The octogenarian meets Linux, part 3
A couple weeks ago I sent my mother a Linux machine and promised to let you know how it turned out.
She seems to like it just fine. I suppose mileage would vary depending on what she wanted to do with it, but mostly it’s an Internet machine.
The system is based on a tiny Intel motherboard with an integrated Atom processor, with 2 gb RAM, in a box about the size of a 2-slice toaster. The barebones kit was only $170, and I added a DVD burner for $25 and an old 320 GB hard drive that I had in my box of comput-o-leftovers. Then I installed Ubuntu 9.10, and she used her existing monitor, keyboard, mouse and printer. Since her last machine was pushing 8 years old, it was time for… something.
Someone asked me yesterday; “Linux! Is she coding Perl on it now?”
Um… no. But from all indications she’s using it successfully. I’ve done a couple introductory support calls, where we explored the Ubuntu desktop and got her printer set up. She’s surfing the web, and Gmail on broadband seems to be more practical for her than Juno on dial-up. If you need a net machine (or for that matter it’s a pretty decent computer in its own right) this is a combination worth considering. I’ll keep you posted on her exploration of Linux as developments occur. Especially if she suddenly starts coding Perl.
She’s more likely to knit one than Perl two.