[Novalug] Recommended distro for Windows XP users?

Mark A. Metz mametz@aol.com
Tue Jan 21 17:42:57 EST 2014


Tom,
I agree with John that it's about the desktop. For example here ( http://www.noobslab.com/2014/01/windows-xp-theme-is-available-for.html?m=1) you can get a Win XP skin for Ubuntu.
Take a look at ZorinOS, also, because they've already done the footwork for you.  There's a nonprofit out of Alexandria called KeepITGreen that puts Zorin on refurb computers.  They sell them out of a thrift store in Manassas, too.  I've asked about the response to Zorin and I've been told their customers are fine with it.
Good luck and keep us in the loop about your results.
Mark
P.S. - I think the Cinnamon desktop on Mint is supposed to be the most Windows-like, but check that it isn't hardware needy.


Tom Gutnick <tag@sunny-banana.com> wrote:
>Greg/Charlie --
>This all makes sense to me. I've been using Ubuntu for a few years,
>although
>found that their newer desktop (Unity?) looks less like Windows than
>what
>they had a few years ago. I just looked at the Mint web site, and see
>that I
>need to pick one of four desktops (Cinnamon, MATE, Kfce, and KDE).  For
>my
>users, they'll be happier if I give them (i.e., install) a single
>recommendation, rather than making them choose. Which of those four
>will
>seem the most familiar to them? (I don't mind experimenting if I have
>to,
>but some good recommendations might save me several hours of work.)
>
>Thanks,
>Tom
>
>
>> Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 15:41:11 -0500
>> From: greg pryzby <greg@pryzby.org>
>> Subject: Re: [Novalug] Recommended distro for Windows XP users?
>> To: Novalug <novalug@calypso.tux.org>
>> Message-ID:
>> 	<CAPxJcX+rUXeRhon7MvENhVNce6JtmVm96XRN6gpE_gBrMMZ6-
>> A@mail.gmail.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
>> 
>> People say Mint.
>> 
>> As I said on a different thread
>>    auto login
>>    start Chrome/Firefox on their default page and build their
>bookmarks
>>    migrate them to webpage (and maybe web docs from google)
>>    remove all clutter from desktop
>>    add icon for browser, libreoffice
>> 
>
>> From: Charles Richard Head <CharlesRHead@Netscape.Net>
>> Subject: Re: [Novalug] Recommended distro for Windows XP users?
>> To: novalug@calypso.tux.org
>> Message-ID: <52DEE2E4.2070607@Netscape.Net>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>> 
>> *Tom,*
>> 
>> Greg's answer is a good one that would be generally applicable to
>most
>> distros.  Another approach would be to make bootable CD/DVDs for
>several
>> distros, run the distros from the CD/DVDs and let your friends pick
>the
>one
>> they like.  I'd suggest that you include Linux Mint and Ubuntu, along
>with
>> what ever others you might like or know of.  I have my wife and
>sister in
>law
>> both happily using Linux Mint, and they are definitely not computer
>gurus.
>> 
>> To give you an idea of what I'm working with, my wife was asked by
>> computer support at work what kind of computer she was using.  She
>looked
>> on her laptop's lid and answered "dy".  They of course hadn't heard
>of a
>"dy"
>> computer.  After thinking about it for a minute, they suggested that
>she
>> should turn the computer lid around and try reading it again.
>> 
>> *Charlie Head*
>> 
>> *********************************************
>> On 01/21/2014 03:07 PM, Tom Gutnick wrote:
>> >
>> > Microsoft's April 8 deadline is looming, and I need to help several
>> > people who are still running Windows XP.  These are, generally, not
>> > very computer-savvy users, and I want to minimize learning curves.
>> > Which Linux distro would provide an experience and look the most
>> > similar to Windows XP?
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> > Tom
>> >
>
>
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