[lug] Linux for my Dad?

[Nate Duehr]

On Thursday 11 December 2003 10:24 am, John Dollison wrote:
> My father is looking to replace a VERY old computer with a newer model, but
> doesn't want to spend much money on it, since he only uses it for
> solitaire, e-mail, and occasional web-surfing (at 56K).  He's been looking
> at the WalMart computers ($200 - $400) that come with your choice of
> Lycoris or Lindows.  I have no experience with either.  Dad's not a
> computer geek like me, he just wants to plug it in and use it, without
> worrying about configuring much of anything.  He lives out of state, so I
> can't help him much if he gets stuck.
>
> Does anyone out there have any experience with Lycoris or Lindows, or
> Wal-Mart PC's in general?  Or should I just mail him a Windoze Millenium
> CD, and walk him through an install of that?  It seems that Wal-Mart has
> been selling Linux PC's for well over a year now, so maybe it's really
> working for the Average Joe?
> --
> John D

Some things to think about...

Lindows has an annual fee for updates.  
Depending on just how old that original machine is, you might be very well off 
to stop by one of the used PC stores in town and pick up something newer for 
much cheaper than $200 if his monitor is in good shape.
Something like Knoppix with user settings stored on a small hard disk might 
work very well.

Just thoughts to think about... to add to the pile...
-- 

Nate Duehr, nate at natetech.com