[Novalug] Recommended distro for Windows XP users?

Maxwell Spangler maxlists@maxwellspangler.com
Tue Jan 21 18:19:33 EST 2014


On Tue, 2014-01-21 at 16:56 -0500, Tom Gutnick 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.)


Two years ago as part of choosing a new Linux distribution for desktop
users at a charter school, I selected two teachers (one tech-savvy, one
not) and had them take a variety of Linux desktops for a quick
walk-through.

I left Fedora out because it had just switched to Gnome 3.x and I
thought that would be too unusual for many users.  I didn't want it to
distract from all the other positives of the work we were doing.

They tried Ubuntu with Unity and disliked it.  They simply didn't
understand why things act to act in such unusual ways.

They tried Xubuntu and LUbuntu and didn't dislike it, but weren't
impressed.

They tried Linux Mint (v.13) and found it to be user-friendly,
attractive, and simple to learn.

They've been using it for two years with great success.  

I love Fedora and I love Gnome 3.x, but I see Linux Mint as a very
mainstream-oriented, attractive and polished version of Ubuntu/Debian.
For mainstream users who want to transition away from Windows and aren't
going to outright fight change, I would endorse Linux Mint easily.

On a side note, if you have users that are going to fight things: Try
introducing them to something really awful, something they'll hate.
Then, after they've realized how bad things can be, introduce them to
something you think they'll like.  That middle step helps people realize
they need to be at least a little cooperative if they want to avoid
getting something that will make them miserable.


-- 
Maxwell Spangler
========================================================================
Linux & Open Source Systems Engineer
Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
http://www.maxwellspangler.com/
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