Comments on: Linux Ease of Use: Designing The Ultimate Grandmother-Ready Computer https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/ Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:23:30 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 By: Snel Geld Verdienen https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528959 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:23:30 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528959 Linux is a great platform for use on servers and if you are a little bit geeky for your desktop. The power of Linux is it’s flexibility but you can’t expect that all hardware is supported. I just love Linux on my rival media server environment but on my normal Desktop i can’t live without a normal windows installation.

But i have to admit that with the coming of ubuntu it’s much more user friendly then ever! It’s just not that practical when you need to run a bunch of applications that are not supported without virtualization.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528958 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:39:54 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528958 Linux is not for everybody. Linux users are just a little smarter and a little more focused and a little more serious than the users of other operating systems.

But that’s OK. It’s OK to be a Windows user or a Mac user. Leave the more challenging and powerful system to us. You don’t really need it, and couldn’t really make use of it anyway.

]]> By: not telling https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528957 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:33:07 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528957 simple problem – linux doesn’t isntall properlyu with everyuthing needed out of the box i cant even play videos or use itunes or use my webcam without spending hours truing to find a fic!

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528956 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:34:43 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528956 Rick, I agree.

]]> By: Rick O'Leary https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528955 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 21:37:48 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528955 As a Linux user, a Mac user and a Windows user, who was for many years a Mac Genius…

This was a very good article and, and I expect to get nasty stuff for saying this: The Mac is very similar to Linux, especially behind the GUI, and it is nearly (but not quite) as easy to fix.

And you don’t get Windows style viruses. (Same as Linux)

]]> By: - https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528954 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:44:58 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528954 maybe two (differently colored) curves in the same “coordinates”?
I’m not really visualizing this, but this graphic is intended only to be a visual expression (yes?)
anyway, it’s done already. 🙂

grandmaready seems the much larger topic.

the ease vs hard curve seems only a statement. there’s not much reason to comment on the idea. i suppose if “somebody” added points (representing each distro) on the curve as if it were a real graph, then opinions would fly 🙂

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528953 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:33:01 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528953 I absolutely wouldn’t put embedded systems, servers, and desktop systems in the same category (so they really don’t belong on the same curve), but I put them on the same “curve” anyway exactly because it normally isn’t done and thus an important point is missed: the average person who swears off Linux is like that guy in the christmas movie who tries to jump off the bridge. If you removed all Linux systems that the average person uses every day, it would be Potterville everywhere.

The grandma readiness is, of course, a different point. Perhaps this could have been two posts?

]]> By: - https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528952 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:30:07 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528952 OSX
why is the myth that Mac OS X is as different from Linux as is Windows so prevalent?
afaik, because few osx users go into cli.

if you can afford it, get them a Mac.
a factory refurb mini is likely cheapest with apple support.

If they need primarily internet access get them an iPad
i’m totally speculating that android touch tablets will be better choice… but …. they’ve already been written up at the usual fansites.
afaik, the ipad is tied to proprietary net service (presumably ppl have jailbroken ipads to run on standard wifi, but that’s way out from granny ready)

]]> By: - https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528951 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:25:11 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528951 easy vs hard nix:
i don’t think non desktop pcs should be on the qualitative curve. you wouldn’t put motorcycles on a curve with pickup trucks, right? or even closer, but imo needing separate curves: servers (pickups) separate from desktops (soccermom vans or crossover suvs)

i very much agree with dual/multiboot adding unfair ‘defect’ to nix, in realworld “nix vs win” comparison. Grub2 upgrade borked my multiboot ‘test’ pc. Admittedly anecdotal ‘data’, but searches readily found forum posts with same symptoms.

]]> By: - https://gregladen.com/blog/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528950 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:23:30 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2010/12/31/linux-ease-of-use-designing-th/#comment-528950 father-in-law had a Windows XP box, and it would never run longer than 3 months
(default xp wasn’t very secure until sp2 in 2004, imo)
Retail PCs may come with win ‘preinstalled’, but they really aren’t ready to go.
i mean not ready for “grandma”, because no default install is ready for my use 🙂
MS has a ‘OOBE’ standard that results in “everything” running. so their biggest headache since the lax-security (naive internet) late 90’s is how to secure the pc, yet avoid much setup for whatever the diverse unknown users want to do. (digression: MS still handles legacy well)
Then, most users should find better apps than the foistware. or just uninstall the apps they’ll never use.

i’m not a linux user because i’ve ‘evolved’ with windows, and my productivity on linux would be very aggravating.
but i’m casually researching installing a netbook distro as an alternative PC for a grandparent age person. what holds me back is that i’m not a nix user (reason given above), yet i would be support.

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