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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Rob Beard wrote: > Hi folks, > > A month or so back my Step-Father bought a laptop. Now this is his > first computer, and I figured rather than let him deal with the trials > and tribulations of running Windows, that he should give Ubuntu a try. > > Laptop was fine, everything was working with Ubuntu 9.10, I setup the > wireless and showed him how to open up a web browser, search for pages > with Google etc and how to turn the thing on and off. > > All seemed fine, I even setup some remote access so I could connect in > and advise things over the phone. > > However today I popped over and asked how they were getting on, turns > out they were struggling as the wireless signal was poor, the broadband > was disconnecting (I'll post separately about this later) and they had > got some guy in from Newton Abbot to 'train' them how to use the > internet. This guy said that 'Ubuntu is too advanced and they should go > over to Windows 7'. > > I then pointed out that they hadn't used a computer before so WHATEVER > OS they were running (Windows XP/Vista/7, MacOSX, any flavour of Linux) > it would take some getting used to. I also mentioned that it makes my > life easier with them running Ubuntu as I don't have to worry about them > getting Spyware, keeping the anti-virus software and firewalls up to > date and making sure their machine is regularly defragged and kept up to > date (something that they'd expect me to do for free!). > > I've talked them out of going for Windows 7, I did explain a bit about > Phishing and how that could affect any OS and that they should be > vigilant (i.e. not clicking on links in e-mails which say they are from > the bank, rather go to the bank web site separately) and if in doubt > don't click things. They then told me that I was going through things > too quickly for them. > > So all this got me wondering, is there anyone on the list who actually > does training (maybe for a living, or has the patience to sit down with > a complete newbie who in their early 60's is getting to grips with the > internet and e-mail and computing for the first time) who could possibly > offer my Step-Father some assistance? > > I did say that possibly down the line when the Exwick Community Centre > and Lighthouse Projects are finished that we might be able to offer some > basic computer training (possibly for a small fee to go towards LUG > funds?). > > I also mentioned about the LUG meetings in Paignton and suggested maybe > my Step-Father could come along to one and maybe sit down with someone > and go through some of the things. > > I'm not sure how much he was paying this guy from Newton Abbot but I > thought I'd ask on here anyway. I've also suggested he gets a book on > Ubuntu (there is one for newbies listed on Amazon which is coming out in > June, presumably to cover Ubuntu 10.04 LTS) and I'm going to look out > for the Linux Format guides too in the mean time. > > Would anyone be willing to possibly give him a hand? > > My Step-Father lives in Teignmouth but does drive so he might be willing > to travel as long as it isn't too far from Teignmouth, or maybe someone > on the list here might be able to help and travel over to Teignmouth? > > Ta, > > Rob > > On the subject of learning materials perhaps have a look at this. http://www.salasaga.org/ The Open Source eLearning IDE (previously known as The Flame Project) may be useful Paul - -- Paul Sutton www.zleap.net Ubuntu 10.04 is out soon : Visit www.ubuntu.com for details DCGLUG MEETINGS - Details on www.dcglug.org.uk/ - please click on Group meetings link on right hand side Aged 11 - 19 then dfey may be for you, please goto http://www.dfey.org for more details -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAkvTQcsACgkQaggq1k2FJq0n7ACeIm/dKJrknzqYjTD7evgNUpy+ BQUAn1jEuvUZEal1T1zyIXV6vBTUhjlu =oRW4 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html