On Sun, Dec 03, 2006 at 09:39:41PM +1100, Ben wrote: > On 12/3/06, Sonia Hamilton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >Here's an ethical question for you. I have a middle aged friend who > >wants to "learn computers"; he's never used computers before (he's a > >builder). In exchange for some work he's doing for me, I'm going to > >install everything, get him connected to the net and teach him how to do > >email, use the internet, write basic documents, and whatever else comes > >up (eg playing music, watching videos). As a builder he also wants to be > >able to submit documents to councils - I haven't been able to pin down > >the format required by councils yet. > > Surely submitting in PDF would be acceptable? If you install the > proprietary fonts, I think that should be enough of a compromise. > > If he really needs to be working with Office, then he should probably > be using Windows. > > >Do I install and teach him 'doze/M$ Office or Ubuntu? Or, setup dual > >boot and teach him both? > > I don't think dual boot would be worth doing, unless you make Windows > an offline option, just for using Office. This would alleviate some of > the security concerns as well. > > >Or, install Ubuntu and Cross Over office? > > Probably more pain than it's worth, but I haven't used it. Reading > about problems and the costs has turned me off the idea. > > >The Linux lover and advocate in me says "Linux, of course", but is that > >ethical? What I mean is that some time in the future I mightn't be > >around to help him, then he'll be at the tender mercies of other > >friends, PC shops, ISP phone support, etc, who probably won't know > >Linux. > > Internode will support any system with TCP/IP. I assume you'd be > setting up Firefox and Thunderbird anyway and using a broadband > connection. So most of the configuration should be the same on any > platform. > > >If he goes to an internet cafe or reads a newspaper article, > >he'll also be stuck in a 'doze world. I can point him at SLUG, but is > >that really helping him? > > Probably not - other than as a resource to find a technician. > > >On the other hand, with Linux he'll get everything extra for free, won't > >have to learn about nagware/cracks, won't be stuck in the "upgrade > >treadmill", won't have virus problems, and generally have less > >problems... > > > >I'm not trolling here - this is a serious question - imagine if you were > >in the same situation with a friend/parent, and weren't going to be > >around for ever to help them. > > Anyone unfamiliar with computers is going to need some help at some > point. I think the cost of supporting Ubuntu would be cheaper than the > cost of Windows + support. > > I'd suggest making a list of numbers to call if he needs support and > checking rates. > > I'm in a similar situation and I'm installing Ubuntu for the simple > selfish reason that I don't want to be stuffing around with > anti-virus/anti-malware stuff. > > Given the huge hardware requirements of Vista you'd even be able to > save a bit of cash on hardware or have smoother performance by using > Linux.
I was thinking about buying new hardware and him taking the box to the store, the young bloke behind the counter saying we don't know linux. > > Ben > -- > SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ > Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html >
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-- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
