Best computer for old geezer?

It is alarming also how few video protocols Apple supports. I believe You tube detects it is an Apple device and modifies the stream accordingly...

But this is mission failure.

You're admitting that the solution has an "underneath". Now our putative user knows what a kernel is. And that a kernel is evil.

Now, take a look at this. No Terminal.

"Setting up ChromeBook"

It's not for everyone. Not everyone wants an appliance experience. But for a person who has a tendency to "fall into holes", this is a better solution than Windows or Linux, both of which will leave you pining for the fjords. I could well believe that Grandma uses that, without issue.

Over a wide variety of Linux distros tested here, if the kernel updates, the screen goes black on the next boot. The Chromebook won't be pulling that trick :-) With the Chromebook, I might not even be aware it has maintenance underneath. (It's not a problem for me to fix the black screen - I keep a USB boot stick handy to revive hard drive installs with. Editing the boot menu and getting the alternatives up on the screen is enough to get back in.)

Paul

Great. SO WHERE DO I GET IT????

Dave,

Dagenham, UK

I posted you a link

Not my fault if you kill filed me

They have?

I get the young person in the shop to do it for me anyway. They've got young eyes and fingers, as well as young minds.

Owain

All my android phones bar the first one have had sim trays with the paper clip hole, so I'd say 2012ish onwards.

That?s wrong.

You don?t have to do any of that except the password with an iphone.

Wrong..

I have been through the process of setting up machines for elderly relatives. In one case, the best solution seemed to be Windows. However, he always struggled, but his daughter was nearby and was familiar with Windows, so she could sort out problems for him. In that situation, Windows was the correct solution. In the other case, I set up a heavily locked down lightweight linux and that worked quite well. It protected him against scammers who tried and failed to get him to install remote control software. The problem was that he wanted to use Facetime, because that was what the relatives in Australia used. Also, the only person nearby who could help him was an Apple user. In his case, the correct solution was to get an iPad, which he did. So it all depends. I use Mint Mate for the PC that I want to have working all the time for general use (which is an old Dell notebook with a 1TByte SSD and lots of RAM). I have lot of other machines and VMs for special purposes with Windows 10, Windows XP, Debian, Rocky Linux (previously CentOS) and even DOS.

John

I think when phones stopped having removable batteries they switch to SIM trays, because there was no back to pop off to access the battery and SIM. That varied a bit between manufacturers but there was a big movement in the ~2014 timeframe. Now a removable battery is the exception not the norm.

Theo

Piss easy he said. I need a f****ng enclyopedia just to understand the intallation guide! Back to the drawing board I go. :(

Dave,

Dagenham, UK

Prezactly. What is important is support.

You either go for what can be easily supported or you go for what doesn't need support

Perhaps you are too stupid to own a computer?

Insert DVD in drive Boot. When booted click 'install' Answer basic questions. yes I want to use the whole disk and w wipe out windows Yes I am in the UK and use GMT/BST My name is dave My passwords is dave

Is that really so hard?

Does everyone know how to change boot order, or request a one-time boot menu?

If they can insert a paper clip in a hole, they surely can hit a function key for a bios menu

Almost every machine that has a DVD is set to boot from it first.

However that is nothing to do with Linux per se

installing anything is going to encounter the same issues.

Obviously if you aren't capable of installing software, you probably need to buy an apple and take it to the man in the shop

One particular phone manufacturer, and I can't remember which, was accused of making phones that caught fire. They discovered that those that did so had been fitted with non-standard batteries as replacements. So they sealed the phones to stop this practice. Others followed suit.

On my machine:

System Prefs -> Startup Disk

It then shows the volumes that have a bootable OS. Click one to select it and either click restart or the red close button.

Simples, as usual.

Smartphone.

That's why a lot of old fogies use Apple machines.

Agreed - it's certainly worth a try for the OP's friend. Perhaps the local library has one?