Comment by mystifyingpoi
2 days ago
> is still a hobbyist platform
Even if you consider this to be true (I don't), then... so what? They can just learn that there are other operating systems with different icons and different clock in the bottom right corner. They are kids man, they will learn fast. They won't unlearn Windows by using a Linux computer once in a while.
Besides, they would still need to choose between Apple and Microsoft. I'd rather teach my kid the essentials of using a computer (how to find information, how to create documents, how to use tools like Inkscape or Krita). Those skills translate to any desktop environment, and most of those tools do too. Something like Debian or Ubuntu is just great for that, and comes with the benefit of being free. A tool like Inkscape (or its FOSS successor) is going to be available in twenty years time. How many proprietary apps didn't end up as cloud-only subscription-based services?
A lot of software engineers use Linux professionally of course (I do), so even that argument for choosing Windows or MacOS isn't very strong.
+1. I set up Fedora, openSUSE and later Arch for our son (then 10-11yo). He became instantly curious about typing those strange words in terminal (unix heritage all the way :), started to check internet availability with 'ping' by himself, etc.
Unfortunately, the laptop has a Nvidia GPU, which conflicted with some of his games, and the gaming experience was all in all not very smooth. Eventually I gave up and went with Windows 10 LTSC -- surprisingly usable and bullshit-free (!), but, well, I don't think he has ever touched the terminal in this Windows system. I'd say after switching to Windows, his progress in Actually Learning Stuff About Computers has more or less stalled. It's mostly mindless gaming and Youtube these days (luckily, he's interested in sports exercises, athletes etc - so there's at least some "real-world related" information included).
Contemporary Linux can be quite confusing, but it is still miles ahead of Windows in encouraging the child's hands-on experience and exploration of the system. The GUI inconsistencies of current Windows are simply horrible IMO; back in the Win2k/XP days, it was actually quite a usable -- and, hackable! -- system; these days it's just an insanely huge, impossible-to-grasp mess. Also, I have yet to find a simple, easily understandable and modifiable solution for setting daily computer time restrictions for our son on Windows -- surprisingly, while there are a gazillion of small single-purpose apps in the Windows world, there doesn't appear to be too many options for parental control if you wish to avoid a Windows account altogether.