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Mux2000

@hazelnot
Neither is Microsoft's latest os, whatever that is. Every time I have to use one I'm completely confused because each version has a completely different interface.

Honestly Classic Gnome on Ubuntu would be so much more familiar to anyone who was there for the Win95/XP/Vista era than modern Windows interfaces.

People get used to what they're given. Don't underestimate people. They can learn a new interface pretty quickly. They have been doing so for decades.
@afewbugs

22 May at 7:50 | Wall-to-wall | Open on swingset.social
14 comments
hazelnot :yell:

@Mux @afewbugs yeah, which people feel forced to adapt to, while switching to Linux feels like a waste of time and energy when you're working two jobs just so you don't starve or end up homeless

22 May at 7:59 | Open on sunbeam.city
Mux2000

@hazelnot
Which is just as good a reason not to upgrade to the latest Windows as it is to not switch to Linux.

People should not have to deal with new, confusing interfaces when they don't have the mental bandwidth to do so, but that applies equally to both. Linux is not special in that way.

@afewbugs

22 May at 8:15 | Open on swingset.social
Jay Baker

@Mux @hazelnot @afewbugs I teach tech, mostly to folks who tend to be older and less confident. The most common response to this proposal tends to be around the fact that, ironically, they trust big tech companies more, even if they hate them; if it's free - many assume - then it must also be worthless. They struggle on with a clunkier, more confusing Windows operating system because of this, when they could be using an OS more comparable to the one many of them use on their phone (essentially a free, open source OS with a simple software centre). I agree that we cannot underestimate the mass marketing of Microsoft that promotes their inferior product. I remember mentioning this challenge to folks who work on Linux, who told me "We don't have time or money to do publicity, we're busy working on creating a better OS." There's the rub!

@Mux @hazelnot @afewbugs I teach tech, mostly to folks who tend to be older and less confident. The most common response to this proposal tends to be around the fact that, ironically, they trust big tech companies more, even if they hate them; if it's free - many assume - then it must also be worthless. They struggle on with a clunkier, more confusing Windows operating system because of this, when they could be using an OS more comparable to the one many of them use on their phone (essentially a...

22 May at 8:30 | Open on todon.eu
Jules

@MediaActivist @Mux @hazelnot that's a fascinating point that the boomer generation in particular seems to trust corporations more than the alternative, which feels a bit perverse. My Mum for example prefers to eat supermarket vegetables and won't eat vegetables from the local farm box scheme or even the neighbour's garden because "you don't know how they grew them"! They do seem to believe corporate stuff has to meet certain standards of safety or something

22 May at 8:49 | Open on social.coop
Mux2000

@afewbugs
Well, tbf, Linux does come with NO GUARANTEE OF USABILITY OR FIT FOR PURPOSE, so there's that.
@MediaActivist @hazelnot

22 May at 8:53 | Open on swingset.social
Mu

@MediaActivist @Mux @hazelnot @afewbugs my father in law is older, and when someone from Grey Power showed him Ubuntu, he was a near instant convert!

The things which appealed were the slowness of UX changes, and the fact that it ran pretty well on old hardware.

22 May at 8:53 | Open on mastodon.nz
A land fit for all our futures

@MediaActivist @Mux @hazelnot @afewbugs maybe I'm inured to it, but successive updates to my Windows 11 machine have caused only brief issues, unlike the irritations compounded by successive Android updates on my phone, which is steadily losing functionality (fingerprint login now disabled for some apps, return to home screen no longer works from recent apps view, ...)

22 May at 9:07 | Open on climatejustice.social
hazelnot :yell:

@Mux @afewbugs it's the difference between "well I got a new computer cause the old one broke and now I gotta get used to this" and "I'm gonna install a new OS from scratch" when most people are terrified by the prospect of installing an operating system at all

There's a reason computer repair shops charge money to install Windows for you, cause most people can't do that

22 May at 8:45 | Open on sunbeam.city
Mux2000

@hazelnot
You can buy computers pre-installed with Linux from trusted names like Dell and Lenovo. They're cheaper than their Windows counterparts.

The cost here is mostly in considering doing something new, which I get. This is not something to do when you don't have the time or spoons for it.

That said, if your computer broke down and you have to get a new one with an unfamiliar interface anyway, that might be the perfect time to switch.
@afewbugs

22 May at 8:52 | Open on swingset.social
hazelnot :yell:

@Mux @afewbugs oh yeah I completely agree with you on this one

22 May at 8:59 | Open on sunbeam.city
TerryB

@Mux @hazelnot @afewbugs Oh yeah. So you tell people they should get a new OS on their new machine. And "Oh while you're at it you're gonna need something that's not WORD...." 🤔🫣🫨

22 May at 9:10 | Open on ohai.social
Mux2000

@TerryBTwo
If using a different office suite is too much (isn't everyone using Google docs by now?) you could just use Word on Linux.
@hazelnot @afewbugs

22 May at 9:24 | Open on swingset.social
TerryB

@Mux @hazelnot @afewbugs I could. But don't need to. (LO) However, the ordinary users want WORD still. I don't see a lot of Google Docs used even. Assuming that they have 'nux distro that included LO they'd still be faced with differences.

22 May at 9:33 | Open on ohai.social
Mux2000 replied to TerryB

@TerryBTwo
Well, they can have it. I hear it works well.
@hazelnot @afewbugs

22 May at 9:50 | Open on swingset.social
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