My elderly, former programmer father is one. Too bad it took him 30 years after first trying but he is up and running now for about three months 😁️ Now to get him off the Apple phone and into an alt android OS…
Now to get him off the Apple phone and into an alt android OS…
But, why?
I can understand for you and I, but does a 50-60yo, need to shift from a platform they’re comfortable with and can afford, just because their nerdy kid doesn’t find it cool?
You’re a little off on our ages, but your point still stands 🙂 What is behind that statement is me seeing him talk about these things for so long. He was messing with OS/2 and some Linux stuff before Windows came out, but completely quit after about 1993. He would, however, talk about it.
He was the first of us to get a smartphone (Apple) and did a lot of tinkering with it then, but quit. I personally have been using Linux OSes for 20 years and even gave an old desktop of mine to fiddle with 10 years ago, which he loved!
He wants to do this stuff but has trouble starting his own projects. He has spent time with my phone, my computers, etc. If I lived closer this would be a great way to spend time together since we don’t have a whole lot in common.
The reality is he is the nerdy kid who learned programming on punch cards and switched to that field in the 60s as soon as he learned what a computer was. He has always wanted to do “gadgety” things. He does have some dispensable income. I have enjoyed hearing him talk about this new nettop and the shenanigans he gets into with it! So much better than discussing the weather.
That’s an important step, for sure, but that’s not going to push the majority.
I’m that guy for plenty of people and the number of times a conversation starts with “so I bought…” is crazy. It’s basically the first thing anyone says to me when they need help.
The one step that would really push a lot would be if you can go to your local electronics store and buy a PC there with Linux preinstalled and completely setup, just like you can with Windows, Mac and ChromeOS.
That’s why the Steam Deck actually pushed the Linux market share quite a bit.
I mean, there is a thing like that and it’s called Chromebooks, but we, the tech people, deemed ChromeOS not Linux enough and told everyone not to buy chromebooks.
But still ChromeOS is by far the most popular Linux distro with about 5x the market share of the next most popular Linux distro (which is Arch, thanks to the Steam Deck).
I don’t know if you already use Linux or not, but if you do you have a valid excuse for why you can’t help them with their impulse buy from HP. So if they want your help, they can take your suggestions for where to get a Linux computer, such as System76, Framework, and I think even some Dell models come with it preinstalled. There’s probably some I forgot, but the point is, those selling Linux machines are in a growth market that only seems to be accelerating. It should be only a matter of time before more players want a piece of that.
It’s huge because the people who do the tech support in the families are moving.
My elderly, former programmer father is one. Too bad it took him 30 years after first trying but he is up and running now for about three months 😁️ Now to get him off the Apple phone and into an alt android OS…
But, why? I can understand for you and I, but does a 50-60yo, need to shift from a platform they’re comfortable with and can afford, just because their nerdy kid doesn’t find it cool?
You’re a little off on our ages, but your point still stands 🙂 What is behind that statement is me seeing him talk about these things for so long. He was messing with OS/2 and some Linux stuff before Windows came out, but completely quit after about 1993. He would, however, talk about it.
He was the first of us to get a smartphone (Apple) and did a lot of tinkering with it then, but quit. I personally have been using Linux OSes for 20 years and even gave an old desktop of mine to fiddle with 10 years ago, which he loved!
He wants to do this stuff but has trouble starting his own projects. He has spent time with my phone, my computers, etc. If I lived closer this would be a great way to spend time together since we don’t have a whole lot in common.
The reality is he is the nerdy kid who learned programming on punch cards and switched to that field in the 60s as soon as he learned what a computer was. He has always wanted to do “gadgety” things. He does have some dispensable income. I have enjoyed hearing him talk about this new nettop and the shenanigans he gets into with it! So much better than discussing the weather.
That’s an important step, for sure, but that’s not going to push the majority.
I’m that guy for plenty of people and the number of times a conversation starts with “so I bought…” is crazy. It’s basically the first thing anyone says to me when they need help.
This.
The one step that would really push a lot would be if you can go to your local electronics store and buy a PC there with Linux preinstalled and completely setup, just like you can with Windows, Mac and ChromeOS.
That’s why the Steam Deck actually pushed the Linux market share quite a bit.
I mean, there is a thing like that and it’s called Chromebooks, but we, the tech people, deemed ChromeOS not Linux enough and told everyone not to buy chromebooks.
But still ChromeOS is by far the most popular Linux distro with about 5x the market share of the next most popular Linux distro (which is Arch, thanks to the Steam Deck).
I don’t know if you already use Linux or not, but if you do you have a valid excuse for why you can’t help them with their impulse buy from HP. So if they want your help, they can take your suggestions for where to get a Linux computer, such as System76, Framework, and I think even some Dell models come with it preinstalled. There’s probably some I forgot, but the point is, those selling Linux machines are in a growth market that only seems to be accelerating. It should be only a matter of time before more players want a piece of that.