Linux for grandma?

Question

linux

Comrades, I ask for advice on the following situation:
There is a five-year-old laptop now running on Windows XP. Unfortunately, even after cleaning, the laptop slows down to such an extent that it upsets my grandmother who is not too demanding on speed. Grandmother needs a laptop to pass the time, that is, play solitaire, play manjong and just casual games.
Also, sometimes on the laptop you need to look at the pictures that grandchildren and girlfriends bring on a flash drive. The latter leads to the infection of the computer with viruses, because it is not connected to the Internet, the grandmother refuses, and the database becomes irrelevant.
Given the use case and these limitations, I came up with the idea to put some Linux distribution on it and pump up games.
From this, three questions arose:

• What distributor to put? Should be easy to use and undemanding to resources.
  
• How on Linux with solitaire and casual games?
  
• How do you rate the idea in general?
  

I do not want to put XP on a clean system, because there will be problems with viruses.
I think that there will be no difficulties using Linux, because it is more convenient than Windows in many user tasks.
I don’t want to buy a new laptop, because it’s a pity for money, and my grandmother doesn’t need it either.
Grandma already has an Android tablet, but she doesn’t really like it, because it’s complicated, and the screen is still much smaller than on a laptop.

Answer 1

Yes, you put more memory in this laptop, and that's it. The vast majority of desktop Linux distributions have been “easier” in terms of resources for 8 years than Windows XP, for example. And you need a desktop distribution to have "solitaire games, casual games." Flash-plugin in the browser, it slows down on small memory in exactly the same way, both on Windows and on Linux (frankly, on the latter it is even stronger).
So answer the question for yourself. Do you need to do it quickly and cheaply, or get smart and spend time usefully for self-education (and don’t care about grandmothers / mothers-in-law)? If the first - to the store for memory, it was within three hours. If the second - welcome to the Linux forums, in the next couple of months you will not climb out of them;)

Answer 2

For a beloved grandmother, it’s not a pity for 10tyr for a new beech.

Answer 3

If the characteristics of the computer allow, then Linux Mint 13 MATE

System requirements:
x86 processor.
512 MB RAM (1GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
5 GB of disk space
Graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution
CD/DVD drive or USB port

Everything is simple, visual, a bit like windows.
There will be no problems with games.
The idea is good.

Answer 4

If you do not need the Internet and a browser, then try our KolibriOS operating system (no kidding). With the browser, we have strained, but there are plenty of games (namely casual games). The Russian-language interface is built-in, flash drives are supported, photo viewers are available. To infect our system with a virus - you need to try :-) The speed of work - check for yourself :-)

Answer 5

If the laptop slows down even on XP, then Linux will not help here - it will slow down more even on XFCE.
I recommend buying a new device, now they are extremely cheap (for 4tr used, you can buy a decent one).

Answer 6

It seems like a technical resource, but where are the characteristics of the laptop? If this is a laptop, and not a netbook (5 years ago then), then I don’t think that it is very weak. If there is 1 gig of RAM, then under the flash and the browser should be enough. You can put any distro with MATE, for example, you can take Debian. In MATE, as in the gnome itself, there is a set of games. There and manjong and solitaire and in general everything your heart desires. In my experience, Linux reads flash drives even more dexterously than Windows, it happened that the fs was damaged, and Windows could not read anything at all - Linux easily read and could even work with such a fs :)
You can install MATE and LXde. LX is easier, and MATE, it seems to me, is more functional, you can use whatever software you like, I just don’t remember if there are games in the LXDE package.
Although given that there is no Internet, a flash is also not needed. Photos, videos will be played out of the box. In general, you need to at least know the iron, because. on some laptops, even where it will be good to fly.

Answer 7

I installed debian 6 for one grandmother (this was two years ago), skype works fine.

Answer 8

I have two examples - parents with a nettop (need Internet, Skype, IPTV, photos, etc.) and a sister with an old laptop (needed mainly VKontakte, music, video). In both cases, it costs Ubuntu, it does a good job.
* The distribution kit can probably be any one you like. I think the laptop will pull.
* There are casual solitaire games, but they are almost always not localized, an elderly person may not understand (there were precedents with parents). Unless you first show which buttons to press.
* A good idea in general.
You can first test the distribution in a virtual machine - set up the environment, install games, take a look. It's fast.

Answer 9

Try simplylinux.ru/ and simplylinux.ru/index.php/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60

Answer 10

I installed LUBUNTU, and the laptop is quite ancient.

Answer 11

I’ll put in my five cents:
about 6 years ago, after I went on vacation, and my grandfather caught some kind of virus and found himself without the Internet, I transferred him to ubuntu.
and a little later gave my grandmother a laptop, where Ubuntu also stood.
frequently used software:
skype, lines, some default cards, firefox, sip dialer, evolution for mail.
they are happy.
I'm glad.
they also talk about ubuntu to their old friends and girlfriends)
I considered other distros, but refused them.
shopping mall considered it more important - the popularity of the distribution, and, accordingly, more information.