Moving the parents to Linux 6629

My parents, by comparison, are in their 60s. My mom is even refusing to learn to use a fax machine, relying on my dad to do it every time. While many elderly people here are afraid of ATM machinese (with the good reason that they're afraid they're too slow and too unobservative that they can be robbed or their PIN can be stolen bad people watching over the shoulders while they're using ATM), my mom even don't want to learn to use phone-banking (nobody watching behind, the voice recording being in our language).

When I talk to my friends of MY generation, I tell them I don't use Windows when they were complaining about those BSoD, worms, viruses. They are already beginning to be unable to comprehend. (What is a computer if there is no Windows?) Sometimes, I bring up the word Linux. But anyway, the discussion would need to change to a new topic. They're simply afraid of learning new things or discussing about something they're completely ignorant of. (That's too "difficult"-"technical" for me is the universal excuse.)

I've read a pretty good argument for this menu design: Whenever you want to reach the menubar, just push the mouse forward for a big-enough distance. No need to carefully aim your mouse. Just close your eyes and push the mouse forward for a distance. Then, you can open your eyes again and begin with operating the menu.

I think that also explains why the keyboard is attractive and productive for intensive users: GUI gadgets on the screen usually require you to aim the mouse pointer carefully before you operate them you want. That's tiring to both the eyes and the arm, and difficult to do quickly. With a keyboard, you can reach a key easily (after a short training period) without even thinking (that's reflex action). Mac's menu bar is not a keyboard, but you can still train your reflex system to reach the menu bar by an action that doesn't disturb the cerebellum.

Yeah! I think that's easier than transporting a desktop. You may think it's easy since you've got a car. But think about that you need to connect at least a few cables (keyboard, mouse, monitor, power) when you move the desktop. You'll also risk components starting to malfunction because of the shocks during the long journey. (Laptops, esp. when carried in a suitable bag, can tolerate shocks better.)

Wow! VNC via dialup would be unusable. :(

Yeah! Make sure you set up SSH, and unblock firewalls so that you can ssh-in to do tech-support for them. Way easier than having to travel physically to the machine. (That's a big reason that Windows should be thrown out of the windows!) It saves you time, and emits less CO2 (among other pollutes) into the atmosphere.

AFAIK, Mac OSX is based on Mach kernel, and has a system to looks a bit like unix underneath the GUI surface. I've seen a friend doing something like "lsvar-log-..." on his iBook.

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