Age and Culture Oriented Linux Distros
 

One of the issues facing distros is the nuisance of dealing with Windows lifers like me. We grow up with Windows and it is what we are used to.

Windows tries to appeal to all but really only does a good job of appealing to the median. New users and advanced users find Windows to be annoying because it either assumes too much proficiency or is not professional enough for advanced users.

Windows also tries NOT to appeal to anybody because what appeals to someone in the US may be offensive to someone in Mexico or overseas.

The idea is very rough and based on cultural norms and is supposed to appeal to computer room teachers the world over.

Schools have 24/7 tech support in the form of the associated teacher. If that teacher is dedicated he will try to make the computers appeal to the students as much as possibly given the very limited resources they have to work with.

Making a one GUI that everybody likes is impossible but making a gui that is innovative and easily customizable to a culture or age group isn't. You can't take the programming from Win and Mac guis but you should still be able to bogart their basic functionality.

Take the best GUI features and add your own goodies and then divide them up into a gradual learning curve that covers from age 4 to 18. More sugared up at the beginning for the new users with gradual differences in the gui depending on age category so that by the time a student is done with high school they will have a very good understanding of Linux and easily be able to move into a computer-related field if they wish.

The general idea to get to the users first and keep them:

-GUIs that appeal to the culture and age of the student because a dedicated teacher will be maintaining the system

-The admins will have access to free support by internet forums or communication with other admins at local schools.

-Resource conscious admins will spend moar time purchasing necessary hardware instead of pricy software.

2 of those points are already being covered by Linux developers but guis customized to age and culture should increase Linux popularity greatly. By the time a student is in their teens they will probably be using a standard distro. The general idea is to ease transition into Linux and serious computing in general.

I didn't cover every single point because for the most part anyone can identify the benefits and pitfalls.

I am just spit-balling an idea that popped into my head. Z/Z

While I think in some ways you make a good point, I wonder have you really thought what the term culture means? Is it just localisations (language, fonts, etc), or is there more to it?

I am working on a localised OS and it is actually harder than you think, a word like Trash that is acceptable in some parts of the English speaking world for Garbage is not in others. Using the same word as an example Trash is an Americanism that strictly speaking should not be used in any academic institution in Australia and maybe New Zealand as well BUT it is part of everyday colloquial language and PC usage.

So my question to you is what type of "culture" are you talking about?

Local terminology... take Australia for example... you have a lot of colourful terms but in a more extreme case take Asian cultures like Japan where they sometimes read from right to left and bottom to top if I am not mistaken. Cultural variables are numerous from what colours are associated with what moods.

For example, there are often various dialects and sub-cultures in any given region but much of the underlying psychology is the same. What works in Toronto is probably going to work in New York but not necessarily in Mexico City. Many regions cling to their traditions which promotes stability but stifles adaptability.

GUIs designed with cultural diversity in mind will help non-Westerners adapt better to decidedly western computing technology. The basic idea I had would be for computer professionals in a specific culture to collaborate and work on GUIs that increase in complexity as a student learns so that by their teens students are comfortable with a standard GUI... the idea being that the admins in those cultures would have a better understanding of the psychology of their students and be eager to ease them into a "western" technology. I know from experience that when I first encountered the Linux community I was very put-off by hostility directed towards windows because: 1. I had been using Windows a long time and it was part of my cultural identity and 2. I didn't understand at the time why Windows was so disliked and I thought they were irrational attacks based on brand.

Computer technology teachers in pre-secondary schools primarily want their students to understand computers so they will have an advantage in a global society. I remember in high school I hacked the library computer and signed out various embarrassing books to a friend (titles like... "Dealing with [embarrassing topic here] " and my other friends caved and ratted me out. The computer lab teacher pretended to be mad for appearances but I know for a fact he was more proud than angry.

A collaborative effort that goes from elementary to university level should be able to design GUIs that appeal to young students of various ages. On the university level professors from various fields can cooperate on the GUI... childhood learning and related education fields combined with various arts fields including philosophy/psychology and fine arts and of course computer science. Educators should be very eager to give free time to a project that will give their younger students a leg up. There are many residual benefits from educators collaborating across the spectrum as well.

I wish I could be more specific but being more specific is more the task of those within the culture trying to ease their students into technology. One of the advantages is the reduction in society culture into computer culture shock... societies will be able to preserve their heritage while still being able to prepare their children for the global village. I think the biggest advantage is full spectrum collaboration of educators on GUI projects... I know from experience that my transfer from High School to University was very jarring just due to the fact that my grade 12 education didn't meet entry-level university standards... things similar to that could be avoided by more collaboration at various levels of education.

I think I bit off too much... very rambly... I apologize for that. Z/Z

I think we are better off sticking with academically acceptable terms and pharses. Take for example Rubbish, Garbage, Trash, Crap, Excrement, etc right down to the word Skuz a word I and my friends at school used nearly 40 years ago. What word is acceptable? In Australia the only word that should be used, in my mind, would be Rubbish. While a Skuz Bucket is a Rubbish Bin it is not appropriate, socially or educationally, to use the phrase skuz bucket as it was/is a very localised sub/culture phrase in the same vein that Trash (can) is a very American phrase.

Having said that I do understand, even though I don't agree with, your point.

Thank God!!! The idea is very half-baked and I am missing a great deal of information. I had horrifying nightmares about trying to explain it in detail. Z/Z

There is hope
 

I am glad that gave you nightmares. It is a problem that SHOULD give nightmares. IT is not, however, a problem with technology or OS Distributions, but basic communications and sociology, and we are certainly not going to resolve it here. We have been working on it for roughly 8000 years and have barely made a beginning.

I think this thread is solved.

Do you mean something like this - Ubuntu Satanic Edition?