If I had a dollar for every person, especially seniors, that have called me because of issues with spyware or viruses…I’d be a very rich man. So this leads me to a very important realm of thought. Could there be a viable way to help seniors out with their computer woes?

Please understand, I am the first to confess that seniors obviously outrank me instantly when you look at their vast life experiences. I most definitely could never hope to compare myself to that. But the fact remains that they continue to struggle with all of the crap that today’s most common operating system requires of them to keep their computers ’safe’ from viruses, etc.

A Linux based solution-

Could a fully configured Linux solution be the way to go? Since seniors are not likely to use much more than digital cameras, scanners and printers, I have often wondered if it might just make more sense for them to simply move over to something like Linspire or Xandros.

Once things were set; there is no defragmenting, virus scans or even spyware concerns (yet) that need to plague the world’s seniors. Countries all over the world have found that Linux has the ability to do amazing things for them and has met their needs with flying colors. Having said this, I realize that Linux still has some serious, inherent headaches that really need to be worked out before IT people such as you and I can start replacing those Windows XP boxes with Linux boxes in the homes of our most honored customers.

I can’t find software at the store for my Linux box-

One of the big complaints with seniors and Linux is the fact that they cannot simply get their Windows based software to run on that new Linux box. Granted, CodeWeavers and others have made some amazing progress in this area, but it would be nice to see Linux based greeting card software on the store shelves for those now techy folks out there.

Even if they are able to find a comparable solution for their needs, they might be using dial-up, which makes solutions like Linspire’s CNR Warehouse almost useless. See, most people have no problem paying for Linux enabled software. The real conflict is finding a way to get it easily when the store is your main place of software procurement.

Final thoughts-

As you read in my report above, I’m going to be doing a full review of the new version of Xandros. Regardless of how good the results of the final analysis turns out to be, the fact remains that for dial-up users, Linux software will remain something that is just out of reach.