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Ubuntu for my Mom

ctolpin.googlepages.com — She used Windows for two weeks and discovered how to simultaniously contract both spyware and viruses, not to mention had constant problems with printing and losing connectivity. Going on three months on Ubuntu, set up exactly like this, and I've found myself not having to help her out anymore. Welcome to Linux, mom.

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  • nailer, on 02/05/2008, -47/+16Your server's dead on 2 Diggs. Yup I know diggs don't correspond to views, but that's still pretty low.
    • Microdot, on 02/05/2008, -7/+1still working fine for me, and its at 138 and sitting on the front page.
    • sockpuppets, on 02/05/2008, -7/+138I exceeded your mom's bandwidth.
    • brundlefly76, on 02/05/2008, -7/+11how does this same story get frontpaged monthly??
      • link5280, on 02/05/2008, -4/+9Propaganda wheel came full circle, takes about a month.
      • Icyfenix, on 02/05/2008, -2/+30Sorry. some of us have these things called JOBS that stop us from seeing EVERY article EVERY time.
        • sockpuppets, on 02/05/2008, -5/+3My jobs wears a black turtleneck.
        • brundlefly76, on 02/05/2008, -4/+2icy: i was being snarky because we all know its linux propoganda.

          they could at least replace 'mother' with, i dunno, '4-month-old son' or 'dead stepsister' every now and then just to keep things fresh.

        • ayeroxor, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2My job enables me to read pretty much every article every time.
      • sovietninja, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2Obligatory MILF reference:

        I take it you haven't seen his mom, you would have come over every month too.
    • 2000, on 02/05/2008, -0/+12Mirror:
      http://koplowicz.com/ -> http://gengeek.es/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/momfr ...
  • ptFoe, on 02/05/2008, -77/+20what's next
    Ubuntu for your bum
  • praveenmarkandu, on 02/05/2008, -11/+181thats not ubuntu, its a derivative called linux mint. it focuses more on the visuals but it uses the ubuntu backbone.
    • frase, on 02/05/2008, -30/+20maybe they should call it Mumbuntu...
    • zovres, on 02/05/2008, -4/+117linux mint is based on ubuntu which is based on debian
      it's all linux to me
      • ispeakasian, on 02/05/2008, -32/+4But the title says "UBUNTU for my Mom." Not "Linux for my Mom"
      • sofaKing812, on 02/05/2008, -9/+16This what makes all this ***** so confusing for most people; you guys can't even agree on what the ***** it is called. It's ubuntu, it's linux; not it's linux mint.
        • kazamx, on 02/05/2008, -0/+13Everyone in the linux community shares code. That mean if Ubuntu is doing something really well, then Mint can come along and use the exact same code and add their own improvements. This is just what Ubuntu did with debian.

          In linux its all the same (pretty much) if you don't like one thing your distro does, then swap it for something another one has.
        • chubbstar, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3actually, it is linux mint. you know how i know that? from the first time it was posted like half a year ago and it actually had an accompanying article!
          on a side, the fact that ive seen it 2 or 3 times since is quite lame. its also lame that i noticed it hit front page 2 or 3 times since. i guess i cant win.
        • int19h, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4Yeah, you guys should agree if you want to call all vegetables carrots or potates! Make up your mind already, it's so confusing!
      • uzusan, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3Think of it like cars. Linux would be equivalent to the engine, whereas ubuntu, debian, mint, red hat etc would be the different makes of cars. (you could even argue that the relationships between the different distributions of linux is equivalent to the relationships between the different brands.)
    • jbrown101st, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4Good call, chief.
    • Steyr47, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4DUH!

      /s
    • haotj, on 02/05/2008, -8/+5I think some people just don't know what exactly is Linux. Many digg articles are actually about linux in general, but and some people call it ubuntu, or vice versa.
    • smek2, on 02/05/2008, -7/+2That's why i hate Ubuntu and it's clueless zealots.
      • zwaldowski, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1Huh. That's funny. Linux Mint is based off of Ubuntu, and saps off its popularity.
  • Philluminati, on 02/05/2008, -12/+313I don't believe you have a mum. Pictures or you didn't happen!
    • SuperWinner, on 02/05/2008, -18/+3I agree, I want pix of the mum and pronto.
    • bigt8dogg, on 02/05/2008, -13/+2Hopefully she qualifies for a "My Friends Hot Mom" video.
  • Fathom, on 02/05/2008, -0/+23a little bit more background would be nice...
    • NJank, on 02/05/2008, -3/+9what do you mean? It looks like a normal size desktop to me...
    • Neoanarchist, on 02/05/2008, -7/+2Agreed, I'm going to undigg this. I dugg it before I knew it was just a ***** picture -_-.
    • OaklandNative, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3I recently bought my grandmother an eee pc because she's been dying to see what this internet thing is all about (we got her a computer several years ago but she could never get the hang of it and always found herself doing something that she didn't know how to undo or just generally getting lost on the internet - no matter how hard we tried to teach her, she just didn't get it). She's been getting along fine with the eeepc and loves it. Here's a few key extensions to install if you're faced with a similar situation:

      1) Faviconize https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/378 I set her up with a google account and faviconized google homepage and gmail.com. I've found that one of the biggest problems with elderly is they don't know how to get back where they started (yes, even the home button can be too much for them to remember). Now, if she gets links in emails, she just clicks them and the link opens in a new tab and nothing she does can accidentally get rid of the google homepage or her gmail. That probably was the most useful thing for her.

      2. Tab mix plus: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/112 set it so there is a close tab X on every tab. they get very confused when they have only one close tab option on the far right.

      3. Tab Scope https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/488 Really helps them to understand what's going on and what happens if they click on tabs or open new tabs, and generally where everything is.
      • MisterFriendly, on 02/06/2008, -0/+22. Why do you need an extension for that? It's the default in Firefox 2.
        • OaklandNative, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1only for a certain number of tabs. it goes away if you open too many.
  • goeatsmsht, on 02/05/2008, -3/+323Props to your mom for using Firefox, I still can't get mine off of AOL.
    • ispeakasian, on 02/05/2008, -0/+70Really? Mine's been using Netscape for the past seven years. On a 6 year old Windows computer weighed down by 16 viruses (the last time I checked). And she complains to me that her computer is slow.
      • aloser, on 02/05/2008, -0/+58Hey, I think I'm your brother.
      • Kanidia, on 02/05/2008, -0/+12You really need to secretly reformat her computer. Just remember where she put everything, and her desktop image and all her icon locations.
      • computergenius1, on 02/05/2008, -5/+0HA, mine is on a 12 year old windows 95 with NO ANTI-VIRUS
    • niallabrown, on 02/05/2008, -0/+51Mom??? Its amusing but my grandparents who are in their 80's asked me to install firefox for them based on what a friend told them. They like it.
      • SuperCow1127, on 02/05/2008, -0/+22You're lucky. I can't teach my 83 year old grandmother how to do anything that requires more than one step. =(
        • InferiorWang, on 02/05/2008, -0/+27My 89 year old grandma uses her computer to download patterns directly to her sewing machine. She's only able to do that and check her email, but it impresses the hell out of me.
      • friday81, on 02/05/2008, -0/+69if i can just make my grandpa to stop calling it "the other TV", i'll be satisfied
      • twitch488, on 02/05/2008, -1/+16my grandfather, who is 71, is an avid gamer and photoshopper
        he is online all the time on COD2, COD4 and DOD Source
        ditto for my dad
        • lostarchitect, on 02/05/2008, -2/+18reliving the war, eh? creepy.
        • twitch488, on 02/07/2008, -0/+1he is annoyed he didnt get his chance to pwn some axis noobs in RL, so he does it in DOD Source :P

          oops, replied to myself, meant to reply to lostarchitect
      • metzner, on 04/06/2008, -0/+1i got my grandpa on firefox. he doesn't see a difference. he thinks its internet explorer
    • conaaah, on 02/05/2008, -0/+17I just got my mom off aol thank god.....
      • xaxxon, on 02/05/2008, -3/+73punctuation: It's the difference between "I just got my mom off. AOL thank god." and "I just got my mom off AOL. Thank god."
      • Nekiruhs, on 02/05/2008, -1/+9My dad recently discovered Firefox and OpenOffice with out my help. It shows how far they've come. Less AOL in my house!
    • AndrewDB, on 02/05/2008, -1/+40Have you tried installing firefox on your parents computer, and changing the icon to the AOL Browser icon? They'll never notice the difference.
      • theaceoffire, on 02/05/2008, -1/+24Just make sure that you set up the same homepage, bookmarks, etc.
        • AndrewDB, on 02/05/2008, -0/+14That was sort of implied, but yeah, thanks for bringing it up. :)
          • RedS0x, on 02/05/2008, -0/+13And, to go a step further, have some kind of AOL theme.
    • ruddy, on 02/05/2008, -1/+104my mom thinks AOL is the internet
      • FluffyArmada, on 02/05/2008, -0/+32At least she doesn't think that the "blue e" is the internet. Whoever came up with all these stupid terms to tell people who don't know anything about computers needs to be shot. :)

        It just bugs me... like when people call a headset a "bluetooth." It's not a fricking "bluetooth", it's a headset. Bluetooth is a wireless technology!
        • pastaq, on 02/05/2008, -0/+8I hate the term Bluetooth myself. You ever actually listen to that word? Uhg.
    • Oronar, on 02/05/2008, -0/+13I'm still trying to ween mine off it. I've got her using both Firefox and AOL. She won't abandon AOL yet. =/
    • koft, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3The best thing to do is to not even bother giving advice to family about computer stuff. If anything goes wrong, it's your fault and they'll be calling you all the time to fix their *****.
    • Rookie42, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2Both of my parents (and even my grandmother) use FireFox. They have absolutely no problem with it.
  • ophello, on 02/05/2008, -0/+43Thats actually a good idea
    • SuperWinner, on 02/05/2008, -0/+46I did this with some friends of my moms who kept calling me all the time for tech support. It worked for a while till their teen aged son showed up for Xmas and put WindowsXP on the machine so he could play games... I no longer take their calls.
    • Daniel591992, on 02/05/2008, -0/+17I did something similar with my aunt who didn't speak a word of English but had an English version of Vista. Instead, I just made Firefox (in Portuguese) as the browser, Google IG (also in Portuguese), and Gmail, Docs, Picasa etc.... It's really great how some of the apps work together. For example, she can type a document in Word and email as an attachment through her Gmail account without leaving the page. Saves the hassle of teaching her how to download a document, then add it as an attachment in Gmail.
      • hello2usir, on 02/05/2008, -1/+1Control Panel -> Regional Options
        • Daniel591992, on 02/05/2008, -0/+10Nope. Unless you have the Ultimate version...
        • mrgono3, on 02/05/2008, -0/+8wow thats real bs on microsofts part
        • marx2k, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3I tried changing my dad's XP to Russian language. Nope. Requires extra money to do that. So now he uses Linux (Ubuntu) and it gives him the Russian for free.
    • benplaut, on 02/05/2008, -1/+6And it works pretty goddamn well. My grandmother has been using Ubuntu 6.06 for the last two years--I've only gotten a half dozen phone calls, most of which were due to shoddy Verizon DSL.
      Set it up right, and a system like this is just about bulletproof.
      • cawpin, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1No, she hasn't. Dapper was released on June 1, 2006.
        • ChuqAU, on 02/08/2008, -0/+1Rounding error. two years = somewhere between "one year and 183 days" and "two years and 182 days" :P
    • blackmage439, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I second that. I could really use it for the secretaries at the high school I work at.

      Downloads. Word Processor. INTERNET. Any more obvious and they would get lazy...
  • KipEvil, on 02/05/2008, -8/+32I got my mom to use Ubuntu, by moving it to the computer to the kitchen! I speak trufs!
  • num3thod, on 02/05/2008, -0/+13I did the same and its been pretty good. At lot less "intervening" on my part.
    • banmaster, on 02/05/2008, -9/+3Only because there are no frigging software titles worth ***** for it.
  • HayString, on 02/05/2008, -2/+22Where can I get that for my mom?
  • wontstoptalking, on 02/05/2008, -38/+65I found an old laptop of mine in the basement (an old compaq, for those interested) that can't run XP without crashing every 5 minutes. The thing has 32mb of RAM. So I installed Ubuntu, and it's now the fastest computer in the house. On 32mb RAM.

    Windows is still a necessity, though. Linux is great, but there are some things that just require Windows.
    • BlueSkyfish, on 02/05/2008, -4/+132I know Linux is efficient and all, but the fastest computer in your house has 32mb of RAM? That's pretty sad.
      • Drehmini, on 02/05/2008, -3/+19I think he mea... oh I see what you did there.
      • benplaut, on 02/05/2008, -1/+7You have 64 diggs!
        (Why do I notice these things)
        • Fihiro, on 02/05/2008, -0/+10Lol I used to pretend I could do 2x 2x 2x really fast in my head.
          But in reality i was just reciting the order of ram increments :(
          2, 4 , 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, Etc. I think every nerd knows that.
      • ericmoritz, on 02/05/2008, -1/+9The one thing he hasn't told us is he can't open up Firefox.
    • TacticalPenguin, on 02/05/2008, -3/+86I call BS. No matter how slimmed down you make it, you CAN'T run XP with 32mb of ram. Even slimmed down Ubuntu is still a SERIOUS stretch for that little ram.
      • Lukesed, on 02/05/2008, -1/+14Yes you can, though the guy probably was making ***** up in this case.
        http://winhistory.de/more/386/xpmini_eng.htm (scroll down to see just how low they got it)
        • marx2k, on 02/05/2008, -1/+0So Windows XP with 32 MB of RAM looks like Windows 3.11?
          • Lukesed, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2You use windows for the plastic wrap on the buttons?
      • Chakz, on 02/05/2008, -1/+10I stripped down a copy of XP using nlite that worked on a friends 32MB RAM machine. There was practically nothing left and was useless as ***** but I had to see if it could be done.
      • banmaster, on 02/05/2008, -10/+5Um, XP won't aCTUALLY INSTALL WITH 32mB. 64 IS THE MINIMUM.,

        damn caps lock
        • antdude, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Just install 95. I think 2K can but barely.
      • KataLieb, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I call ***** as well. You COULD run Damn Small Linux on it, the whole OS takes 50 mb. But Id like to see you run Ubuntu with that..With what window manager? With what packages left from the default? :p
        I run Ubuntu on 3 computers of my own, and am the computer guy maintaining Ubuntos for my friends as well, and sure its nice! But gimme a break...No need to go overboard with the exaggerations..
    • cptl, on 02/05/2008, -5/+24Buried for being a frickin' lie
    • whitenerdy92, on 02/05/2008, -3/+7or use WINE?
      • afromonster06, on 02/05/2008, -0/+0WINE doesn't support everything :)
    • MrZaiko, on 02/05/2008, -1/+15The full Ubuntu version on a 32mb RAM? HOW THA ***** DID YOU DO THAT??????, I had to get ubuntu LITE for a P3, and 250MB... Seriously man. BS. maybe you meant 320??
      • skyshock1, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Probably running just basic X Windows?
      • Nekiruhs, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2A shell maybe?
      • mjPayne, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2Using Fluxbox as window manager or other "lite" windows manager makes 32MB of RAM enough. Firefox though will eat much more RAM so Dillo should be used for browsing. It can be done and it doesn't have to be slow but the embellishments have to go.
        • KataLieb, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Yeah, but its hardly the default "Ubuntu" with Gnome as window manager that you get after installing ;)
        • MeneerR, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Instead of firefox you can use Opera, Epiphany or the oldskool seamonkey. It's not the gecko-render-engine that makes Firefox so slow and bloated, its that xul-thingie that allows all those nice extensions.

          You can also use some browser with webkit/khtml, but you might get some compatibility problems.
      • pastaq, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Server with xfce I bet,
    • mcmlxxii, on 02/05/2008, -0/+91I installed Ubuntu on an old TDK tape I found in my car stereo. It boots up real quick but I need autoreverse cause after using it for 45 minutes I have to turn the tape over.
      • ZaZ2137, on 02/05/2008, -3/+8I loled
      • kcap122, on 02/05/2008, -0/+5and here i am thinking ubuntu's tape backup daemon was just for legacy systems
      • marx2k, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2I installed Ubuntu on a Commodore Datasette. It takes one side of the casette to uncompress the kernel
    • Cryoniq, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Like.................?
    • aaabatteries, on 02/05/2008, -0/+10I strongly doubt you got a full install of Ubuntu running great on 32mb RAM.
      • mjPayne, on 02/05/2008, -2/+0I take your bet if you want. The hard part: finding a stick of memory 32MB or less. Oh, wait, you said "full".
    • TheWindBlows, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Some people foolishly think ubuntu is the only linux distro and linux can end up being called "ubuntu".
      I installed puppy linux on some old PC's and my friend decently tech savvy keeps calling it "ubuntu"...
      i tell him yes their both use the linux core but their differences are huge ones aimed at older cheaper computers the other is aimed at decent 200-300 dollar or more computers with very nice usability.
      • marx2k, on 02/05/2008, -0/+0Long as he doesn't call it the internet
      • KataLieb, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Hahaha...Well, this is a thing that will never go away...At least theyre not asking you to fix their windows anymore :p
    • stoanhart, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4Buries for *****. Linux is good on old computers, but not that good.
      • KataLieb, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Damn Small Linux IS that good ;)
        50 mb for the whole OS, 50 mb HD space to install, runs on shoestrings and fast, got mp3/video players, web browser. text editor, file manager, document viewer etc..Can be modularly expanded with debian-compatible packages or program modules.
        Runs wholly in RAM if you got more than a little =)
        www.damnsmalllinux.org
    • xs650, on 02/05/2008, -1/+0You should have put a :) in your post for the benefit of the humorless retards that frequent DIGG.
    • mercurysquad, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I don't believe that. I tried installing Ubuntu on the desktop at home. It has 256 mb ram, and the live CD won't boot up. Too bummed to download the alternate CD, I just used a xubuntu disc I had and it installed and works fine. Ubuntu required 384 mb ...
    • leaflord, on 02/05/2008, -0/+0I'm also not sure if you really mean ubuntu like others here say... I have an old PC with P3 1GHz and 128MB RAM, and Ubuntu ran dog-slow on it (but better than XP, which also crashed). I'm gonna install Xubuntu on it.. (BTW I tried BeOS Max Edition and it ran smoothly. Sadly had to remove it cuz of networking support..)
  • Grizw0ld, on 02/05/2008, -0/+52I had to do it for my brother in law, who is probably on par with your mom when it comes to computer savyness. He uses the internet mostly for porn, so windows was not his best option
    • mrlichty, on 02/05/2008, -1/+4Im sure your sister loves you for giving her husband more access to porn
      • MacEnvy, on 02/05/2008, -1/+20Not all women are jealous prudes. Some don't mind checking out porn themselves, either. Just letting you know.
      • selrahc, on 02/05/2008, -0/+13Maybe Grizw0ld is the one who is married?
    • brutusx, on 02/05/2008, -0/+6mine too. he keeps ***** up the computer i built for his kids.
  • sajnikanth, on 02/05/2008, -2/+212I like how you've got the big Firefox icon saying The Internet
    • zovres, on 02/05/2008, -0/+97and the download directory so she can easily access the internets she downloaded
      • Loonacy, on 02/05/2008, -1/+19But why can't I run not_a_virus_this_is_a_screensaver_honest.exe ?
    • hello2usir, on 02/05/2008, -2/+13It's cute and everything but it perpetuates ignorance. I'd rather him explain to his mother what the internet actually is.
      • meggani, on 02/05/2008, -0/+25There are a lot of people who aren't ever going to quite understand or aren't interested. For them, that would be a perfect setup.
      • KingGorilla, on 02/05/2008, -0/+12I'm not a miracle worker
      • CHAD3814, on 02/05/2008, -2/+4So I'm sure you understand all the details about how an escalator operates, right? I mean you've used one so before you did so, you sought out an installer and had them explain to you everything about it.
        • Euler2718, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Wow...that's the hardest I had to think all day...How does an escalator operate?
        • hello2usir, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2I'm sure you've impressed yourself by your cleverness but that's a bad and unworkable analogy. Regardless, explaining what the internet is and how the internet works are two completely different concepts. You can easily explain in layman terms to mommy-dearest that the internet is a bunch of computers all over the world networked together, and that the web browser is just a tool for displaying and manipulating data stored on those computers. Pretty simple to understand.

          You should not however begin explaining the osi model or the http protocol.
          Obviously.
        • celticchrys, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2Don't be daft. Most people at least generally grasp that an escalator is a way to get upstairs, but it is not the only way.. they know an escalator isn't the same as stairs or an elevator. In general, assuming someone _cannot_ understand that the Web is only one big slice of the 'net is not realistic. I've met a few like that, but if you explain to most people, using e-mail and IM as examples, etc, most can understand on some level. Then again, I expected my mother to have a brain and told her so when she started using the computer. That was the trade-off for tech support. Now she understands a great deal more than the average user.
    • TheWindBlows, on 02/05/2008, -1/+1Actually thats the only way to get older people to understand how to use the internet browser or they will complain and complain they couldn't get online.
      • celticchrys, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1You mean other than, like, talking to the old people and maybe using metaphors they already understand? C'mon people, there are plenty of idiots out there, but you can compare the 'net to the phone networks, for example, and most people, including old people are very comfortable with the basic ideas there. Actualy explain that a browser just lets you see the web, and there are multiple ones you can choose from, just like there are many brands of telephones.
        • TheWindBlows, on 02/10/2008, -0/+1:p i tried that several times...
          though the one i tried that for was a neighbor.
          I know some can understand.
    • Ninjao, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I had to do that for both my parents computers :) Also: EMAIL(which is just a link to her gmail account), PHOTOS(link to her photos folder :P) and a big. TURN OFF COMPUTER icon, which is just a script to shutdown and save stuff :P
  • Renton, on 02/05/2008, -0/+74I can just see it now. "Who's Daryna?" "Why can't I smell the mint?" "Hey, Bonzai Buddy won't install"
    • Icyfenix, on 02/05/2008, -1/+5lol bonzai buddy.
      I used to love that when I was 10 too.
      • jkarhu24, on 02/05/2008, -0/+6I used to love installing spyware when I was 10, too.
  • LumpOfCole, on 02/05/2008, -1/+8I should definitely mention that the flavor of Ubuntu 7.10 used in the setup is Linux Mint 4.0. For all intents and purposes, it's basically a more 'use ready' version of Ubuntu. I particularly like the Linux Mint Software Portal included on the OS which takes ease of use to installing some of the most popular software to a new level, even by Ubuntu standards. I see Linux Mint 4.0 as Ubuntu is with a fresh coat of "user friendly."
  • Wargalas, on 02/05/2008, -16/+2
    Heheheheh your mom "caught a virus". Yeah she'll do that.....
  • Skelly11, on 02/05/2008, -4/+13mombuntu, could use that.....
  • aceakm, on 02/05/2008, -18/+8I want Linux so bad, but installing seems to complicated. I have to order a CD to ship, then delete Windows, etc. It looks so nice.
    • fatlip, on 02/05/2008, -1/+25you should definitely do a bit more research, its much much easier than you think.
    • sbgskl, on 02/05/2008, -1/+13lol you've got to be trollin'
    • SouthShield, on 02/05/2008, -1/+6actually u don't have to delete windows! you can install it in empty hard drive space.
    • chesstwin, on 02/05/2008, -0/+12You can just burn a cd one too, and no you dont have to delete windows. Really its not as hard as it looks! Give it a try. I was delighted when i got my Dell dual-booted!
    • coyne740, on 02/05/2008, -0/+12Honestly, not being a dick, but if you can't download the iso and burn it to cd, you may want to read a little bit about your system before you install any distribution...
      • aceakm, on 02/05/2008, -0/+0Well I don't have a CD/DVD burner, that's why I am saying it's hard for me.
    • jmskyrocket, on 02/05/2008, -0/+13Live cd allows you to try it without installing it.
      • TheWindBlows, on 02/05/2008, -1/+1yeah but the performance isn't quite right as it depends on the slow CD/DVD like a hard drive that cannot be written to also it uses RAM a bit more.

        If you want to test it for real look around for an old +10 GiB Hard Drive put that in your computer make sure to take your other hard drive out to be safe and install it to the +10 G HDD bam a full performance test run no worry about getting rid of windows and you can easily transfer it to just about any computer.
    • deadcrickets, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4You mean so complicated that ZDNet, the bastion of all things Microsoft, declared it easier to install and use than Vista?
    • richman241, on 02/05/2008, -0/+9http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

      You get it right here, directly fron ubuntu website, burn it to a disk, and install. Very Easy.
  • ZephyrNinety, on 02/05/2008, -25/+7I got my mom off. It wasn't of Windows though.
    • mediumdaddy, on 02/05/2008, -2/+16Where in West Virginia did you say you were from?
  • barkerja, on 02/05/2008, -1/+6This is great, simplicity at its finest!
    • banmaster, on 02/05/2008, -6/+3Sure, if you confuse 'simplicity' with 'Inability to run anything'.
      • sirhomer, on 02/05/2008, -1/+4Yeah eveything except 20000+ software packages in the default repositories.
  • i4mt3hwin, on 02/05/2008, -0/+24"The bandwidth or page view limit for this site has been exceeded and the page cannot be viewed at this time. Once the site is below the limit, it will once again begin serving as normal."

    Poor mom =(
  • Trizzle74, on 02/05/2008, -1/+2that is what my family computer looks like.
  • sbgskl, on 02/05/2008, -5/+12The bandwidth or page view limit for this site has been exceeded and the page cannot be viewed at this time. Once the site is below the limit, it will once again begin serving as normal.
  • ufia, on 02/05/2008, -21/+11Your mom is breaking the law by using FoxFire which is permitting to download illegal internets.
    • MacEnvy, on 02/05/2008, -1/+17Weird, I didn't know my boss had a digg account.
  • jmskyrocket, on 02/05/2008, -1/+6Digg effect as soon as it hit the front page. Ouch...
    • P373Y, on 02/05/2008, -0/+16DAMN YOU GOOGLE!!!
      we know you have the bandwidth!
  • neilmu, on 02/05/2008, -11/+0Mirror please
  • TreDubZedd, on 02/05/2008, -1/+306Mirror: http://gengeek.es/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/momfr ...
    • banmaster, on 02/05/2008, -7/+10Must be running on a Linux server...
  • neilmu, on 02/05/2008, -18/+3Mirror pelase
    • Kanidia, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2Wow, I don't know if this is true failure or something. A double post, with someone else's post in the middle of your double post, answering your question...
  • theradical, on 02/05/2008, -22/+9Mirror: http://gengeek.es/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/momfr ...
    • Ivorydrive, on 02/05/2008, -4/+1why the hell is this being dugg down? it's working mirror to the busted original.

      +1
      • benbrooks101, on 02/05/2008, -0/+6maybe because that exact link was posted 2 mins earlier by TreDubZedd...
        • theradical, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2To be fair, his wasn't on the page when I posted mine.
  • whitenerdy92, on 02/05/2008, -17/+1mirror?
  • Dave1337, on 02/05/2008, -15/+2yawn
  • Monstradamus, on 02/05/2008, -18/+4mirror --> http://gengeek.es/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/momfr ...
  • PRlME, on 02/05/2008, -5/+240I installed ubuntu on my moms computer but shes said to uninstall it cause she cant play Crysis
    • fatlip, on 02/05/2008, -7/+82so did you throw out the computer? because no matter what OS you have.. you can't really play crysis properly
      • PRlME, on 02/05/2008, -12/+2lol, digged, one point for you my friend
      • banmaster, on 02/05/2008, -5/+6Bull ***** *****!
      • PDG1, on 02/05/2008, -3/+1Properly... I've got a friend who plays it
        given he's playing it all crippled and junk, but It's better than not playing it... right?
        If the only thing Crysis has going for it are insane graphics that take Mondo RAMs and Gigaflorps to render... not much of a game...
        I always say
        • fatlip, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1always say? how often do you have to say something like that
    • BlackKnight6, on 02/05/2008, -7/+14http://www.incrysis.com/index.php?option=com_conte ...

      I just need to show this so people would stop spreading crap.

      $900 Computer = Crysis DX9 All Settings High, 1280x780 30-60FPS

      So running Crysis below those specs only means even a cheaper computer needed.
      • Furkle, on 02/05/2008, -8/+41280x780? Now why the ***** would you want to do something foolish like that
        • BlackKnight6, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2My bad, 1280x720, the same as 720P on an HDTV.
    • linuxpenguin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1I've never known games to run with as great speed as is advertised by review sites though. Also they didn't buy a mouse, a keyboard, a monitor, or speakers.
  • carl25, on 02/05/2008, -0/+268I could see her calling her son saying

    HONEY I DELETED THE INTERNET!!
    • condormcs, on 02/05/2008, -13/+18that only happens if you google: 'google', nobody do it!
      • Ranvier, on 02/05/2008, -6/+1Wow, there are a lot more Google services than I realized, and I poke around their labs and such on a regular basis.
      • nunquam, on 02/05/2008, -2/+10Why are you getting dug down? IT Crowd FTW.
      • kcap122, on 02/05/2008, -0/+7Don't even joke about that. You will BREAK the INTERNETS
      • SlimFastForYou, on 02/05/2008, -6/+1It's a lie I used to google Google accidentally all the time. Long story, I used to have a keyword search entry for 'google' in Firefox but it stopped working.
    • patthew, on 02/05/2008, -1/+11I appreciate that you like IT Crowd!
    • DrLeePhD, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I have actually received that exact phone call from a next-door neighbor with a dial-up account to juno a couple years back. It's not funny when it happens to you xD
      • ukblacknight, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2Your next door neighbour called you honey?!
  • CrazyZ, on 02/05/2008, -14/+25I hate all these had spyware moved to linux, now perfect stories. I got my parents, brother, aunts/uncles, and cousins all on XP SP2 with AVG Free and Firefox and none of them have had issues in years...... XP updates itself, Firefox updates itself, and AVG updates itself....
    • Harmatia, on 02/05/2008, -1/+7Agreed. But I think this was more about the simple and funny setup he has his mom on.

      I have almost the same exact thing for my mom. I was a little disgusted when I had to ruin my pristine layout to make room for limewire and itunes. =/
    • MacEnvy, on 02/05/2008, -1/+12That's great, but not typical. I have a neighbor who I've got set up exactly like your family - XP SP-2, AVG, FF - and he can't seem to keep a clean install running more than two weeks. It's mostly a function of his wife & kids using MySpace crap and not knowing what they're doing. There are a LOT of people like that in the world.
      • Forky, on 02/05/2008, -0/+16I totally agree with your po.... Oh look, a link to some site that offers screen-savers, weird, I've never seen the .cz ending before.
        Brb
    • johnstar, on 02/05/2008, -5/+14avg and the like are third party programs that slow down your computer. Antivirus is a band aid solution, a modern Os should not need anti-virus!
      • SuperCow1127, on 02/05/2008, -1/+8A modern OS on an isolated network segment, with well educated users, running flawless software, could probably do without anti-virus. Not everybody is running a computer in Utopia. (Disclaimer: My computer isn't running anti-virus software, but every other computer I have to work on is)
      • CrazyZ, on 02/05/2008, -2/+2AVG's processes use roughly 4mb of ram to run in the background.... Hardly enough to slow down any modern computer. If you use email and do not virus scan it, even if you use Linux etc. you can and probably are still propagating viruses.
      • ZekeSulastin, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1If a security hole and incentive to exploit it exist, so too will viruses. Not every hole is caught, whether it be software or user-based. Until the day where all users are immune to social engineering and every piece of code ever is perfect, we will need cleanup software for our computers.
        • linuxpenguin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1Why? Why is it that antivirus solutions can catch all these security breaches and repair them, yet the operating system can't be updated to eliminate the hole? If a professional security advisor finds a problem with some software, I'd rather they fix the software than be required to have you download an add-on program to apply their fix.
    • courtjester555, on 02/05/2008, -1/+8But isn't Microsoft going to stop supporting XP? Linux will be virus- and spyware-free for as far as anyone can see into the future
    • GRAVEWiSH, on 02/05/2008, -2/+3well ive installed XP SP2 with nod32 on all my friends computers and they all have some form of spyware/virus/***** doesnt work anymore on their pc's.
    • sublime8510, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3Theres a good chance that your parents computers are probably still infected with something and part of a bot net.
    • Rikm, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3To all the people complaining because their mum, brother-in-law, neighbour, goldfish managed to get a Windows box owned in a week, how many of you set them up as the sole user of the PC, making them an admin, instead of doing the correct thing and setting up one admin account for use by you, and a second limited user account for them?

      How many of you claiming success with Linux did the same ***** thing, i.e. making them root level users, while teaching them how to su?

      Yes, Windows makes things easier for a user to ***** up if the PC was configured by a clueless admin who didn't specifically restrict the user from having the "keys to the kingdom". But if you give the same type of user the same privileges under Linux, things would be just as fubared in a couple of weeks.

      I do "tech support for beer" for several family and friends. Some use ubuntu, but others tried Linux but asked to go back to XP. Whichever OS, none of them ever suffer from viruses, spyware etc. because they don't have the admin passwords.
    • ZekeSulastin, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Amazingly enough, it's not hard to have parents using ANY OS with aplomb, assuming you actually help to truly educate them about computers without patronizing them (and of course their willingness to learn).

      I guess my own mother is a bit of an outlier, but she currently uses a Vista tower and OSX laptop and likes both. She's used pretty much every flavor of Windows and a couple of DOS, and the only reason she hasn't bothered to learn Linux is that she sees no need to. Even when her only computer was a Windows ME box (long story), it worked fine.

      My grandfather is a different story - he doesn't want to take the time to learn computers of any sort anymore, despite his own technical background -.- he is one of those people who still get normal typewriters.
  • billiondead, on 02/05/2008, -23/+10I just bought my mum a mac
  • Raxem, on 02/05/2008, -3/+42I actually want to try out linux. Can anyone point me to one that is good for beginners? I'm not quite newb at computers, but something fairly simple for linux would be nice. Thanks.
    • matu4251, on 02/05/2008, -35/+2For sure, no newb would ask such question...
      • Raxem, on 02/05/2008, -1/+11Because all people who aren't newbs know all about linux? I know windows, that's it, and messed around in linux a little, Sabayon. That's all I've really known, and my friend showed me, so ***** off.
        • matu4251, on 02/05/2008, -8/+1if you only know about windows then you don't know much then do you? Nothing wrong with that though.
        • minigamer1896, on 02/05/2008, -1/+7@matu: STFU!
      • chubbstar, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1if the question is serious: ubuntu
        if its not: i didnt really think it was that funny/i dont get it.
    • brutusx, on 02/05/2008, -3/+35ubuntu linux has come a long way in the last couple years. Easier to install than windows, and it looks so good too.
      • Apoc, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4yeah i've been using ubuntu for a couple months now, i like it. But if you expect flash, make sure you don't use a 64 bit version of ubuntu, despite all the workarounds with the nswrapperplugin i can't seem to get flash 9 applications working properly.
      • charlesray, on 02/05/2008, -9/+3There's no debate as to how fast Ubuntu is in comparison to Windows, but quite frankly it looks like ***** compared to Vista. And I'm not talking about transparency or animations; Compix/Beryl focuses too much on that ***** when all that is needed is general polish. The one thing that always stands out to me is the fonts; they just look AWFUL. Beside that, all the themes remind of Windows 95.
    • theaceoffire, on 02/05/2008, -0/+8I asked similar questions right before I picked my OS.
      As to your question, I would try downloading and burning a copy of the same OS mentioned in the article (Ubuntu). It was a good starting point for me, although if your interested you should later check out openSuse, linux mint, and the others.
    • TwilightXaos, on 02/05/2008, -0/+20Surely Ubuntu is a good choice for beginners. (http://www.ubuntu.com/).
      Another easy choice is Mint (which is based on ubuntu) (http://linuxmint.com/)

      Fedora is nice and easy as well (http://fedoraproject.org/get-fedora).

      For any of them, you will have to download an iso file and make a cd out of it. Look up on google how to do this, I found this link which is pretty good. http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_write_iso_files_to_c ...
      • Raxem, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4Thanks for the advice. It's been helpful. I'll probably check out Mint first so that wireless is a little easier to set up based on the other comments on this page.
        • chubbstar, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2actually. if you go to the ubuntu website theyll mail you install cd for free. im not sure if the other distros do it.

          and i wouldnt be too worried about your wireless not working unless you have a really obscure wireless card or if your computer is from the 80s.
    • Darthmalt, on 02/05/2008, -13/+3just be warned that your wireless card probably won't work. If you are using a linksys wireless card dont even bother installing linux. After several hours of trying to figure out how to work ndiswrappers I just gave up and went back to windows only :/
      • BlueSkyfish, on 02/05/2008, -0/+6Linux Mint will set it up easily. It comes installed with ndiswrapper and Envy (for your graphics card)
      • BRODEL, on 02/05/2008, -0/+7That's crap. I had a linksys card on an old toshiba laptop that ubuntu *5.10* found and installed the drivers for me..
      • FluffyArmada, on 02/05/2008, -0/+5Heh.. you were probably doing it wrong then. :)
      • waspbr, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1google is your friend dude, If something doesn't work google for it (either have another computer handy or a dual boot)

        Linux has good the best support of all OS
    • mizike, on 02/05/2008, -13/+4see how you're getting dugg down? that's the fabled linux community in action....be prepared to rely on them to walk you through the hours of command line drudgery that's required to get the basic functionality you're used to in either XP or OSX...
    • marioluigi123, on 02/05/2008, -1/+18To actually answer your question (since I'd love to see more Linux users), you should just burn an Ubuntu LiveCD (get the .iso disc image at ubuntu.com) and see how you like it. This is a great way to check driver support too. I'm a fairly new Linux user myself - probably about 18 months or so, but I've loved the whole time. I was in much the same position as you: a very detailed knowledge of "the Windows way" but no Linux experience. Honestly though, Ubuntu is perfect for this type of user as well as for the total computer newbie. There is a learning curve involved, don't get me wrong, but I think it's significantly less than that for Windows (at least 90% of the time). Sure, you're never going to hit a snag with the window manager and end up with no GUI, but unlike with Windows, if you have no GUI with Linux, you can still fix the problem. With Windows, you're pretty much screwed. So to reiterate, just burn a LiveCD and check it out. If you do decide to use Ubuntu, Google and the Ubuntu forums will be your savior. Most problems you'll encounter can be solved with the quick Google search with the problem/error message and the word 'ubuntu' in front.

      Happy Ubuntu-ing!
    • schtick01101, on 02/05/2008, -1/+5I am not sure why you are getting Dugg down. It's a very viable question. I, sir, am digging you up and suggesting what Brutusx suggested: Ubuntu. It does a great job picking up hardware and when I first made the switch to Linux it had issues with my Nvidia Go mobile GFX card. I found a program called Envy that did all the hard work for me until I was able to learn how to do it myself without severely messing something up. Plus, IMHO Ubuntu's forums and community seems really helpful if you get stuck on something.
      • andycr512, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I really don't know why I hear Envy recommended so much when Ubuntu ships with a utility to install the Nvidia drivers (and other proprietary drivers).
        • marx2k, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I would also warn againt using Envy. It can break your system in certain situations. Upgrading from Feisty to Gutsy was a nightmare since I had used Envy to install my NVidia drivers
    • SpyDerMann, on 02/05/2008, -2/+5Try PCLinuxOS. In my blog i've posted my experiences when switching from Windows. I've been running it for 4 months now.
      http://slashdot.org/~Spy+der+Mann/journal/185683

    • KyleGoetz, on 02/05/2008, -0/+5Download the Ubuntu CD, burn it, and pop it in and reboot your computer. It should boot up, and it won't even do anything permanent to your computer! Try it out for a while, and if you think, "Gee, if this ran 100 times faster I'd totally switch to it," then switch to it and install to the hard drive. It will run much faster because no longer will it have to run purely out of RAM and the CD.
      • kkanuck, on 02/05/2008, -4/+0If Ubuntu Live runs 100 times faster than whatever you're running now, you probably won't be able to figure ubuntu out. Because you suck at computers. And probably right now you have windows vista with a ton of widgets and ***** on your desktop.

        Basically, I'm trying to say that kyle is exaggerating.
    • STLMikey, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3www.ubuntu.com
    • mthmchris, on 02/05/2008, -0/+11I was in the same boat as you. I'm 21... not an idiot with computers by any stretch of the imagination, but mostly familiar to navigating my way around Windows without any solid conceptual understanding of computers in general. I have a computer (a Toshiba Tecra) that's about 3 1/2 years old... I had XP on it (of course), and it was just slow as balls. I couldn't have both Firefox and iTunes open at the same time without the system slowing to a crawl, and I couldn't run Opera (my preferred browser) at all without my computer grinding to a halt. Word? Excel? Hahaha... keep in mind I had Ad-aware, AVG, Firefox.

      It reached the point where over the course of one month I reformatted my computer 3 times. I was begging my parents for a new computer, with no avail. I had seen all these things on Digg about Compiz, Ubuntu, and Linux... so I figure "***** it, my computer's unusable anyway... might as well give Ubuntu a spin".

      What I found was simply incredible. Linux is fast... damned fast. My old crappy Toshiba ran almost as good as my buddy's new MacBook Pro - WITH all the compiz effects, WITH multiple programs running (including Google Earth!). The default theme looks like *****, but it's easy enough to mess around with. Now, not everything's easy, and there's definitely bumps on the road that you're going to hit, especially if you want to customize Ubuntu to your tastes (which you probably will want to do). There was a day that I tried to get S-Video out working and ***** up the graphics really badly; I was freaking out until I figured how to fix it. But overall, Ubuntu Forums is REALLY helpful, and I really just love this OS.

      I don't think Linux is ready for mom yet, but it's improving fast. And under the hood, I do feel like it's the best option. So if you have an old computer and a little bit of spare time, I would recommend trying out Ubuntu.
    • junglejay, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2Definately Ubuntu. I switched from XP to Ubuntu a few months ago and haven't looked back!
  • jblanch, on 02/05/2008, -2/+30wheres the mom damnit?
  • barthrh, on 02/05/2008, -2/+8I did roughly the same thing w/ Ubuntu for my father. I grew tired of spending 8 hours every time I visited removing spyware. Since Ubuntu -- no issues. I put similarly huge icons on the desktop.

    Since then, I had to move him to a Mac. He needed accounting software (company, not personal accounting) and there is nothing even half decent on Linux.

    • banmaster, on 02/05/2008, -3/+3Or on mac for that matter.
    • byrdgang, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3What's the name of the accounting application you bought for him? I use the supposedly mighty Quickbooks at work, and it sucks.
      • TheWindBlows, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2yes we all know Inuit has jackass coders... Only reason some applications stay on top for so long is because business bosses will say ' I don't want to start a conversion. ' . It makes me think... why wouldn't you want to have the company switch to a product that is more productive (most newer apps include support for widely used formats to increase acceptance.).
    • waspbr, on 02/05/2008, -2/+2just took me one google search to find this:
      http://www.findaccountingsoftware.com/software/ser ...
      • ZekeSulastin, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1If it took you one Google search, have you considered that it took Bart one search as well? It is possible for one to examine Linux software and deem that it is not good enough, strange as it may seem to some of the Diggers here ...
  • mizike, on 02/05/2008, -7/+10image depicts a complete statement of what can be done with linux without using the command line (assuming you're using wired internet and never need to print; if not, hope your mom can figure out ndiswrapper)
    • BlueSkyfish, on 02/05/2008, -0/+6You don't need the command line to install a printer.
      System>Administration>Printing>New Printer
      • andycr512, on 02/05/2008, -0/+8In fact, detected printers are automatically set up in Ubuntu 7.10, so you don't even need to do that.
    • Woofcat, on 02/05/2008, -2/+7Also. If your mom can install various operating systems then i assume she could figure out NDIS wrapper. I mean otherwise why would the person who installed the operating system not configure the internet?
  • xqb4dpx, on 02/05/2008, -3/+11linux* for your mom. thats not ubuntu, thats LINUX mint.
    • haveacigar, on 02/05/2008, -0/+15i thought mint was a variation of ubuntu...
    • manitoba98xp, on 02/05/2008, -0/+11Which is, actually, based on Ubuntu (it's Ubuntu with a new theme and a few of the restricted codecs bundled). But I agree that the submitter is probably just hoping to ride on the "Ubuntu" buzzword.
  • brutusx, on 02/05/2008, -12/+3I had my mom using elive linux. what a piece of chit that was. when you drag files they aren't copied, always moved. lost hundreds of vacation pics. Ubuntu 7.10 wouldn't get past 15% install. back to xp pro corporate now.
    • HHP2K, on 02/05/2008, -7/+5Have fun! We won't miss you!
      • mizike, on 02/05/2008, -3/+6with an attitude like that; don't bitch about marketshare
      • brutusx, on 02/10/2008, -0/+1Defensive much? By "We", of course, you mean yourself and your fap box, right?
    • mgrucker, on 02/05/2008, -1/+8That doesn't even make sense... Unless you made a shortcut to /dev/null and then dragged the files there I can't figure out how you "lost" them. Maybe you mean "lost" as in you can't find where you moved them to?
      • brutusx, on 02/10/2008, -0/+1Dragged from the memory card to the desktop. closed mem card window. She decided a day later to delete them to save space. stuck mem card into other computer with extra hard drives and there were no pictures on the card anymore. and they were not in the trash folder on the Elive pc. so, no she didn't "forget" where they were.
        I'm an ubuntu user myself.
    • barthrh, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3Linux is good for either very basic needs or the very advanced. If you're in between, it's not ready. There is nothing as good as iPhoto. Picasa is just a Wine port and has quirks (e.g. background service in the taskbar). F-Spot has potential, but isn't there. If you want to do anything w/ creating a video DVD you're in for a ton of effort. So many of the media-oriented things that consumers want to do today are just very poorly implemented on Linux.

      For those people, there is nothing better than a Mac (well, for almost anyone, too). No IE problems, perfectly integrated media, easy to use. All the software you need for home or business is readily available.
  • Lionhart, on 02/05/2008, -1/+46Dugg for "The Internet"
  • gluon, on 02/05/2008, -11/+20What are you going to tell your Mom when she buys a new printer that does not have drivers for Linux yet? How about when Dad wants to do his taxes with TurboTax? I think Linux is great for us geek types but once your parents want to do what other parents do with their Windows/OSX boxes, they're not going to be so happy with their son's choices anymore. I've tried this experiment and wound up with way more support calls than on a Windows box once they wanted to do anything "non simple".
    • sirhomer, on 02/05/2008, -1/+13TurboTax Online works on Linux :P
      Plus if it's a fast machine you can load up VirtualBox or KVM for Windows only *****.
      • BlackKnight6, on 02/05/2008, -6/+5Yea, cause our parents and grandparents understand and use VMware already. Come on, that would only add more steps for them to learn. They might as well just have windows and just remove everything off the desktop they don't need.
        • ZaZ2137, on 02/05/2008, -4/+9you can easily add a script to do all the vmware work for them so all they have to do is double click on an icon, stop being a douche
    • ZaZ2137, on 02/05/2008, -5/+18What are you going to tell your mom that the manufacturer has not made drivers for her printer that she wants to install on windows vista because you cant get windows xp anymore, what do say to dad when turbotax doesnt want to work with vista?
      • LumpOfCole, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3My dad uses a MacBook and tends to never touch my mom's computer just because he doesn't need to. The house utilizes a network printer that my dad also manages, so additional printers are also not a concern. For what it's worth, the network printer was much easier to install on Ubuntu / Linux Mint versus Windows XP. To be fair, Vista also makes network printer installation very easy. Vista just comes at the price of running like a slug in mud on my mom's older laptop (which contains the setup of this installation of Ubuntu / Linux Mint). Vista hates 512mb of RAM, but Ubuntu sings on it.
    • andycr512, on 02/05/2008, -4/+3What are you going to tell your mom if she gets a Mac and buys an unsupported printer? Same difference.
    • tgoose, on 02/05/2008, -1/+3Then get her to check with you which printers to buy. Simple?
    • marx2k, on 02/05/2008, -2/+2I plug in an HP Laserjet 5L printer directly into the router via ethernet. Add the printer easily to Ubuntu.. just give ie the freakin' IP address. XP? No such luck. It simply does not find it.
    • peedeeramone, on 02/08/2008, -0/+0actually, to be totally honest, unless its some off the wall printer its usually easier to get drivers for linux, because they're already there. seriously, hp printers take about 20 seconds to install in linux, whereas in windows even if you have the driver cd itll probly take you 5 minutes to install (another 5 to locate it on HP's website and another 5 to download the 100mb "full install") trust me been there, done that, and im no noob...

      sorry i guess ive been beaten here by others saying the same thing, but whatever
  • Ubergoober3, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4dugg for hilarious info.
  • daxsymbiont, on 02/05/2008, -8/+41I T ' S A S E R I E S O F T U B E S
  • amoore260, on 02/05/2008, -4/+36I set mom up with a Ubuntu box about 5 month ago. She loves it! No spy ware, NO virus, simple system up dates, and Ubuntu runs faster than her windows partition. She hasn't booted windows ever since.

    The funny thing is, I started explaining about how open source, GPL, and Linux work. Mom then started asking the IT guys at her work about open source, GPL, and Linux. She said, "they didn't have a clue about it". She keeps asking me when will this "Linux thing" will take over M$ Windows? I guess she wants to buy stock.

    I myself have been a Linux user for the last 4 years now I can share the fun with mom.
    • lime148, on 02/05/2008, -18/+3Yes, Linux works pretty well when you don't plan on actually doing anything with your computer.
      • marx2k, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Except run the internet, your living room media PC, a web server, a desktop, a router, a file server, etc. Quit being a douche
        • Amiga500, on 02/08/2008, -1/+0LOL, try Printing. Oh, BURN!
        • linuxpenguin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1Okay. Well it worked. Now what?
          And actually, Linux printer installation is easier for me than with XP - XP requires extra print drivers to communicate with the USB print server downstairs.
    • banmaster, on 02/05/2008, -7/+2When will it overtake MS? Not for a LONG LONG time.
      Each year is declared the year of linux on the desktop, but it never ever is.
      Seriously, at even lower market share than mac (
    • Amiga500, on 02/08/2008, -2/+0Love these Fanboi generated fairy tales, very touching.
  • johnstar, on 02/05/2008, -1/+16my mom has crazy problems with xp, she won't try linux because incredamail does not work!
    my mother-in-laws laptop takes 15 minutes to boot up (2gig celeron M with 768 mem) and she does not want to even try it! :(
    • BlueSkyfish, on 02/05/2008, -0/+15Oh god, incredimail. I bet she's also afraid of losing her 10.000 free smilys.
    • Cryoniq, on 02/05/2008, -1/+16Oh Seriously.. You need a new mom installed...
      • amoore260, on 02/05/2008, -0/+11sudo apt-get install mom 2.0

        requires reboot after install of new family kernel upgrade, dependants may not be happy with this upgrade but dad will love it!
    • banmaster, on 02/05/2008, -0/+19Does she realise that all her probs are BECAUSE of Incredimail??
      • reaper, on 02/05/2008, -1/+2Incredimail - Windows

        I see a direct correlation of which problems are created right there.
    • TheWindBlows, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3It doesn't take a genius to figure out incredimail is crap...
      Anyways Thunderbird + Lighting + WebMail + Misc things.
      Isa beatiful solution for email simple gets email done.
      WebMail : http://webmail.mozdev.org/domains.html
    • pox05, on 02/05/2008, -1/+9pop in a live cd and let it sit until the next time she boots up.... see what happens.
      • rameznabel, on 02/05/2008, -0/+2this man is smart
      • ZekeSulastin, on 02/05/2008, -1/+1Rule #1: Don't screw with people's computers behind their backs.
        Rule #2: Follow rule #1 especially if you know the person!

        If I pulled a stunt like that on anyone I knew I wouldn't be allowed near any of their stuff again. You should definitely take the time to educate them about it though.
  • scarz99, on 02/05/2008, -12/+2LOL Digg users killed the bandwidth, cant view the pic haha
  • wizdude, on 02/05/2008, -1/+7"the internet" reminds me of many of my customers who used to ask "is that the latest version of the internet?" :-)
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