I agree. Windows XP which is still floating around in so many places is actually not all that easy to grasp for someone who has not used a computer before.
I recently installed Ubuntu on a laptop for my grandmother who is in her 80's and has never used a computer before. All she wanted to do was to type up her memoirs. When I told people I was installing a linux distribution for her, everybody told me how difficult it would be for her to use.
In reality, this is for a person who constantly holds the mouse upside down, doesn't understand the concept of clicking and dragging to highlight text, etc. Now try to tell her to launch an application by:
- clicking on the little "Start" menu
- navigating through a menu of tiny items
- reading each one as she goes
- making sure to not accidentally click on something which will open up the wrong program
- click on the little "x" in the opposite corner when she accidentally opens up the wrong program
- etc...
Her Ubuntu machine automatically opens up gedit in full screen when she turns the computer on, autosaves every minute, commits to version control every five minutes (in case she accidentally deletes everything then it autosaves) and turns off when she closes the laptop lid.
Yes, you could do this in windows, yes, the default interaction paradigm of Gnome 2 is similar to windows, Gnome 3 is strange, unity is different, etc.
But the point is, if you have never seen any of them before, they are frustrating and difficult. I still don't know how to correctly navigate a save dialog in Windows 7 on the rare occasion I'm using Windows. I have been using Gnome3 for a while now, and I finally understand how it works and is meant to be used (for the most part). That doesn't mean I think its awesome, bit it gets the job done.
Now that I've been using it for a while, my brain doesn't have to work so hard to get stuff done.
I understand what you mean. My mom has been running Ubuntu for 4 years now and loves it. She handled the Unity transition well too. Last year however, her hard drive died and my cousin let her borrow a windows machine. She hated that thing. I didn't hear the end of how unfriendly and how annoying everything is. I was laughing because that is exactly what I was hearing from ex-Windows users trying to use a Linux desktop.
I still don't know how to correctly navigate a save dialog in Windows 7
Seriously? Maybe you are being purposefully difficult because you have an emotional dislike of Windows? I think Gnome is ok, but it unquestionably has a steeper learning curve than windows, especially when you get outside simple things (like save dialogs).
Perhaps my choice of words was poor. I actually quite liked most of Windows 7 when I installed it on my partners laptop. However, I still get extraordinarily frustrated trying to get to the folders I want in a Windows Vista/7 save dialog.
Sometimes I feel like "Computer" is the top directory, sometimes "Desktop" feels like the top directory, and sometimes "Documents" is the top directory. Then there is the ill-defined (at least to the casual user) "Libraries". I miss the "up" button I am used to from many other contexts. The bar up the top which tells me my current location is thoroughly confusing to me. When I click the right arrow next to "Documents" when I am in the documents library, it shows what seems to be the locations defined by the library (My and Public documents). But when I am in a sub folder of Documents, clicking the right arrow next to Documents shows me the list of folders for the specific part of the library I am in (e.g. subfolders of My or Public documents).
No doubt these are all implemented like this for some very good reasons. I also have no doubt that if I used it as my primary OS, I would adapt relatively quickly. But for someone who only uses Windows to file my tax return and to occasionally help out my partner, I get frustrated.
I recently installed Ubuntu on a laptop for my grandmother who is in her 80's and has never used a computer before. All she wanted to do was to type up her memoirs. When I told people I was installing a linux distribution for her, everybody told me how difficult it would be for her to use.
In reality, this is for a person who constantly holds the mouse upside down, doesn't understand the concept of clicking and dragging to highlight text, etc. Now try to tell her to launch an application by: - clicking on the little "Start" menu - navigating through a menu of tiny items - reading each one as she goes - making sure to not accidentally click on something which will open up the wrong program - click on the little "x" in the opposite corner when she accidentally opens up the wrong program - etc...
Her Ubuntu machine automatically opens up gedit in full screen when she turns the computer on, autosaves every minute, commits to version control every five minutes (in case she accidentally deletes everything then it autosaves) and turns off when she closes the laptop lid.
Yes, you could do this in windows, yes, the default interaction paradigm of Gnome 2 is similar to windows, Gnome 3 is strange, unity is different, etc.
But the point is, if you have never seen any of them before, they are frustrating and difficult. I still don't know how to correctly navigate a save dialog in Windows 7 on the rare occasion I'm using Windows. I have been using Gnome3 for a while now, and I finally understand how it works and is meant to be used (for the most part). That doesn't mean I think its awesome, bit it gets the job done.
Now that I've been using it for a while, my brain doesn't have to work so hard to get stuff done.