So if you give them a machine with Windows or Mac OS on, then you could say you're forcing Windows or Mac OS on them.
Nonsense. There's nothing wrong with giving your children a Linux PC. There will be plenty of opportunities for them to learn to use Windows at school and nothing was said about forbidding them from using other computers. Being exposed to different software and platforms is a good thing.
Linux will not run many commercial software like MS Office (completely blows away OOo/Lo), Altium Designer, and a bunch of IDEs from many IC companies*.
Linux will not run modern games, unless being specifically ported to Linux, such as Valve games.
Linux will not run modern games smoothly, even ported, due to bad GPU support. AMD driver completely sucks, nVidia is better, but not as good as their Windows version.
Linux will not run DRM protected technology without infringing IP. You won't get legitimate decoders for any DRM protected technology for Linux.
Linux will not support latest digital gadgets, either from no driver support, or from no app support, or more likely, both.
And finally, using Linux as a desktop will give you a lot of miserable and confusing events when grub/kernel/x decides not to install properly in a seemingly peaceful apt-get upgrade.
Experience from a 7-year occasional Ubuntu desktop user (1-year Ubuntu only) who has also built at least 5 Ubuntu/Cent servers and currently maintaining 2 Ubuntu servers in everyday use, and who also worked with Arch Linux, ARM926 LFS from compiler to QT and is currently working on Cortex-A7 yocto while pulling off his hairs.
*: I know some really high end tools like Virtuoso only run on Linux, but that's not the point. I design chips occasionally as part of my coursework and research and I'm fine using Cadence suite on RHEL, but I guess a kid won't need to use Virtuoso at his/her house.
They tried visiting some Flash-game sites to play games and guess what, it didn't work. (I later installed Adobe Flash for Ubuntu but that's not the point). I was happy that I didn't need to worry about them playing games, they have enough crap to distract them on their tablets, TV and such. I don't want them playing games, I want them creating games... which is why we started working on Scratch and they managed to make some rudimentary stuff with my help, in Ubuntu, using Scratch.
1. $74 = Lenovo ThinkCentre M58p 6137 Business Small Form Factor Computer Core2Duo 3.0GHz, 4G, 160G, DVD, Windows 10 Home.
Model: SFF 6137 C2D 3.0G/4G/160G/DVD/W10H.
MFT SKU: 6137AU8 Condition: refurbished Grade A. C2D/E8400/3.0G/DDR III/4G/SATA/160G/DVD/W10H MAR/BLACK
2. $124 = Dell OptiPlex GX755 mini-tower computer QuadCore 2.4GHz, 4G, 250G, DVDRW, Windows 10 Home.
Model: TW GX755 QC 2.4G/4G/250G/RW/W10H.
SKU: 392537 Condition: refurbished Grade A. QC/Q660/2.4G/DDR II/4G/SATA/250G/DVDRW/W10H MAR/BLACK
Stock: 1
3. $137 = Dell Precision T3400 Workstation. Model: TW Pre T3400.
SKU: 390277 MFT SKU: DELDKM88 Condition: refurbished Grade A. C2D/E8400/3.0G/8G/SATA/160G/DVD/TOWER/W10H MAR
4. $149 = LENOVO ThinkStation S20 4105 TW.
Model: TW 4105. SKU: 364139 MFT SKU: 4105R9F Condition: refurbished Grade A. QUADXEON/W3550/3.06G/DDR III/8G/SATA/250G/DVDRW/W10P MAR/Black
5. $162 = Lenovo ThinkCentre M90 3245 Small Form Factor i3 3.2GHz, 4G, 250G, DVDRW, Windows 10 Professional.
Model: SFF 3245 i3 3.2G/4G/250G/RW/W10P
SKU: 350455 Condition: refurbished Grade A. I3/3.2G/DDR III/4G/SATA/250G/DVDRW/W10P MAR/Black
6. $162 = Lenovo ThinkCentre M90p 3853 Ultra Small Form Factor USFF i5 3.2GHz, 4G, 250G, DVDRW, Windows 10 Professional.
Model: USFF 3853 i5 3.2G/4G/250G/RW/W10P.
SKU: 348736 MFT SKU: 3853RN9 Condition: refurbished Grade A. I5/650/3.2G/DDR III/4G/SATA/250G/DVDRW/WIN10P MAR/BLACK
Any thoughts, comments? Are these prices ok? I just want to split up the primary Windows partition and install some version of Ubuntu, and plug in a USB WiFi dongle so they can access the internet. I assume all of these desktops have VGA output (or is HDMI output only these days)? If the $74 machine is good enough, I'll just get that, unless you think it's not worth the money and I would get better value from the other machines listed. Thanks for your help!
That's the biggest issue with computer use with my 8 and 10 year old boys. They will spend all their time on game sites or worse, watching hours of youtube videos of others playing games- if I let them. Who knows what else they would find if they had unfettered browsing access. Parental controls are essential. The built in parental controls are better on OSX than Windows. Are there any parental controls on Ubuntu?
1. $74 = Lenovo ThinkCentre M58p 6137 Business Small Form Factor Computer Core2Duo 3.0GHz, 4G, 160G, DVD, Windows 10 Home.
Model: SFF 6137 C2D 3.0G/4G/160G/DVD/W10H.
MFT SKU: 6137AU8 Condition: refurbished Grade A. C2D/E8400/3.0G/DDR III/4G/SATA/160G/DVD/W10H MAR/BLACK
Are there any parental controls on Ubuntu?
1. $74 = Lenovo ThinkCentre M58p 6137 Business Small Form Factor Computer Core2Duo 3.0GHz, 4G, 160G, DVD, Windows 10 Home.
Model: SFF 6137 C2D 3.0G/4G/160G/DVD/W10H.
MFT SKU: 6137AU8 Condition: refurbished Grade A. C2D/E8400/3.0G/DDR III/4G/SATA/160G/DVD/W10H MAR/BLACKI bought a similar Compaq/HP configuration with E8400, 0GB DRAM, no hard drive and Win 7PRO license for $10 CDN. The only reason I needed Win 7 (now upgraded to Win 10) is for a tax program I run. While the tax program can run using WINE, the configuration is very finicky and very time consuming to retest every new update whether it be WINE, MONO, .NET or the tax program itself. Something always seems to break.
One great thing about running linux is that it requires very little disk space for its OS/programs (typically less than 5GB). Thus, I can buy used SSDs for cheap. For example, I got a 30GB SSD for $5 CDN.
PS. I liked the Compaq/HP SFF and its build quality and serviceability so much, I bought 4 of them for $10 each.
Yuck, that godforsaken ribbon has now spread to LibreOffice? I sure hope it stays optional, I've had to use it at work since 2010 and I still hate it. Extra clicks for everything.
LibreOffice is fine for his homework.
No there isn't something like Net Nanny.
I may have to just shell out a bit more because I don't have the time to go around or patience to troubleshoot or add components.
We've been using OpenOffice. The problem we're having is that some teachers insist on using only the latests MS Word format for assignments that need editing at home. OpenOffice does not always handle these. Is LibreOffice better?
The built in parental controls on MacOS are pretty good. The parental controls on my boys Android tablets is ok but not great. Windows built in controls are marginal.