Young Linux Mint convert

[Honayo]

My daughter, 11, has been using Jolicloud on her Acer Aspire One for a while. She's tried a couple of other flavors, Puppy and GoS, too. Well her HD died last week and I asked her if she wanted to go back to Jolicloud when I installed the new HD today. Without hesitation she asked if Mint would work on her netbook (that's what I'm running) so I set it up to boot from the ext HD and loaded Isadora up for her. Everything worked, wireless, video, audio, etc and she played with it a while and then said go for it Dad. After install and 440 some odd updates later she's a happy camper and a young Mint convert.

[xenopeek]

Not many parents can proudly say their 11 your old daughter has tried multiple distros Hope she continues to enjoy Linux Mint!

You must be like:

[wyrdoak]

Just think, at 11yrs old I was glad to ditch the old fat pencil for a normal sized one.


Come to think of it........

[The-Wizard]

well you may find yourself busy if her friends all want a new system

wizard

[Fandangio]

It's one of the fundamental flaws of UK education in that kids are not taught IT but taught Microsoft. It's crystal clear why MS gives away SW too, buy in for life. This situation shouldn't be allowed.

My son is probably sick of logging onto our PC and there being a different OS. Never phases him though and he just cracks on with the tools he has. My 5yo can always find her way to the progs she likes (including xbmc). And people say linux is hard!!!

[wyrdoak]

My 13yr old cousin was just happy to have a computer that works, didn't faze him one bit that it wasn't Window$. He can do what he normally does, and much faster.

Just think at that age I already liked the smell of rosin, I was waiting for my grandfather to bring the last transistor I needed to finish my radio.

[Robin]

I sort of had Linux as a last resort since I couldn't afford a Mac. I was 16 and had only known WinXP 'til then. But adapting to Linux (Ubuntu at first, then hopping for a season and finding Linux Mint 9 Xfce - best distro in the history of ever) was not nearly as hard as I was told.

Today I'm 18 and use only Linux for everything! Even got through high school and first two years of college (dual-enrollment) without needing Windows for school (so far, keeping fingers crossed).

Kids who expect Linux to be difficult will probably find a way to make it happen. I was told that "Linux is only for geeks" and "too hard for kids," but none of that is necessarily true. Maybe if I had tried Gentoo or Debian at first I would have thought so and ran back to Windows, but thank God for Ubuntu and Mint!

I keep a custom Linux mixture (minimal Ubuntu, Xfce, renamed applications with big fat funny icons) on an ancient old computer that lots of kids use between classes at the dance studio, and none of them ever need any coaching or anything. They just sit down and use it effortlessly. So that "Linux is just for geeks" stuff is hogwash. If a bunch of little "dance kids" (from age 6 to 18) can use it, anyone can.

[xenopeek]

This is turning into a great motivational topic Children benefit from having a wider base of experiences. Having experience with just one of something is limiting a child's potential. This goes for languages, sciences, cultures, beliefs, etc, and even for operating systems

[DrHu]

Without hesitation she asked if Mint would work on her netbook (that's what I'm running

It is fairly obvious to most that kids can learn if they are given the opportunity, and they don't require much hand holding to progress
--whether their OS is Linux, Apple, Microsoft or some niche brand such as Acorn risc, BEOS/Haiku or any other(s)..

They will be able to work through the system with little trouble, if they have something to do; some work, game, application or project

It is only the mythology of school administration and teachers that students need to be directed/controlled managed in order to get a result..

To me it is the same problem with how mathematics is taught
--little if any memorization, which hinders anyone doing calculations (even arithmetic), and usually teaching the incorrect one method rule

This is how we calculate, this is how it is done, nothing else works/is acceptable..

--I especially don't like the right to left calculation methods instead of the left to right, thereby getting the range/estimate before the final result..

Anyway, I am sure your kid will be better served by learning outside the default stream and understanding on her own..

[Fandangio]

Without hesitation she asked if Mint would work on her netbook (that's what I'm running

It is fairly obvious to most that kids can learn if they are given the opportunity, and they don't require much hand holding to progress
--whether their OS is Linux, Apple, Microsoft or some niche brand such as Acorn risc, BEOS/Haiku or any other(s)..

They will be able to work through the system with little trouble, if they have something to do; some work, game, application or project

It is only the mythology of school administration and teachers that students need to be directed/controlled managed in order to get a result..

To me it is the same problem with how mathematics is taught
--little if any memorization, which hinders anyone doing calculations (even arithmetic), and usually teaching the incorrect one method rule

This is how we calculate, this is how it is done, nothing else works/is acceptable..

--I especially don't like the right to left calculation methods instead of the left to right, thereby getting the range/estimate before the final result..

Anyway, I am sure your kid will be better served by learning outside the default stream and understanding on her own..

Indeed, the best teachers are the ones who can address a particular problem from multiple angles (and showing a depth of knowledge there in). Practical examples help too. As an adult doing some fairly heavy math on a telecoms engineering course we had an instructor who always iterated that arithmetic is "hard", and it is so true. A whole understanding of arithmetic makes everything else a breeze.

Back to the original OP, understanding how an OS works will be a huge benefit. Next job will be to let her build her own PC

[Honayo]

Good replies on all counts. The only thing she came to me with today was how to get on the wireless network here at home. Once I showed her she said "Oh, OK." and I'll bet she doesn't have to ask again. It does feel good to have all three kids using some form of a Linux OS on their own machines. They are familiarized with Windows at school but at least they know there's something else out there. Sadly, many do not or are to afraid of it to try it.
Has Ubuntu and Mint gotten easier or more user friendly over the years? To me, it seems so but I started tinkering with Ubuntu back around 5.04 with Hoary Hedgehog. So maybe it's that I've learned over the years and it just seems easier. As old as I was when I started it was hard for me for a good while.