• Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      our pc shop restores older machines with Arch Linux using the Gnome desktop for fifty out the door and comes with a new SSD

      out of all the calls we receive on jobs we have already completed Windows has more phone time and questions out of the box than Linux which surprised us

      and as for troubleshooting or walking patrons through simple things Linux has been easier for them to manage and us to explain over the phone even when having to pull the console up

      talking people with little to no experience with computers some being fresh beginners

      • AProfessional@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Arch is cool and all, but why in the world is that your choice for nontechnical users… it is not robust and isn’t meant to be.

        • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          we only started these restores a year ago and when we did all the main distros and others were tested and researched on for this project

          ultimately Arch was chosen due to pacman and the AUR repositories plus steam was using it

          the shop packed the install with what they deemed universally needed packages including edge for the browser

          most patrons do like the familiarity that it provides and edge allows for office365

          a lot of us were super skeptical on this when we were told and had a lot of the same reservations but it has turned sales around one hundred percent though with a lot of ewaste saved

          the oldest was a centrino laptop from 2007 had the original hdd in it

          the patrons either use the console and update themselves or they bring it back for updates with some watching us do the updates then doing it themselves at home

          linux has made computers fun again at least at our place

          • AProfessional@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Wish you the best, but its a bad choice. The AUR isn’t safe, as-in reliable between updates.

            Valve makes snapshots into their versioned atomic OS, so its safe. Plus a few custom packages, they don’t just use Arch and their choice isn’t relevant IMO.

            • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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              8 months ago

              Yup, if I were doing this business, I’d install Linux Mint by default, though I’d offer a few other options if customers want something specific.

              • Pussista@sh.itjust.works
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                8 months ago

                Or Fedora if the user picks Gnome. Honestly, don’t make users pick distros, but user interfaces. Most wouldn’t want to understand the technical differences between Mint/Fedora/whatever because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      So because a machine can’t run Win11 it has to be trashed?

      I have a desktop still running Win7, just fine.

      Multiple laptops running 10, just fine.

      Businesses have a support need which drives their upgrades. Consumer doesn’t need to, with just a little effort.

    • TwanHE@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      You click a checkbox in Rufus and install it anyways. Debloated win 10 Vs win 11 made no difference on a Core2Duo system in my experience.