On 2014-02-12 Mark Jenkins wrote:
I probably also said, "would you like to spend $1xx.xx on a Windows Retail License?" seeing how we were working with a whitebox built from parts.
Thanks for everyone's input. Yes, a cost of "free" is also a bonus if we go with Linux, though it would not be the sole deciding factor.
I think I may give Linux a try. I will certainly report back with the results, in a few months. An eye towards a "LTS" type distro would certainly be desirable, though I'm already adept at keeping 20+ Fedora boxen updated (entirely remotely/headless!) to the latest version every year (every 2 releases, when support ends).
As for tablets, I'm not sure moving parents in that direction is ideal. For one, they don't like change. Second, I don't think she'd like the ergonomics. Third, I'm not convinced tablets are the "future", in the sense that desktops will completely disappear (anyone remember netbooks, they were the "future" once too!). I like tablets for what they are good for, the odd lookup of something while watching tv, or casually keeping up with junk mail. I would never sit at a tablet to do serious (wordy!) email or composing some essay in a word processor!! The clunky interfaces aren't even great for my style of web browsing, where I tend to middle-click the next twelve links and peruse from there.
I won't even get into the thought of doing all my programming and admin work on a tablet! I think I'd go all hari-kari.
But that's a whole other discussion!