[vox] my mother has seen the light

[Bill Kendrick]

On Tue, Nov 25, 2003 at 12:51:52PM -0800, Katie wrote:
> 
> She pays bills,

Online banking doesn't seem to be a problem.
At least, Konqueror and Mozilla web browser both handle my bank's
online banking system without any hassle.  (Wells Fargo, FYI)


> plays games,

It'll take a week to get through all of the free games that
come with most Linux distributions. :^)  KDE 3.1, for example, comes with:

  Mah Jongg solitaire (Shanghai)
  Reversi (Othello)
  Patience (Solitaire)
  Same Game (a matching ouzzle)

On top of this, I have a collection of games that came with Debian, but aren't
specifically KDE apps:

  XGalaga (space shooter)
  Snake game
  Backgammon
  Monopoly
  Cribbage

... to name a few of the more recognizable titles.


> accesses the internet.

Presumably you mean browsing and e-mail.  Done deal.
Mozilla, Konqueror or Opera for browsing.
Mozilla, KMail, Evolution, or countless others for e-mail.

There's also instant messengers, streaming audio/music players, etc.
All pretty standard stuff...


>  She would really like
> to set up webcams to keep in touch with out of state relatives.

Unfortunately, this I know nothing about.  I do have a digital camera.
The one I have now uses USB, but I've never used that.  I simply use a little
el-cheapo Compact Flash memory card rader (also USB), and read it like a disk.

The File Manager part of Konqueror lets me mount and open the card,
and when I browse around, I see little thumbnails of the photos!
(If I hover the mouse over an icon for a few seconds, a larger thumbnail
appears.)

I then just click-n-drag files to folders for archival, or later
conversion-and-upload to websites (e.g., LUGOD meeting photos).


> > > 2.  The closest LUG to Alameda, CA
<snip>
> 
> These are too far away for her

Understandable.  There may be a regular ol' PC user group near by,
where she can infiltrate and act as the Linix/Open Source advocate. ;^)
Muahahahahahaha...  *cough*  Oh, sorry...


> > North of Alameda there's CalLUG at UC Berkeley.
> 
> I can't get into their website.

Ah, I found a mirror here:

  http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~linux/mirror/


> I might just have to fetch her computer and bring it to a LUGOD
> installfest.

You might also want to consider BALUG's Installfests.  While they meet in SF,
their IFs alternate between SF and Oakland, which is much closer to Alameda.
:^)

  http://linuxmafia.com/cabal/installfest/


Good luck!

-bill!