My dad runs Linux
Non-techie Baby Boomer keeps a patched system, you can too.
I should've posted this earlier, but to be honest, I just didn't get the handwringing over switching from Windows to Linux.
And this isn't even about being technically skilled; sure, in that context, shrugging at this week's end of support for Windows 10 lacks empathy, especially to anyone distraught at having a computer whose specs prevent an upgrade to Windows 11.
No, I can't fathom the anxiety because of my dad. He's a role model for hacking the way he fixes and tinkers with cars or other mechanical things, but other than mildly encouraging me about computers, he had no interest in them. No, my Dad is an 81-year-old retired factory worker, an average Baby Boomer when it comes to computers, yet he's been daily-driving Linux for more than 15 years.
In the mid 00s, I got the family call that every mildly technical or even just awfully online person got: Help me, my computer is slow.
Unlike a lot of nerds from my era, I didn't really have a lot of Windows experience. Through my college's computer lab, I got comfy with UNIX shells, and most of my friends or workplaces had Macs. Coming from these worlds, I just didn't click with Windows, and didn't need to.
So when Dad called me about his home computer, I was at square one troubleshooting. So I started out with a long shot, and suggested switching to Linux. The pic below is the Ubuntu installer disk that my dad agreed to try, version 7.10, Gutsy Gibbon. With it is the XP disk that he left behind.
After that install, my dad never asked me again for computer help. He keeps his machine patched, and it does everything he needs. Once, years later, I asked how it was going, and he told me about trying out Linux Mint, and switching back. Just last week he told me how upgrading to Ubuntu 24.04 brought bugs, so he went back to a known-good 18.04 ISO and from there back to 22.04.
Another time I was home, I found CDs he'd burned with different distros, including Knoppix. I've yet to ask if that was for a nerdy rescue mission, but I know I don't have to, except out of curiosity. He's good, he's got this on his own. Linux is not that hard.
Shout out and referrals to the End of 10 project for helping people make the switch, and this talk by Paul Asadoorian, The Security Professional's Guide to the Linux Desktop. I'm stoked that Paul recommends OnlyOffice as a prodcutivity replacement -- I cannot stress enough how painlessly interoperable it is for sharing Word docs and Excel sheets. I've rooted for LibreOffice for a long time and overlooked its quirks, but OnlyOffice just works.