons, music downloads, etc. etc.

A person couldn't get her assignments done on Windows. Linux installation on her laptop, assignments done, qualifications and a job.

A week ago, an Acer laptop keyboard totally failed. Owner given a desktop with Linux and very happy using it.

And so it goes on, usually a disk replaced with an SSD with Linux Mint and a happy user.

[MurphCID]

Bravo good sir! Bravo.

[ivar]

Chris Barnett @ explainingcomputers just released this video re: promoting linux:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98kFh3JpIXk

[TaterChip]

I did basically the same thing in 2019 when I knew at some point I would be divorcing Microsoft. It made it a lot easier to make the switch.

When I used to use Windows (the last was Win7 so it was a little while ago) I used a number of programs that were also Linux apps. I didn't do so to ease any transition, it was just good software. But it did go some way in justifying installing Linux.

One of them was SMPlayer and actually the only reason I ever tried it in the first place was that I was looking for a video player that could remember where I stopped a file playback at without having to use bookmarks. It turned out to have the best performance of any video player I've ever tried, and still does. And unlike VLC the interface is actually really good. Good enough that I've almost never had to read the docs.

I had never heard of SMPlayer. I installed it to give it a spin. I've been using vlc all this time.

In the photography realm the linux software is lacking compared to some of the windows counterparts. I could do things with Affinity photo that Gimp cant touch... maybe someday.

[TaterChip]

Now close to 40 years later. I avoid the terminal like the plague. It's not because I'm afraid of it, though, I do realize that I could severely screw up my system trying to use it. For me, it feels more like a regression instead of progress

I imagine some kids today think hand typing on a computer keyboard is a regression versus tapping an app on their phones and talking=to-text to send someone a text. But these same kids couldn't explain what a folder is to save their lives if they ever needed to find something in a laptop or desktop PC ( such as a regular job somewhere ) because they are so spoiled rotten to 21st century tech

Only I started off with the original Commodore 64, and moved into MS DOS when it was new. So I started off having to use the command prompt.

As to the kids and their typing, I agree with you. However, I'm glad that text to speech software exists and is getting better. Thanks to my stroke, typing with my left hand is no longer a possibility. Going from around 45 words a minute to hunting and pecking with my right hand is brutal. I wish I could still type on a keyboard

[TaterChip]

Are the others here who have provided friends/family with Linux devices that they know are Linux and no not have any problems using the computer? My other friend Pete has not found anything yet he cannot do on the Linux laptop. I just wish I could have upgraded it to 16gb of ram which is my current standard for ram in anything.

MS pissed off my 75+ dad. He had me install Mint 21.1 XFCE on his computer and loves it. Says he will never go back to MS

[MurphCID]

Are the others here who have provided friends/family with Linux devices that they know are Linux and no not have any problems using the computer? My other friend Pete has not found anything yet he cannot do on the Linux laptop. I just wish I could have upgraded it to 16gb of ram which is my current standard for ram in anything.

MS pissed off my 75+ dad. He had me install Mint 21.1 XFCE on his computer and loves it. Says he will never go back to MS

Windows 10 did it for my dad. But we did not tell him it was linux, my brothers and I skinned it to look like his beloved Windows XP, and he is completely happy.

[AZgl1800]

Windows 10 did it for my dad. But we did not tell him it was linux, my brothers and I skinned it to look like his beloved Windows XP, and he is completely happy.

that is what I did for my sister, I never say the word "linux" to her

[MurphCID]

I turned Steve on to some Linux games like nethack and Battle for Wesnoth and he is happy. Same with Pete, also Audacity for his music mixing. Neither one wants to go back to Windows.