Re: Novice computer users!

[Jean Louis]

* Marcus Wilson <thewilson@gmail.com> [2020-01-27 21:07]:
>    Is this too advanced for the new user?
> 
>    [1]https://www.wikihow.com/Install-Debian

WikiHow has spying scripts with information being shared to Amazon,
DoubleClick, Google, etc. I would not recommend to a new user of free
software a website that spies on them. And I would tell why, and
explain it why, which I do all the time. Often people ask me if I have
Whatsapp - I give them reasons why I don't have, first it is
proprietary software, I don't know and cannot know what it is doing
with my information, second Whatsapp has thousands of staff members,
and I don't know even one of them, why should I entrust them with my
data? I don't trust somebody on street to give them my data, I cannot
trust to Whatsapp.

The first website to present to users is GNU: https://www.gnu.org/

and then what is Free Software:
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

The GNU website does not spy on people, and does not use non-free
Javascript software.

Installing any operating system is not an easy task.

Yet the FSF endorsed free operating system distributions do have their
installation instructions.

PureOS:
https://tracker.pureos.net/w/installation_guide/

Trisquel:
https://trisquel.info/en/wiki/setup

Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre:
https://wiki.hyperbola.info/doku.php?id=en:guide:installation&redirect=1

Parabola:
https://wiki.parabola.nu/Main_Page

I would recommend exlusively FSF endorsed GNU operating system
distributions, such as those above, or listed here:
https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html

Debian is distributing non-free software from their servers, so when
helping somebody to get free software, it would be good to tell them
about the truly free operating system distributions, and why they are
endorsed, and why some of them are not endorsed. See:
https://www.gnu.org/distros/common-distros.html 

Teaching people about free software is part of my personal duty. Thus
without teaching them the differences, I am not installing anything on
their computers. Person shall know why is using free software, and
should not just target that "new software" as "gratis" software for
reasons that it need not pay for it, or for reasons that there is
plethora of software that one cannot otherwise get on Windows. Those
are common problems.

The first and main reason to install that new software shall be reason
that it is free software, that user can study and upgrade it easily,
get support from other people, that user can become eventually
programmer, and can contribute to development of such free software,
and other reasons explained on
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

And if we speak of free software, then they shall be told what is GNU
and how GNU started. Thus reference to main GNU website is of highest
importance. 

>    Sometimes people  might find the task of making a bootable USB drive or
>    CD or DVD a bit too dificult. In that case you could also point them at
>    vendors of installation media.

In general, operating system installation is not easy task.

Jean