[TriLUG] Linux for the home user

[Tim Jowers]

I also suggest doing a screencast of the most common tasks. Maybe a
screencast wiki exists? I saw this same question on ColaLUG a month or
two ago with no real answers.

Probably the main thing is putting a huge web browser icon right in
the middle of the desktop. Heck, make it autostart!
 The web is the computer for most folks nowadays.

Let us know if you do a good search and find some videos. Here's one
vendor selling some: http://www.ubuntulinuxtrainingvideos.com/
Here are some I did a few years back and are free if worth anything to
you. Some are ogg and others are swf.
http://www.serviza.com/tours/
Here's a short tutorial style book for budding linux users who are
technology professionals or wish to be:
http://www.serviza.com/books/OpenSourceProFC6.pdf
And there's always lots of Linux documentation project info/sites.

Second for Ubuntu. Disagree about newb. I think the Linux Desktop is
far easier for a noob. What's more, configuration and troubleshooting
is so much superior to Windows it is not funny. Ever try supporting a
noob on Windows over the phone? Just shoot me!

FWIW, in 1998 I managed an ISP and 80% of our support time and support
calls were for Windows problems and nothing really to do with Internet
access. We were the only ones who answered the phone.

+1 for Gnucash. Great for personal and small business accounting.

The main issue with Ubuntu is its minimal install. Disks are enormous
nowadays. Load 'em up.

TimJowers


On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 10:23 AM, Paul McLanahan <pmclanahan at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 9:18 AM, Jason S. Evans <jason.s.evans at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Is there a distro or maybe a Ubuntu-derivative that is really good for
>> the newbie user?  What I'm thinking is a distro that has lots of
>> tutorials on how to use the software that won't take 8 hours of
>> one-on-one instruction to fall into.  Is there one like that, would you
>> suggest that someone try an Ubuntu live CD or some other live CD?  Just
>> trying to pick your collective noggins.
>
> I think gOS might fit that bill perfectly. It's Ubuntu based, so the
> hardware support should be there, and the interface and default
> software should be very noob friendly. I haven't installed it myself,
> but from the things I've read it looks quite promising.
>
> http://thinkgos.com/gos.php
>
> Paul
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