On Wed, Sep 04, 2024 at 05:04:33PM -0500, Tom Browder wrote: > I'm trying to propose a computer lab for young wannabe coders, and I want > to use a Linux box (I prefer Debian, but I get the feeling Ubuntu is more > familiar with school systems and other institutions). >
If you're going to set it up from your own money - second hand Lenovo Thinkpads / HP laptops ex-business. Relatively cheap, robust and available - and there will likely be more given Windows 11 requirements. A very good friend once taught a class of teenagers Linux after helping them build their own computers from junk and older donated hardware. Each teen got a free computer but had to research manuals, motherboard connectors, motherboard and processor specifications ... This gave them a really good grounding for appreciating hardware and software. Most of them ended up running Debian, I think. > I am torn with whether dual boot is the way to go, given all the problems I > see with dual boot with Windows now. (I finally dumped Windows entirely > some months ago when I found a decent, modern replacement for Microsoft > Word and for the H&R Block US Federal tax program). > With UEFI, it's possible. > All the cheap laptops in local Best Buys and other local stores have > Windows installed, and, to be fair, that's all most adults and young people > have been exposed to. > A fun exercise is to ask them to reinstall windows from scratch, help them partition the disk and then install Debian from scratch. All best, with whatever you decide to do Andrew Cater (amaca...@debian.org) > Note I do not want to get involved with Chromebooks. > > Thanks for any suggestions. > > -Tom
