I’m visiting my parents for the holidays and convinced them to let me switch them to Linux.
They use their computer for the typical basic stuff; email, YouTube, Word, Facebook, and occasionally printing/scanning.
I promised my mom that everything would look the same and work the same. I used Linux Mint and customized the theme to look like Windows 10. I even replaced the Mint “Start” button with the Windows logo.
So far they like it and everything runs great. Plus it’s snappier now that Windows isn’t hogging all the system resources.
I did that about 10 years ago because I got tired of removing malware for them. They haven’t had any malware since then.
Same here. Not just my parents, but also some of my aunts and uncles. None of them are particularly tech savvy and none of them have had any major issues.
People who claim that Linux is difficult to use, or not suitable for newbies, have no idea what they’re talking about.
Linux just needs to come preinstalled.
People, stop buying windows stuff and then installing linux! Buy Linux: https://linuxpreloaded.com/
Same. And also because it kept getting slower for no reason. The only support requests at the beginning were “how do I install this” --> app store, and “it won’t boot” --> that took longer because they had turned off the computer during a system update - by holding down the power button. The last one warranted a sticky note on the screen “NEVER turn off the computer during an update”.
Get ready to address hard to debug issues in the future op.
An excellent choice to use Linux Mint! If my parents allowed me to switch their computers to Linux, I would’ve chosen Linux Mint as well for them. But, I probably wouldn’t give them the Windows 10 look.
My mom insisted that it look the same lol. I figured it was a small price to pay to get them off Windows. I still might change it secretly before I leave haha.
It’s so funny that having a different theme makes the computer hard to use for some parents. :)
Those people drive cars on the road!
My wife changed her Windows work laptop last week. Her Desktop is synced to OneDrive so really she just needs to login. Despite that she was panicking that her PDF’s were gone. They weren’t, it’s just that the new laptop has a newer version of Adobe Reader which uses an updated icon.
Some people are just tech illiterate and the slightest difference can be upsetting. My mum’s the same with her phone. Using Google Maps to navigate is an achievement for her and I’ve been telling her to use it for years. The first time she did she reached her destination literally shaking. She was also amazed with herself that she had done it.
UI/UX 101, my friend.
If people are used to see specific symbols for years is hard for them to use different ones.
There’s a reason why floppy disk is still the icon for “save”.
Those people drive cars on the road!
Imagine if they change all road signs designs suddenly before you go for a ride.
At first I read i switched my parents FOR Linux…
Reasonable
I gave my mom a macbook with debian KDE and a mac OS theme… I dont think she’s noticed yet…
I did this about a decade ago for my parents. Upgraded their computer last year and they told me they wanted to keep Linux on the new machine.
My dad wasn’t convinced until his hoyle card games ran with wine though.
@OP, can you advise what themes etc you used to make it look like windows 7?
I’m about to switch one of my parents over, I think that would make the transition easier.
I can’t remember the exact name for the themes I used, but if your go into the Linux Mint theming section and search “Windows” you will get several results.
I don’t know if there is a Windows 7 theme specifically, you would have to look for that yourself. I also did little things like allign and resize their desktop icons the same way their Windows desktop looked. I changed the default folder colors to a tan-ish color to look similar to the Windows folder colors. My mom could tell it looked different, but it was close enough.
Making their app icons look the same and be in the same rough location as their Windows machine is probably the most important. My Mom loves the Spotify desktop app, so I made sure to install it from the software center and pin the icon into the taskbar right where she was used to seeing it.
Make sure their browser home page is set the same too, and any bookmarks they have.
Also, guide them through the new install. Have them click through all the typical tasks they do. I had my mom sit with me and showed her how Spotify opened up and looked exactly the same as it did on her Windows install. We played some music and I showed her how to adjust the little volume knob in the Mint toolbar. I had her print some documents, browse the web, look at pictures and videos she had saved on her drive, stuff like that.
That will make them feel much more comfortable with the change. There is a balance between trying to get everything to look identical, and helping your parents become comfortable with something new.
Good job on that! Linux is way better for average uses like you described. 😊
And that’s the thing. It’s great for casual users who do simple computing tasks, and it’s great for the programmers, hackers, and IT professionals. But there’s no middle ground for power users who know a bit more than the average users but can’t be bothered to learn shell scripting.
Or gamers who want to play triple a titles
I play AAA titles all the time on linux. Just not ones that come bundled with
viruses and rootkitskernel-level invasive anticheat.
I don’t believe in making GNU/Linux look exactly like Windows. It’s a different OS, and any attempt to fool users will be in vain.
I tell family members: “I don’t know anything about Windows/macOS.” (Because I don’t, at this point.) “I can only help you if you use what I use.” Usually, they stop asking me for help, and that’s great for me. If they say yes, I install Fedora with GNOME and whatever applications they expect to use. After a brief explanation of how GNOME works, people generally get used to it and are satisfied.
I share my laptop with Mom. It runs GNU Guix System with GNOME. She uses it to run Chrome for stuff she can’t get on her tablet. She’s used to it at this point.
My dad has a Surface Go. I’ve installed Fedora on one of those and it works really well. Dad is still unsure about this but I will try to convince him during the holydays.
Any trouble spots on the Surface? I have a 2017 model that could use a refresh, but I was worried about the touch screen, digitizer pen, and detachable keyboard.
I put ubuntu on a surface Pro 4, around 2016, and everything worked perfectly without fiddling with drivers back then except autorotate. I’m guessing by now even that works.
I wish linux was my parents.
I wish I had a linux
We have Linux at home!
Linux at home: MS-DOS 5.0 on 5 1/4" floppies
Thinking about doing this for my parents is giving me an anxiety attack, thanks OP.
It went smoothly, even smoother than I was suspecting. I just made sure to backup all their data, and made sure they had all their passwords for accounts.
I did the same thing with my Dad. He’s been using Linux Mint for a bit over 2 years now.
Linux Mint is more than enough for his usage: Email, internet browsing and word processing.
set up some remote desktop in case you need to support them when your vacation ends
Already threw RustDesk on there and tested it.
