Computers started making their way into homes, en masse, 15 years ago. After 15 years, computer users should not be afraid of using their computer.
This case study tells the story about a customer of mine, Wanda, who happens to be in her 70s. Like most computer users she used a Windows based computer. In her case, it was a system put together by her grandson in 2002 or 2003 and has a 1.8ghz processor, 256mb of RAM and the XP Home version of Windows.
When I first met Wanda a few years ago, she had typical Windows user problems; slow computer, slow Internet, couldn’t open some attachments, virus and spyware problems. She used dialup Juno for Internet and Norton Antivirus on her system. I couldn’t talk her into getting a DSL or cable connection, but I did change her security from Norton to AVG and optimized the startup and running of the system. However, with dialup and Juno, she continued to have problems that cropped up every 3-4 months.
In April of 2008, I talked with her in detail about computer usage. She stated that she really only needed to do three or four things with her computer:
- Word Processing
- Solitaire
- Very light Internet browsing
We talked about the cost of a new computer and a high speed connection. And then we talked about taking Windows off her system, installing a different system (Ubuntu and Linux didn’t mean anything to her) that would be virtually trouble free and no cost to acquire besides my install and configuration time. She liked the sound of that, but I informed her that I could not install Ubuntu unless she was agreeable to getting a DSL connection for the Internet. She agreed.
I installed Ubuntu for her and configured her desktop with shortcuts to her email, the web, solitaire, and her word processor. Again, that was April of 2008. Prior to that I received at least one call from her every month, and visited her for cleanup and troubleshooting appointments at least 3-5 times per year.
Today, Wanda called me for the first time since I installed Ubuntu on her system 14 months ago. She asked two questions:
- Why can’t I get email from my daughter?
- My printer stopped printing, do I need a new one?
Knowing that it would be a quick visit, I stopped by her house in between two other appointments. To my delight, the computer desktop looked exactly the same as I left it the prior year except for a few saved PowerPoint slideshows she saved from email to it.
Since she was using Hotmail, I could almost guarantee that she had blocked her daughter’s email address (Microsoft places the spam / junk mail button dangerously close to the delete button). Sure enough, a trip to the blocked senders settings revealed what I suspected. Her daughter’s email address and a dear friend were blocked. I rectified that in a few clicks.
Next, her printer problem turned out to be a paper jam. After clearing it, the computer was happily printing again. I left her home in under 15 minutes after correcting the problems that had nothing to do with Ubuntu, and she was beaming like a kid in a candy shop.
MORAL OF THE STORY
Properly setup and customized for an individual’s computing needs, Ubuntu Linux can be used successfully and easily by anyone of any age and computing ability. AND, the problems associated with computing under the Windows environment disappear.
My only regret is that I did not start looking into and learning about Linux prior to 2006.
It’s true it’ll work like that for simple users. I demand more though and the toughest nut to turn is good video equipment. So I use Vista now, but if I set one up for someone with the needs you described, I’d opt for a Linux install too. Good choice.
I agree with this post. 🙂
My mother used to ask me how to update the anti-virus software all the time, so I asked her what she actually does with her computer. She only uses it for printing stuff, scanning stuff, bills, e-mail, and browsing the Internet. So, I installed Ubuntu on her laptop, and everything worked right out of the box, except java, which wasn’t much of a problem to fix. 🙂
I wouldn’t say Linux is for everyone either – it took me some getting used to, but when a friend of mine showed me what I could do with it, I was hooked. One of the coolest things that got me to use Linux 99% of the time was that I could input almost any character directly from the keyboard with minimal effort; þ, ð, ß, ¥, for instance, came by default. It was easy to add stuff like ?, š, Japanese, etc. as well. (I work with different characters a lot, being a language lover.)
Thanks for sharing your experience…it is hard not to lake Ubuntu once you give it a good long trial.
>>Ubuntu Linux can be used successfully and easily by anyone of any age and computing ability<<
As long as my needs are but reversi and email … hehehe.. it is a fine system.
Unforunately it can not be installed and set up properly by anyone but a linux admin.
Let Wanda buy a new printer. Installation is easy with Windows… Ubuntu won't likely even have a working driver unless she looked up a hardware compatibility list prior to buying.
Windows XP was slowing down? This problem is typical: Needs a registry cleanup. Try Ccleaner. Then dont allow her to log into WXP as Admin- use Guest mode. She wont need Admin mode anyway.
True: there are less virus and trojan problems with linux if logged in as admin.
Dont take me wrong, I tested Ubuntu on several machines since V5. I like it as soon as it runs. But it is as user- friendly to configure as MS- DOS… 🙁
greets Dennis (GER)
Thanks Dennis, but Wanda is THRIVING with Linux and has had ZERO problems. Appreciate the comment.
Ubuntu works perfectly for me. I installed Ubuntu on my computer and all I had to do was tell it that there was a printer and it found the correct driver automatically from there.
Windows however NEVER found the correct driver after I spent several hours trying to get the printer to work.
Windows has definitely been a burden.
You are so right, Dreux. Windows 7 has made good strides with this, but Ubuntu still leads the way in hassle free installations and most hardware additions.
I really want to try installing Linux on my old Dell PC Microsoft Xp and all of there OS are hopeless with little security and require constant attention to maintain. What most of us need today is reliable computing for banking and online transactions. I would really like to learn to use Linux I downloaded Fedora and crossing my fingers I can install it and make it run.
LInux (Ubuntu and it’s variants mostly) works fine with all of my hardware, including my HP printer, and sound and video cards. Windows 7 can’t even see my sound card, and hunting drivers for my printer is a pain.
Not everything is natively supported hardware-wise under linucx, but then, neither is it under windows, yet more of mine works out-of-the-box with Linux than with windows, and with less messing about. No “linux admin” is needed. It just works. Pity same can’t be said for windows. Huge install, and still offers very little apps or support.
Thank you for sharing your story Rick, and also others for their views. I have the same experience as Rick. I have been using Ubuntu myself for the last two years. I love it. The best part is that I may reuse my old laptop – even with latest Ubuntu version. I also run “Wine” – so I may run some windows programs. A half year ago, I also installed Ubuntu on my folks computer. It was terrible slow, running on Windows – with startup time on about 2-3 minutes. I do not care about the reason – it is typical Windows problems (hours on clean up). Now with Unbuntu the computer is ready after 25 seconds. Also, I save a lot of time on support – it is next to zero.
Excellent story, and I couldn’t agree more! Did it take long for your parents to get used to it, or did they transition pretty easily?
Hi from Germany,
I installed on my dad’s Laptop -he is 71!
He often had questions, most of the time about open office.
I installed teamviewer (http://www.teamviewer.de) to connect directly to his desktop. It is easy for him to use, the only thing I need is the ID-Code and the password.
With Teamviewer I don’t have to drive to him home, only to show him whow to insert a Picture.
Cheers
Andreas
Great idea! Remote access is getting easier and easier for all platforms. Have you tried: http://join.me ? It’s from the LogMeIn folks.
First of all,have to say – great story.I’m freshly “addict” to Ubuntu and Linux in general,just for about 6 months now.Till then,I was using Windows for almost 15 years.Switch to Ubuntu was when my HDD with XP on it completely crashed – I didn’t had money for new Win copy,and honestly,I was sick of blue screens and freezing…
And to give a short reply to @LinuxHaterNumber4005934 and @Dennis – It is absolute nonsense that Ubuntu {and any other Linux distro} can be configured only by Linux admin;6 months ago I knew only that Linux is a kind of an OS…If you could take a look at my desktop and the way things are configured,I’m sure you would say “That’s not possible!”…And,one more thing : I’ve just upgraded my Ubuntu 10.10 to 11.04 Beta1,and there is no such thing as system crash.Hell,I didn’t reboot my machine for 2 weeks {or maybe even longer}…
Woo hoo! Great comment and thanks for stopping by HMR. I agree with you whole heartedly that Ubuntu/Linux is NOT hard to learn and you don’t have to be an admin to enjoy its benefits. Thanks again.
An update about the woman who this article was written about: I was called to her house a few weeks ago because she had a printer issue (turned out to be bad printer cartridge). Her computer, however, is running great!! I disabled updates so she doesn’t have to bother with them, but for her needs she couldn’t be happier with the stability and consistency of her system.
Your argument is exactly correct.
Though I am fan of “Windows” I latter changed to Ubuntu
Many People ( even myself) still depend on some Windows based application ( for ex: MSOffice or AutoCAD …) . To solve these kind of issue I prefer to install virtual machines ( for instance “VMWARE Player”) so that I can use windows only I need these applications
I’ve had pretty much the same experience. Installed Ubuntu for my dad (he’s 50) couple of years ago. Couple of weeks later I asked him how was it (he has been using Windows for more than 10 years) he said that first half of the day was painful (getting used to stuff being different), but once he got a hang of it he said that it actually makes so much more sense and that Ubuntu is so much more user friendly. He actually quickly realized that most of the stuff is customizable and time from time asks me to change some stuff for him so that he can have better experience. He also never experienced any problems (and he uses Ubuntu for his work, which of course is possible only because his work doesn’t require any Windows specific software). So I think as long as user is willing to have different experience than he got used to in many years of using Windows (or actually never really used Windows that much) Ubuntu is superior alternative.
As for those who say that it takes linux administrator to setup things – it’s not true. Given instructions most of people would actually be able to setup Ubuntu themselves, it’s actually no harder than Windows (unless you have some incompatible hardware, then it takes a lot of googling and configuration). However most of the people are afraid to do so be it on Ubuntu or on Windows and they may be right doing so since they’re risking their data.
Thanks for the reply and story Andrius! I love hearing these types of stories!!
What a nonsense. You are comparing a improperly Windows setup computer with a properly setup Linux computer.
A Linux desktop is only good for light-weight Internet & e-mail. Anything more and it is a complete disaster because you have to add alternative sources that sometimes destroys a otherwise working Ubuntu system. I use Ubuntu myself, it sometimes auto-destruct because of incompatible updates.
I have setup a Windows XP system on an old Athlon 900 for my mother(63). She never asked for anything. Never had a problem, was capable of using a camera, scanner & printer without problems.
It kept running fine until it was to slow for all the flash crap on websites. In 2009 i build a Windows 7 system and she only asked me for two problems: She spilled a soda on her keyboard and she had a problem with Hoyle Board Games. She once installed a toolbar because of Messenger (It asks for an update once a while).
Until this day this system is still running fine (without maintenance).
If you want a lightweight computer only suitable for internet & e-mail then go with Linux.
Otherwise use Windows.
I set up my mom with ubuntu 10.04 and I slightly customized it but she only uses it for the same thing listed above and she never has any issues because it is setup not to update so nothing changes. I do some of the updating. I had throuble getting her printer to work but I think it is ok. But Linux can be used easily if it is for extremely simple tasks or power users who like to adjust there system
I’ve been using Linux since the Sarge release of Debian. To me there are two basic variants of Linux: yum or apt-get. I know that’s super-simplification but that’s the way I’ve come to view things over the years. I’m happy to see that more people are using it, and I’m also excited that some distros such as Ubuntu seem to be focusing more effort toward a transparent user experience. I think a couple more years and flavors like this will surpass Windows and Mac by leaps and bounds, simply because of the efforts of the user base. Truly revolutionary.
Comments are closed.