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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Linux for Kids? (yall.theatl.social)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

115 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm thinking about building a desktop with one of my kids and I would really prefer to put Linux on it. My wife is not a fan of the idea, however.

I'm wondering are there any good Linux distros/utilities for children that include parental control features and things like that? And that are easy to use for a child who has only used basic Chromebooks in the past?

For reference the child is under 12.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago (1 children)

My kid, believe it or not, uses a NixOS laptop regularly. He doesn't configure it yet, but honestly I'm not afraid of him having a go. When I was just about his age, I was figuring out DOS without the Internet to help, and while it was orders of a magnitude simpler, the documentation was orders of a magnitude more sparse too. Any of the big, well-documented distros (Ubuntu, Debian, NixOS (for some values of well-documented anyway), Fedora) would be fine. Honestly, I'd even let him loose with Arch at this point, or even Linux From Scratch.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I am hoping that shortly after mine can read & write, and I add a machine with NixOS for them to use, they will exceed my understanding of nix and start to teach me. 🤔

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Given the “unlearn what you have learned” problems I’ve encountered on my own Nix journey, I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened with shocking rapidity. Nix isn’t really THAT hard. It’s just (a) different and (b) obscurely documented.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

True, it's shockingly simple sometimes, and other times I feel like I need to be a rocket scientist. Emphasis on "feel" because in those instances, there is nothing to go by for documentation.