Am 28.12.2010 13:44, schrieb Martin Schlander:
Tirsdag den 28. december 2010 13:19:32 skrev Kim Leyendecker:
I work together with some older people (60-70 years of life) and try to teach them some computer knowledge. I also say often that it will be easier to use a Linux-distro like openSUSE. So I ask myself, how I can say these people that openSUSE is better (easier) for them then Windows.
For the elderly I'd say the main selling points are:
* No viruses and spyware * Cheap/gratis * Doesn't require latest/greatest hardware * Everything you need out of the box (almost) * Single click (default in KDE at least, the elderly often struggle with doubleclicking)
They use Windows 7 and sometimes their are some really big problems they can´t fix by themselves. So they ask me. I think that openSUSE is easier for them because you just need to update your packages and don´t download a new exe-file for keep your system up-to-date.
Maybe we can make something (e.g. videos or pdf-files/presentations) for that people that they may use openSUSE and better understand their computers
I think that to use any desktop computer - regardless of your age or your operating system - you need either:
A) To have the skills, time and motivation to learn enough yourself, or; B) Someone relatively close to you who can help you out
And ~90-95% don't meet requirement A. Therefore I think the trick is to target the 5-10% who are helping out the rest (i.e. "the kid next door" is the gatekeeper to the computers of the elderly).
But of course I take any opportunity to advertise http://opensuse-guide.org/ which I think could be a reasonable fit also for elderly people who are genuinely interested in reading and learning, and it has a few embedded videos etc.
Yes, I agree. But for Windows they need an good antivirus. So I try to make openSUSE the first choice. (I not say that openSUSE is the best and they have to use it, or I don´t give support anymore, but I try to say what´s better than Windows.) The most time they used Mozilla Firefox and OpenOffice.org because these two things were free and I´ve installed them because I know that they are good and maybe better than the commercial products. So I ask why they don´t want to use a free OS when they already use a free browser and a free office-suite? kdl -- Kim Leyendecker (kimleyendecker@hotmail.de) openSUSE Ambassador powered by openSUSE 11.3 KDE This mail was composed under Linux Have you tried SUSE Studio? Need to create a Live CD, an app you want to package and distribute , or create your own linux distro. Give SUSE Studio a try. www.susestudio.com. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org