[ubuntu-uk] serious advice

[alan c]

norman wrote:
> I am contemplating buying my 9 year old granddaughter a new PC for
> Christmas. Presently, she has a fairly old PC and has been using Windows
> both at home and at school. (I hear cries of shame). She is of course
> familiar with Ubuntu when she uses my machine and it would be my
> intention to wean her onto Ubuntu on her new machine. Where I need
> advice is in selecting the best way to enable her to join in with her
> classmates, if and when she may need to, with regard to such things as
> educational games and suchlike which do not play on Linux.
> 
> I know of Wine and Crossover Office but neither of these appear to be
> what is needed. So, fellow Ubuntu users, what would you advise an old
> codger to do.

There are a lot of educational and similar games for ubuntu, however, 
they will not be the *same* stuff that she sees her friends using, and 
she may feel left out, however good the OS is that she is using. What 
will happen is that her friends' PCs will often give problems in many 
ways, while the ubuntu will be reliable and stable.

The 'ubuntu only' option is an ambitious one, unless you are very 
nearby and in very frequent contact. Since she is not in your 
immediate household you might have difficulty being close enough for 
immediate support - if something needs to be configured in ubuntu for 
example. If you are not careful a situation will arise where she does 
not know enough to continue using ubuntu exclusively and becomes 
disappointed (socially) and gives it up completely. A solution I would 
consider is to use an xp machine with ubuntu as default in dual boot, 
and with a lot of space. The practical problem will be to get xp 
because the retail pressure is on vista now. Any internet related 
activities can be arranged for ubuntu - firefox, email, pidgin 
messenger etc, and also as many games as you can find. The remainder 
can be windows, if necessary.

Which ever machine you decide upon, get comments about its capabilty 
with ubuntu (and compiz - it is fun!), and if relevant, windows.
-- 
alan cocks
Kubuntu user#10391