I'm in the process of getting my kids their first PC this Christmas. They'll both get a mini-PC, with severely restricted Internet access. I'm actually thinking about just letting them connect to the home server where I'd mock the Web sites I pick for them. For this reason, Win11 with its online account requirement is automatically excluded from consideration. I wated to give them Mint anyway, but this was the argument that convinced my wife.
You should keep an eye on Gnome. Their recent release, Gnome 50, just introduced parental controls to limit access to programs and they're looking to implement website access as well.
I don't like Gnome, but my kid's first PC will have Gnome on it now because of these new features, which I greatly appreciate
I think you should let the kid just use variety of systems and desktops over time. It's fine if it likes something different than you in the end as well, and there's a chance that they will like GNOME more if they are more used to mobile UI's.
Mocking up whole websites seems like a pain. With a Pihole, you can create different service groups for computers and apply a whitelist to just their machines. Plus you get adblocking too!
Lol I assumed OP meant mock as in "You want to go to tiktok? What a horrible site. You have bad taste."
Just put 3.1 on those and let them play solitaire to their hearts content.
If they get Windows 95, they can also play Hearts to their Solitaire's content.
Windows 95 with the Microsoft Entertainment Pack
Oh no!
Anyway..
I use Linux BTW.
I logged into azure on my home PC with the master account in work (I know i know) and now my home PC account is renamed after the company founder, who doesn't even work any more.
Wtf Microsoft. Just stop.
The only reason I don’t install Linux on my NVMe drive and leave it on my SSD is that I can’t reinstall Windows with a local account (though maybe there’s a painful workaround). If they break, they’re gone forever.
There's an easy workaround : install W10 with a local account, then upgrade. No need for any kind of workaround. Disclaimer : this might have worked because I'm in Europe.
Otherwise, there are workarounds for a vanilla install with only local accounts that still works to this day, I did that in a VM. But that's flimsy.
Of course, this leaves you to the whim of "fucking microsoft, we'll screw you forever, bork your data when we want, force you to change computer every other year, and you'll love it", but the option exists.
Sail the high seas. Also, you absolutely can still skip logging in and setup a local account.
First last and only time I ever tried to get a microsloth account, they fucked up my password selection and basically locked me out of my system wherein resided my steam account, emulation, and music libraries and all of my non steam games. Never ever did that again
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
