I use Fedora with GNOME for my parents and other family members. Some have used Windows prior, some have not used computers at all really, only iPads. They all get along very well on GNOME!
I have started using Silverblue the last year, which simplify things even further. Combined with the excellent remote controll functionality, it has been a really pleasant experience both for me and them.
If you can find a secound hand Fujitsu R727, they are great linux tablets! But they are not as common, in my experience.
Nice! It can also connect to a remote instance of ollama 👍
Fedora has been “just working” for me for the last couple of years. It is my go to for older relatives for that very reason.
Fedora Silverblue downloads new OS versions in the background and boots the newest version after a reboot. I use this for older family member who’s been traumatised by Windows updates. I have also turned off notificantions that show up after a new boot with a fresh version.
The same goes for Flatpaks. Just updates without make a fuzz.
Its nice to give old people some peace of mind regarding their computing needs!
Fedora has been my default choice for non-techies in my family the last couple of years and it has been glorious!
All they need is a browser with uBlock, maybe an email reader and LibreOffice. With Silverblue, eveything updates automatically, and upgrades between major versions is a one-click operation. Easy rollback gives me peace of mind.
All they need to know is where the Super key is located on the keyboard. When pressed, it shows the dock with all apps they use and all open windows. Double-tap the Super key and you see all apps, but that is usually not necessary.
I also use the built in remote desktop feature (RDP) in conjunction with a Wireguard connection to my home network. So nice and a joy to never have to fight teamviewer again 😝
Check out Anytype! It is a local-first cross-platform app with Notion-like features, and it has a Kanban view. It is SUPER customisable, I have set it up with a PARA workflow that fits my needs.
I never notice any update times, as the default in Fedora is to auto-update (I think?). Everything is just always up to date.
Edit: coming from ten years of Arch, this has significantly reduced my time fixing things related to an update 😆
It does share dependencies, but in a different way than a regular package manager. You share runtimes and base apps: https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/dependencies.html
Podman is great, but a lot of confusion arise from the rapid development the last ~year and the fact that different distros have relatively old versions in their repos.
I recommend using the latest Fedora Server and defining your containers as quadlets. Also, on Fedora, yoi can install Cockpit (and cockpit-podman) and get a decent webgui to manage your host and container.
I should just write a blog post about this instead of typing this up on my phone in bed 😆
If it’s a personal server for yourself and maybe some friends and family, I would rather use GoToSocial, as it is much more lightweight and is less complex to set up and maintain.
Nice, support for Android apps is just casually mention almost as a side note 😎
Fedora updates flatpaks automatically, system updates too, but you need to reboot. Which Fedora version do you use?
RDP has been the default on Fedora since version 40 (or was it 41?) and it has been a true joy to use! Remoting in to help family and friends has been as simple as set and forget, and very secure since I use it via my VPN (no public endpoint).
I use Remmina to connect though, not GNOME connect, as Remmina is more configurable.