[Linux-aus] cheap laptops

[Russell Coker]

On Wednesday, 28 June 2023 17:28:16 AEST Adam Nielsen via linux-aus wrote:
> If anything it seems to be splitting into two extremes.  You have the
> basic stuff at one end - simple office tasks and web browsing - and the
> more demanding stuff at the other end.  The middle ground appears to be
> less useful now as it's overkill for one group of people and not
> powerful enough for the other.

Why do you think that the "simple office tasks and web browsing" group is in 
the minority?  That group covers all but one person (*) I know from outside 
the computer industry and most employees of every IT company with >12 
employees I've worked for.

(*)  He has a high end gamer PC to play Minecraft.  He is currently borrowing 
a laptop from me due to home renovations leaving no space for a full PC, that 
laptop gave about the same frame rate as his PC in his initial tests...

> > I wonder if the downturn in LUGs in recent years is partly due to most
> > people having systems that just work and not having to do things like
> > compile kernels.
> 
> Having recently uploaded a whole bunch of scanned Brisbug magazines
> (Brisbane PC User's Group, from the 1990s) to archive.org [1], it
> reminded me how complicated it used to be to use a computer.  I think
> you are absolutely right that computers now are easy enough that most
> people can figure it out on their own - or at least look it up online -
> without having to attend a user group for advice.

Linux is easy enough that the people who have less demanding needs can figure 
most things out on their own (except printers, they still suck).  If this is 
the cause of the decline of LUGs then it is evidence to suggest that the 
majority of Linux users have less demanding needs.

Should we try to have less of an emphasis on computer science in LUGs if 
that's not what the users want?

-- 
My Main Blog         http://etbe.coker.com.au/
My Documents Blog    http://doc.coker.com.au/