Do your parents use Linux?

splittercode · 2010-08-13 21:11:32

My mother does. She's kind of a neo hippy (has a huge garden in her back yard, eats vegetarian, raises bees, does all kinds of outdoor sports/activities). Not surprisingly, she's not really interested in technology very much... kind of a luddite. I had tried to convert her before but she never really seemed interested in how operating systems and software actually work, so I think to her it just seemed like some esoteric, nerdy obsession of mine. However, after I explained to her the open-source and community-related aspects of GNU/Linux she really got into it. Now she uses Ubuntu exclusively.

Last edited by splittercode (2010-08-13 21:12:28)

akephalos · 2010-08-26 14:02:21

normc wrote:

I'm the parent here my kids 27 & 30 refuse to use linux they say it is too difficult.

LOL! "Great"...!
---

My parents both are on Linux, although different personalities (and separated). My mother is on Ubuntu and father on Kubuntu. I've made these choices of DE because I felt that this is what suits them each, just a subjective impression. I don't remember what distribution I was using at the time - more than 2 years ago, IIRC - but I installed Ubuntu because I relocate unpredictably and my brother, an "Ubuntist", is often in charge with responding to the "customers" . They have them dual-booting with Windows in case they need some things that can't be done on Linux - eg some enforced freaky Windows (possibly Visual Basic) software for creating balance sheets.

For the record: my brother is that kind of person who wants things that "just works", the same psychological type of Torvalds, and although he acknowledges the problems, bugs and other drawbacks of Ubuntu, he uses it claiming the immaturity of other projects and that he found yet "no complete alternative", being either a hassle to install or hard to understand (requiring to remember many commands and configuration options).

akephalos · 2010-08-26 14:18:51

zenlord wrote:

Granted, he has never used a windows computer before, but still: he is able to browse the web, read and write emails and I'm continually helping him to do new things (online shopping, online banking etc.). The biggest problem he has is using the mouse and double-clicking the buttons...

Yeah that's the advantage that computer-noob (grand-)parents have, they don't really make the difference and don't actually care much. My parents are the same, they were not "computer people" previously so they adapted easily to the Linux desktop.

SanskritFritz · 2010-08-26 14:19:09

My Dad uses Ubuntu. He is 75, but tech sawwy, he introduced me to computers with the ZX Spectrum back when I was a kid. My children use Arch, we have one box at home, exclusively with Arch, so no choice for them ;-)

toad · 2010-08-26 14:30:09

I recently put Mint on a mate's box (he's 74). He likes it, praised its documentation and hasn't looked back since

der_joachim · 2010-08-26 18:47:14

I had a 1998 Packard Bell laptop lying around (which for some reason happily works, even after dropping it on a concrete floor). My father needed a light computer. I installed Xubuntu on it, helped my father configure his wireless network, and he is seriously considering installing it on his main PC as well now.

mh3rn4nd3z3 · 2010-09-01 23:04:26

My mother and both my sisters use Linux. (Fedora and Ubuntu)

Mountainjew · 2010-09-01 23:11:20

I'm trying to get my dad to use linux for downloading his warez, as i'm sick of cleaning virii off his comp. It's pretty hard to turn a hardcore gamer though.

jomasti · 2010-09-02 04:50:35

My father uses it. He's a major distro hopper. He's always trying out different distros. He actually got me into it when he got some books about Linux from the library. I've just found more use of it as a whole, though. My sister uses Ubuntu. My mother doesn't want to use it, and that's fine with me.

ezzetabi · 2010-09-02 18:06:46

since there is no other operating systems in any of the computer of the house... yes, they do.

I admit that it is instructive to me too: I would never learn about wicd or networkmanager without them

pauligrinder · 2010-09-06 18:41:27

My mom uses Arch
About a year ago, I decided I simply couldn't stand fixing Windows XP whineing about not being genuine (even though it was!) all the time, so I installed Xubuntu on the machine. She only uses the computer to browse the internet and read some email etc anyway, so the only thing that matters when it comes to the OS is speed. Well, a while ago I couldn't stand xubuntu anymore and installed arch on the machine.
Sometimes it's kinda annoying, and I have to configure stuff over ssh all the time, but in the end, it works very fast and it's not too difficult for her to use either

taylorchu · 2010-09-06 19:41:08

@pauligrinder
My mom uses Arch, too. When my mom's Windows XP had killed by virus, I searched the web for linux distros that fit the computer. First I found ubuntu, a really user-friendly distro. But every half-year upgrade really messed up everything. Luckily, I found arch and I never try other distros since then. Both my mom and I love arch. After install xorg, gnome, gdm and several other software, it just work like ubuntu. All I have to do is Syu it every week.

l'pc · 2010-09-07 18:44:47

My parents would be using Linux on their main computer if we hadn't incompatible hardware (printer, webcam.)

They are using it though for Skype (without video, if they want it they must use the other computer) and music on some old laptop I newly set up with Arch.
They seems pretty pleased for now, we'll see if it lasts...

LeafStorm · 2010-09-07 23:08:25

My dad's the one who got me interested in computers in the first place. Recently (about one or two years ago), I installed Xubuntu on his laptop (it required much cajoling), and now he enjoys it, because it is much more responsive and secure. He has a new laptop and is dual-booting Win7/Xubuntu. However, he knows very little about Linux internals, and recent Ubuntu updates are preventing the wireless card from working, so he's a bit disgruntled with that. I keep telling him, "I should help you set up Arch Linux so you can learn about how Linux works," since he recommends using Linux to people sometimes and really shouldn't be relying on me to fix every Linux problem that happens, but he keeps saying "Maybe in a few months." (Maybe I can use the wireless card issue as an excuse to get him to go through it. Is wireless support for Broadcom cards *shudder* generally better or worse on Arch?)

My mom, OTOH, uses her company-issued laptop for most of her computing. (Fortunately, her IT people were smart enough to skip Vista and go straight from XP to 7.) As such, she mostly uses Windows for everything (she is an accountant, so the vast majority of spreadsheets she works with require arcane Excel formulae), but if she doesn't have said laptop she will use dad's (running Xubuntu) and seems to like it OK for Web browsing and the like.

picilli · 2010-09-11 08:54:51

My mother uses Arch linux since dad died last year. She pay her bills online, and likes to open all emails on jokes, funny pics and pps her friends mercilessly keep forwarding. I decided to install linux on her desktop.

There is passwordless login into X and XFCE. There are large icons on desktop Documents folder for her important stuff, a beautified eyecandy Xcalc, a large icon for Firefox, and Hotmail is browser's home.
Bookmarks in FF for her bank's homepage, our local online newspapers and obituaries. That's all she asked for.

She is pleased with it, and she has no idea what is Linux nor what is xfce, and she doesn't care. I update the system each time I visit, once a week usually.

adamlau · 2010-09-25 06:36:51

Mom is on Xubuntu running JWM + xfdesktop on a Dell dual core Xeon server. Didn't want to deal with having to go over and fix things when something broke due to vanilla package brokenness. But it is painfully slow. Painfully. Didn't want to SSH into the box either. I'll have to go over someday and lock her into Arch + JWM + xfdesktop with the .32 LTS kernel (NetBSD doesn't play nice with the Dell and its add-on cards). Dad is on Vista. He has to be to run his preferred CAD application (WINE fails to run it and virtualization is too complicated for him).

Last edited by adamlau (2010-09-25 06:39:28)

adamlau · 2010-09-30 05:35:34

adamlau wrote:

Mom is on Xubuntu running JWM + xfdesktop on a Dell dual core Xeon server. Didn't want to deal with having to go over and fix things when something broke due to vanilla package brokenness. But it is painfully slow. Painfully. Didn't want to SSH into the box either. I'll have to go over someday and lock her into Arch + JWM + xfdesktop with the .32 LTS kernel (NetBSD doesn't play nice with the Dell and its add-on cards). Dad is on Vista. He has to be to run his preferred CAD application (WINE fails to run it and virtualization is too complicated for him).

Yay! I finally moved my mom over to Arch today...JWM + xfdesktop + ePDFview + OpenOffice + Firefox is all she needs!

Last edited by adamlau (2010-09-30 05:36:09)

Nichollan · 2010-09-30 06:35:56

My father is a bit of businessman, and sticks to Windows first of all because of Microsoft Office. He fears that GNU/Linux alternatives will not be entirely compatible with Microsoft Office documents.

Anntoin · 2010-09-30 08:19:38

Just delivering a new laptop to my Dad - running Ubuntu. He's been using OS X for the last couple of years (I hated supporting Windows) but it's not great for his needs. Set up Ubuntu with the few apps he wants and a couple of simple cheat sheets printed out. Looking forward to having things just work and not fall over every month.

P.S. Moved my girlfriends (non techie) Dad to Ubuntu a few months ago and apart from installing a printer for him haven't had a problem since.

schivmeister · 2010-09-30 12:21:25

My mum's not really into tech, but whenever she gets the time she'd sit down with my dad to surf the web or view videos. My dad's the one who uses the computer a lot, being a business person. However, he often screams at me about the lack of usefulness of the computers I own, especially when he borrows my laptop and stumbles upon everything in my KDE desktop. "Too complicated" is his answer, but he's my father, so not surprisingly it didn't take time for him to understand the differences between Linux and Windows, or between operating systems for that matter. He even told me he saw a Linux course and wanted to take it. I told him "no need". Not that I'd teach him

My siblings, on the other hand, being wayyyy younger than me and having grown up in the age of technology, manage to use any platform with ease. My girlfriends? Well, only two of them so far actually have seen Linux, mostly through College/University programs/courses.

ss2 · 2010-10-07 13:15:20

Well, I didn't ask my mum. Just gave her a system. She's happy, kind off. Kind off, because things wouldn't be better if it where a Windows. That makes my life easier because I never have to worry her breaking up the system and I understand it better any way. :-)

I started to migrate my siblings computers to Linux too. My sister is happy. She loves it because she's so surprised her laptop is actually fast (Vista is like driving a car with pulled handbrakes: No speed or traction) and same here: I have a much easier life with a system staying clean and for them they feel a more consistent and straightforward system.

Setting up such systems within your relatives is quite a good approach. You just have to let them know you are confident with IT and they aren't. Teach them to listen to you and then let them feel what rubbish they use. That will spread and some confident users will catch up doing the same.

shak · 2010-10-07 16:23:09

My parents can't even use windows so the answer is no .

evot · 2010-10-07 17:12:14

My mother use Ubuntu.
Because only use for her computer is browsing web and some other basic things.

ss2 · 2010-10-08 00:23:48

shak wrote:

My parents can't even use windows so the answer is no .

Maybe it's because of Windows? :-P

hitest · 2010-10-10 02:49:39

Nope....my parents use Winders XP Home Edition......blech:)

Arch Linux

#101 2010-08-13 21:11:32

Re: Do your parents use Linux?

#102 2010-08-26 14:02:21

Re: Do your parents use Linux?

#103 2010-08-26 14:18:51

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#104 2010-08-26 14:19:09

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#105 2010-08-26 14:30:09

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#106 2010-08-26 18:47:14

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#107 2010-09-01 23:04:26

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#108 2010-09-01 23:11:20

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#109 2010-09-02 04:50:35

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#110 2010-09-02 18:06:46

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#111 2010-09-06 18:41:27

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#112 2010-09-06 19:41:08

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#113 2010-09-07 18:44:47

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#114 2010-09-07 23:08:25

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#115 2010-09-11 08:54:51

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#116 2010-09-25 06:36:51

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#117 2010-09-30 05:35:34

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#118 2010-09-30 06:35:56

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#119 2010-09-30 08:19:38

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#120 2010-09-30 12:21:25

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#121 2010-10-07 13:15:20

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#122 2010-10-07 16:23:09

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#123 2010-10-07 17:12:14

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#124 2010-10-08 00:23:48

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#125 2010-10-10 02:49:39

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