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German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

efytimes.com

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Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#21

Post by thaumasiotes »

muuh-gnu wrote: post #18
saturdaysaint wrote: post #16

There are some admirable intentions here, but most of the older people I know that this would theoretically serve best are infinitely better served by a light tablet. I want my grandma checking her e-mail and doing her reading in the most comfortable environment/seat in the house; I suspect this will lead to a lot greater usage/engagement. And portability means it's easier to ask for help.

Tablets, like mobiles generally sufferer from planned obsolescence. They are not meant to be used and receive updates for years and years, like people used XP. I want my grandma to not have to relearn to yet another UI every two years. Canonical has commited to support the LTS releases for half a decade, which, while not coparable to XP, is for older folks still a better bet than anything the mobile world has to offe…

As I understand it, XP wasn't meant to do that either; the fact that it lasted so long was more of a series of mistakes on Microsoft's part in getting a replacement out the door. I'm happy to be corrected, though.

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#22

Post by skaevola »

muuh-gnu wrote: post #20
hiddenfeatures wrote: post #6

Wait... That's what I am paying my taxes for? That's where my money goes? I am NOT against Linux being more widely used. And I like the idea that the city uses Linux to save money & more efficient. But pushing citizens to use Linux is NOT government business

> But pushing citizens to use Linux is NOT government business Why not? The goverment standardizes everything else, from screws to seat belts to yogurts, why not stop the crazy update-planned-obsolescence cycle pushed by commercial entities and agree on a "standard UI" for normal people? The amount of unnecessary changes in UIs has become unbearably crazy. And since those changes are forced from all sides, there is n…

Most standards are not set by the government, they're set by professional organizations. See ANSI:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_National_Standards_Ins...

Safety standards ARE often set by the government, but more general standards mostly are not.

By the way, the position you're arguing for is literally the opposite of innovation. Imagine if, after Apple unveiled the iPhone, the government had discouraged its adoption because it removed people's hard-won knowledge of using Motorola flip phones. I guess Motorola would have been happy!

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#23

Post by Samuel_Michon »

muuh-gnu wrote: post #18
saturdaysaint wrote: post #16

There are some admirable intentions here, but most of the older people I know that this would theoretically serve best are infinitely better served by a light tablet. I want my grandma checking her e-mail and doing her reading in the most comfortable environment/seat in the house; I suspect this will lead to a lot greater usage/engagement. And portability means it's easier to ask for help.

Tablets, like mobiles generally sufferer from planned obsolescence. They are not meant to be used and receive updates for years and years, like people used XP. I want my grandma to not have to relearn to yet another UI every two years. Canonical has commited to support the LTS releases for half a decade, which, while not coparable to XP, is for older folks still a better bet than anything the mobile world has to offe…

> Tablets, like mobiles generally sufferer from planned obsolescence.

> I want my grandma to not have to relearn to yet another UI every two years.

Those two statements have little to do with each other. The current (and upcoming) version of iOS still works largely the same way as iPhone OS did 6 years a go.

Modern mobile OSes are easier to learn than desktop OSes and are less encumbered by malware. For someone who has never used a desktop computer or the Internet, starting off with a good tablet instead of a personal computer is a better choice.

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#24

Post by jdeibele »

jtome wrote: post #3

Lubuntu is a fantastic choice, I install it on all of my friends' old, crapped up, virus infested Windows XP computers and it has them running like new. The interface requires almost no adjusting to coming from XP, much less so than unity or xfce or even windows 8 for that matter. Throwing away old but functioning hardware should be a crime.

Yeah, except that the cost of power to run those machines can be significant. The most obvious difference would be reducing consumption by replacing a CRT monitor with an LCD. That should have minor effect on Ubuntu ... today ... maybe. But I do remember fighting to get a monitor configured a couple of years ago (before I moved to a Mac).

Are modern desktops more efficient than 10 years ago? Hard for me to say although Intel has a paper that says that Energy Star and other measures make a big difference.

Probably the easiest thing to do would be to swap the old desktop for a modern laptop. You'd gain all kinds of energy savings - LCD screen, automatic sleeping, etc.

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#25

Post by jiggy2011 »

saturdaysaint wrote: post #16

There are some admirable intentions here, but most of the older people I know that this would theoretically serve best are infinitely better served by a light tablet. I want my grandma checking her e-mail and doing her reading in the most comfortable environment/seat in the house; I suspect this will lead to a lot greater usage/engagement. And portability means it's easier to ask for help.

I don't think this is aimed at older people specifically?

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#26

Post by kryten »

stinos wrote: post #5

seems like a great idea, but knowing how older people can cope with change I don't see this going so easily and nicely for them as the article makes it sound? Anecdote: 2 of my family members over 50 years old had XP running with Office2003. I gave them Lubuntu and it took them literally months to adapt. For an IT guy it's off course all alike, but actually it isn't. Especially not if it already took you years to mas…

My olds have no idea what they are doing and have to relearn it every time it gets turned on anyway.

From experience working with end users over the last 20 years this is normal whatever your age for non-technical users. Discoverability is more important than absolute consistency.

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#27

Post by Samuel_Michon »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #25
saturdaysaint wrote: post #16

There are some admirable intentions here, but most of the older people I know that this would theoretically serve best are infinitely better served by a light tablet. I want my grandma checking her e-mail and doing her reading in the most comfortable environment/seat in the house; I suspect this will lead to a lot greater usage/engagement. And portability means it's easier to ask for help.

I don't think this is aimed at older people specifically?

While that’s true, over half of Munich’s consumers are aged 45 or higher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_Growth_of_Munich#Age...

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#28

Post by jiggy2011 »

Samuel_Michon wrote: post #27
jiggy2011 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this is aimed at older people specifically?

While that’s true, over half of Munich’s consumers are aged 45 or higher. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_Growth_of_Munich#Age...

45 isn't too old! At least I hope not or I'm screwed.

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#29

Post by mtgx »

hnha wrote: post #17
stinos wrote: post #5

seems like a great idea, but knowing how older people can cope with change I don't see this going so easily and nicely for them as the article makes it sound? Anecdote: 2 of my family members over 50 years old had XP running with Office2003. I gave them Lubuntu and it took them literally months to adapt. For an IT guy it's off course all alike, but actually it isn't. Especially not if it already took you years to mas…

counter anecdotes: my 73 year old grandma switched to Linux mint 9 months ago and loves it. and my 21 year old cousin tried the same and ran back to Windows after days.

I'm not much of a Linux user (I only check out some distros once in a while), but I found Linux Mint Cinnamon to be extremely intuitive, and I "got it" right away. I actually thought it was easier to use than Windows 7, and I use Windows 7 all the time.

I also think Zorin OS is looking great, and it seems like a very nice OS for those moving from Windows 7, especially.

http://zorin-os.com/

Re: German City Set To Make Linux A Norm For Citizens

#30

Post by [deleted] »

muuh-gnu wrote: post #18
saturdaysaint wrote: post #16

There are some admirable intentions here, but most of the older people I know that this would theoretically serve best are infinitely better served by a light tablet. I want my grandma checking her e-mail and doing her reading in the most comfortable environment/seat in the house; I suspect this will lead to a lot greater usage/engagement. And portability means it's easier to ask for help.

Tablets, like mobiles generally sufferer from planned obsolescence. They are not meant to be used and receive updates for years and years, like people used XP. I want my grandma to not have to relearn to yet another UI every two years. Canonical has commited to support the LTS releases for half a decade, which, while not coparable to XP, is for older folks still a better bet than anything the mobile world has to offe…

[deleted]
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