[PLUG] REVISED "Guiding Windows user to Linux"

[Ben Koenig]

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

On Monday, October 11th, 2021 at 7:24 AM, Richard Owlett <rowlett at cloud85.net> wrote:

> On 10/11/2021 12:30 AM, Ben Koenig wrote:
>
> > ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
> >
> > On Sunday, October 10th, 2021 at 8:36 AM, Michael Rasmussen michael at jamhome.us wrote:
> >
> > > On 2021-10-10 04:37, Richard Owlett wrote:
> > >
> > > > 1.  Ben said that Windows10's desktop resembles Linux.
> > >
> > > Which Linux?
> > >
> > > So many ways to set up Linux from my Pop_OS to a blinking cursor on an
> > >
> > > 80x24 blank screen with a prompt of name at machine$
> > >
> > >         Michael Rasmussen, Portland Oregon
> > >       Be Appropriate && Follow Your Curiosity
> > >
> >
> > Maybe I should clarify. As far as your Pastor is concerned - Windows 10 is so different from XP and 7 that it might as well be a Linux distro. It'll take the same amount of effort to migrate him no matter what platform you choose.
> >
> > -   They moved away from traditional "My Computer" terminology as discussed earlier.
> > -   Window management is ripped straight from compiz. This started in Vista but today the 3D compositor for Windows10 behaves just like any linux desktop.
> > -   Settings App. The new settings tool for things like networking and other basic tasks is basically just a clone of all the MacOS/Linux versions.
> >
> > Basically, for a long time MS was the odd one out for a lot of things which forced a lot of people to become reliant on it. Fast forward 20 years and that is no longer the case. The average end-user isn't going to notice the differences and migrating them to Linux is no different than migrating them to Win10.
> >
> > Don't bother with a VM. Just find out what applications he relies on and set him up with a desktop that supports those apps. He will need to adjust, but that will still happen even if he stays on Windows. One of these days MS will stop dicking us around and officially deprecate their NT kernel in favor of whatever Canonical compiles for them.
> >
> > -Ben
>
> I just looked at the Wikipedia article on Windows 10.
>
> Their current machine may be new enough to have it. It's been a couple
>
> of years since I've seen it.
>
> An expert computer person at church has recommended that I get them a
>
> business class machine with Windows 11 and 16 GB of memory. If it has
>
> suitable Linux like features that may be the end of it.

An expert computer person recommended 16GB of RAM??? That's not an expert, that's a microsoft propagandist. Unless this user relies on an application that specifically requires Windows (which I very much doubt they do) then you should go with a Linux desktop.

My point was that trying to find a linux desktop that "most resembles windows" is no longer meaningful. Windows no longer resembles Windows and the complaints people have about Linux are no different than those they have of Windows10. Win11 will just end up being more of the same so you might as well move people to Linux for ethical reasons. The idea that Windows is the "gold standard" and "built for end users" is just misinformation promoted by MS media influencers.

You could (as an experiment) set him up with a windows box and see what happens. If this guy is not tech savvy I'd bet that he will struggle with the new and "improved" windows desktop design. Everybody does, because it's complete shit.
-Ben