
Linux is an operating system for all ages - Enindu
http://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-an-operating-system-for-all-ages/#ftag=RSSbaffb68
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zxcvcxz
Yeah I set up my mom with GNOME 3 on Fedora. All she does is browse the
internet and play solitaire. That's pretty much a zero maintenance computer
right there.

Somehow they always manage to destroy windows.

~~~
maskedinvader
'Somehow they always manage to destroy windows.'

this. Sigh. The number of times I have to clean up all the things she (my mom)
manages to install 'tool bars and what not'.

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smarterchild
Have you tried setting her up with a standard user login by default? I did
that with my folks and the number of computer questions seems to have gone way
down.

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noselasd
In addition to that, uBlock/adblock also seems to take care of most
toolbar/malware pop ups that parents tend to fall for.

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5h
Totally off topic, but it seems every website I've visited today has had some
utterly obnoxious pop up appear when I'm half way through a sentence.

I hope this is a short lived trend.

~~~
ldiracdelta
Adblock extension is pretty awesome. Vastly reduces noise on the web.

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timdiggerm
> A friend and I took responsibility to stress the advantages of learning and
> continuing to use Ubuntu.

As usual, FOSSers confusing ethics & principles with marketing. He's right,
but that doesn't make it effective (sadly).

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keithpeter
Anyone in here working in Africa in the kind of project the OA mentions?

I'm wondering about bandwidth for updates and installing software. Ubuntu
15.04 is good for 6 months with updates. Debian current stable with a three
DVD iso download (and a DVD drive!) would provide access to the whole software
repository offline. There is a delta update DVD for each incremental ISO set.

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ExpiredLink
The article is out-of-time. The question nowadays is: 'Why didn't Android
become a viable OS for desktops and laptops?'

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Zigurd
For the same reason Windows did not become a mainstream OS for tablets and
phones. There is a much greater distance between a finger-touch UX and a mouse
UX than most people imagine.

There is also probably a hardware dimension to the answer: There is a greater
distance between a heavy "convertible" part-time touch laptop/tablet-ish
device and a real tablet that can be carried like a sheaf of paper than most
people appreciate.

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stymaar
So this has to be said again : Linux is NOT an operating system, Linux is a
Kernel. Android, Debian and OpenWRT are operating systems. Debian even support
other kernels than Linux.

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oliwarner
If you're going to be pedantic, at least nail it.

Debian (Linux) and OpenWRT are distributions. They're super-sets of
applications, the GNU tools and the Linux kernel (or HURD). You only need the
last two to form an "operating system".

Android is a little different in that it doesn't sit on a GNU stack. I'm
happier calling Android an operating system than I am Debian and OpenWRT.

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rifung
If Debian is a distribution and Linux is just the kernel, what do you say if
you run Debian and people ask what OS you use?

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oliwarner
Depends who "people" were. Somebody who knows nothing is going to hear
"Debian", somebody with a little more tech in their blood will hear "Debian...
Yeah, that's right, Linux" and I'll save the "Debian GNU/Linux" for people
trying to make a point about nomenclature.

My point wasn't that it's super important you call these things by the right
name, it's that you were and you were getting it wrong still.

