Linux needs to grow. Stop telling people it’s ‘tech-y’ or acting like you’re more advanced for using it, you are scaring away people. Linux Mint can be used by a senile person perfectly.
Explain shortly the benefits, ‘faster, more secure, easier to use, main choices of professionals and free’. Ask questions that let you know if they need to dual boot, ‘do you use Adobe, anti-cheat games, or Microsoft Office’, ‘how new is your computer’, ‘do you use a Mac’.
And most importantly, offer to help them install.
They don’t understand the concept of distros, just suggest Linux Mint LTS Cinnamon unless they’re curious.
That’s it, spread Linux to as many people as possible. The larger the marketshare, the better support we ALL get. We can fight enshittification. Take the time to spread it but don’t force it on anyone.
AND STOP SCARING PEOPLE AWAY. Linux has no advertising money, it’s up to us.
Offer family members or friends your help or copy and paste the below
how to install linux: 1) copy down your windows product key 2) backup your files to a harddrive 3) install the linux mint cinnamon iso from the linux mint website 4) use etcher (download from its website) to put the iso on a usb flash drive 5) go into bios 6) boot from the usb 7) erase the storage and install 8) press update all in the update manager 9) celebrate. it takes 15 minutes.
edit: LET ME RE-STATE, DO NOT FORCE IT ON ANYONE.
and if someone is at the level of ignorance (not in a derogatory fashion) that they dont know what a file even is genuinely dont bother unless theyre your parents cause youll be tech support for their ‘how do i install the internet’ questions.
You need a license to drive a car, and to get the license you have to pass a test to prove you know the basics of motor vehicle operation and the “rules of the road.”
I really don’t see why we couldn’t/shouldn’t apply the same logic to computer hardware.
Uh because innocent people don’t die if a user doesn’t know how to install an OS?
In some contexts having people who don’t know what files are, what a folder is, and some other basics, do lead to people dying or lots of damage done.
Of course you’d expect people in these contexts to be trained but that’s not always the case.
Also having no idea what a file is and not knowing the bare minimum of how a computer works in this day and age is unacceptable. It should be taught properly in schools (instead of teaching some very specific stuff everyone will forget, like what a bus is, and then jump to what excel is and how to use it, like they did in my IT class back in high school)
Don’t get me wrong I’m very pro-tech literacy and education, especially with the tablet generation users that are becoming more abstracted from the system plumbing… but requiring licenses to use a computer?? Lol. If it’s that important to the job, employer should provide training just like any other piece of equipment.
I’m not going to expect doctors to know how to get into a bios or cleanup a corrupted file system, they specialized in human biology - keep them focused on that, and I’ll handle the OS management.
I don’t expect anyone to know how to install an OS either, that’s not the basics. But I do expect everyone to know what a file is, what file extensions are and what a directory/folder is.
Why? Those are just abstractions. Why do you get to decide at which level of abstraction is the baseline for a person to use a computer?
Especially considering most computer users are operating at a higher level of abstraction (i.e. phones/tablets).
You are not the average computer user anymore.
I don’t consider them computer users because they aren’t using a computer (yes I know they’re small computers but they operate in a different way).
If they want to use a personal computer, the thing with folders and stuff, they should learn how to use that, otherwise, if they don’t want to learn, they probably are better off not using a computer and use something else instead, like the aforementioned phone. If they absolutely need to use a computer, then they should (in absence of training or teaching at school) at the very least try and figure out how they can and should interact with this tool that costed you a couple hundred €s.
I never was the average user, even when I considered myself a dumbass who knows absolutely nothing about how to use a computer I was still considered a tech genius by people around me simply because I knew how to download something like a minecraft mod and navigate some folders to move said mod in the correct folder or simply install programs, while most other people around me couldn’t even tell the difference between the browsers and the file explorer.
You realise there are people that are over 80 that only have a computer so they can check pictures of their grandkids on Facebook and that’s it?
yes, I do, but that’s not representative of the majority of the population.
So it’s unacceptable for them to have a computer?
Yes it is unacceptable but less relevant.
I’ve encountered millenials who struggle with the simple concept that you can copy a file and paste it in a different directory. Zoomers my age who don’t know what a file manager is. And more.
Not everyone, not even close to being a majority in fact, is an 80 year old that is completely incapable of learning basic concept. People must know the very basics of how to use their most important and omnipresent tool, such as what is a file explorer, what do we mean by file extensions, what is a file, directories, how to organize them, copy files elsewhere, why do we sometimes need to use admin privileges (and why it’s dangerous), etc.
OP: Stop being elitists!
You: Just watch me!
Wanting people to know the instruments they’re using ≠ elitism
Everyone should be able to use Linux but that ain’t happening if you don’t teach them the basics of how to use a computer.
Tell that to the guy whose son was so influenced by grifters online that he cut off his dad’s head.
Oh wait you can’t because he’s dead.
No, using the internet while being an idiot has literally lead to murder.
Should require a license to go outside or read a book too, they might meet a dangerous group of people or read something that influences them.
He just needed the TV to turn this way, should were require a college degree to be allowed to have a TV?
I do agree, to some extent, and the EU has had their EU digital drivers’ license program for ages now. If you finish the courses and score well on the test, you get a certificate that says you can do all the required parts of normal computer operation. That includes creating folders, managing files, doing basic word processing/spreadsheets/email, and a few basic concepts such as “what is a task bar”. How much you need to know depends on the level of skill you’re trying to prove, but I can tell you that none of them involve installing Linux.
Unfortunately, in offices “being bad at computers” is a funny character quirk and not a reason to send someone on training, but in theory there is exactly such a piece of paper.