[ubuntu-uk] Why some people will never switch

[alan c]

Mark Allison wrote:
[...]
> What do you think? Have many of you managed to get older, non-techie people
> to switch happily?

Smirk (note1).

I think the -motivation- to do something new on the computer is the 
primary issue, with -opportunity- being important too.
Some people may not be motivated. Your Dad is happy because it is not 
he who puts effort into maintaining his PC! Who maintains it? :-)

My friends and neighbours - mostly well over 60, and some mid 80s, get 
offered (k)ubuntu because my experience is that xp is far too 
difficult to maintain (by me!) and I also know that xp is unlikely to 
continue to work well over time.

One elderly friend has a PII that I gave him, on dial up. It started 
a few years ago with win98 and was ok, basically only for email, for a 
while, but it soon needed visits from me. Even a short trip is 
inconvenient in a busy life. He agreed to try (suse 10.0, as it 
happened, at the time) and it was not hard to get started at all. The 
places to click onto looked different, etc, but it did not take long - 
he was already a seasoned (if limited) computer user. Like me, he also 
wanted an improved system, he was motivated because he had seen the 
problems windows gave him. I visit occasionally, to help with updates 
on CD, but the system is perfectly stable and works.

Another similar aged friend has a similar machine from me but has 
remained on windows 98. I would say she is a more deliberate and 
careful user of mouse and keyboard - again limited use only of email. 
Nothing has gone wrong over a few years, apart from a dialup modem 
card replacement. She is not at all motivated to change, nor have I 
recommended it because she has had no problems at all. This is a case 
of 'windows got there first'.

A near neighbour who is a heavier PC user recently bought a Dell 
desktop with my help. One of the final Dell XP good deals. It was not 
politically appropriate to wipe the XP, and anyway she had a lot of 
games and accounts stuff in DOS and windows. Very much appreciating 
good security, she uses what she calls the 'Kubunti'   side of the 
dual boot for any email and internet stuff, keeping windows for non 
internet legacy things. As her main support agency, I also emphasise 
that I cannot undertake to keep windows healthy if it is used for 
internet stuff.

Another elderly friend who was a public library PC user bought a dell 
laptop a year ago and I helped get it working, sorting out the amazing 
crapware, and getting broadband. Soon after this he met a friend who 
was selling an older dell desktop for 50 pounds and bought it also. It 
was easy to get acceptance for a Kubuntu dual boot on the desktop and 
this became his main machine! The laptop was in intermittent use, but 
has recently siezed up to operate at a  totally impossible crawl. It 
will need sorting, but meantime he began to *ask* for Kubuntu also on 
the laptop. The bad news is that the printer he proudly bought happens 
to be a Lexmark 4300 all in one. I am still struggling to get this 
working with linux. He knows better, now though.

Another elderly friend - a very alert and systematic woman - has had 
laptops for several years, supported by me. Still XP but she 
discovered Open Office rules over MS Works a while ago and was amazed 
at OO as much as surprised by the limitations of Works and also 
appreciates the social power of open source. Firefox and Thunderbird 
are now being happily used for reason of improved security. Kubuntu is 
known about but the effort  of getting used to the change is not yet 
worth it. Currently she is on a holiday island off africa, with no PC. 
Windows got there first, but open source is deliberately and linux 
activerly is seen and beckons.

I help a local charity for learning difficulty adults. The (near 
retirement) manager is strongly windows (too much effort to re learn, 
and percieved risk), but my offer to install a few free recycled PCs 
(with edubuntu ) was readily accepted particulaly when it was seen to 
be so reliable and with so many fun kids games. I did take a leap of 
faith on hios part to say yes initially. Maybe I have a trustworthy 
face? One of the first things I did was to layout a folded leaflet on 
one of the PCs using Open Office, Something the boss was having 
difficulty doing with Word on his 'proper' PC..... All the PCs 
internet available and I plan to put dans guardian on the network when 
I can. BTW the users had not a single comment about screen layout or 
anything. Immediate usage. Gui is an ituitive thing. No problems 
either with the unsupervised PCs so far - 4 months I think maybe more. 
Viva Edubuntu!
Windows did get there first, but is loosing ground rapidly here.

I have a lot of experience with older people and PCs - set up and ran 
the Age Concern Berkshire's web access 'cafe' for several years, with 
volunteers helping me. Several thousand client hour sessions were 
taken. Unfortunately the political, social and economic inertia was in 
favour of continuing with Windows, including money from MS via head 
office. Siver Surfers annual events were hosted at MS campus Reading. 
I gave a keynote talk on one occasion. That was just before I had 
discoverd linux! The Abiltynet charity is also run from a hosted 
office on the MS campus. I have no doubt that many clients would be 
happy to use ubuntu in many situations, including family hand-me-down 
PCs, but I cannot resource a Ubuntu 'Surge' locally for that charity 
(Age Concern Berkshire for example). Maybe sometime. I sadly resigned 
from this activity because I had seen that windows was unsuitable for 
vulnerable users, and I would use my time for linux only.

Most of the typical Age Concern computer clients, even if they knew 
about Ubuntu, could not get it installed, and also they do not have 
friends or family members (FOFMs) who would or could support them. 
Although the tide is changing.

Note 1:
I am happily retired and scrape the ice off the windscreen with a bus 
pass....... :-)
-- 
alan cocks
Kubuntu user#10391
Linux user #360648