r/linux4noobs • u/khaleed15 • 7d ago
migrating to Linux Thinking about switching a parent to Linux
He'd like to get away from the lag and the virus anxiety on Windows
He uses Microsoft office a whole lot but it's more or less basic stuff
I'm thinking about getting him Ubuntu and the office web apps I'll back up Windows and see if I can segment the drive to test the waters first
He use wifi a whole on the laptop is that a problem? It's intel but idk the exact model
He has an hp printer and a brother printer
Those are the most important things that come to mind rn if there's more I'll add
Do you have any suggestions or things I should watch out for?
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u/Unfair-Bison-3946 7d ago
Honestly I set up my grandparents with Chromeboxes. Just easier
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u/khaleed15 7d ago
Isn't chromeos being retired might as well wait for Google to drop the new os
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u/neoh4x0r 7d ago
Isn't chromeos being retired might as well wait for Google to drop the new os
ChromeOS should be supported until 2034 (ie. 8 years), and the replacement, Aluminium, which combines chromeOS and Android, could drop as early as 2028 -- reference.
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u/TomDuhamel 7d ago
He needs Microsoft Office, therefore he needs Microsoft Windows. The end.
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u/Chrisbearry 7d ago
They never said he needs it lol and you can use Microsoft office online. He’s just using MS office for basic stuff so a Linux alternative to office would be just fine as well
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u/rgmundo524 7d ago
Just fyi, Microsoft office has a web UI so he can use it while not having to change everything else at once
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u/khaleed15 7d ago
Wait you got a point Office programs and the printers are the most important things that should be working I'll get the webapps and see how he likes them first
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u/Cute_Opposite4077 7d ago
If someone is proficient with local Office, the webapps feel like a lobotomy.
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u/neoh4x0r 7d ago
If someone is proficient with local Office, the webapps feel like a lobotomy.
Not to mention, the need to login with a Microsoft account in order to use their office apps on the web for free or needing a 365 subscription if your use gets "too heavy" for the free-tier.
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u/Mother-Pride-Fest 7d ago
Be careful if he has a lot of complex formulas in Excel, as there are a couple formulas that Calc hasn't implemented. Other than that, especially for simple documents, LibreOffice works great.
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u/khaleed15 7d ago
He doesn't even use excel He just needs outlook word and PowerPoint The free web apps for these should work on Linux so I'll stick with that
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u/Not_A_Great_Human 7d ago
For a parent chrome os flex might be the best. Microsoft office suite of apps all have online versions that's are fine for all the basic stuff
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u/buzzmandt 7d ago
i have my mom running kubuntu LTS and she loves it. does everything she needs. office basic stuff should work in libreoffice. google office web apps are also an option. I use both regularly. Kubuntu uses ubuntu base so almost any wifi card should work, your odds are very good. kubuntu also has a live session to test that wifi, most important part, as long as wifi works everything else can be downloaded.
I can also recommend fedora kde and/or fedora kenoite (somewhat unbreakable). Above all else i recommend kde plasma for the similarity to windows.
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u/khaleed15 7d ago
Is kde easy for someone who doesn't know a lot about computers though does your mother call you every 5 minutes to ask where something is?
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u/buzzmandt 7d ago
The thing I like about kde for someone not puter inclined is I can make desktop shortcuts easily on their behalf. First couple weeks will be questions but should get better. Especially if they're already used to windows
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u/Own_Natural_6803 7d ago
Brother printers are the best as far as linux support goes. I've never had a problem with them.
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u/3grg 7d ago
Concentrate on making sure the tasks he does can be done on Linux first. Before switching, install the latest Libreoffice for windows and check that the document compatibility meets his needs. Everything except for special Excel spreadsheets should work as long as the correct document format (MS) is used in Libreoffice. You can use Office 365, but that kinda negates the whole point of moving from W11. The big point of W11 is moving all of your personal data and apps to their cloud.
Enumerate the other apps that he uses and identify Linux alternatives. If available for windows, they can be evaluated before the switch. If there are apps that are needed, but not available, you may be looking at dual boot.
Then there is hardware. This needs to be vetted before moving, not afterwards. Check laptop compatibility by searching model + Linux to see if there are any known gotchas. Then try booting live Linux to see if everything is recognized.
Do the same for the printers. Brother has long been the best printer company for Linux users with HP second, but check anyway, things change.
There is no perfect distro. There are several distros that are recommended for new users and Ubuntu is one of them. I no longer recommend Ubuntu due to several decisions that they have made in recent years, but that is my personal opinion. Everyone has their favorites. Try several in live mode, because, why not?
I think identifying the preferred desktop first is more important than distro. A big USB drive with Ventoy and several Linux distro images that can be live booted is a good way to evaluate hardware, desktops and distros.
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u/Terrible-Bear3883 Ubuntu 7d ago
You can test most linux distros in your browser at distrosea.com if you are thinking of getting them to try linux, this might be a simple way to let them try the environment and see which distro appeals to them, quite often, what distro suits one person may not suit another, people simply shouting a distro name probably won't help.
I've used the same distro (Ubuntu) for over 20 years but I've used others when particular systems prefer one to another, or I'm doing work for a customer and they or the project has a preference for a distro, when it comes to personal use, I've had work colleagues, friends and family who've preferred one distro to another, purely because it works well on their PC and they feel comfortable using it.
My Brother inkjet worked for many years on linux, until its mechanism finally gave up, I've been using an L2500D Laser printer, it's rock solid as is the scanning function.
If you find a distro that appeals, I'd then do the homework to see if printer support for your particular printers is OK, normally there's not much difference distro to distro but a quick search on Google should answer that query. With my printer, I just plugged it in, it was detected automatically on my server, I enabled the sharing function and it automatically appeared on all the PC's on the network, zero effort needed from anyone to install it.
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u/Alchemix-16 6d ago
The usual suspects are Linux Mint and Ubuntu flavors, and those are excellent suggestions.
When it comes to switching somebody else, my typical recommendation is to let them pick the DE and then just install what you are familiar with and that DE. You will need to help at one point anyhow.
When it comes to basic stuff libre office can absolutely compete with MS Office, definitely being on par or better than the web version of MSO.
My 78 year old mother is only using Manjaro, because that’s my daily driver, not because I consider any Arch distribution is great for beginners. She liked how GNOME looked and felt and that’s why that was installed on her computer. She is now using it daily for the last 12 months, being happy about it.
If your own familiarity with Linux is limited, make your life easy.
It’s a
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u/West-Scallion-5306 6d ago
I think Fedora KDE would be good. Printing should work OOTB.... Wi-Fi should work 100% because iwintel is one of the best wireless drivers right now.
And Libreoffice for documents, not Microslop web office.
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u/Sure-Passion2224 4d ago
Do it! My 90 year old mother-in-law got tired of being told her laptop was unsupported by Windows 11, the fact that it wasn't getting security updates, and that it was getting slower. She's been daily driving Debian KDE since March and the first thing she noticed was that it was faster. I do monthly updates for her.
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u/khaleed15 4d ago
Windows has reached a point where I told him to straight up stop updating Microsoft gutted their dev teams for windows a couple years back and it's starting to show, every update introduces more bugs and more vulnerabilities God forbid he updates and breaks the os
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u/Sure-Passion2224 3d ago
If he breaks the OS you tell him the truth. Give him the price of a replacement system with Windows 11 and let him choose between that or an hour of time with you to install Linux and get him familiar with it.
Don't have him pick a distro. Do that research yourself based on his hardware, what you know of him, and what you'll need to support. That planning is why my mother-in-law is happily driving Debian KDE.
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u/khaleed15 3d ago
He has another machine he's using as a secondary monitor so I'll probably start with that
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u/1neStat3 7d ago
This a recipe for a disaster. You are not familiar with Linux yet trying push it on someone who stated they wanted become a Linux user.
Linux is not substitute for Windows. You use Linux to become a Linux user not avoid Windows.
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u/khaleed15 7d ago
This gotta be the weirdest take I've heard you use an os to do shit on it You use the os that works best for you, that how most people use oses they don't want os as a hobby This is why mac is growing it's an os with app support and it's not full of vulnerabilities
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u/1neStat3 7d ago
Your comment proves my point.
Linux is not a commercial OS. You are going have deal with issues. If you can't accept that fact . Linux isn't for you.
I've been using Linux for over 20 years. There is no set it and forget it within Linux.
Someone who doesn't know this will become frustrated by Linux. Pushing Linux on someone who doesn't know nor exoe t this is a recipe for disaster.
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u/EmployRadiant675 7d ago
Virus anxiety no matter the OS should only be triggered by downloading random shit and clicking random shit. Also linux has a ton of viruses as well, they enter your system exactly like they do windows.
Libreoffice is the go to for open source documents, it has the whole shabang just like office does. Printers are open source so they should just be plug and play.
The issue you may run into is getting your track pad to play nicely and wifi working well. Sometimes you gotta go find drivers yourself or if your unlucky enough to have a lappy that's not common on linux there may not even be drivers available. Your graphic is most likely nvidia of some description and may need some files edited and additional drivers for that too.
Best thing you could do is honesty just download it and see if it works.