Kids love Linux!

As I read this article about how this guy’s kids love Linux and hate Windows, I had a couple of questions come to my mind. First of all, is this a testament to how easily kids learn things? Second, what does this mean for newbies to Linux who complain that it’s not as easy as Windows?

According to the article:

Here was a five year old, traversing the directories, finding applications and opening them without any hesitation. He had no issue figuring out how to open and close screens, move them around, or change their size. The tool bars, menus and icons were all intuitive to these kids.

What caused the real screaming wasn’t me asking for my laptop back so I could get some work done. Instead, it was the shock of returning to Windows. They went to the living room and ended up throwing fits. I noticed that my son had more trouble trying to find and load his games on the WindowsXP machine for several reasons.

The final moans occurred when I told them they needed to go back to using the family PC, because my laptop was for work. This resulted in a revolution. When I finally reminded them that all of their games were loaded on the family PC, they both responded with intensity: “we don’t want those, we like the little Tux!”

So what he’s basically saying is that his kids found Linux easier to navigate and find their games than Windows. I think this suggests that perhaps there is nothing wrong with Linux on the desktop. (So many people complain that things are too hard - read: No enough like MS Windows) Yet these kids had no trouble getting done what they needed to get done. I think what it comes down to is not that Linux is complex but that people are too set in their ways with Windows. Computer guys like me don’t mind change (as long as it’s not ridiculous - I balked the first time I used Fluxbox), it’s the people that struggled to learn Windows that have problems with Linux. Finally, kids are also a lot smarter. They have more time to spend exploring the computer than their parents who have to work and then take care of adult things when they get home. Ever since I was about 8 or 9 years old I’ve known more about computers than my parents and most of the adults in my life. Why? Because when I was bored after school or on the weekend I would go through all of the Windows tutorials. When we got the internet I used to go through tutorial after tutorial to learn HTML, Javascript and other computer techniques. Now I’m sure that another technologically inclined kid probably knows more than me. When I get home from work after hitting the gym, I barely have time to blog and do some photography before it’s time to hit the hay. I don’t have the time to devote to learning new computer techniques that I once did. So I feel that if you give a kid Linux and a few minutes, he or she will be just as fine as with Windows, if not (as this article suggests) better off. Also, from an educational point of view, Linux is better as it contains the source code for children to examine and get a head start in programming.