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I think there is still a fundamental difference in the way you troubleshoot things between Linux and Windows. In Linux you can usually find something on Stack o

by collyw 8y ago

I think there is still a fundamental difference in the way you troubleshoot things between Linux and Windows. In Linux you can usually find something on Stack overflow or Ask Ubuntu, copy a few commands into the terminal and get things working. In Windows you can find some icons in the settings related to what you are doing and randomly click until things work again. While I prefer the first option I can understand why others (who are not IT professionals) prefer the second.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
Except those things you find on SO often don't work because they're from 2010 and the way the internals are organized in your more modern distro are different, or they only ever applied to red hat based distros and you're on a debian based one, or the problem in question only looks very similar to a known bug in some old version of pulseaudio, etc. Personally, I'm in favor of discoverability, especially for troubleshooting. Sadly, Windows is becomming more and more like Linux in this regard as time goes on and they try to make it into a phablet OS.
zrobotics 8y ago
By the same token though, I find it much easier to fix remotely. I got tired of having to talk my father through tech support issues, since under windows it often required me walking him through all the steps. Far easier to email him a command string and tell him to paste it into the terminal. Sure, this doesn't help him learn how to fix things himself, but he has zero interest in learning to use the computer for anything more than a web browser anyway. And the lack of malware is a nice plus.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
  If all he needs is a web kiosk why even bother with a real OS? Sounds like the perfect job for ChromeOS or Porteus Kiosk.
- massysett 8y ago
  If he just needs a Web browser, I've found that the iPad is the best solution here. Both hardware and software are very durable, and portable. Get a Bluetooth keyboard and some sort of stand for the tablet and you're set.
- earenndil 8y ago
  > Far easier to email him a command string and tell him to paste it into the terminal Or, even, set up dyndns and ssh in.

by collyw 8y ago

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago

Except those things you find on SO often don't work because they're from 2010 and the way the internals are organized in your more modern distro are different, or they only ever applied to red hat based distros and you're on a debian based one, or the problem in question only looks very similar to a known bug in some old version of pulseaudio, etc. Personally, I'm in favor of discoverability, especially for troubleshooting. Sadly, Windows is becomming more and more like Linux in this regard as time goes on and they try to make it into a phablet OS.

zrobotics 8y ago

By the same token though, I find it much easier to fix remotely. I got tired of having to talk my father through tech support issues, since under windows it often required me walking him through all the steps. Far easier to email him a command string and tell him to paste it into the terminal. Sure, this doesn't help him learn how to fix things himself, but he has zero interest in learning to use the computer for anything more than a web browser anyway. And the lack of malware is a nice plus.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
If all he needs is a web kiosk why even bother with a real OS? Sounds like the perfect job for ChromeOS or Porteus Kiosk.
massysett 8y ago
If he just needs a Web browser, I've found that the iPad is the best solution here. Both hardware and software are very durable, and portable. Get a Bluetooth keyboard and some sort of stand for the tablet and you're set.
earenndil 8y ago
> Far easier to email him a command string and tell him to paste it into the terminal Or, even, set up dyndns and ssh in.