Linux is officially ready for your parents
my wife’s mom (70s, complete technology neophyte) had a generic PC from HP running Windows Vista. it recently developed a maddeningly subtle bug: all browsers (MSIE 8, Firefox 3.6 and a brand-new install of Google Chrome) were returning non-specific network permission errors when attempting to browse any website. however, Internet access was definitely working (Windows and HP patching was working and downloaded/installed several patches during this incident).
after a couple of hours of combing through the registry, msconfig, perfmon and services, I could fin no trace of malware - but something was clearly wrong. booting into safe mode caused browser access to the Internet to begin working again, leading me to suspect a driver issue. about this time, I remembered why I despise dealing with Windows and why I don’t have any Windows systems anymore. (antivirus and Windows patches were up-to-date and the firewall was enabled.)
since all she does is use Firefox and Picasa, I decided to try a dual-boot installation of the latest Ubuntu Linux. After I figured out that the graphical installer was incompatible with her video card and switched to the curses-based version, installation took about 3 minutes of answering questions, and another 60 minutes of filesystem resize and package installs.
when finished, I had a system that was functionally identical to her original Windows installation - except that this one Just Works, and will never get malware or require technical support from me. Skype’s there, firefox is there, IM is there, Picasa is there, her webcam and all-in-one Just Work … and the interface was so simple and familiar that she had completely transitioned and was running on her own after just 5-10 minutes of demo.
I had my doubts about the smoothness of the GUI and the level of polish on the software, but Ubuntu 9.10 made me a believer - even the technophobes in your family will be able to run a Linux desktop system now (after you set it up for them). The intuitiveness gives Apple a run for its money, while requiring significantly less of yours.
