Ubuntu wierdness

[Kristian Erik Hermansen]

On 8/14/07, Martin Owens <doctormo-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> As an unintended topic of interest; what are peoples thoughts on
> enabling or disabling various security features (in this case ubuntu)
> when they give these machines to people are are not experienced with
> computers?

My parents have been running Ubuntu as their primary OS for two years
now, which has replaced Windows.  In these two years, the first couple
months were the toughest.  They were very averse to change, but they
knew that Windows got corrupted quite easily as they became the
targets of malicious people.  I suggested they take the plunge.  You
must realize that at the time, Windows XP became a nightmare to deal
with.  Specifically, Windows Activation forced them away.

My step-mother is legally blind (only one good eye, and with glaucoma)
and she is able to utilize some features of compiz to work for her.
So, there is a plugin called 'neg' which allows you to flip the
negativity of the screen on demand.  This helps her when she needs to
view a web site that is too flashy or too dull.  She can also utilize
the zoom feature, which is nice too.  Additionally, Gnome gives you
the ability to have very large cursors and in bright colors, making
them easier for her to locate on the screen.

I don't give her the %admin group, but I do give my younger brother
the admin group.  Whenever he needs help, I remote ssh or VNC to the
box and fix what they want.  However, my little brother has become
quite proficient at solving such problems himself lately.  He just
turned 11, so I bought him his own computer.  Now he is hacking and
breaking his amd64 ubuntu feisty daily :-)  One way to learn is to
break and fix things...
-- 
Kristian Erik Hermansen

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