Thanks for sharing. I know my comment adds little but I wanted to throw out there a nod of appreciation for a story like this.
My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
121–130 of 356 posts
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#122I think this, and the rest of the comments have missed the point, It's not linux or windows really that's going on, but that "computing" for the masses has shrunk down to the browser and Office (or it's clones) - the operating system these days has become marginalized for most people. the File Open dialog is about as far as they interact with it, along with CTRL P and the dock. Linux is perfectly capable of this. I r…
Nope, and (to contradict your point a little bit) I pretty much refuse to do development tasks on Windows because it's the one remaining OS on which I find it impossible to be productive. Have you ever tried working in a Windows command line compared to a UNIX terminal? Yes, I can install cygwin, but I really feel like I shouldn't have to.
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
My brother has become proficient at using Windows, so his switching costs are higher. He didn't want to learn the Linux equivalent of task manager, adding startup applications, updating / installing software. Also he's in finance so 99% of his work is spent in Excel. By comparison my parents are rudimentary users of technology, and thus their switching costs are low. As long as there is Firefox / Chrome they're ok. S…
This is the real reason. Excel. There is simply no replacement for it. If there was, the usage of Linux would double within days.
I don't use excel in professional level so I don't know much about it. Is there a vast difference between MS Excel and Linux (OSS) equivalent, or something like Google docs?
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
As much as I cringe to say this, you can get into a pretty decent groove with Word as far as footnotes/endnotes go. I remember in College hating the knowledge that I was using Word but being able to fly through citations pretty quickly without losing my train of thought as I wrote.
is it because you got used to using Word or because you found Word better? I'm pretty dependent on Photoshop and Illustrator. Most likely because I've used them for so long. I get really frustrated using GIMP. I figure that's the frustration most people feel when they switch to Linux... that one program that you're so productive and "automatic" in is no longer the same.
It must be getting used to it; I tried to use Word recently and ended up so frustrated that I almost switched to writing a layout script and making a pdf via Ruby. But other people use Word just fine so it must not be as shit as I think it is.
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#125As I'm reading through the comments I see only two types of users: - the hackernews audience - 60+ low level users (no offence) The former group has enough experience and knowlegde to get the system (linux) adapted to their needs. The latter are only using it for either browsing, checking email or watching movies. I think we're forgetting the important 'middle' group: the ones that aren't in IT but are working with a…
The only reason Linux is not more mainstream than Windows is because its not pre-installed on your computer when you buy. Even installing popular linux distros like Ubuntu from scratch on a new system is much easier than installing a Windows OS on a new system. I recently had this experience and I was stunned to see that for Windows I had to search and download vendor specific drivers for windows to even work with my monitor properly. I did the same with Ubuntu and no special driver needed to be installed. But only after completing the installation and seeing that everything works as it should, I had the option to install proprietary drivers (I don't have any philosophical problem with them) but I chose not to because it was working just fine.
I don't know if this is common maybe someone with more experience can vouch for it?
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
My mom 50+, No technical knowledge, uses ubuntu for email, youtube, and general browsing, and occasionally makes presentations. My colleagues at work, Programmers, aren't able to get out of Windows, even though they are just writing python. They would rather stick with the pain of having to use git in a crappy console, and suffer loads of pain when shell-ing into ec2 linux boxes, Than learn a new UI and file-system
That's what drives me craziest about programming in windows, the freak'n console is awful
If you're forced to use Windows and need a terminal, I recommend running Cygwin's xterm with a rootless (i.e. no "root" background window, so windows share a desktop) X server. It's a lot better than running Cygwin's bash in cmd.exe.
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#127For about last five years most linux flavours have been more usable than windows. Ubuntu and Debian have superb out of the box experiences, even more so given the disaster that was Windows 8. For example ElementaryOS is by far one of the best UI out there right now, and Gnome 3.1 finally pulled finger and created everything I'd been wanting in a desktop shell. But the real "year of the Linux desktop" will only ever h…
Linus seems to agree with you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFKxlYNfT_o
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#128I've been using Linux since Redhat 4.0, whatever kernal version that was. I've always been a "desktop" user but very much know my way around bash and can throw together pipes and scripts. Last week I setup a fresh Ubuntu box in our office, on a fairly new Dell PC in order to view a webinar. I wanted to show off Linux (ended up looking like a moron.) Flash issues on Firefox rightaway, no matter what I did it would not…
That's pretty much my experience with Linux (Ubuntu). I used it for 2 years and I like it, but dude I was in config files and consoles all the freaking time, I mean it, every single day something.
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
is it because you got used to using Word or because you found Word better? I'm pretty dependent on Photoshop and Illustrator. Most likely because I've used them for so long. I get really frustrated using GIMP. I figure that's the frustration most people feel when they switch to Linux... that one program that you're so productive and "automatic" in is no longer the same.
It must be getting used to it; I tried to use Word recently and ended up so frustrated that I almost switched to writing a layout script and making a pdf via Ruby. But other people use Word just fine so it must not be as shit as I think it is.
(La)TeX is a half-decent language to write layout scripts in. That's mostly because of the good libraries available. (The language itself sucks a bit. It was never really meant for general computation, and it shows.)
Re: My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done
#130Same story for me.both my parents are using Ubuntu on 1 PC and 1 Laptop. Since I've installed and set them up, I never had a single call like: where the hell is X or why the hell is Y producing strange error popup...not even speaking of the complete absence of malware. I myself did not even expect this when starting this experiment, but it proves to me: Linux IS arriving at the desktop! ...and its about time.