[lug] Linux for Dad

[David L. Anselmi]

Nate Duehr wrote:
> We "Linux folk" who will put up with patches, upgrades, messing
> around getting modern video cards working, yadda yadda... we have
> options.  But the general public, the folks often asking us for help,
> deserve to have solutions that don't require 10 years of computing
> background to get e-mail and a decent web browser.

> I think if we're genuinely concerned about their user experience, we
>  Linux folks have to watch out for our "cultural bias" to to not look
> for the BEST solution for them, but to look ONLY for the solution
> that uses open code.  We do ourselves a disservice as "computer
> experts" and them a disservice forcing them to deal with the Linux
> desktop when we recommend it to the common person who has little or
> no interest in how their computer works.

So.  There are some people out there who are "common people" and would
like to use Linux.  I don't know why they might prefer that to a Mac,
which is wonderful, or to Vista, which they'll learn at work.  But there
are some.

But, when these people tell me they want to learn Linux, I think in
terms of bash, and lilo, and LVM.  They don't want to learn that, they
want to learn how to do what the "common people" do--burn CDs, watch 
movies, write letters.  So I can't really help them.

I don't think "common people" use mailing lists for learning.  The more
technical might use web forums.  Some may use a group.  The rest...
where do people learn how to use a Mac?  Should we do something to help
those who want to "learn Linux"?  Or just tell them, "too bad, buy a Mac"?

I don't know so much about BLUG, being in a college town, but CLUE has
grown much less technical over the years, as many of the obscure things
in Linux now take care of themselves.  So it is in the process of
evolving to be a group for these "common people".  But it's slow going 
and there's no marketing department to figure out what works best.

Dave