OS for my parents

[chris_argyle]

The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted my thread in the hardware section regarding a build for my parents.... and yes you guessed it, this thread relates to that build.

I am putting together a basic system for web browsing, emailing and photo storage/printing/basic picasa level editing, I need an OS that is going to require very little user maintenance, be intuative, and the prettier the better. Windows is my default choice because they are used to it, but I think they would do well with a linux distro, but im just not sure which one!

I currently run Ubuntu on my lappy and I love it for my basic use, however I feel there are to many prompts for updates. My other thought was gOS though i dont really no much about it.

Does anyone have any suggestions of these or other distros?

Thanks in advance!

[handscombmp]

Windows 7

Stick an anti virus on it which just gets on and does things without asking and your away.

[Bitemarks666]

another vote for win 7

[shakerist]

Windows 7

Stick an anti virus on it which just gets on and does things without asking and your away.

Eset Nod 32 smart security is very good updates everything automatically and takes care of viruses automatically all u see is a little balloon pop up to tell you that it updated or quarantined a virus

[jim]

Or you could just drop MS Security Essentials on it.

[TheAnimus]

+1 for MSSE.

Very good, even my media centre pc runs it now, it doesn't interfere, no annoying prompts at all.

Perhaps thats a bad thing and the machine is crawling with nasties, I don't know, but either way in day to day use, its very quiet.

[Raz316]

+1 for MSSE.

Very good, even my media centre pc runs it now, it doesn't interfere, no annoying prompts at all.

Perhaps thats a bad thing and the machine is crawling with nasties, I don't know, but either way in day to day use, its very quiet.

I have had MSSE warn me about something suspicious a website tried to load (something that didn't happen with Comodo). I too am very happy with it

[Stringent]

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 Gets my vote.

[TheAnimus]

I'd say it depends how locked down you make the PC.

Kaspersky, as much as I love it and have praised it in the past is quite verbose to someone who is just running as a restricted user and knows little.

With ma n pa pcs, keep them really locked down, if they want to do something new, like install a program they can ask you for help, because after all you'll be telling them "no don't use any of the serif crap" so installing the software isn't much more of a stretch.

[usxhe190]

I'd say it depends how locked down you make the PC.

Kaspersky, as much as I love it and have praised it in the past is quite verbose to someone who is just running as a restricted user and knows little.

With ma n pa pcs, keep them really locked down, if they want to do something new, like install a program they can ask you for help, because after all you'll be telling them "no don't use any of the serif crap" so installing the software isn't much more of a stretch.

Totally agree with this. Lock it down. Gives them to play around with in safety. I mean that's how Apple does it with a closed system and it's great.

[Zak33]

I'm gonna go another route here....

Just get an OS that has a Hard Drive Recovery feature.. a full computer restore function.

So in Vista's case it's Business or Ultimate edition.. then once per month get it backed up in it's entirety to a small external hard drive.

Then if it dies, you've got very little to worry about

[chris_argyle]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I must admit im quite surprised that there have been no linux recommendations, but i guess on the flip side it shows how highly regarded win7 is. MSSE certainly looks a good option, nice integration, and equally important for a budget build... free!

The lockdown idea is something i hadn't really considered either, but sounds like it may have merit too. Definitely worth considering.

Thanks again all!

[jim]

Nothing wrong with Linux, but you basically described an easy to use PC. Which would be 7 - without being condescending, you really get the impression that it was built from the ground up with idiots in mind .

[arbitrabbit]

I think I will start with a Linux recommendation :-) My parents are on Ubuntu and I haven't heard any complaints from them. I guess it helped that they were not used to Windows so I didn't have to undergo migration hassles. However, it has made my life a lot easier as I don't have to constantly troubleshoot their PC anymore and when I do, I can ssh into the box and setup VNC or FreeNX connection. If they are indeed used to Windows, you can use the skin at ubuntu.online02.com/node/14 for Gnome. (Sorry, I have just joined this forum so can't paste URLs yet). Of course the fact that you don't need an antivirus is an added plus.

[Ben Rogers]

Ubuntu is very good Linux OS, even installing software is a doddle with the apt-get command, for most software that is popular, at least.

It is easy to use and requires nothing doing to it at all most of the time.

It can just be installed and left to its own devices as it were with little to no user intervention required unlike Microsoft OS'.

I do however, like 7 a lot for Windows but I still have Vista 64 bit here and that is probably why.

I disable the multiple application showing for each instance of an app in the taskbar as it shows different pages and gets annoying, to me at least. But at least it can be switched off.

The other thing with 7 and Vista of course is it asking for Admin privilidges when installing apps or even running apps sometimes which is a pain and annoying but it is very easy to get around.

[Zadock]

Does anyone have any suggestions of these or other distros?

Thanks in advance!

Mint 8, even more user friendly than Ubuntu IMO. I am yet to find a device that doesn't work out of the box.