Mark Allison wrote: [...] > What do you think? Have many of you managed to get older, non-techie people > to switch happily?
Smirk (note1). I think the -motivation- to do something new on the computer is the primary issue, with -opportunity- being important too. Some people may not be motivated. Your Dad is happy because it is not he who puts effort into maintaining his PC! Who maintains it? :-) My friends and neighbours - mostly well over 60, and some mid 80s, get offered (k)ubuntu because my experience is that xp is far too difficult to maintain (by me!) and I also know that xp is unlikely to continue to work well over time. One elderly friend has a PII that I gave him, on dial up. It started a few years ago with win98 and was ok, basically only for email, for a while, but it soon needed visits from me. Even a short trip is inconvenient in a busy life. He agreed to try (suse 10.0, as it happened, at the time) and it was not hard to get started at all. The places to click onto looked different, etc, but it did not take long - he was already a seasoned (if limited) computer user. Like me, he also wanted an improved system, he was motivated because he had seen the problems windows gave him. I visit occasionally, to help with updates on CD, but the system is perfectly stable and works. Another similar aged friend has a similar machine from me but has remained on windows 98. I would say she is a more deliberate and careful user of mouse and keyboard - again limited use only of email. Nothing has gone wrong over a few years, apart from a dialup modem card replacement. She is not at all motivated to change, nor have I recommended it because she has had no problems at all. This is a case of 'windows got there first'. A near neighbour who is a heavier PC user recently bought a Dell desktop with my help. One of the final Dell XP good deals. It was not politically appropriate to wipe the XP, and anyway she had a lot of games and accounts stuff in DOS and windows. Very much appreciating good security, she uses what she calls the 'Kubunti' side of the dual boot for any email and internet stuff, keeping windows for non internet legacy things. As her main support agency, I also emphasise that I cannot undertake to keep windows healthy if it is used for internet stuff. Another elderly friend who was a public library PC user bought a dell laptop a year ago and I helped get it working, sorting out the amazing crapware, and getting broadband. Soon after this he met a friend who was selling an older dell desktop for 50 pounds and bought it also. It was easy to get acceptance for a Kubuntu dual boot on the desktop and this became his main machine! The laptop was in intermittent use, but has recently siezed up to operate at a totally impossible crawl. It will need sorting, but meantime he began to *ask* for Kubuntu also on the laptop. The bad news is that the printer he proudly bought happens to be a Lexmark 4300 all in one. I am still struggling to get this working with linux. He knows better, now though. Another elderly friend - a very alert and systematic woman - has had laptops for several years, supported by me. Still XP but she discovered Open Office rules over MS Works a while ago and was amazed at OO as much as surprised by the limitations of Works and also appreciates the social power of open source. Firefox and Thunderbird are now being happily used for reason of improved security. Kubuntu is known about but the effort of getting used to the change is not yet worth it. Currently she is on a holiday island off africa, with no PC. Windows got there first, but open source is deliberately and linux activerly is seen and beckons. I help a local charity for learning difficulty adults. The (near retirement) manager is strongly windows (too much effort to re learn, and percieved risk), but my offer to install a few free recycled PCs (with edubuntu ) was readily accepted particulaly when it was seen to be so reliable and with so many fun kids games. I did take a leap of faith on hios part to say yes initially. Maybe I have a trustworthy face? One of the first things I did was to layout a folded leaflet on one of the PCs using Open Office, Something the boss was having difficulty doing with Word on his 'proper' PC..... All the PCs internet available and I plan to put dans guardian on the network when I can. BTW the users had not a single comment about screen layout or anything. Immediate usage. Gui is an ituitive thing. No problems either with the unsupervised PCs so far - 4 months I think maybe more. Viva Edubuntu! Windows did get there first, but is loosing ground rapidly here. I have a lot of experience with older people and PCs - set up and ran the Age Concern Berkshire's web access 'cafe' for several years, with volunteers helping me. Several thousand client hour sessions were taken. Unfortunately the political, social and economic inertia was in favour of continuing with Windows, including money from MS via head office. Siver Surfers annual events were hosted at MS campus Reading. I gave a keynote talk on one occasion. That was just before I had discoverd linux! The Abiltynet charity is also run from a hosted office on the MS campus. I have no doubt that many clients would be happy to use ubuntu in many situations, including family hand-me-down PCs, but I cannot resource a Ubuntu 'Surge' locally for that charity (Age Concern Berkshire for example). Maybe sometime. I sadly resigned from this activity because I had seen that windows was unsuitable for vulnerable users, and I would use my time for linux only. Most of the typical Age Concern computer clients, even if they knew about Ubuntu, could not get it installed, and also they do not have friends or family members (FOFMs) who would or could support them. Although the tide is changing. Note 1: I am happily retired and scrape the ice off the windscreen with a bus pass....... :-) -- alan cocks Kubuntu user#10391 Linux user #360648 -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
