this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

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My brother is 12 and just like other people of his age he can't use a computer properly because he is only familiar with mobile devices and dumbed-down computers

I recently dual-booted Fedora KDE and Windows 10 on his laptop. Showed him Discovery and told him, "This is the app store. Everything you'll ever need is here, and if you can't find something just tell me and I'll add it there". I also set up bottles telling him "Your non-steam games are here". He installed Steam and other apps himself

I guess he is a better Linux user than Linus Sebastian since he installed Steam without breaking his OS...

The tech support questions and stuff like "Can you install this for me?" or "Is this a virus?" dropped to zero. He only asks me things like "What was the name of PowerPoint for Linux" once in a while

After a week I have hardly ever seen my brother use Windows. He says Fedora is "like iOS" and he absolutely loved it

I use Arch and he keeps telling me "Why are you doing that nerdy terminal stuff just use Fedora". He also keeps explaining to me why Fedora better than my "nerd OS"

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[–] [email protected] 288 points 1 year ago (3 children)

“Is this a virus?”

Your 12-year-old brother is more security-conscious than most of the adults I work with.

[–] [email protected] 134 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Non techies have two settings. Either everything is a virus or nothing is a virus.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Still better security consciousness than 99% of the population.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Nah, my father is one of those who thinks everything is a virus, especially emails. And so he installs all kind of "clean your PC from viruses"-software ....

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

My dad is in his 70s, but he is thankfully rather aware of these kinds of things. He forwards me messages or calls me to ask "is this legitimate?"

He's aware of computer viruses, but I think he's really on the lookout for scams, which is an interesting and effective approach.

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[–] [email protected] 206 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 219 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I absolutely lost it the first time he called me a nerd for using Arch and straight up started doing Fedora elitism lmao

[–] [email protected] 91 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Time to become a toxic arch elitist user now.

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[–] astraeus 33 points 1 year ago

What your brother sees in Arch: Oh no another driver update, let me write a paragraph in computer language

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[–] [email protected] 168 points 1 year ago (3 children)

He also keeps explaining to me why Fedora better than my “nerd OS”

lol he's already a true linux user.

But probably best to have a talk about gatekeeping linux though. There's no wrong way to run linux.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

haha I thought exactly the same thing lol He's linuxplained why his distro is better. That's the spirit.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I mean, there are definitely wrong ways to run Linux, like a single root user with no password, but your point is well taken. If Linux fanboys would keep the subjective gatekeeping to themselves the new user experience would be much more pleasant.

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[–] [email protected] 131 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

My older sibling did something similar - getting Ubuntu installed on my very first laptop (a 9" netbook) back in 2008 and replacing windows XP. But be warned: it is a slippery slope. At the time , I just wanted a computer that I could take class notes on (high school), and never wanted to touch programming or the terminal. Now I have a PhD in computer science. I still don't use Arch though.

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[–] [email protected] 95 points 1 year ago (3 children)

He also keeps explaining to me why Fedora better than my “nerd OS”

Your brother is the wise guy of the bell curve

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[–] [email protected] 72 points 1 year ago (3 children)

He also keeps explaining to me why Fedora better than my “nerd OS”

Complaining about what works for other people? It is tradition. It's innate Linux user behavior.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago

The children yearn for the distro wars

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

one of us! one of us!

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Is this a made-up story? Be honest

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago

Yes, it's just for OP to say "I use Arch".

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

The kid's name? Little Bobby Tables.

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

My kids have been gaming all day on Steam. They have zero intellectual curiosity about the system they are using. They have been using Arch for years but it might as well be a console or Mac. They log in and launch a web browser, Steam or a Minecraft launcher and that is it. It makes me a bit sad.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

The fact that they're gaming on it means they'll know how to use it later

When I was that age I didn't think much about the system I was using, it doesn't really appeal to kids but they'll still be learning

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

You have to give them a reason to get interested in the OS and the programs they're using. I gave Linux a try because I was concerned about privacy and I wanted to use more ethical and user respecting OS and software than what I used at that time. Linux and the FOSS world was an obvious choice for me. Custom ROM on Android was sort of the bridge which allowed me to transition. If it wasn't for that, I would still be on Windows and I wouldn't learn that much on how an operating system works and what differentiate them, aside from the look. The fact they're kids or that they play games have nothing to do with it: a lot of adults don't know either what type of OS they're using, despite it being in their best interest. The problem is that we don't give or show them the reason they should be interested, or at least be curious about it and most of time, before people get a degree, we end up killing their curiosity.

As they play Minecraft, you can advise them to switch to Prism Launcher instead of the minecraft launcher, especially if they mod the game, it's much better for that. It could be a good start.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago

I use NerdOS BTW.

(That's fantastic, I absolutely love it.)

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (4 children)

From now on I'm only refering to arch as "the nerd OS"

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago

Tech literacy amongst the youth is rapidly going down. Good on you.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Linus surely just stages things for clicks. No one with his experience could be that dumb.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago

I actually remember reddit posts complaining they hit the same bug as he did, some days prior and also some days later lol

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (21 children)

Why are you doing that nerdy terminal stuff

That is a legitimate question. I still don't fully understand people's obsession about terminal. It's 2023, we should be able to do everything comfortably using GUI rather than type everything, remembering all the commands, parameters, paths, permissions etc.

[–] zygo_histo_morpheus 48 points 1 year ago (8 children)

As a terminal fan, my main reasons for preferring them over a gui (for some tasks) are:

  1. It's faster to type than to navigate menus
  2. If I don't know where something is and can't guess it instantly, it's usually faster to search for it in a man page than randomly digging through gui menus
  3. You can combine commands with each other with pipes or $()
  4. You can search through your command history to find previous commands
  5. You can write scripts and aliases to automate common tasks
  6. The terminal requires less context switching. Typing ten commands is less mentally taxing than opening ten different guis

The barrier for entry is higher with terminals but unless you need visual feedback (e.g. because you're editing an image) it's easier and faster for both common and rare tasks.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)

IDK about plasma, but in GNOME, if you search for PowerPoint, it shows LibreOffice Impress as a result.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago

My elderly mother has been using Linux for almost 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a single tech support phone call from her for it

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (4 children)

maybe unpopular opinion here but while it was user error, Linus breaking the OS by installing steam is something that should have never been possible, anyways glad to hear your brother is learning Linux!

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (2 children)

the os should do as i say, that includes breaking it if i please. the problem are people writing into the terminal "i understand that i uninstall half my os with this command but want to do it anyway" and then wonder why half their os gets uninstalled.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

An amazing story! I doubt I ever have kids, but if I do I'll do something like this. God knows what sort of dumbed down tech crap they'll be fed in school.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I don't think I want to meet a 12 year old who uses power point. Jk lol

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

They all use it if they want to pass school, so you are out of luck.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

Good work son

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

My grandfather uses Ubuntu (bad distro bruh) and he loves it

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

Such a wholesome story 😊

So happy to hear that he is enjoying Linux and you guys are doing things together.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

You taught your brother well! I'm glad he is having a positive experience with it.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

He only asks me things like "What was the name of PowerPoint for Linux" once in a while

Show him https://alternativeto.net and that also drops to zero :)

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

This is the kind of things I like to hear!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

😍😍😍

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