Sorry but I hate this argument. Most people use a phone for that anyway. And my 70 year old mom is going to ask my dad and if he can’t fix the problem someone else and guess what. They never worked with Linux. I can tell you that a lot of the buttons and controls have looked the same in Windows for way too long. Admittedly from Windows 10/11 this gets worse.
Also they will need software from the local photo place, some shit old legacy app that they refuse to let go, banking software that isn’t Linux compatible… it’s never “just browsing” from my experience and it’s not worth the hassle. Especially if I’m cornering myself by becoming the only 24/7 on-call admin for my family.
I switched my mom to Linux back in 2014, and she hasn’t had problems with it (except every 2 years when she makes me update her to the new version of Ubuntu, because she doesn’t want to do it herself). My dad has tried to switch her back to Windows, but she likes Ubuntu better. He eventually switched too after he retired and we built him a computer. He uses it for browser+light gaming, and Linux works well for both now. (He was familiar with Linux as part of his job, so it wasn’t hard for him to get used to the switch. Though he was really only familiar with the terminal.)
Debian is very stable, and its also pretty easy to update and have long term stability. You can just click a button to update or have it automated. If all they’re doing is browsing, Debian should be sufficent, plus, it’s free.
Sorry but I hate this argument. Most people use a phone for that anyway. And my 70 year old mom is going to ask my dad and if he can’t fix the problem someone else and guess what. They never worked with Linux. I can tell you that a lot of the buttons and controls have looked the same in Windows for way too long. Admittedly from Windows 10/11 this gets worse.
Also they will need software from the local photo place, some shit old legacy app that they refuse to let go, banking software that isn’t Linux compatible… it’s never “just browsing” from my experience and it’s not worth the hassle. Especially if I’m cornering myself by becoming the only 24/7 on-call admin for my family.
I switched my mom to Linux back in 2014, and she hasn’t had problems with it (except every 2 years when she makes me update her to the new version of Ubuntu, because she doesn’t want to do it herself). My dad has tried to switch her back to Windows, but she likes Ubuntu better. He eventually switched too after he retired and we built him a computer. He uses it for browser+light gaming, and Linux works well for both now. (He was familiar with Linux as part of his job, so it wasn’t hard for him to get used to the switch. Though he was really only familiar with the terminal.)
Debian is very stable, and its also pretty easy to update and have long term stability. You can just click a button to update or have it automated. If all they’re doing is browsing, Debian should be sufficent, plus, it’s free.
Your argument sounds like it was formed in 2005 when desktop software was the rule and not the exception