Comments on: Why you should switch your parents pc to ubuntu

By: Eskimorris

Eskimorris — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:08:46 +0000

I am about to do this for my parents later today, i have weighted the pros and cons for awhile and after the third time (this being the fourth) reformatting my parents system, here is what i’ve come to.

Pros:
no viri
software is free, my parents are retired.
less of a resource hog, faster computer
if they DO break it, as long as you make a seperate partition for /home then you’ll never loose your files

CONS:
remember there are bugs, i love linux but they exist
kernel update will mess up wifi sometimes
if they like to shut their computer down, they must do it properly, a hard shut down in linux can cause problems loading
if they are past the point of trying new things it may be unfamiliar to them.
work arounds require research, Itunes w/ WINE no Turbotax etc.

I believe the Pros outweight the cons.

Dear John, I work in a technical support office. I am excited that you are able to comprehend and understand and learn. Many people I speak to simply are unwilling to retain information they learn. I always love speaking to folks such as yourself, who have the drive to adapt an learn always changing technology. Many people your age do not have the drive or ability to do what you do, we in no way mean to take away from your experience. from my experience people past the age of 40 who are able to understand and use the full potential of linux or even other operating systems are rare. you are a minority, we applaud you, but the fact remains many users don’t have the mental capacity.

By: Installing KDE 4.3.2 on Ubuntu | 101TECHREVIEW.co.cc

Installing KDE 4.3.2 on Ubuntu | 101TECHREVIEW.co.cc — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:14:34 +0000

[...] Why you should switch your parents pc to ubuntu (19) [...]

By: Get to know Linux: Removing files | Jag Tycker Om

Get to know Linux: Removing files | Jag Tycker Om — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:42:46 +0000

[...] Why you should switch your parents pc to ubuntu (18) [...]

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:43:07 +0000

Guys, I did the same thing for my parents. I gave them an old 512mb RAM laptop about a year or so ago. With XP installed they were calling me all the time as they kept breaking stuff or getting trojans from acidentally swithing off Anti Virus etc, then they got paranoid about it and started using my little sisters college laptop which caused all kinds of arguments. All they use the thing for is storing the odd photo, ebay, email and other internet stuff. I wiped the thing and put Ubuntu on. It loaded up a treat, runs faster than XP did on the machine and my parents actually got it straight off the bat. Like someone else said, it just works. Ubuntu and parents is a good mix.

By: The Guardian Says GNU/Linux is Prefect for Technophobes

The Guardian Says GNU/Linux is Prefect for Technophobes — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:45:01 +0000

[...] http://www.ghacks.net/2006/12/20/why-you-should-switch-your-parents-pc-to-ubuntu/ [...]

By: Linux is Beyond Ready for Non-techie Grandparents

Linux is Beyond Ready for Non-techie Grandparents — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:58:48 +0000

[...] http://www.ghacks.net/2006/12/20/why-you-should-switch-your-parents-pc-to-ubuntu/ [...]

By: Ranto

Ranto — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:46:04 +0000

Billy Bob, do you have any experience of Ubuntu linux? Windows boxes with less technical people are going to experience ongoing security issues – freeware and even commercial solutions quickly become outdated.

Installation is the critical period for linux and ubuntu linux on desktops tends to work out of the box. If ubuntu linux installs, and works, then security issues are resolved permanently.

By: Billy Bob

Billy Bob — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:44:00 +0000

Sorry guys but having your parents running a Linux box to solve a security issue under Windows doesn’t make much sense. You could probably fix the security problem once and not worry about it but I can only imagine the many problems that would come up under Linux.

It’s a pretty bad idea and one reason why Linux is so weak on the desktop.

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:43:26 +0000

Thanks adrift!

By: adrift

adrift — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:00:09 +0000

Yeah, you can run WOW on Ubuntu, you just need to use “Wine” (not the drinking kind, but i’m sure that’ll make setting it up more interesting). There’s a couple of write ups on how to do this on the Ubuntu Forums. Here’s one http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=120615

By: Todd

Todd — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 17:32:37 +0000

On an unrelated note, has anyone attempted to run World of Warcraft on Ubuntu? That’s pretty much the only thing I think that would hold me back from completely switching over. I know I could just dual boot, but to me that seems like it would be defeating the whole point of using Ubuntu in the first place.

By: adrift

adrift — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 17:27:22 +0000

i didn’t sense any negative tone in your post Martin. I think John is being a little bit over-sensitive. Anyhow, great read Martin. I read a post along the same lines at diggs.com recently as well. There’s a few problems i can forsee with setting my folks up with Ubuntu, namely things like watching streaming windows media files and the like, but hopefully you’ll be able to cross those roads when you come to them.

By: Todd

Todd — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 17:24:12 +0000

People shouldn’t take the internet so seriously. The point of Martin posting this was to help people, not to imply that old people can’t use a computer. I believe the majority of the people who read this site daily are the people that everyone else comes to for help when there’s a problem with their computer, or to put it simply “computer savvy people”. You’re one of those people John. The reason the post is titled “Why you should switch your parents’ pc” is because that was how it applied to Martin. It could have easily been titled “Why you should probably put Ubuntu on your wife’s pc” instead, and have gotten the same point across, but the whole reason this story was posted is because of the junk he found when was cleaning his mom’s pc! Don’t take things so seriously, it’s only the internet. :)

By: Martin

Martin — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:46:06 +0000

John I was not implying that there are no elder who have the knowledge to build and maintain a pc on their own. I respect the elder and did not mean to “talk down on them”.

By: John

John — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:25:38 +0000

I read your post every morning and generally enjoy them and find them informative. However, this post bothers me somewhat. I have two computers that I have built from all new parts, one 2 years ago and 1 this summer. I have 1 running XP with a few programs that I must have (not ready to let go yet or haven’t found a suitable replacement)and also used to help troubleshoot problems of others. My main computer I first put Vista Beta on and then dumped it and put Linux (Kanotix) on. I have now switched to Sidux. I have no formal training in computers, all self taught. My neighbors ask me questions and I help repair their problems.

The point of the rant is that I am 63 years old. Quit talking down to parents and grandparents. You did not invent computers. Many of us have been at this far longer than you have. Quit being condescending.

john

By: Rodrigo Schmidt

Rodrigo Schmidt — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:36:32 +0000

I switched to Ubuntu, but can’t convice my father and mother to do so because my father loves to play Age of Empires and my Mother uses to PC to capture video with a unknowkn video-capture-card.

I believe that Ubuntu is great, but some problems like that and bad recognization of dial-up modens still keeps it from hiting main ground.

By: Martin

Martin — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 07:13:14 +0000

Thinker most parents to not use multimedia / games which makes them an ideal candidate to switch. And it is not only about the drivers. They have to keep up with windows patches, firewall, anti-virus, phishing, spyware, dialers, trojans, backdoors which is probably to much for inexperienced users.

By: Thinker

Thinker — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 07:02:39 +0000

Bogart:
under windows it will just work too.
simply dont install drivers, it is the best way.

anyway it seems that linux gain more and more advantages over windows, but still there is much more good programs/games/multimedia for windows

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 21:37:46 +0000

Thanks for another great story.

By: Bogart

Bogart — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:43:37 +0000

I’ve also found Ubuntu to be easier from the point of view that things “just work”.

In Windows, in order to get my digital camera working I need to find (on a website somewhere because I lost the CD) and then install drivers. These drivers elicit a warning that they are not approved and may damage my computer – but I need to install them. This is a USB mass storage device people!

In Ubuntu I just plug it in. It Works.