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Old 06-19-2013, 10:09 PM   #1
Netnovice
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Lightbulb Switch to Mint KDE - 'cause it's selling here!


I confess! I have seen the light and gone Mint! Just sharing the story really.

I will explain. I started off on Slackware back in February. Yes, I started with Slackware. Actually, it worked very well for me.

However, installing software was a pain. Slackware was great for working offline – and I do not like my computers being hostage to the internet – but dealing with software dependencies was far too time consuming. Yes, I know there are tools to handle Slackware packages and even download dependencies so I could have kept going but...

I already have two converts to Linux – both non-technical users – here in Indonesia. Did I put Slackware on their laptops? No way. Linux had to be an easy to use, the distro an all GUI version and easy for transition from Windows. That meant Mint KDE edition. I also have three other converts in a queue literally begging me to put Linux on their machines. I do mean literally – I just don't the backup store for their data My USB drive died and I am right out of cash between contracts now and they have no money! But they will go Mint KDE edition as well. It's the perfect rendering for Windows migration.

Mint KDE is easy to use, robust (as long as you are careful to stick to repository software as I discovered recently) and everything is pretty. And, yet, I carried on with Slackware in order to learn. BTW, I did try Mint Cinnamon and went, "No." Not for me and not for the Windows born and bred in Indonesia either. Pear Linux has a good chance, mind. Both converts, so far, are happy. Three others in a queue but I’m busy switching contracts right now.

Anyway, a couple of days ago I literally woke up in the middle of the night and asked myself, "What the hell am I doing?!"

Every single user in Indonesia that I am going to be switching over from windows will be using Mint KDE.

So everyone of those folks will need support – from muggins here. No-one else will do it for them. Why the hell am I using a completely different rendering of Linux to that for which I must support others? Why am I playing around with installpkg when I need to get to grips with dpkg? Why am I downloading tgz packages when everyone else will be running Debian? Why am I installing software that these users can't get from synaptic?

Slackware 14 is great. I have *loved* it. Seriously. But it is not a distro for the masses and I am selling Linux to the masses. A minimal laptop here costs $300., minus software. A laptop with Windows 8 installed starts at $450, minus any productivity software. The average (mode) wage here is $200 gross with no benefits. People are running illegal, cracked, broken renderings of Windows with crippled software. Once I show them Mint Linux with free software that works – they are sold. One guy had a cracked version of Windows 7 that could not have .net installed on – so his software base is limited and he cannot go online. One girl bought a cheap office rendering I had never heard of that could not read Word documents properly and crashed when she pasted in data. Another had a legal copy of Windows XP which crashed and the product key could not be found. So it could not be registered. The people of Indonesia NEED Linux. When I demo, I convince! Especially when I show I can do things faster in Linux than Windows. (XP was OK to use but Vista and 7 are dogs to find anything and 8 is just.... Well, people are buying cracked copies of 7 and not 8 here.)

I am going to be demoing using Linux in schools. Do students and teachers – all potential converts – want to see text boot ups, installation via CLI, network control via text? I tell you now, Indonesians are suckers for eye candy. They want a GUI to look cool. Now, I know Slackware can look cool with KDE in full flight but Mint just sells better to the masses. I am far more likely to get a school to completely convert to Linux with Mint than Slackware.

Love it or loath it, I have successfully sold Mint KDE edition to Indonesians and I can see the word spreading. But that's just decided what version *I* have to use.

Im not too upset though. I have learnt how to download packages and install manually from Mint so I am not dependent on the internet for everything. That's of importance to me. I can handle text but the average user here wants GUI and eye candy and downloads like their ipads.

"Would you eat your own dog food?"

I gotta use what I gotta sell. Switching distros in order get more converts is a damn good reason. I don't get the 'cred' of a slacker but, here in Indonesia, no-one knows what Slackware is anyway so what the heck! But, I plan to keep reading and keep learning. Glad I started with Slackware and thanks to Pat. I have recommended Slackware 14 to a totally underpaid IT technician so he can get Linux skills and get a better job. Everyone else, though.... it's gotta be Mint. KDE though. That means me too! 
 
Old 06-20-2013, 01:34 PM   #2
m33600
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Dear friend
I tasted Mint some years ago, really liked it, but somewhere in the process they tried to sell it to me. Gace up and back to basics, ubuntu, and debian "the lord".
Many years in ubuntu, then came that unity stuff, touchscreen focused, not my case anymore.
Then it was time to Lubuntu, Xubuntu, and other forks. Yes, good all of them, excludes the eye candy...
Then, som weeks ago I happened to try knoppix. Wow! Desktop cube out of the box, and the famous "find every hardware" complying the promise!
I would recomend you to test knoppix. CD and after, the DVD version. I ll not regret!
regards from Brasil!
 
Old 06-22-2013, 10:23 PM   #3
booker
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Exclamation Linux for Edu

If you're going to be doing Linux demos in schools, you should demo a Debian/Ubuntu based distro for education, such as UberStudent http://uberstudent.com
 
Old 06-24-2013, 05:17 AM   #4
Netnovice
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Thanks but no.

Quote:
Originally Posted by booker View Post
If you're going to be doing Linux demos in schools, you should demo a Debian/Ubuntu based distro for education, such as UberStudent http://uberstudent.com
Thanks you so much for the suggestion. But, it is a golden rule - a law almost - that once a user adopts one version of Linux and posts his choice, at least two people will tell him/her to use another distro!

I have to have a general purpose, easy to use, well supported version for the vast majority of Indonesians. I have the S/W I need under Mint.
Thanks for the suggestion of knoppix but I could swap and change forever! I know!

Mint is working all round and that's enough.
It's beating the hooky copies of Windows the folks are using here hands down.
 
Old 06-30-2013, 10:40 PM   #5
DeeGee
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Coming from a developing country myself, I totally agree with you, Netnovice.

My personal opinion is that to really know the system and get its 'feel', working with Arch/Slackware etc. is a must. But its an impossibility when it comes to introducing Linuz to the masses. And trust me, Linux is the best option in boosting computer literacy in countries such as ours. The people truly need Linux.

I am from Debian and have even completed by custom Linux From Scratch. The reason I am experimenting with Mint is that I just wanted to get familiar with its internals as it focuses on the 'user'. I've used Ubuntu before through wubi some time ago and liked the experience. Mint was a sheer curiosity. I am of mixed feelings. I find the Mint community is not as much developed as Ubuntu's. The experience has been mainly positive but with some niggles around the way.

But I stand by the fact, that starting from a tough distribution really lessened my learning curve and gave me more knowledge in a month than an average Mint/Ubuntu user would have got in a year.

Glad you are working on distributing Linux to the people. It would really nice to see a blog etc. on your journey All the best.
 
Old 06-30-2013, 11:31 PM   #6
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Nothing wrong with http://linuxmint.com/

Code:
$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: biker Kernel: 3.5.0-17-generic x86_64 (64 bit, gcc: 4.7.2) Desktop: MATE 1.4.2  Distro: Linux Mint 14 Nadia
Machine:   Mobo: SAMSUNG model: RV410/RV510/S3510/E3510 Bios: Phoenix version: 02UC.P026.20100916.LX date: 09/16/2010
CPU:       Dual core Pentium CPU T4500 (-MCP-) cache: 1024 KB flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 ssse3) bmips: 9176.7 
           Clock Speeds: 1: 1200.00 MHz 2: 1200.00 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0 
           X.Org: 1.13.0 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1366x768@60.0hz 
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Mobile Intel GM45 Express GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 9.0.3 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card: Intel 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: 1.0.25
Network:   Card-1: Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) driver: ath9k bus-ID: 06:00.0
           IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Marvell 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller driver: sky2 ver: 1.30 port: 3000 bus-ID: 04:00.0
           IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 320.1GB (7.1% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: SAMSUNG_HM321HI size: 320.1GB 
Partition: ID: / size: 18G used: 4.2G (26%) fs: ext4 ID: /home size: 163G used: 18G (12%) fs: btrfs 
           ID: swap-1 size: 4.19GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap 
RAID:      No RAID devices detected - /proc/mdstat and md_mod kernel raid module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 46.0C mobo: 46.0C 
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A 
Info:      Processes: 156 Uptime: 10:40 Memory: 665.4/3887.8MB Runlevel: 2 Gcc sys: 4.7.2 
           Client: Shell (bash 4.2.37) inxi: 1.9.7
Only thing is. I am KDE dyslexic.
 
Old 07-01-2013, 11:53 PM   #7
mikeeve
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Are you installing Mint 15/KDE on older machines, or just new machines? KDE seems a bit heavy for older machines. I do like Mint, but I'm happy with Cinnamon version.
 
Old 07-06-2013, 08:30 PM   #8
Netnovice
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Unhappy Lack of handholding = reverts. :-(

Sorry I haven't responded. I have shifted from one school to another and it's been madness on both sides!

Long, long unhappy post... in three parts.

As a note: Indonesian is fiercely protective in it's economy (oddly enough, that's been very bad for it's economy but it's actually helped Indonesia during the current economic climate.)
So, outside of crazy Jakarta where it takes two hours to travel from your house to the local chemist – literally – the ONLY work for a foreigner is as a teacher. So your employment options are limited to One.

Fortunately, I can teach and do it well. I will also be teaching computing which is nice. But running a blog is an impossibility with the sheer amount of work I have to do. That's another reason I could not continue with Slackware. My job is no longer techie – it is productivity. Teachers needs every kind of productivity software. Wordprocessing, spreadsheets, databases (yup, I need to produce databases) clip art, fonts, DTP, video editing, sound sampling and everything in between.

Teachers are producing every single day. A computer being offline is not an option! Taking days to install Kdenlive (as it was under Slackware) is no longer an option for me. I have to go with a 'soft' rendering of Linux with a fast install repository access because when I find I need yet another piece of software I gotta get it there and then! Being offline is not an option either. No time to fix network problems, I gotta be online, downloading videos for demos, receiving daily changes to schedules via email and cc's six people with my lesson plans. I will have to use my own printer/scanner like never before because the queues for the printers are a mile long.

Now I know why so few teachers are in any way technical. Even if they had the capability there isn't time to 'play.' In business it is possible to tell a client a product will be delayed. It might mean penalties but customer expectations can be managed. That can't be done in a school when your next deadline is the next class one hour ahead and you have to print the form you have just realised is essential for the class RIGHT NOW! Oh, and in private school the parents get quite irate if a teacher is not seen as performing.

This is important as my 'customers' are fellow teachers – at this stage anyway.

And here we hit problems...

1) Teachers need Linux. They need every piece of software imaginable and on their own personal PC's. Using school equipment is a nightmare. In Indonesia every office or school PC is a Pentium 4. I don't know why but for some reason Indonesia standardised on P4's. They now running Windows 7 on 15 year old machines like dogs. (I gave up installing Libreoffice on a school PC because it had taken over an hour to install – not download, INSTALL – and I had to go home and the installation was only halfway. I do not know how I will ever install Libreoffice because the machine is in constant use during the day.) Anyway, teachers need access to fast, free productivity software.
2) Teachers are not technical. Not at all. They know office back to front because they use it minute in and minute out but they know nothing about technology or operating systems. This is a major problem as you will see.
3) The level of IT knowledge in Indonesia is awful. The National Education program is a joke and Indonesian education ranked as one of the worst in the world. It is entirely rote learning and a system devised by Surharto to ensure a mass of sheep that will obey without question. Indonesians, as a people, are unimaginative, uncreative, idle and focus entirely on survival. I do not blame the average Indonesian for that – the education system makes them what they are. The current administration does not change it simply because it is too indolent. So the result is that IT support is virtually non-existent. In my last school we had one school leaver in charge of IT support. That was it. I knew more than him! I sorted out the video driver ON HIS PC! My current school has NO internal IT support and hires a contractor on an ad hoc basis. No-one can even tell me the rules for the operation of the IT lab. In fact, I haven't set foot in it yet.
4) Teachers are worked to death. People have no idea. My last job we were working six days a week, commonly 9:30 to 9:30.
5) Finally, forget al the talk that "There is lots of online for new Linux users so anyone can use it." That only works if the user is techie in the first place. The average user does not WANT to solve problems! The average user wants SOMEONE ELSE to fix the problem.
 
Old 07-06-2013, 08:31 PM   #9
Netnovice
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I already have a queue of fellow teachers with problems with their PC's lining up to see me at my new school . If they wanted to they could go online and find the answer. But no... they want me to fix it for them. This is because they DO NOT WANT TO KNOW! They are terrified that by playing around with their PC they will break the OS and get downtime. To most users this is bad. For teachers it is a non-starter.

This all leads to a critical problem.

Teachers cannot afford to have PC going down. Not for a minute.
Now, however buggered up Windows may be... Windows has one massive, huge advantage over Linux.

For every problem in Windows there is a teacher beside them who has had the same problem and can fix it.

If there is a problem a fellow teacher cannot solve, they can call in an expert – even if at cost.

Linux? Nothing.
Because teachers cannot afford downtime, if their PC dies and cannot be restored – they will buy a new PC the next day, no matter what, no questions and buy the first affordable machine a smiling salesman shows them... because the teacher cannot afford downtime!

I actually have two netbooks, almost by chance, and I have realised, as a teacher, I need both of them because if one does go down I am totally screwed! I have to create a database to put in daily records of students progress. It's that or loads of paperwork. With a DB I can automate half the input. By that means, no PC, no reports. Teachers are slaves to their PC's!!

So, one of my converts has gone back to Windows.

Why?

It was classic. I had to leave my old school in a rush – the agent mixed up the days and terminated my contract two weeks early -for which I was grateful. Said teacher had to print off a student report in Excel. She opened the file from Libreoffice. Forr some reason it was not formatted properly.
MASS PANIC!!!
As always, the report had to be printed that instant!!!
The IT guys response? "It's Linux. I don't know it." Now any IT guy worth their salt would have given it a look but this kid is a school leaver paid absolutely peanuts. He was lost.
Instead of calling me, she rushed out and bought Windows and Office that instant!

Because downtime is not an option for a teacher.

The thing is, the problem was clearly with Libreoffice and not Linux at all and so this teacher has spent masses of money I know they cannot afford on either a broken illegal copy of Windows or software that 'fixed' the problem where someone could have tweaked a setting.

My other convert has problems. She has been very ill and had no time to look at Linux. It's her kids are complaining they cannot go on facebook because their USB modem stick (virtually the only form of internet outside the office here) and that DOSbox 'does not work.'
I pointed out that I could get the USB modem running if they provided the laptop and modem for me to align.
DOSBox was just to run DOS software....

But, of course, the kid saw 'DOSBox' in 'Games.' He wanted to play a game and though 'DOSBox' was a game.

Sigh. Your kids want games. That wasn't mentioned before. I was told it was a work PC...

Right now I know what is being said about Linux, "It's broken. It can't go on the internet and it has no games." For the kids that equals broken. The mother has been too ill and dealing with too many problems to get the laptop back to me.

I have emailed her warning her that she will be temped to go Windows as she hits problems.
"Call me!" I told her.
Her response was, in essence, "Thank goodness! Nothing works."

This is the problem Linux faces. It is not that it is hard, no compatibility, nor lacking power or security...

It is that the average user only want to consume or produce. When it come to ANY setup – apart from changing the desktop wallpaper, they want someone else to do it.

Linux has no support.

By that I mean people there to DO IT FOR THEM!

If I am not physically with the new user they *will* revert to Windows. Because with Windows there is someone, somewhere to change the settings FOR THEM.

Another teacher was using Kingsoft. (I had never heard of the software before!) Well, she was having trouble with it. So I installed Libreoffice for her. It worked! Yay! I was then called away for a meeting before I had chance to set it up properly.

Result? The teacher abandoned Libreoffice because when she emailed her department heads they could not read the ODx formats.

I went in, took out her laptop (to her protests!) started up Libreoffice and changed the default save settings.

Result? Absolute delight and... AWE! I had fixed a problem in sixty seconds flat! The fact I had changed a setting in a program was literally awesome! I was a demigod! (BTW, the teacher is highly intelligent. Even smart users cannot go techie. Computers are just too psychologically intimidating for them.)

Which goes to show that no matter how much online help there is, FAQ's or even HOWTO videos on youtube... Linux will not fly until there are tech users who can be called up, turn up and fix the problem.

---------- Post added 07-07-13 at 08:32 AM ----------

Because I am not at the schools of these two teachers I have/had converted, well, one is down and the odds are that the other will take out a loan and buy a new PC with Windows all because I am not physically there to fix the problems. The kids are screaming "We can't do facebook!" and "We have no games!" The mother has been too ill and dealing with a very ill mother in law to get the laptop to me. I have been overloaded with work at the start of a new academic year. I cannot visit right now.

So what do I do? I can get converts but they will revert. It does not matter that for every problem there is a solution in Linux- there is no-one to do it for the user. I started on Slackware. I can ask a tech question on a forum and understand the answer. I can read an FAQ.

The average user CANNOT and WILL NOT!
They would rather spend the money and have the comfort of some IT guy being there for them.
Information is the not the issue. It is fear.

At my current school there are NO techies. None. They are ALL computer illiterate and resist IT information. I do not blame them. The workload and learning load are enormous. They are learning and relearning their syllabus, teaching methods plus planning, resource production, exam prep... they do not have the bandwidth to take on IT problems.

I tried to solve a teacher video downloading problems in Windows by installing Firefox. But the Firefox add-on server was down.

That was it. The teacher had no time for a fix that was not instant. The PC was taken from me. He no longer wants me to aid him – because it looks tricky. His IT friend is also whispering in his ear that his atom netbook cannot run Firefox. It can but his friend is known to him – I am not and my one attempt at a fix appeared to fail. My street cred is bust.

So what do I do?

Well some things are clear:

1) Linux cannot be given out freely. Left on their own users will revert to what is known and has physical support.
2) I have to find people who are tech savvie who are willing to give Linux a try. I must build a base of tech users who buy into Linux – people who can and will go online to find out how to solve a problem. Until THOSE users have got into Linux I haven't a hope of getting average users onto the OS.

Once I have tech savvy Linux users who are enthusiastic about Linux then... then... maybe... I can move onto the general population.

Until then, I must accept that the teachers around me are not going Linux anytime soon. If it is choice between free Linux and going into serious debt to get Office... they will either pay or go illegal because... with Windows someone is there to hold their hand.

No-one at my current school wants to know about Linux. They resist because... they have no time for an unknown.

No, I need tech users converted first. Right now, I would REFUSE to convert anyone from Windows. Linux is capable but the average (Indonesian) user is not.

Trouble is – a school is the LAST place to find tech users! I am also saddled with a huge amount of work myself. I want to upgrade from Mint 14 to 15 but I am too locked into work to risk myself. I'll have to wait until Christmas – maybe.

Anyway, I haven't given up. I am changing strategy. I have got huge interest. But I have to find the IT enthusiasts here. There is a Linux group here somewhere, I gather. There is an IT University nearby. There are techies out there who could be persuaded. It has to start with them.

When non-tech users see tech users with Linux sending them files that they can read in Windows flawlessly... then they will be persuaded and, when they switch, they have a friend to help them when it goes awry.

Until then... no hope. Any convert is just a revert waiting for that one small glitch they cannot, dare not, fix themselves.
"You have to go Windows" will the advice they get otherwise.

Until I have tech users who can say otherwise, no-one will stick with Linux.
Sadly, that is why Windows 8 could still win. Not because it is any good, or even usable. No. Because IT departments will be trained in Windows 8 who will train the non-tech users who will adapt to a cretinous interface because... no matter the problems someone is there to hold their hand.

Hand holding is the only way for Linux.
 
Old 07-06-2013, 08:51 PM   #10
rokytnji
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Quote:
Which goes to show that no matter how much online help there is, FAQ's or even HOWTO videos on youtube... Linux will not fly until there are tech users who can be called up, turn up and fix the problem.
Quote:
He no longer wants me to aid him – because it looks tricky. His IT friend is also whispering in his ear that his atom netbook cannot run Firefox. It can but his friend is known to him – I am not and my one attempt at a fix appeared to fail. My street cred is bust.
Sounds like West Texas so don't get your self down or kill your self. You orientals say be like water. We desert folk say be like sand.

Either way. Accept what works. Ignore what does not. Let the rest take care of itself. I know what it feels like in a sense but not
in exactly the magnitude of what you have to deal with.

It is hard arguing with fence-posts. They don't listen to you.
 
Old 07-06-2013, 08:53 PM   #11
Netnovice
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Hi, in relation to the KDE question...

As I say, it's all a bit pointless until I can get local tech users into Linux first. I have one teacher in another school who I think has enough tech, well, not knowledge, but lack of fear, who would not panic the minute something went wrong. But I cannot deal with him now. It's too busy. I am just taking a break before even more prep for the first day of the new academic year. Email just come though: "you must write a welcome letter to the parents..." + six other documents.

Gee, thanks for the warning.

But in regards to KDE:

For users migrating from Windows it is the only interface immediately understandable to them.
I have tried the alternatives and they borrow too much from the Mac which I know many people like but is not viable for Windows users. Later on, as they become more familiar with Linux there are more choices.

KDE is not top heavy! I mean, these users are running Windows 7 on Pentium $'s and single core atoms! (I am running Link 15 KDE on a single core atom and it's fine.)
The only issue are the graphical effects. Turn them all off and KDE runs a dream even on minimal hardware.
Users care about productivity and ease of use over speed. LXDE is fast (and nice!) but it is less familiar to new users than KDE.

There is a saying in programming, "First make it work and then make it fast."
Until I can get converts to STICK with Linux, the GUI is moot anyway.
 
Old 07-06-2013, 08:59 PM   #12
Netnovice
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rokytnji View Post
Sounds like West Texas so don't get your self down or kill your self. You orientals say be like water. We desert folk say be like sand.

Either way. Accept what works. Ignore what does not. Let the rest take care of itself. I know what it feels like in a sense but not
in exactly the magnitude of what you have to deal with.

It is hard arguing with fence-posts. They don't listen to you.

Hi!

The irony is that I have a HUGE amount of interest! People LIKE Linux.
But without hand holding it won't stick!

That's the frustration. People can see the advantages of Linus. They can see me using it. Many want to convert...

But the second there is a glitch...
Bang!
And then everyone around them will have their innate belief that "Linux is incompatible with Windows" will have been 'proven.'

The girl whose PC I put Libreoffice on - I had to drag her laptop out - to her protests, to her pleading me not to touch it - fire it up, to her near panic - and then fixed the problem.
To her astonishment.

This is the mindset we face. With this user I have GAINED street cred. But I had to physically go against her protests to show her I had NOT 'messed up her computer.' (She didn't say that God bless her.)

Hand holding. It is the only way.
 
Old 07-08-2013, 03:01 PM   #13
joe_2000
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Definitely admire what you are doing... and can see where you are coming from.

I had a convert from Win7 to Linux Mint. She wanted to do some "exotic stuff" such as syncing iPhone, using a Bluetooth box, a Canon Scanner that wasn't supported out of the box... etc.
I found that Mint Cinnamon could do a lot more out of the box than KDE. I am guessing that's because it is their default desktop, so it probably receives the most attention during development.

And she was struggling with Libreoffice. "All my documents are messed up, I have to reformat everything". And her hotmail account wasn't working in Thunderbird in the exact same way as in Windows Live mail ("Where did my folder structure go?") I have spent several evenings installing different desktops, trying to get her hardware to run, showing her how to use Libreoffice and Thunderbird etc. etc... I never got her to the point where she felt confident enought to boot Linux when she had to get work done urgently. She ended up always booting into Windows. Pretty much for the reasons you pointed out I guess: I was not there to hold her hand...
So eventually I just installed Libreoffice and Thunderbird on Windows. Told her to get used to it, and call me when she felt she did not need MS software anymore. Never got that call...

I am a bit cooled down when it comes to "selling Linux". I will put Linux on people's computers if they really want me to. And make it crystal clear to them that they will have to read FAQ and use search engines... If they don't want to do that, Linux is not for them. And I don't blame them for it. It's just a question of personal interest. I would not want a car where I have to open the hood every other day to fix or tweak something. And it does not bother me the slightest bit that I cannot easily customize the way the engine works...
 
Old 07-15-2013, 10:26 PM   #14
Netnovice
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Registered: Feb 2013
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Whoa! Things have taken an unexpected turn!

I have started new contract at a new school. Absolutely shattering! Every day three new duties...

Anyway, the hardware in this place is totally shot. I mean, totally completely bust. Yesterday I found not one printer in the building was working. But that was OK because no PC had working USB sockets and the only photocopier for three buildings had broken down.

Well, I had sent an emergency warning to the new Principle that the school was facing imminent hard disk failure right across everything. I was not exaggerating.

It turns out that my warning was well timed. He had already told the Foundation the same thing having tried to use the PC's here and *failed.*

Result: He told the foundation that, I, as the formal ICT teacher and one guy with any IT experience was giving critical system wide catastrophic error and he backed me up on this 100%.

And...
they immediately promised a complete hardware upgrade.

Whoa! I was expecting much more of a fight! But I have *also* been warning that going to Windows 8 is non-starter. It is not only unusable but effectively an entirely new operating system.

To retain compatiability and have a chance of a interface that the TOTALLY IT illiterate staff here are familiar REQUIRES Linux KDE. I mean the whole 'not really a start button 'fix' in Windows Blue is clear evidence that Microsoft are physically forcing people off the desktop to a tablet or Surface PC and use of Metro as the interface.

I am demoing Mint tomorrow!

This may not go the way I recommend but management are at least listening.

Makes a change from my last IT employ. For every $million we made we lost 0.5 mill due to support costs and broken software being sent back for emergency repair... and we in 'Engineering' had the answers to all the problems. We could have got that half a mill back for want of three or six months of tool construction and testing...

But no... Management were all seeing, the masters of destiny and an idea that did not come from them (and results had to be IMMEDIATE - no six months tooling up) then any suggestion was just paper for the shredder. They had no idea or interst in real testing.

This place, for all it's problems, is listening!
I cannot argue against that.

If an entire school goes 100% Linux - with me hand holding, in a PHASED deployment and test beds, then the word can spread.

Last edited by Netnovice; 07-15-2013 at 10:28 PM.
 
Old 07-16-2013, 02:30 AM   #15
joe_2000
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Really interesting to hear your news, definitely keep us posted! And best of luck for the demo!
 
  


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