LXDE Forums

Hi,

A New Project to Help NEW COMERS to Linux World:

Here you go: http://iamnewtolinux.blogspot.com/p/master-plan.html

Interesting. There are several reasons why people stray from Microsoft Windows and move to a Linux distro.
1. The real Geeks who are always looking for why things run the way they do.
2. Those who refuse to pay $200-$400 for a new OS when the old one finally dies.
3. Those who have finally (after years of frustration) been turned off by Microsoft for one reason or another.
4. Those who have been bit by a virus or some malware because their anti-virus/spy ware application was not up to date.

Of course the list could continue but like you imply many of those who look to Linux are turned away for some reason or another. I was not a geek when I first looked into a Linux distro (which happened to be Ubuntu 5. something). I was amazed how simple it was but didn't realize that it was already out of date. The first Linux system that I installed and actually used was Ubuntu 8.04. I was hooked. In the past 5 years I have looked at dozens of Linux distros. I was told that there are roughly 350 of them.
What are people looking for in a computer OS?
Simplicity. They do not have a degree in computer science and are only interested in using the computer for email and some research. Microsoft gives them that. Most people are lazy and don't want to learn anything other than point and click. They may also use the computer as a word processor. Perhaps they learned to use Microsoft Office. I did, but the cost of the update was ridiculous. Open Office was fantastic and it was free. It did everything that I needed. As a matter of fact I soon had nothing but free software on my computer (with the exception of the OS). That was when a guy (I do not even remember his name) gave me the Ubuntu CD in a KOA campground in Texas. But, that is only my story.
Free is good!!
If you can give someone a system that does everything that his current system does and its free, that is good. Everytime I download a new distro, I make some extra copies of the CD and hand them out and explain to people what it is and what they can do with it. Some have left Microsoft. Others are content with Microsoft.
Just my thoughts.

5. those who use hardware discarded by windows users because "it was just getting too slow"
6. those who live in a country where you have to be quite wealthy to afford brandnew hardware.

Yea, I forgot that one and it is a big one if the capital to get a new piece of hardware isn't available. Although, computers are getting cheaper and more powerful, some folks especially students, some seniors, and those who are on a very limited budget cannot go out and get a new one. They make do with what they have and if given something free that works even better than the Microsoft software that they started with, they have a jackpot. The problem that amjjawad is running into is how to get these folks (and others who come to Linux for the first time) to use and like a Linux OS. That is a pretty big project and I wish him well.