By Martin Jansen, Owner of Jansen-PCINFO
In my last article, I wrote about Tips for Older Adults. One reader wrote to say that she printed it off for her husband, but she was “young at heart” and perhaps I could write an article for her and others who feel young.
The Young are Fearless
The young embrace change and do not fear trying something new. Therefore, they will adapt to new operating systems without batting an eye. They’ll quickly figure out how to use something new. Switching from Windows to Linux Mint won’t be an issue. The young will get to know the menu system quickly and soon become masters of the new OS, because it is quite intuitive.
The Young are Impatient
Yes, patience is a virtue, but the young want immediate gratification. Linux Mint is perfect for the young at heart. Because Linux Mint is less bulky than Windows, boot up times are fast. With a modest amount of system resources, loading of applications is quick. Desktop operations are simple and quickly executed.
Necessary system updates are small and spelled out for the user in Linux Mint. Oftentimes a reboot is not necessary (only for kernel upgrades), but when rebooted the system comes up immediately. No more waiting for rising percentages as in Windows:
The Young Are Always Learning
Forget about preconceptions, youth are always willing to learn. Learning new programs and how to do things is not a problem. Windows installable applications do not work natively in Linux Mint. But that does not mean that there are not compatible and comparable software. The software manager in Linux Mint has more than 60,000 software packages and 7,800 games – all open source and free to use.
After install, Linux Mint is a complete operating system with everything a young user needs. But if youth really need to run some Windows apps, WINE and Crossover Linux have them covered.
It is possible to dual boot Windows and Linux Mint. Another possibility is to run Windows as a virtual computer using VirtualBox or VMware with Linux Mint as the host OS. No shortage of options for the young user.
The Young are Impetuous
They aren’t afraid to poke around and make mistakes. That’s how you learn. I must have been ‘young at heart’ too, because during my first week as a computer analyst at a large insurance company I completely broke the OS/2 operating system. So much so, that the OS had to be completely reloaded. That was more of a case of ‘what not to do.’
In conclusion, the ‘Young at Heart’ will love Linux Mint. It’s easy to use and master.