From ZDNet’s Tech Today newsletter today, I read an item named After 30 years with Linux, here’s my way of convincing Windows users to switch by Jack Wallen. The article may be enlightening for many of us. Check it out if you’re interested,
Ernie
5 Likes
It says, dont talk about Linux, do a Linux demo… particularly show it doing things with the DE that Win can not do.
1 Like
Interesting article thank you for sharing it with us . I do think he is right when he says we have a tendancy to over evangelise linux to windows users . His strategy of showing rather than telling actually makes sense to me .
3 Likes
The way I read the item was, rather than espousing all the benefits of Linux at the top of your lungs, let them see you doing things with your DE that they’d never be able to do on Windows, especially if it’s something that’s easy to do or set up.. I guess it’s like ‘Seeing is believing!’
Ernie
3 Likes
You’re welcome! I’m hoping we can all become more effective at introducing our chosen OS to Windows users so, if they’re interested, they’ll at least know that there’s a potentially better alternative.
For clarification, I dual-boot Garuda Linux with Windows 11 Pro 25H2 here, mostly because there are things I like about both OSes, but also in an effort to know/understand, first hand, what effects the things they do with their OS has on us users. And, quite honestly, I get a lot of satisfaction from wrangling their OS into something I can work with natively, not by employing a bunch of third-party configuration editing/tweaking tools.
Ernie
I normally read his publications on a regular basis very pro linux stuff.
I usually see his work in my ZDNet Tech Today newsletters. I like the way he writes, and his attitudes towards both GNU/Linux, and Windows. I particularly enjoyed his ‘Show, don’t tell’ admonition, and how diplomatically he made his case!
Ernie
1 Like
Nothing said that I haven’t heard and am not aware of. if he is happy. then so am I!!
2 Likes
Except for Paul (@callpaul.eu ) who has convert many user to Linux, I wonder if there are other people on this forum who has converted a Window user to Linux.
1 Like
There would be a few , including you, who converted themselves.
You had the benefit of many years of computer experience in your work.
The real challenge is to teach someone who has never encountered any computer. Win users have a head start.
3 Likes
I always was an exception … It was easy for me before as I ran a computer business with mainly windows virus or old computers not capable. But now it’s few and far between although I still try and sing linux to everyone. Plus if someone asks me to fix a windows issue the price is at least double
5 Likes
Try as I might, not yet, but now, maybe with this new-to-me approach, maybe!
Ernie
3 Likes
Tried to get my brother-in-law to use Linux… Put Zorin on a laptop I was giving him…
But got pressured to do Windows 10 instead… Oh well… I wonder how it’s going now it’s EOL?
I did convert one guy to Linux - I was selling surplus ThinkPad laptops on a “pre-gumtree/ebay” marketplace and put Ubuntu (8?) on them… And he reckoned it was great and he bought another one off me and asked if I could burn an ISO…
And I have my ThinkPad here 2-3 feet away that’s to demo to my daughter that she doesn’t need Windows 11 to game!
2 Likes
We are all waiting to hear that success story. There are extra points for converting a family member.
2 Likes
Especially if she is a teenager. ,!
2 Likes
No - she’s in her early 30’s…
When she was a teen I built her a PC with Windows XP and a reasonable GPU and she could game on it - and - I set it to dual boot Ubuntu ( I did 3 identical PCs for my daughters and missus and used ghost to clone them to one another).
But she never tried Ubuntu once… Nobody tried it on the other two either… Oh well…
1 Like
So much for leading by example.
According to Jack Wallen they should have copied Dad.
2 Likes
When my kids were in exam years at school and going to Uni, I worked for apple so only had apple macs available for them to use (repaired and recycled) . But when they left home due to husband pressure they bought windows machines. Both were told apples are not good. Also I had moved on so could not get them as easy.
my, inexpert, $0.02:
I helped a friend switch to Mint. Among other things, he rescued old hardware.
Most of my family members are Apple fans. My wife could not make it with Windows on a Thinkpad, took to a MacBook. IMHO, Apple makes great hardware. Like Microsoft (conspiracy alert), it appears that their software obsoletes hardware on schedule.
I have run Debian for many years. Have to run Windows for development, do so on VMware virtual machines, both Workstation and ESXi.
Teens follow peers, not fuddy-duddy’s.
Many Windows users run what they run at work.
Many business run Windows because:
- Office
- Domains
- They always have. Easier to get support.
My thoughts: In the future users will run some kind of skeleton desktop system that connects to a cloud OS. Subscriptions for everything. Maybe bundled versus Ala cart.
Saw that with a company that had some kind of little “bricks” that got everything via connection to remote corporate server. Nothing stored locally.
3 Likes
That’s like the old adage ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink!’, and you can give better tools to loved ones, but you can’t make them use those tools. The important thing is that you tried …
Ernie
4 Likes