The Hordes are coming ...

[figueroa]

Actually, as computer use has become ubiquitous, it's safe to say that most people don't know how to use a computer. They only know how to use selected applications, and may become quite good at doing so. Often, these are the people who are the hardest to help. They often don't want to learn how to do routine computer self-care, but just point and click at applications.

In any case, I don't think the hordes are coming. The vast majority will buy new computers with Windows 10.

On the other hand, there will be a flood of good second hand computers available. I picked up my new Intel i7 8-core HP Pavilion HPE in front of a neighbour's house that they put out with their trash. They kept the hard drive and the RAM. I added two hard drives and 16 Gig and I'm cooking!

[rs55]

I think a small $10 usb stick with a live boot ISO is all most people will need. This will come as a revelation - since Windows does not allow this.

[JayM]

I never have such luck as figueroa. In fact, I'm usually the one putting stuff out by the curb. I'd never throw out a perfectly good computer though. A person could sell it if they didn't want it, even with no RAM or HDD in it, and probably get a hundred bucks for it if not more. With a nice video card that could almost be a gaming PC with a Core i7 and 8 cores: they're probably dual-threaded so would offer applications 16 logical or virtual processors. Wow, that would scream!

Bluesguy (cool name. Are you a blues musician?) one of the great things about MX is that though the CLI is indeed your friend if you know what the aitch e double hockey sticks you're doing, you can accomplish 80-90% of maintenance, configuration and repair tasks via its GUI tools that kind of guide you through those command-line operations. While they seems kind of complex at first and may be a bit daunting, still, they're there in MX and absent in other distros, which IMO makes MX a pretty good choice for Windows emigrants, and also for people like me: old-school Linuxers who don't want to have to bother with relearning commands. (I swear, every time I have to use sed and try to make it do what I want I invent new cuss words.)

[anticapitalista]

I think a small $10 usb stick with a live boot ISO is all most people will need. This will come as a revelation - since Windows does not allow this.

Yes, especially if the win7 box has usb3 ports.

[rasat]

Was this not one of MicroSoft's business strategy, to have "illiterate" computer users. One of the big income is the costly service offered. The are reports were customers desperately calling for service, when they forgot to plug the electrical cable. :)

Everyday there are new comers in MX, more are coming. I don't see CLI as problem, not much needed, MX tools do the job. But to reply to repeated threads. In this regard, Arch Linux became famous with their wiki pages. All new comers are guided to find the information there....... "read the wiki page + link".

[Jerry3904]

The Arch Wiki is on another planet! Ours could be better if more than a small handful of people worked on it.

[rasat]

Arch Wiki started in 2004 by copying questions and answers from the forum. This is how it was done in beginning:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=2250

Same was done recently in MX (respin threads in one place)
viewtopic.php?f=100&t=48617

[Eadwine Rose]

Again: arch is much bigger than we are. Remember our team is VERY small, and it is all volunteer work.

[rasat]

The first years it was done by two persons, Dusty and myself. Still today maintain by two persons. Its a wiki anyone can edit and addon, the forum users themselves became the contributors.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/

[Jerry3904]

Arch Wiki started in 2004 by copying questions and answers from the forum. This is how it was done in beginning:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=2250

Same was done recently in MX (respin threads in one place)
viewtopic.php?f=100&t=48617

Same has been done in MX, and Mepis before that. There problem has not been the technique but the limited personnel.