Grandad's Computer distro

English Open Chat
#1

Tired of updating his Windoze system I recommended that I update his aged PC with a splash of colour and OpenSuse. Regrettably the installation struggled with the 256MB of RAM and windoze was corrupted during the partition. My mistake, and as my son has since said “The Virus has now been removed”.
The question is now:

For a 77 year old with just an inkling of computers: i.e. he wants to type letters and find stuff on the www, what distro would you recommend?

Would it be OpenSuse or possibly K-Ubuntu? We want to give him a system that is SOOOO Easy to use, will prevent him from damaging it (that’s my job, or so it would seem :wink: ) and does not require constant updating?

What’s your suggestion please?

#2

IMHO it depends on the method/level of support your grandad is provided. Both openSUSE and kbuntu will run slow on an older PC with 256MB of RAM.

If you provide constant support with openSUSE or Kbuntu, then either would be ok. But if you are not there to provide support, I would recommend neither. Find him a more light weight distribution to provide some speed as a counterbalance to the lack of support.

Two years ago, I setup my mother (80 years old at the time), with openSUSE-10.2 running KDE-3.5.5 on her old PC (which has a 1.1GHz processor and at the time had 256MB of RAM). I provided her “remote” support via vnc, ssh, and nx, keeping her openSUSE up to date, and also provide her online training with vnc (I live in a different continent, and visit her once/year). 10.2 ran slow on her PC. In essence, only one or two apps could run at a time. Last Christmas I updated her PC from 256 to 512MB, and that made a world of difference in the snappiness of openSUSE-10.2, and it runs faster and can have more simultaneous apps running at a time.

My mother is now 82 and is reasonably comfortable with openSUSE-10.2, but I still do all the maintenance on her PC (a continent away). In Jan 2009, when I visit next, I plan to install either openSUSE-11.0 (KDE-3.5.9) or openSUSE-11.1 (KDE-3.5.10, if available) on her PC. I’ll also likely replace her CD-writer with a DVD-writer, and add a second PATA 300GB hard drive to her aging PC (she refuses to let me get her a new PC). The nice thing about openSUSE-10.x to 11.x series, is as long as one sticks with KDE3, the OS performance did not degrade with newer openSUSE versions.

Still, if a HIGH LEVEL of support is not planned (nor wanted) then I recommend you look for a lighter weight distribution.

#3

A light weight distro I would recommend is TinyMe, it is a 200 MB live and installer CD, it is decently up to date 2.6.18 Kernel, 2.3 OpenOffice, and Opera 9.5 with Firefox 2 in the repos and Firefox 3 can be installed from the Mozilla build. It uses apt-get for package management but is RPM based. TinyMe runs fine on my old and half broken P3 machine with 300 MB of RAM (this is due to the broken part).

#4

Another light wait and would run great on that machine would be puppy linux Home Page | Puppy Linux

#5

Vector Linux might also be a good choice for a light weight distribution.
Hardware Requirments:Standard Edition: Pentium 200 or better, 96MB RAM, 2.1GB hard drive space for system only, more for your data.

SOHO Edition: Pentium 750 or better, 128MB RAM minimum, 3.1GB hard drive space for system only, more for your data, video and monitor capable of 1024x768 resolution at 24 bits color.

Light Edition: Pentium 166 or better, 64MB RAM minimum, 1.8GB hard drive space for full system - more for your data.

Live Editions: Pentium 750 or better, 256MB RAM minimum, video and monitor capable of 1024x768 resolution at 24 bits colour. For the Beryl version you will need a modern video card.

#6

Thanks for the responses: I should have said that I have updated his PC today so that it has 2GB RAM which has made a significant difference even with the Live OpenSuse 11. All he needs is a word processor, an email client and a Firefox derivative. I like the ideas of a simple distro and I am leaning away from OpenSuse as support is not going to be daily. I am astonished at the thought of supporting from a continent away but I know that this will intrigue and delight my son!

My feelings were towards either Ubuntu (due to update features, in so much towards printers/scanners, and repositories but with it be configured so that the main menu’s only had the basic necessities - according to my Father) or PCLINUX as I found that really simple but it did have a few problems with certain printers.

I suppose it is the ability to configure something so that it is simple, error proof, that really concerns me. If I can give him a system that ‘does the job’ and he can’t really corrupt that would be brilliant!

Thanks again for all your help.
Stob

#7

I’m not experienced with Puppy Linux, but is it like **** Small in which it uses older software to help make system requirements and system size as small as possible? I know **** Small still uses 2.4 kernel, of course DSL-n (**** Small Linux - not) does not aim to be so light weight and so uses new software versions.

#8

I think daily support would be way too much. Typically I log on to my mother’s PC around once/month. I probably could get away with once every three months, but I like to keep her PC in pristine condition. And so it is.

If she wants to know how to do something that she can not figure out, I log on to her PC from Europe (she is in North America) and I take over her desktop (with the application ‘vnc’ ) such that she can see everything I do on her PC. We chat on the phone at the same time (each with a speaker phone) and I train her that way, and answer her questions. As you can likely guess, despite the training that is going on, over 70% of the conversation has nothing to do with Linux, but typically is about family, travels, and simply socializing.

I do all the security updates on her PC, and ensure her multimedia is kept up to first rate (which is easy because openSUSE with the Packman packagers has better multimedia support than any distribution I know of). Yes, debian based and Red Hat have good multimedia, but the Packman packagers tend to be a quicker off the mark with the various fixes/updates, and they are very responsive to help requests (IMHO).

Multimedia is important to her because of family videos, pictures, vcds, svcds, etc …

I think you are deluding yourself if you think there will be less maintenance with PCLinux or with Ubuntu.

With 2GB of RAM, you are no longer constrained to go for a small foot print Linux. IMHO go for a Linux distribution where you can get face to face support or remote support (such as I provide to my mother) from someone you can trust. IMHO that support should now be the defining criteria. If support from real people (not a forum) comes from PCLinux, then that would be my choice. If it comes from Ubuntu, then that would be my choice. Clearly in my mother’s case, she gets the best possible support with openSUSE (because of me remotely logging in ensure everything is in prime shape).

And if you can not get support from one real person that you know (face to face or remotely) then start looking at the forums, the chat channels, and see which one has the best community.

IMHO thats THE governing criteria, and anything else is lost in relative insignificance.

Some openSUSE support info:
Communicate - openSUSE

#9

Well with a updated system like that then support won’t have to be daily, and the most common task you should have to do is keep it up to date which can be done remotely, or even through a cron job.

I suppose it is the ability to configure something so that it is simple, error proof, that really concerns me. If I can give him a system that ‘does the job’ and he can’t really corrupt that would be brilliant!

Thanks again for all your help.
Stob

Well working with printers is problem with any distro, mostly because of people having printers not supported under Linux or has issues, I have such problem but I also know how to work around the issue I have a Lexmark x1200 but the only way I can get the printer to work is with the z600 Linux printer driver. Really it is all in how much time and effort you want to spend in setting it up, and if all else fails you can look into buying a cheep printer for him that is supported by CUPS.

#10

Hi
I would look at either openSUSE with XFCE4 (pssst or Xubuntu) for a
nice light-weight interface.

Install freeNX (or NX from nomachine) then you can login remotely to
admin the box?

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
openSUSE 11.0 x86 Kernel 2.6.25.11-0.1-default
up 2 days 15:11, 1 user, load average: 0.10, 0.10, 0.13
GPU GeForce 6600 TE/6200 TE - Driver Version: 173.14.12

#11

stobio wrote:
> Tired of updating his Windoze system I recommended that I update his
> aged PC with a splash of colour and OpenSuse. Regrettably the
> installation struggled with the 256MB of RAM and windoze was corrupted
> during the partition. My mistake, and as my son has since said “The
> Virus has now been removed”.
> The question is now:
>
> For a 77 year old with just an inkling of computers: i.e. he wants to
> type letters and find stuff on the www, what distro would you
> recommend?
>
> Would it be OpenSuse or possibly K-Ubuntu? We want to give him a system
> that is SOOOO Easy to use, will prevent him from damaging it (that’s my
> job, or so it would seem :wink: ) and does not require constant updating?
>
> What’s your suggestion please?
>
>
openSUSE 11.0 with XFCE4 for the DE/WM.

#12

stobio wrote:
> what distro would you recommend?

with the old/weak system i’ll leave that to the others…but guess
Puppy or DSL would do nicely…

> What’s your suggestion please?

but, my major suggestion is that you what i did when i set up a
granny with SUSE: do NOT give grandpa the root password!

and, if you can figure out how: set up his machine so you can
administer root needs for him, from afar…

otherwise, tell him to keep a list of the new stuff he wants to try,
and then add it when there…

otherwise, (if you give hím root) you might as well let him stay on
Winders…

–
see caveat: http://tinyurl.com/6aagco
DenverD (Linux Counter 282315) via NNTP, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, KDE
3.5.7, SUSE Linux 10.3, 2.6.22.18-0.2-default #1 SMP i686 athlon

#13

Since you put some RAM in, you could consider LinuxMint, a Ubuntu spin. Specifically for the updater which can easily be filtered to exclude outer-space updates that might break the installation. Additionally, it is media-happy out of the box.

The controlled update feature might save you some repair time down the road.

I do not think it necessary that he use KDE although he certainly could. I find Gnome very straightforward and it is not menu-crazy as is KDE. I am closer to 70 than 80, however.

I might mention that the email default in Mint is Thunderbird with Firefox 3xx. Mint has no x64 edition.

I also use SUSE 11 x64 Gnome and like it very much.

I would also recommend putting his main toolbar topside for the bifocal issue. I use two and prefer the top bar as I sit at some distance. The top bar is in line with my line of sight and I don’t have to drop my noggin. KDE may be topside - can’t remember. I’ve been using Gnome since the Zimian gang “won”. I tried KDE on Fedora 9 and regard that as a disaster. At least the nightmares have stopped now.

But, you might give some consideration to the notion of updates. SUSE has been using an update alert that is resembles more an order from the Gestapo or STASI than anything else. MANDATORY UPDATES - ACHTUNG! YOU CANNOT STOP THIS UPDATE FOR THE GOOD OF THE SYSTEM! YOU WILL BE SHOT!I notice that in 11 that feature is somewhat relaxed but I still catch myself looking over my shoulder to see “if they are here yet”. When I use 10.2, 10.3 and even 11, I generally wear a large caliber sidearm in case they show up. I don’t worry about the flash-bang devices since I am nearly deaf and don’t see all that well anyway.

Mint simply flashes a padlock on the bar, and then presents the updates in a numerically rated list, and the levels shown (1 through 5) are selected by the user. Level 1 & 2 updates have been tested and will not break Mint. Level 3 updates are not tested but consider to have a high liklihood of not breaking the system. 4 & 5 are “lunatic fringe”.If a safer level is selected, there are fewer updates and the likelihood of a crash is diminished. And, no updates are shown above the highest selected level, which cuts down on the crap. (Of course, a break never happens in Linux, cause “Linux Rocks”).

Mint is media friendly and there is none of the “search for suitable codec” dialogue. The default install which is slender has what is needed. Unless one is enamored with Vikings, one might want to select some other radio stations for Rhythmbox.

#14

Greatly appreciated your advice. We have actually gone for an Ubuntu configured system. My son is keen to explore the update from afar approach, albeit he is only 6 miles away from us. He has also configured the system to only have 3 icons: ooo Writer; FireFox; and Evolution (nice and big) with all other menu’s hidden away. The root password will not be divulged either.

The system will have a dual boot option of windoze if he feels the need for retro computing.

Many thanks again.

#15

From my experiences with an older (2001!) Toshiba notebook with 800 MHz Celeron and 256 MB I’d suggest TinyMe or perhaps antiX. I have TinyMe installed and find it easy to use - I’m 71.