Re: [tlug] Linspire as a senior citizen's first computer... whatdoyou think?

["Micheal E Cooper" <mcooper@example.com>]

I would like to volunteer here that I am pursuing this on TLUG to this
extent because the issue itself brings up a lot of issues related to using
Linux on the desktop for beginning users.

This is an interesting issue because it forces one to think about Linux
and its suitability for true beginners. If all these bright minds were
working on a single Linux distro, or at least only a couple, things would
definitely be more polished and easier to use. The fact that I am looking
at so many distros is one of the problems with Linux. But that is one of
the costs of openness and freedom, I suppose.

Alain wrote:

>     These are words well spoken.  Because WHEN things break it's best
> you have an idea of
> what to do since usually the family sys admin is the first, middle, and
> last line of defense for
> family members when PCs start going wonky.

I agree, but I am using Fedora, and I don't think it is good for a
beginner. It is not very stable, in fact. But I will keep that as the last
option, if I don't find a better Dad distro.

The only advantage Windows has here is the availability of people and
books to help him if I cannot. I will be on another continent, and ssh for
fixing things remotely is not practical because his only option is dial-up
bundled with a flat-rate long distance program. God save us all from
Mississippi.

> for updating the machine.  Personally, I wouldn't want to be having to
> handle the subscription
> behind the scenes if I could help it.  It's just one more extra
> administrative pain to avoid.

True. But I was recommended Linspire by a Mac-user (ex-Windows-user) who
loves Linspire. I watched her play with it, and it really is easy to use,
and the Linspire support for beginners is rather friendly. So I figured
that paying 20 dollars a year might be worth it.

Just some thoughts on Linspire:
1- Really nice Flash tutorial. Really nice.
2- Definitely easy to use.
3- All the mp3, realplayer, mpg, etc. plugins installed from the start.
4- Clearly not free beer, and it is pretty anti-debian, anti-ubuntu in the
sense that you must pay to play. However, at 20 or 50 dollars a year, it
is not that expensive.
5- The CNR system is really nice. In fact, I find this might make Linspire
easier to use than WinXP.

That having been said, such a grand system is not necessary for Dad.

I installed Ubuntu, and other than the drawback of gnome, it is really
just about as user-friendly as Linspire, but there are problems. For
example, Linspire installs and sets up Realplayer for you, while Ubuntu
just isn't cutting it. While I know that it is because Real does not allow
Ubuntu to package it for free, this means nothing to people like Dad. I
just want him to be able to listen to NPR online.

>> Once I get back to Japan, I plan to install Gentoo, Debian, and Ubuntu.
>> Then I will have more perspective.
>>
>     Gentoo is fun but I'm not sure I'd hand that over to a neophyte
> unless I had a pre-tuned system

No, the Gentoo, Debian, and Ubuntu fiddling is for me, not Dad. Like I
said, I find Fedora Core too inconsistent and edgy. I am thinking about
jumping ship. Once I return to Japan, it will be too late to do anything
for Dad, which is why I am a little troubled... I don't have the time to
learn a new distro and set up a rock-solid system myself before leaving,
so I was looking for something that works out of the box, or almost so.