What is Digg?68 Comments
- fishbert, on 10/12/2007, -5/+24Pre-installed Linux... the new ugly sweater.
- thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -7/+25Don't forget to also give the gift of full time tech support over questions like "Well, it worked like this in windows".
- IHaveIssues, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19"Yes.....I seriously miss waiting 3 hours to be connected to an Indian help desk."
You mean you have to call tech support for a Windows problem and you think you can run and maintain a Linux system for a family? - fishbert, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14it could be an alligator... or maybe a duck with no body or head... a witching stick... perhaps a boy scout tent knocked over by a hungry bear...
- exobyte, on 10/12/2007, -14/+27lol. He used the words "worked" and "Windows" together.
- compu73rg33k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12You mean you don't get those already?
- adml_shake, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16While I do love Linux, I also don't want to spend X-mas answering a 1000 how to questions from my non computer understanding family members.
- thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11wow... everyone is saying linux is ready for the desktop, then we see posts like this one.
For most people, computers are NOT about the journey. Computers are about porn, games, email, and web shopping. - drlha, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Yes, uptime will impress 'em! Especially if they're like my relatives, who turn their computers off every night.
- Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I love Hot Pockets, and I have my own freezer. And the state of my pants is none of your business.
- SlackerCSB, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11I'd rather get a fruitcake.
- DevilsAdv0cate, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10"Hey look at me, I'll pretend to be a linux advocate to appear smart on the internet."
Good for you dude, now go grab some hot pockets from your parents' freezer. No wait, put some pants on first. - cmdrNacho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Its cheaper to find a deal in store, on internet, or dell, and then load linux yourself, than to go through one of these vendors
- Phocion55, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10@PJBonoVox:
Please do me a favor then and block me if you can't pick up on a crack about inefficient tech support. - Phocion55, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7and by girlfriend you mean............no one?
But seriously....would you say the same exact thing if you saw an ad in a magazine for a new Black & Decker toolset? Of course not. This is merely a suggestion for people who would benefit from it. - exobyte, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Is that a greater-than sign or an arrow?
- Phocion55, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Haha I can picture it. My point is that the Black & Decker ad NEVER implies that it's for your grandma. This NEVER implies that it's specifically for your girlfriend.
- thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10Dell... if you ask nicely enough.
- dohidied, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Yeah, but you still bought them a computer. That's pretty generous.
- coldphoenix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6In fact most manufacturers are like that, you just have to specifically asked for an OS-free computer, and with a little persistence they'll give you what you want...saving yourself 200 bucks in the process.
- halik, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10Yeah that's exactly what I wanna do, give someone a computer with an OS that I myself can't use on a main machine. My girlfriend would totally be down with going to ubuntu forums (whats a forum?) to find out why the scroll wheel on her mouse doesnt work or why her printer doesnt seem to do anything when its plugged in.
It's called reality, try it sometimes. - nadcraker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"What do Indians have to do with it then?"
They're the ones providing that inefficient tech support. So they do have something to do with it. - Ademan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Heh, honestly after about a week of my mother bothering me about stuff after i set her up with kubuntu (and desktop launchers for her favorite applications) she became quite happy with it, and doesn't bother me at all, except for when she's using evolution and it says it can't download her mail, lo and behold, i ask her to go to a website, and whoopty friggin doo, its our internet, earthlink (which is totally inept i might add, their DNS actually wen't down, so while i couldn't go to www.google.com, i sure as hell could go to the ip address directly which was kindly donated to me by a friend)
- msgyrd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5My dad runs Windows and complains about every new piece of software asking him to reboot. While many family members may not care about 100 days of uptime, they would definately enjoy rebooting on their own terms (even if that is every night).
- Langford, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I don't know about giving Linux as a gift. I like Linux, it's swell. I kinda see a Linux system in the same light as Macintosh. In both of those cases you have a system that is in the minority, so future hardware and software purchases have to be planned accordingly. I don't mind doing that much myself, but my family members are better off with Windows because they can get their stuff at WalMart without any planning or technical knowledge. At least with Macintosh there is a an Apple store in various locations. Linux is great, but to justify it, it would take a lot of effort on my part to make sure it was totally complete for them to keep them from having to worry about it.
- eN1X, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Just don't give linux to a basic computer user. They will hate you forever...
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7This list is good, but does anyone know of some stores that don't pre-install an OS at all? I don't mind installing Linux myself, and it only takes a few minutes nowadays anyway.
- sapo916, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The basic computer user wont even know that they arent using Windows... as long as it works and it does what they want... then its all good.
- BlackAdderIII, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Racist *****"
The fact that you can call someone a racist because they made a post that mentioned Indians, makes me want to throw up. I only wish I could do it in your hair.
Fact is, bad cheap non English-speaking call centres in Asia - almost all in India - are being used by large corporations to provide people with incoherent babble at a knock-down price, when they're being charged premium rates for tech support, customer services, telephone banking.
It would be no less annoying and no more true if they were non English-speaking call centers in Finland.
If you consider it racist to mention that simple fact, then you're an idiot or a troll. - subgeniusd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@Phocion55
It's the fault of the Corporations for hiring undertrained agents then throwing them into situations they are not ready for. I grew up around lots of Indians/Pakistanis and if anything they are smarter then the average American.
Jumping on someone for mentioning a nationality ("Indian" is not a race, *****) is such hysterical pol correctness you really need to take your tender little ass off Digg and stay off. There's hundreds of ghey forums full of fellow cry babies you can go play in, emo-dork. - msgyrd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I'm a big fan of FOSS, but I don't think this is a great idea. Pressuring relatives or friends into using linux is a bad idea. I wouldn't give anyone linux unless they asked for it, because most family members would likely take it down to the Geek Squad and have Windows installed.
I believe the best way to convert people is to make them want it on their own terms. Show off a Beryl desktop, show off your uptime, show them that most of their needs can be met with linux apps, then remind them that it's all free. Let them come to you.
For the same reason nobody likes religions attempting to convert people by force, we shouldn't follow that idea for linux either. - philipz78, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I love Linux as much as the next person, but what does it say when you get them a computer with a free OS as a gift?
"I am too cheap to pay for an OS"
Unless of course you give it to someone who hates Windows, then by all means, they would appreciate it. - macewan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Image all the money your parents will save in therapy expenses
- jrtcs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I browsed through some of the bigger name vendors. You really have to search deep to find the Linux PCs. TigerDirect's Linspire PC link takes you right back to the Desktop PC page with all the Windows PCs as the dominate choices.
- livestradamus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Its cheaper to find a deal in store, on internet, or dell, and then load linux yourself, than to go through one of these vendors"
You are right my friend.
But if you can afford to pay a little bit extra- why not support the cause. The more PC vendors realize, Linux is really taking off- the better it is for the cause in the end.
All I'm saying is support Open Source, not only with words- but with some cash too. Money talks, BS walks. - msgyrd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Agreed. Basic users click the icons on the desktop and thats about it. As long as the "Internet button" loads up a browser they're familiar with, and they can check their email, most don't have a clue what the difference is.
The only problem with giving computer illiterate users linux is that you're the only one who can usually help them if they run into problems. You're a permanent help-line. If they have a "good with computers" relative come help them, that person is more likely to b0rk a perfectly good linux system than fix any issues the basic user may have encountered. - livestradamus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"What about Dell?"
This is what Dell really says about Linux:
"Dell recommends Windows® XP Professional" on the top of that page (& almost every page on it's store, as a matter of fact) kind of says it all, doesn't it? - Shadowman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What about Dell?
http://www.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/precn_n?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd - livestradamus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Linux fails the "My Mom" test, until my mom can install Linux and be able to use Flash, Java, and play any movie or song without my help, it is not ready for the desktop."
Answer me a couple of questions, does the "My Mom" test succeed for Windows? Mac OS? Can your Mom install Win or Mac OS? Administer it as well? Don't you still get asked a 1000 questions?
Linux is pretty much dead easy. If you don't know- Google is your friend.
People already know Windows- so naturally they assume it to be easy. - subgeniusd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1EarthLink wants you to use their web mail and will only tolerate Outlook for POP3. Other mail clients are not supported and I am so tired of the Bangalore runaround I just use web mail until my EL contract runs out.
- raynevandunem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Honestly, I don't believe in the whole "preinstalled Linux" concept. The users who aren't as savvy with PC options will find that alot of what they're used to on Windows (major sites which depend upon ActiveX or are otherwise made explicitly for IE, for example) will be absent by default. Just because it's preinstalled, doesn't mean that it is guaranteed to score in the hardware compatibility department from the getgo.
Me, I personally like the smooth self-transition concept that would allow one on Windows to easily roll their own Linux distro, such as MySLAX Creator. Such a concept allows for a user to pick exactly what they want in an operating system (OpenOffice? XGL? The latest version of Firefox? Bleeding-edge apps?), and to move whatever documents on their Windows partition to their operating system without fretting over whatever was scrubbed in the aftermath.
Seriously, Win-to-Lin migration tools such as MySLAX Creator should be much more commonplace, and I hope that the big-name desktop distributions - Ubuntu, Vidalinux, Fedora - can come up with their own similar tools for would-be Linux users. Is that possible?
http://myslax.bonsonno.org - msgyrd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Computers are like cars....you're not going to turn down a free one, but it's not likely to be exactly what you wanted.
Computers are a very personal purchase...do you want gaming performance, a bargain, or connectivity (media PCs)? If it's a notebook, will you need portability, performance, ruggedness, etc? The list goes on and on. Every time I buy a computer, I usually have a set of needs that it must fulfill, and a random gift computer may meet some of those, but probably not all of them.
Expensive items like computers should be "I'm going to buy you a computer for whatever reason, you have $xxxx.xx to spend, show me what you want." I have a friend who's mom bought him a laptop last year, and it's obviously something she would have wanted, not something a computer science student would have chosen. It's big, the hardware is mediocre, and he was trying to replace it after the first month of use. - ajxx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4that pre-instaled linux will turn into pirated windows very soon
- Protoman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2There is something easier than hitting the next button every now and then and filling in some white boxes?
- fredbird67, on 11/06/2007, -0/+0Geeks.com offers PC's OS-free for something like $80 or so.
- talonh, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3halik your 400 lb girlfriend called. She wants her impact gun back
- BlackAdderIII, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"Yeah that's exactly what I wanna do, give someone a computer with an OS that I myself can't use on a main machine. My girlfriend would totally be down with going to ubuntu forums (whats a forum?) to find out why the scroll wheel on her mouse doesnt work or why her printer doesnt seem to do anything when its plugged in.
It's called reality, try it sometimes."
No, I think that's called "cretinism".
My girlfriend, and various friends and family use ubuntu all the time, I see no problem with their scrollwheels or printers not working, and they sure as hell don't have to run 3 background apps to stop the computer getting borked by malware and worms.
If you and everybody you know is a dunce, that's not Linux's fault. - MeatBiProduct, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Can anyone say - "Give the gift of endless tech support".
Next year I think I'll give out aircraft carriers and nuclear reactors. Cold Fission all the way lol. - thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@livestradamus
Actually, my mom can do all that with Windows. She teaches a tech discovery class. But Linux is not in the course and it can't be taught in the time they have.
It's really hard to use Google to search for a problem with a network card module.... or a sata adapter module.
Just some points -
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