According to a study by the Pew Research Center[1], some members of older generations have a hard time learning computers because they were born at the wrong time to learn about computers in school or the workplace. It's a purely demographic phenomenon that tends to mostly affect older people. However, I firmly believe that these people can stay connected and can learn about the benefits of modern technology. The free software community is uniquely placed in ideology, values, and distribution to fill that need. We're a community dedicated to honest product development, longevity, and tools that do what you need and none of what you don't. Those ideologies used to define our world, but it's only in the computer era that they've been openly challenged.
So, I started a GNU/Linux tech support and system builder company that focuses on enabling the elderly and promoting open source adoption. We're sharing our teaching methods and techniques to help others create a more connected society so everyone can take full advantage of our wonderfully connected world.
4 tips for getting your family online with GNU/Linux
Whether you're trying to help your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, or older neighbor or friend, the following tips will help you get them comfortable working with GNU/Linux.
1. Choose a Linux distro
One of the first and biggest questions you'll face is helping your family member decide which Linux distribution to use. Distributions vary wildly in their user-friendliness, ease of use, stability, customization, extensibility, and so on. You may have an idea of what to use, but here are things to consider before you choose:
- Do I know how to fix it if it breaks?
- How hard is it to break without root