I’m talking about like your mom if she started using Linux, and just needs it to be able to open a web browser and check Facebook or her email or something. A student that just needs a laptop to do homework and take notes, or someone that just wants to play games on Steam and chat on discord.

I’m working on a Windows - > Linux guide targeting people like this and I want to make sure it can be understood by just about anybody. A problem that I’ve noticed is that most guides trying to do something like this seem to operate under the assumption that the viewer already knows what Linux is and has already made up their mind about switching, or that they’re already pretty computer savvy. This guide won’t be that, I’m writing a guide and keeping my parents in mind the whole time.

Because of this there’s some things I probably won’t talk about. Do these people really need to know that it’s actually GNU+Linux? No, I don’t think so. Should I explain how to install, use and configure hyprland, or compile a custom gaming kernel? I dont think that’s really necessary. You get what I’m saying? I don’t want to over complicate this and scare people off.

That being said I also want to make sure that I’m not over simplifying by skipping on key things they should know. So what are some key concepts or things that you think even the most basic of Linux users should understand? Bonus points if you can provide a solid entry level explanation of it too.

  • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    One thing that many guides tend to skip is how to install software. People coming from Windows might try to install software the “Windows way” by going to the website and downloading them. That is just likely to cause pain and suffering for a number of reasons.

    Instead, every beginner friendly distro has its own flavour of software centre that users should be encouraged to use instead. Maybe even include a link to flathub in the guide or something.

  • smeg@feddit.ukEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    I set up Mint for a non-techy relative on their old desktop.

    • Their use-case is almost entirely web browser, so there was no need to cover installing programs. Click the same browser icon and it should behave basically the same way.
    • No need to explain the terminal beyond “this is where you can type advanced commands, you don’t need to worry about it”.
    • If there’s an error message, read it and try to understand what it’s actually saying rather than just dismissing it. Do a web search if you’re feeling confident, send me a photo of the screen if you’re not.
    • Explain how to install updates (or just configure automatic backups and updates for them).
    • Explain when and why the computer will ask for a password (e.g. login and updates) and how that password is for the computer, not for their email or whatever.
    • Explain the basics of folders. This is your home directory, here’s where downloads go, here’s how to create a folder and drag your files into it.
    • Tell them not to panic. I’ve seen a lot of older people terrified of pressing the wrong button, make sure they know how to understand what they’re doing and undo their mistakes.
    • Be patient!
  • HiddenLayer555@lemmy.mlEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    DO NOT download and install random programs from the internet. Not a deb/rpm file, not an elf binary, not an install script, nothing. Use your package manager or desktop environment’s app store. At most use flatpak or snap packages.

    Linux gets its reputation for not getting malware from the same place Mac does: It has a managed app repository where you get all your software from. Difference is Mac doesn’t let you install arbitrary programs at all, while Linux expects you to know better than to do that. Someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing downloading Linux programs from random websites will inevitably hit one of the super rare Linux malware in the wild.

    Even ignoring security issues, running an install script even from a reputable open source project’s website can open you up to package dependency hell. And if you ever need to upgrade or modify it, you’re in for a rough time because none of the existing tools built into your distro will help you. It’s even worse than Windows when this happens because Windows at least expects for things like this to happen (because everything comes in its own installer and handles updates separately) and has UX elements to help non tech savvy users deal with their mess of apps, Linux expects anyone bypassing the normal package manager to know what they’re doing and if you don’t, it won’t be a good day for you.