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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Switched my Parents to Linux (lemmy.ml)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

115 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm visiting my parents for the holidays and convinced them to let me switch them to Linux.

They use their computer for the typical basic stuff; email, YouTube, Word, Facebook, and occasionally printing/scanning.

I promised my mom that everything would look the same and work the same. I used Linux Mint and customized the theme to look like Windows 10. I even replaced the Mint "Start" button with the Windows logo.

So far they like it and everything runs great. Plus it's snappier now that Windows isn't hogging all the system resources.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I don't agree with your exact reasoning on the middle ground, but I think there's truth in the underlying sentiment.

I do think that users that are are competent with technology but unfamiliar with Linux are pretty likely to get frustrated with it. I had this discussion with a friend just yesterday. They want to try out Linux because of frustration with Windows 11's restrictive hardware requirements. But they also want to ease in to it. I think that's wise. In this specific case, I think if they tried to dump Windows in it's entirety and try to use Arch right off the bat, they'd get frustrated and give up. But if they tried a user friendly distro on a secondary piece of hardware? I think that has a good chance of creating a new Linux user.

I guess the point of that rambling paragraph is that that type of a user is a challenge, but there is middle ground to be had.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

It was hard for me too, but PopOS made my life easy back in the day when I first tried.

No drivers needed, everything worked out of the box, including the Nvidia GeForce 2060 Mobile. So I just needed to get comfortable with the OS in general.