A little story about an ex Windows user

alleyoopster · 07-03-2008, 04:15 AM

I got a call from a man just down the road a while ago saying he was having all sorts of problems with his computer. The man is able to use a computer but not technical at all. In fact he follows the same routine everyday using his computer as access to the world news and contact with his friends and family. He has only ever used Windows, however he was running into various problems with Trojons and the like, so I brought Linux into the converstation and eventually suggested running a Linux distro in place of Windows.

He agreed, a little to my surprise, and I ended up diving in the deep end and installing Linux. I just wanted to share a comment I got back from him today after sometime using the system

Quote:

everything works very well and I understand your preference. It is indeed superior to, and easier to use than, Windows.

The system I installed was Debian Etch (Gnome)

Thought it would be nice to share this

pixellany · 07-03-2008, 08:12 AM

Nice story....

I'll bet this story could repeat many times--especially as the price of Windows, as a percentage of the computer budget (food budget, gas budget, etc.), looms larger.

It is now only a matter of education and marketing....

BTW, welcome to LQ!!

H_TeXMeX_H · 07-03-2008, 02:46 PM

Good story

I think if more people would be less afraid of it, they would try it and like it. Heck maybe they'll even be tempted to learn more about computers and about Linux and actually be efficient users, it's not hard.

alan_ri · 07-03-2008, 03:02 PM

Welcome!
It's always nice to see that kind of stories.

alleyoopster · 07-04-2008, 12:24 AM

I forgot to mention that this man is nearly 90. He made some comments about not wanted to change his habits at this stage in life. In fact there was a difficult time with Google Desktop of all things. He was used to a certain look and feel with this app in windows and it's not the same. It was nearly a showstopper. What clinched it was that Windows XP actually died, froze up completely and he decided to sit down and have a look at the new system.

People are habitual creatures and lazy. Something new can scare them. Just taking a step out of the comfort zone can be very rewarding and in the case of this guy very beneficial. He has a much faster system, more secure, more stable and access to a huge software base, all free, no licences etc.....but most importantly, he actually prefers it.

thanks for warm welcome