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Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

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Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#121

Post by jmkni »

taylodl wrote: post #2

I was going to comment why not get them an iPad, but that would be a big change all at once. I like your approach of slowly introducing them to the new software they'd be running on Ubuntu on their Windows 10 system. That way they get used to all the new programs and the final switch to Ubuntu is pretty much a non-event. Smart! So smart that I don't think transitioning them to an iPad would be that easy.

I got my parents (late 70s) an iPad, and they picked it up more or less right away.

I’m not an Apple fanboy by any means, but the reality is that a lot of people don’t need a PC or Laptop of any sort, they just need an iPad!

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#122

Post by jmkni »

y4mi wrote: post #119
williamdclt wrote: post #99

I really would like to do the same. My father is always complaining about Windows problems that just don't happen with Mint/Ubuntu, and my mom has an machine that's too weak and old to run windows properly. The one thing that prevent me to do that is that they use their computer for work. While I'm certain that I wouldn't have any problem doing their job with Linux, they ask me "can you absolutely guarantee that I'll…

I can guarantee you that there is no equivalent to word on Linux. All compatible office suites display word documents differently, and none come close to feature parity if we're talking about advanced macros and similar. There is no alternative to Windows If they need Microsoft office for work... Or a VM just to run that shitty application. Same applies to video conferencing software. If he is forced to use a specifi…

> no equivalent

...

> that shitty application

Pick one!

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#123

Post by jcoffland »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #87
swayvil wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking the same thing. Ubuntu is getting hoggy and commercial. And the default desktop, ick. (Can you get Mate for that?) I use Debian + Mate mself. Install it on my clients' machines too. People like it.

Ubuntu mate is great. What about the shitty release cycle? I find it easy to understand, unlike Debian.

Debian has a rolling release. Very easy to understand.

Ubuntu has 6-month releases and LTS releases. In my experience, upgrading Ubuntu often fails and requires manual intervention whereas Debian upgrades just work.

If you get a few years behind on Ubuntu upgrades you either have to reinstall or apply each upgrade in sequence.

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#124

Post by Marsymars »

walshemj wrote: post #93
mrweasel wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only people I know that uses Skype are people working for large companies and they only use it because their employers tell them to. I think it has to do with how your countries telcos developed. If phone calls a cheap, why would you care about Skype? WhatsApp, Telegram and other messaging services seem to be popular around the world, but, perhaps because SMS quickly became basically free here, everyone just use…

Not in the US where I suspect a majority of HN readers come from.

I'd be interested to see numbers. I'd guess plurality, but not majority.

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#125

Post by oever »

jaredandrews wrote: post #44

Just to add another anecdote... Back in 2008 or so, my relatives did the really nice thing of buying my Grandma the cheapest possible Walmart computer they could find. You know the sort of Windows eMachine that comes preinstalled with spyware? Of course, my relatives live about 6 hours away from her and all of the "on site support" fell to me. In the first 2 years of my Grandma getting this computer I must have gone…

I've just returned from a philosophical café about algorithms and society. A 78 year old attendee in the audience was advocating Linux to avoid junk on your computer. He claimed it's easy for anyone to switch from Windows to Linux as he had done last year. He installed Linux Mint himself, which he claimed is easy because it's just a download and he's not a technical person himself.

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#126

Post by icebraining »

l1am0 wrote: post #26
simplicio wrote: post #21

I always thought a good line for Canonical to get into would be to release a "Granny-buntu" distro that was super-locked down that grandkids could set up for their elders once and then ideally have a few easily identified launchers on the desktop that would launch with sensible defaults, and nothing else.

You could do this yourself, by setting a root account for your admin work and an unprivileged account for your parents. With that setup is not so easy to nuke things over. (But a backup is still important :D)

An unprivileged account can still do stuff like accidentally hide the toolbar or delete some shortcut to an application. The machine still boots, but it's effectively unusable.

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#127

Post by gumby »

mpweiher wrote: post #59
yawaramin wrote: post #56

When it comes to parents, a 'tech support call' is not just a tech support call, it's a chance for them to talk to their kids.

So this comes down to "After I switched my parents to Linux, they don't want to talk to me any more"...

In my case, if only!

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#128

Post by AsyncAwait »

cookiecaper wrote: post #77
dsr_ wrote: post #20

My father was willing to switch, my mother was not. So: my father is now on his third Linux machine in 16 years (two laptops and now a NUC hiding behind a 24" monitor). Normal updates are handled automatically; I do a major upgrade once a year. rsnapshot backs up to an external disk three times a day. Every so often he tells me that he wants to do something new, and asks if it's possible; the answer is always yes. My…

Similar situation here -- my mom uses Linux and my dad insists on Windows (to be fair, he has tried Linux here and there). My mom's computer has been trucking for over 10 years and after initial setup, she has rarely had issues. My dad has been through 4 different systems in the same amount of time and each one ends up riddled with malware and nigh unusable before he decides he just needs to upgrade again. In my dad'…

For great Office compatibility, I found SoftMaker Office 2018 for Linux to work well[1].

1 - https://www.softmaker.com/en/softmaker-office

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#129

Post by swayvil »

jcoffland wrote: post #123
mixmastamyk wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ubuntu mate is great. What about the shitty release cycle? I find it easy to understand, unlike Debian.

Debian has a rolling release. Very easy to understand. Ubuntu has 6-month releases and LTS releases. In my experience, upgrading Ubuntu often fails and requires manual intervention whereas Debian upgrades just work. If you get a few years behind on Ubuntu upgrades you either have to reinstall or apply each upgrade in sequence.

Likewise, no probs at all in the install or upgrades ever.

Debian is the preferred laptop OS on the International Space Station, btw.

Re: Switching my parents over to Linux saved me a lot of headache and support calls

#130

Post by AsyncAwait »

city41 wrote: post #91
hocuspocus wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mom's NUC has never caused any trouble running the latest Ubuntu. Network printer, scanner, wireless mouse, webcam, bluetooth headphones, USB hard drives, sleep/hibernation... not a single problem.

Which NUC model is it? I looked into NUCs a couple years ago but at the time they had a reputation of not being great with Linux.

I run Linux on the Skull Canyon NUC and it works great.
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