- Can we afford not to give our kids Linux?
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For any parent, myself included, setting your kids loose on the net is a daunting prospect. We have to do it because the net is a fact of life – it’s in our schools, the workplace, public libraries and in many if not most homes of the developed world. Therefore, do we really have any option but to give them Linux?When I first conceived this article I considered giving it the title “can we afford to let our kids use Windows online”. However, I felt that taking a positive tack would be more constructive. The fact is that these days security is paramount with kids surfing the net, exchanging emails and chatting online while still in primary school.
- The Cost of running Windows
- Wal-Mart’s Cheap PC is only $199. It runs Linux. Oh, but if you want it with windows, that’s $298.
- Windows Is The Wrong System For the Security-Unconscious
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It’s one thing to make a computer easy to use, but if you’re going to do so, you must also make it secure. If you’re not going to develop a secure OS, then at least give more thought to your emphasis on “Ease of Use”.A dear old Aunt recently sent one of those stupid chain e-mails – you know the ones, “forward to as many people as possible” – simply because she agreed with the sentiments it expressed. What she obviously never gave thought to was that she just might be passing along a trojan horse to the rest of the family. When I responded that she might be jeopardizing other people’s computers, she got upset, responding that she only sent the e-mail because she agreed with it.She uses Windows. ….
The rest of this story, as you can imagine, is not pretty.
- Do Your Customers Hate Vista? Rip and Replace with a Twist
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So, you just delivered that new PC to your customer and gave them a quick tour of what’s new and then watched their eyes glaze over with confusion.After a few seconds, the questions start. Questions that should be easy to answer, but turn out not to be! Where is my start button? Where are my programs? What happened to the Menu in Internet Explorer? Why is the system constantly asking for my permission to do simple things? Why does my system take so long to boot? Now your eyes glaze over, not with confusion, but with frustration and you have to ask yourself: What did I do to deserve this?
- Oh, and there’s this:
- Top-10 gift ideas for the Linux Gadget Geek … (email me for my mailing address if you need to. The phone is nice.)
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I say, give them a UNIX alright – Mac OS X. Just as secure as Linux et all and a true easy-to-use consumer OS. Lots of cool apps as well.
They missed this gadget off the list. Not in production yet, sure, but then neither is the OpenMoko (much to my dismay – I can’t wait for the mass-market version).
Jeff,Indeed. Now that Apple has realized its true strength … user interfaces … and based this on a reliable operating system .. a flavor of *nix … its a pretty good computer.However, I find Gnome and certain other Linux interfaces to be much more comfortable for me. I know everyone loves the way the Mac looks, but I can’t read mac fonts on mac screens. And, I’m not comfortable with the system so I can’t make too much use of it. But System X has got a lot of nice features.
Great articles!I should actually be getting my new hard drive today so I can finally install Linux. I’m so excited about it. I had to get a new drive because my current one is way too small and old (a 20GB from about 8 years ago!) and I figured a fresh slate would be the best way to go. I have been using OpenOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird for quite some time. I even try to use them at work and push them on everyone I know. It’s unfortunate that the software I use for work is strictly Windows and won’t even work with Wine (I’m told). I’m still looking for alternatives.
Well, there are arguments for both sides. I hate it when someone asks me to help them with their computer problems, and it turns out they have a mac. There’s not really ever anything I can do to help them. How’d you like to explain to your aunt, “I could have fixed it if it were a PC, but you have to take a mac in for repairs”. Even worse is when they ask me, “Why does it work like that?” “That’s the way Apple decided everyone should do it, Bertie.”In the long run, a PC usually ends up cheaper because you inevitably end up with a frankenPC composed of parts from multiple partial upgrades, whereas with a mac you pretty much have to buy a whole new computer.Linux, even Ubuntu, still isn’t quite ready for prime time. Unfortunately. Every new release some people say it is, and I get all excited about finally switching, but then when you read more about it you find that the same frustrating problems remain, the poster child of which is working with MS Exchange. Then there are always some issues with graphics cards, removeable storage, network shares, and so on.For someone who’s just going to check webmail and browse websites, they’re all fine, but for business related stuff(see above comment) or gaming or as a media center, Windows is still the way to go. Unfortunately.I think linux-based OSes are the way of the future, I really do, and the bottom of my list always turns out to be mac. I just don’t like not really having control over my own system.
Linux, even Ubuntu, still isn’t quite ready for prime time.I don’t know anything about MS exchange. I’m in a very large enterprise network with my Linux box with no problem of any kind. There are a few media files that I have a hard time with, but the cost I pay for that is far fary less than the cost linkes to a Windows machine.The moment Harry Potter Games run on Linux, that Windows machine gets a new OS!!!