Too bad my usb stick can only store one distro at a time.
Got my parents a new computer for Christmas. I didn’t feel like acting as their 24/7 tech support so I let it with the Windows 11 that it came with. Yesterday they couldn’t get their webcam and microphone to work at all for our weekly family videocall. We ended up having the videocall on Signal. I believe they would face less troubles with Debian at this point.
Tough love is the realest love
Dude: “Damn… I really want to be able to see the inside of my computer. Why won’t anyone help me install windows to the case?”
Your father gave me his USB stick in Vietnam, son.
where did you keep it?
I carried this uncomfortable hunk of data up my ass for two years. And now little man, I give it to you.
I always install openSUSE without removing my buttplug. Or any extra USB cables.
Uhm… Where can I find that? For a friend, of course! (◕ᴗ◕✿)
Well, I only know of one and you’ll need 12 angry men to pull it out.
Oh yeah I have that too. Just sit on the PC case while you are installing. ( ￣▽￣)
Idk i think if it was my usb stick it would fry it
I dare you to use it for bios updates. Better don’t clensh your butt or you’ll brick your board
Two bricks would be made in that case. >!In that PC case.!<
I wouldn’t provide tech support unless you have a very good reason. You also want Windows as that’s what everyone knows. Stick to the beaten path when you can unless you have a very good reason to stray.
Installing Linux on your buttplug is a bold move, I say.
Just install Linux Mint, they’ll never find out.
Don’t actually do this as it is problematic. You should respect there wishes instead of trying to force Linux apron them. They don’t really need to know that Linux exists at all.
The other issue is that you instantly become the sole source of tech support.
I’ve done it to my family and friends over a decade ago.
Free tech support is for foss!
Yeah we are very different. I do IT for a living so I’m not exactly excited to do tech support outside of work.
If it works for everyone i involved that’s great but the problem with Linux is that there are far fewer people who use it which means that suddenly I’m the central point of support. I want something totally hands off for me which means something friends and family know and can help with.
I’ve worked in IT my whole career and if someone wants me yo install Linux on their machine, or has questions about bash scripting, I’m dropping whatever I’m doing to help them.
How else are my friends and family supposed to teach each other it nobody teaches them? Not everyone was as lucky as I was to be encouraged to pursue tech, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the same privacy and options that I benefit from.
I’m down helping once and I often will point people in the right direction
The problem is that help isn’t needed once. It can turn into a full time job very quickly if you don’t draw the line.
Since I’ve installed openSUSE Tumbleweed to everyone about 5 years ago I’ve actually done literally 0 tech support on that front so I’m superbly happy about that.
With Windows (albeit 7) there was always shit going wrong (not to mention XP before that which I basically regularly reinstalled). With various distros (Ubuntu & Debian mostly, but others too) there were frequent fuckeries of various flavours when upgrading.
I’m not totally against Linux. I just think that people here are so evangelical about Linux that they start installing it everywhere even when it isn’t a great fit. People don’t like change and installing Linux on there machine is a great way to piss people off.
Honestly I think iPads are the best for those who want a simple experience. The alternative to that is Android tablets.
People don’t say “install Windows”, they just want their PC to work. And if that PC isn’t for Adobe or kernel-level intrusive anti-cheat money-sucking games, there is no difference (except the spying).
Also the amount of maintenance with Windows after each update isn’t small (software like Shut Up Windows helps with regedits tho).
And most people don’t know what their OS even is.
But no, I’m not giving an iPad to people that want Windows :P.
As a fresh convert not having my .exes work would be sus. But with MS locking more and more stuff in their app store, we’re not too far from a full-on windows troll distro.
It will obviously look different, but with binfmt, wine, and a sane initial setup, you could get a lot of .exe works from a click in the UI (or the CLI, after all, CLI apps exists on windows too).
Should mostly work through WINE and Proton?
or something with plasma
Windows? Not heard of that distro before, sorry.
They must’ve meant Lindows, very common mistake.
Lindows is deprecated. Must’ve meant Wubuntu.
Just say youre installing wimdows 13
My 77 year old mother-in-law runs Pop cause of me and loves it.
Best I can do is 60 year old dad on Mint XFCE on a massive Phenom II x4 955. Salvaged from my first PC build.
Hey of it works for your pop and you keep stuff out of a landfill I say that’s a solid win.
Good for her
Just make sure you respect the wishes of the people around you. It is not ok to force someone to use Linux because you think its a good idea. You don’t get to take advantage of people to push your own agenda. Windows is going to be ideal for most people simply because it is widely supported.
How is me “forcing” somehow worse than Microsoft actually forcing people to use their ad-pushing, data mining spyware of an operating system? My “agenda” is simplifying an elderly person’s computing experience, protecting her from phishing/scams and allowing her the freedom of not having to worry about one other thing.
Weird take, bud.
Most sane people wouldn’t bring their some brand car to another brand car mechanic and expect service though, unfortunately most people are not that sane when it comes to it.
No linux? No free support from your frienfly neighborhood technician.
Oh Windows? Yeah that’ll cost…
For me personally I’m not supporting anyone if I can avoid it especially users running Linux. I don’t want to have to manage a custom system when I could instead get them either a plain Windows install or better yet an IPad.
My parents love Bazzite.
Is Pop as good and generally user friendly for those less familiar with Linux? Never heard of Pop before!
PopOS is great, the installation process is like 5minutes, with 4 minutes being the download and boot from USB. From there on you click “next” 5 times and are rebooting into a working system.
To be absolutely honest, I had to do some googling and command line stuff to get my fingerprint reader in the laptop working but that was the only thing that needed any attention. But I never did a Windows install where I didnt have to configure at least 2-3 drivers, so I consider it a draw.
From there one it is the typical stuff: You need one proprietary software? You have to figure it out for hours how to get it to work. You are fine with open source options? Go enjoy a blazing fast ad-free non intrusive non annoying OS. For me the trade of is worth it. Been using Linux since I was 14, if I could do it from my kids room with parents switching of WLAN after 22:00 you can do it too.
Why Bazzite for a non-gaming setup? Or are your parents gamers?
he hasn’t even heard of popos which is a good 50x more popular than bazzite. so obviously he’s here from a “gamers can use this distro” post/video and not familiar with much else
My brother set it up for my parents even though they don’t game. I just think he installed it because it as intuitive as Windows for lay people.
Instead of Bazzite, Aurora or Bluefin great options. They’re from the same people, but more general purpose. I use Aurora dx (developer) and my non technical wife uses Aurora.
There’s a game dev version they’re working on that I’m kinda hyped for.
I’m the family computer guy but dad’s probably better at Windows than me.
Impressive, very nice. Let’s see Paul Allen’s 256GB Ventoy USB with 118 Linux distros and 36 ISO boot tools up his ass
Is that… BoneOS?
When did you get so tasteful?
i installed linux mint on my sisters household PC last week.
my dad did his usual grumblings about “it should be windows” and i just said “i’ve been out of the windows ecosystem completely for the last 5 years and partially for another 3 years beyond that. i no longer provide support for windows, if you want them to have windows you need to support it”
he went quiet after that.
Honestly that sounds like a jerk move. Why would you force someone to use Linux? It isn’t your computer and if you are helping them you should do what they want. I wouldn’t be surprised if they bought a new machine and then ghosted you.
It’s not hers. it’s one of my computers that i am deploying to her house for her and her family to use.
It’s technichally for my neice but the rest of the family all also have access.
no one in that household has expressed a specific preference of operating system. other than my brother in law texting me to tell me one of the old games he tried to install doesnt work (i did promptly offer to “make it work” but he declined).
I have no problem with them installing windows on it if thats what they want. they wont be coming to me for technical support if they do though.
Honestly that sounds like a jerk move.
Quite the opposite,
Why would you force someone to use Linux?
In what world is that force ? He wasnt holding a gun to her head, the opposite, he’s freeing her from stupidity.
Decent people help others, they don’t go along with their stupid ideas before at least trying to convince them its a stupid idea. An allegory perhaps, your friend comes over, they have a 1/2 dozen beers, they’re going to drive home… In your world it seems it’s force to ask them not to and to stay over.
It isn’t your computer and if you are helping them you should do what they want
Helping them is the phrase you seem to be confused about. It’s his sister, not his boss at the office.
Some people actually want Windows. That’s not a “stupid idea” and it definitely shouldn’t be compared to drunk driving. I’ve lost people to drunk driving but last time I checked no one died or was fired because they use Windows. The evangelical rhetoric around Linux is harmful to Linux. Don’t go around promoting Linux like it is somehow going to be worlds ahead of Windows.
If someone is looking for a Windows alternative it might be worth a mention. Don’t turn into some sort of Linux sales person. Linux can be good but it isn’t a Windows alternative. It requires some getting used to.
Where did they say they forced anyone? They just said they installed it.
Maybe I’m just reading into it but I read it as they wiped the drive and installed Linux without asking for explicit permission.
Well, based on the rest of their comment, they were “providing support”, so the implication is that the sister asked for help and received it.
I would assume that they informed their sister as to what would be installed. I don’t think it’s fair to assume the worst without context.
Why does your dad have an opinion on what your sister use?
he’s still coming round to the fact he’s not getting security updates soon due to lack of a TPM module.
He’ll be running mint too by the end of the year
Please don’t go around forcing people into Linux…
i’m not forcing him into it, microsoft is
Right? OS arguments over Thanksgiving dinner sounds like kind of a good time.
Well, beats other kinds of argument.
