Mom digs Ubuntu

[Icon41]

Don't flatter yourself. Even if I had the interest, I wouldn't have the time.

Paul

The first stage is denial, Paul..

[K.Mandla]

Good news! Mom is all the happier with the default Gnome screensavers replaced with xscreensaver.

In the meantime, I had to do some serious open heart surgery on the Windows partition to remove Earthlink's Total Access package and get my Dad back online. It seems TA likes to commandeer every Windows connection, and when I switched routers, it throttled the wireless connections panel and wouldn't allow Advanced Settings to retain the default encryption key between sessions.

In other words, Dad had to enter the key each time he wanted to get online. He was so tired of typing it in, he started using Ubuntu!

Mom teased him mercilessly about that.

[eXcentra]

haha, this is quite a nice success story.
I need to buy a new monitor for my mom's computer, and I may install Ubuntu onto it (previously had a broken Windows 98se installation... it had so many problems). Whenever I use Ubuntu, she doesn't recognize that it's not Windows. Although, there may be a problem if she goes to Korean sites since Korean sites tend to revolve around Internet Explorer (in my experience...)

[indigoshift]

I'd like to install Ubuntu on my Mom's computer, only she is in Florida, I am in California.

I'm in a similar dilemma. My mom loves computers, and showed a real interest when I told her all about Ubuntu and all the things she wouldn't have to worry about once she gave up Windows--like the spyware, adware, and viruses she gets every now and then.

Unfortunately, she's in Alaska and I'm in Arizona. One of these days, though, I'll hook her up.

[Katje]

Ubuntu is not just for Moms, it's also great for non-techie friends. My fiance and I switched a friend of ours over to Ubuntu 5.10 about two months ago when she was having no end of problems on her Windows machine. Well she still misses her old Mac iBook (which died in the middle of the school year and the windows box was a replacement so she could write papers) she loves how her Mac short-cuts work in Ubuntu and she doesn't need to worry about getting virus and her computer consently crashing on her. Recently even her roommate has started asking about it!

Now if only I could talk my father into making the switch... He's on dial up and his computer is filled with spyware and viruses. Since he's on dial up he refuses to get Window's updates because they take too long to come in and he doesn't want to stay connected to the internet that long. We tried to tell him that he should consider Ubuntu but he "doesn't want to learn a whole new OS"

[K.Mandla]

A brief update. ...

With the impending release of Edgy, I'm in a quandary over upgrading mom's computer from Dapper. It's not like the jump from Breezy to Dapper -- that, in many ways, was a huge improvement for her.

I think this time prudence is the better plan. I've tinkered with Edgy myself, and while there doesn't seem to be any innate fault, I fear wrecking a working system unnecessarily with a hapless dist-upgrade.

So I think, and mom agrees, that she'll be using Dapper for a while to come.

That being said, if anyone can offer a strong case why a novice Gnome fan would need to move from Dapper to Edgy, I'd be willing to hear it.

[Sef]

I'm in a similar dilemma. My mom loves computers, and showed a real interest when I told her all about Ubuntu and all the things she wouldn't have to worry about once she gave up Windows--like the spyware, adware, and viruses she gets every now and then.

Unfortunately, she's in Alaska and I'm in Arizona. One of these days, though, I'll hook her up.

At least you two are in the same country as your mom. Mine is in the States and I am in Korea.

[xur17]

I was reading through this thread, and was wondering what you guys reccommend for microsoft powerpoint. I tried using Open Office, which I like using for writing papers, but as soon as I tried using open office presentation, and saving it as a ppt, it didn't work. I tested it on another computer running xp, and when I got to school, none of the text displayed, which made the presentation look really weird.

My point is that my sister was looking at my computer, and really liked it (especially xgl). She said maybe next time windows fails I could install it on her computer. My question is what do you reccommend for office (wine, vmware, etc), and what about xgl on her computer since I have had some problems with it.

Thanks!

[GadgetsGuy]

Im thinking we ought to honor our mothers with a MOMbuntu flavor of Ubuntu! My Mother will be 68 in December, and she LOVES Ubuntu!

I installed it on a machine I bought for her, gave her a 1 hour crash course on the basics, and the URL to these forums -- and she has not looked back once!

PS - My mother prior to using Ubuntu had almost no computer knowledge at all!

[ZombiekE]

My parents use Ubuntu too . My mother not always, but she can use it for what she needs it .