Things have changed a lot with consumers' attitudes. I will be purchasing a
full customer service package for both of my elderly parents and most likely
my adult kids as well when I can afford to purchase free software friendly
hardware for them for giftmas.
This is in reaction to a rather shocking conversation I had with my 83 year
old former hacker father in which he told me for heavens' sake to stop using
that "funny software" and those "funny websites" and just go google "riot IM"
so i could see with my own eyes that all my Lubuntu using 83 year old mother
*needs* to do is let google take her to the lennock's play store and
automatically download the app to that funny lennock's phone I bought for her
that she hasn't gotten around to replacing yet.
I am perfectly capable of grabbing an X60 off of eBay, software librebooting
it (WITHOUT asking Leah to hold my hand on IRC now, lol), and giving them
everything they actually need or would use for under $50.
My kids have them sitting under piles of papers and books and clothes they
haven't taken to the laundromat yet. They never.even.boot.them.up.
My normal, average, USAmerican family, unfortunately, needs a customer
service experience not just free software or even free hardware.
That wasn't the case in 2012 or 2013 when I first started giving them cheap
computers loaded with Trisquel or Ubuntu.
That wasn't the case in 2004 when everyone thought I was so clever to learn
something complicated that "smart people" do like Lennock's instead of just
putting my kids in the cheapest possible daycare/afterschool care/free lunch
program and saying, "Ya want fries with that?"all day and watching teevee all
night.
I used to be a person...once...
Now I'm just a restless consumer wondering if the product i wish to purchase
even exists.
