Windows has gotten so bad that my family, who has been reticent about the switch since 2004, has finally given in and is swapping! So far I got them to agree with ChromeOS Flex (booo, but still better than windows) and Bazzite!
I just put Fedora on my mum’s Chromebook and told her it was an update
It made it easier for her to access email anyway
I just said no. I’m not going to help you with your computers unless you install Linux on your computer. I can fix all these other dumb operating systems. But I’m not going to do things that are not in your best interest, especially when I’m one doing the tech support.
Like. I’ll still love you if you’re shooting up heroin but I am not gonna go buy your fucking drugs.
🎼I just said no. No. No. No. No. No. No. Fuck no. No. No. Do this. Now. No. I won’t do that. Do this. Now.🎶
Just… like the world we live in now, I only want to hang out with people that use open source. Period. End of story.
Also, phone etiquette is super important. I will not waste my time around you while you diddle with your thumbs on your phone. Also, I don’t want my fucking picture taken unless I know that you have good hygiene and I’ll never find myself on the interwebz.
I’m an extremist, and I have no shame. I just say no.
ChromeOS
🤦♂️ My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
yeah 😔
I give the warning before I’m handed the laptop. I’ve done three in the family, all Linux Mint XFCE, I never hear any complaints. Shit just works.
Be careful here… There will be a learning curve, and you may end up being the tech support person if you aren’t already.
WARNING they may suffer from less bugs, less annoying updates, better performance, less spyware and functional package management.
Before anyone says anything I am aware there are trade-offs due to switching from what you know.
Are you sure it would be less bugs? I havent been using windows for like 2-3 years, but it cant have gotten that bad, right?
I kinda already am. I hate working on their windows problems
If you already are their tech support, you probably could’ve forcibly switched then a long time ago.
At least, that’s how I treat my computer-illiterate boomer parents. For them, it’s “use what I tell you to use or you’re on your own.” To be fair, on their last few computers that was MacOS, but their iMac from 2013(?) got so obsolete it wasn’t good enough anymore, so as of a few months ago they’re on a mini PC running Linux whether they like it or not.
Yeah, fair. At least you’ll get fewer facepalms this way!
Windows has gotten so bad that my family, who has been reticent about the switch since 2004, has finally given in and is swapping!
Yaaaayyyy!!! Nice one!! Congrats on pulling that off!
So far I got them to agree with ChromeOS Flex
Sorry, you what???
Some were really adamant about it being like android it’s very annoying
Kinda wish grapheneos had an x86 ChromeOS-esque build. If waydroid had better integration (e.g. lepton) it’d have been an easier sell. It’s on a terribly old laptop. I run different DEs on similar laptops and they didn’t like kde, cosmic, or gnome’s ui, very picky.
tbh i’d say debloated windows is much better than chromeos… its the worst of both worlds
I think there are two sides to this.
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You are right, I’d rather just get them on Windows 11 Enterprise IoT LTSC than goddamn ChromeOS.
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ChromeOS will likely lower the bar for switching to a Linux distro so you might consider it a stepping stone. A stepping stone with nails and spiders coming out of it, but still a stepping stone nonetheless.
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Mint is better option, designed to be and actually is very intuitive for people who’ve only used windows in the past
Our shared family PC is running Aurora. My wife has a ThinkPad T14 Gen 2 on the way and we are trying to figure out what she will be running. She’s coming from an old MacBook Pro so we are going to start with trying to find the best Gnome experience. I was originally thinking Fedora Workstation but I think the updates will get on her nerves.
Aurora is fantastic. I tried just to see how much work it would be to use an immutable os, and ended up using it on my main computer, for both work and gaming. installed and never looked back.
Why ChromeOS though? Were they already familiar with the UI and features?
They were probably familiar with the name “Google”, makes it seem official and supported.
Unfortunately, OS Flex is the worst of both worlds; bad Linux distro and no Android runtime and libraries.
FydeOS is the answer.
I didn’t know about this. Looks good.
For extreme non-techies who really don’t understand computers and just want to use a few websites it’s a solid choice because it’s so basic that it’s hard to break
Try FydeOS if you want Google Play store and Android apps.
I noticed it but it seemed to be proprietary and a kinda unknown, whats the deal with it?
They make hardware and this is the OS for that hardware. I ran it on a Windows laptop that had Chromebook specs. ChromeOS Flex was almost useless for my case so this was the next best thing. I run Debian on that now but this was fine while I used it. There is openFyde as well.
Cool. I would like to do the same, but I do not want to be the tech support. A member in my family does not know how to use a computer, has 180 tabs open in three different browsers. A majority of them do not know how to shutdown, and just sleep their computers. I would be shocked if GNU/Linux can handle their shenanigans.
Hooray, great news! Meanwhile im still hoping some of my family will do the same.
Nice!
LOL. You do you but this sounds like a nightmare to me.
edit: it’s not just “becoming tech support person”, but becoming the default person to blame for everything.
