204

how would you make a linux distro for extreme beginners in tech and elderly people?? (lemmy.today)

submitted 2 weeks ago by adrianhooves@lemmy.today to c/linux@lemmy.ml

96 comments fedilink hide all child comments

this is a topic i've been heavily involved with because i still consider myself to be someone who prefers using technology at a very beginner friendly level, plus it's very good when a linux operating system makes you feel right at home when it has a modern desktop environment. this is why i really like gnome, its simplicity and usability is something available for everyone, for beginners and for a lot of other people, but if you had to, say, rearrange xfce or kde for someone who was an elderly person or an absolute beginner so that they wouldn't have any trouble using linux, how would you do it? (screenshot is my current linux mint desktop, very simple and extremely user friendly!!!!)

(page 2) 46 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] BudgetBandit@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago

I fixed this by using Debian and Firefox. The only thing my parents do on the PC is stuff on the internet. It’s just important that it opens itself after the startup. They love the speed of it.

[-] intensely_human@lemm.ee 3 points 2 weeks ago

I’d made the default desktop wallpaper just some text that says “try typing man man in the terminal”

[-] desentizised@lemm.ee 3 points 2 weeks ago

Why would it have to be KDE or XFCE? GNOME as it exists today is probably the closest to macOS' design language, and whatever you do designing any kind of operating system UI, macOS needs to be the benchmark. GNOME 2 in the olden days was my favorite DE so today I have to go for things like KDE or MATE but I'm not a novice and I can fully acknowledge that what works for me isn't what works for everyone. GNOME probably made the right decisions to lower the entry barrier towards Linux.

XFCE to me is purely a choice for outdated hardware so unless your extreme beginner has an extremely old PC XFCE is a non-starter. Whether KDE can be made more accessible to the non-initiated I can't say. Anything that has a Windows-esque taskbar is probably ill-equipped from the start as well. Again, macOS is as easy to use in a keyboard and mouse sense as tablets and smartphones are with our fingers. This is the way.

[-] adrianhooves@lemmy.today 1 points 2 weeks ago

well i meant those two specific desktop environments because those two seem to be extremely customizable, which means icons, windows, etc can be rearranged to be more friendly

[-] WellTheresYourCobbler@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

That sounds like more things to break or confuse a user

Edit: I will admit though, gnome’s desktop paradigm is definitely going to be alien to most people going from using a windows and even a Mac desktop which may not be worth the trouble when trying to switch grandma over to a Linux distribution.

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] Aiala@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Linux Mint, just ensure the hardware is 100% supported.

[-] TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago

Isn't that Ubuntu?

[-] adrianhooves@lemmy.today 0 points 2 weeks ago

definitely yes but there has to be no snaps because otherwise the computer would be very slow!!

[-] Cris16228@lemmy.today 2 points 2 weeks ago

Wallpaper?

load more comments (4 replies)

[-] sirico@feddit.uk 1 points 2 weeks ago

You have to remember older people grew up with computers that are pretty similar to how most of us use Linux. Mint, bluefin would be my choices for someone with lower tech experience.

[-] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Mint

[-] dharmik@linuxusers.in 0 points 2 weeks ago

@adrianhooves@lemmy.today most of the issues elderly or someone not familiar with tech might face is installing something. pop os is the answer i think.

[-] dharmik@linuxusers.in 0 points 2 weeks ago

@adrianhooves@lemmy.today it even has a app store.

[+] mtchristo@lemm.ee -6 points 2 weeks ago

Adopt windows file system with letterer partitions as the root. Plus most people who use computers are used to this paradigm already. Who ever came up with Linux's file system has poor organization skills

[-] Scrollone@feddit.it 2 points 2 weeks ago

I don't agree. It's just because you're used to drive letters.

I think Linux filesystem is better organised. Everything is (almost) well organised in the right folder.

load more comments (5 replies)

[-] woelkchen@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

MOST people use smartphones before they use PCs and none of them have drive letters. All use a unix-style structure internally and just hide this fact through abstraction layers. Not one chose to show drive letters.

[-] aphlamingphoenix@lemm.ee 1 points 2 weeks ago

This would fundamentally break the Unix/Posix functionality of layering file systems. All containerization would break. You would lose the ability to map in one filesystem's content within another's. I don't think the right way to get people used to Linux is to fundamentally break it.

File managers - even the dogshit one you get with Gnome - already register external storage devices in a list that's shown no matter where in the file system you are. Assigning a drive letter doesn't clarify anything. What beginner/grandpa is even looking at the contents of the FS root?

load more comments

this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2024

204 points (92.5% liked)

Linux

48945 readers

657 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml

nooter692@lemmy.ml

MarcellusDrum@lemmy.ml

cypherpunks@lemmy.ml

cyclohexane@lemmy.ml

d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz