I often hear from people that would otherwise be willing to switch to Linux from Windows or MacOS that they just don’t have the time to learn something like this. I can completely understand this as many people are busy with work, kids, family, and day to day life.
Something that I noticed a lot of programs offer (even apps) is an on-boarding overlay that walks you through what to do and how to set things up. I have never seen Linux do this and I am thinking it could help people really grasp it and learn it without having to invest hours of time trying to figure things out.
Once you understand the basics, Linux is not difficult, especially with the right distro installed.
Do you think doing something like this in the future could benefit new users? I am not sure if anyone on the development side every considered it but I think it might be worth trying. You can take an already established distribution like Ubuntu and just make a beginner installation option that helps walk you through things.
Linux does have basic welcome screens on all their distros that act as a guide but what you are referring to is more a less like a “hand-holding” experience. I mean to me, the reason this hasn’t been done is likely down to the fact that Linux in and of itself is not hard to learn. It is just different enough to confuse someone with basic computer knowledge and only ever using Windows their whole life.
I guess it could be useful for some people but it would be such a small percentage that it probably isn’t worth developing.
I am pretty much a noob and as much as I would likely benefit from having some assistance like this, I feel like I would end up being annoyed by it. I think most stuff can be searched easily or just ask for help on a place like this. That is just me though!
It is hard to change to but it is not hard to learn. At least at the most basic levels i.e. browsing online and using mainstream apps/programs that are supported. I would love to switch my parents over to Linux seeing as BOTH of them have gotten issues with viruses on Windows but they are the polar opposite of tech savvy. My mother only just learned how to copy/paste.
SO when Gnome 3 originally came out the idea was to copy Windows as much as possible to shorten the learning curve. It didn’t work. I usually recommend Linux Mint for those that are “technically impaired” But if they don’t wanna learn then I don’t make them. What’s that old saying, you can lead a woman to knowledge but you can’t make them think, or something like that. Maybe it had to do with horses… hmm anyway just my 2 cents.
The issue is linux involves a lot of terminal use to do some things in which for new users, the experience is not as intuitive; they don’t know what commands they can use, what status error 1 means or even the shortcuts which make it cumbersome to use.
