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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]

117 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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[–] atzanteol 27 points 7 months ago (15 children)

I abhor the idea of things made "for kids". I learned to program when I was 10 on a Commodore 64. And we would wear an onion on our belt which was the style at the time.... Sorry, where was I?

I'd just install a normal distro. Let the kiddo break shit and learn to fix it. Keep backups for recovery and probably isolate the system on your network for if/when kiddo does something stupid. Talk about security, being responsible, etc. We learn through mistakes not by playing in safe walled-gardens.

[+] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

This was my fathers approach when I was growing up. I was basically allowed to do whatever I wanted offline. But, outside of a small handful of websites (a couple gaming websites maybe), everything online needed his permission. This gave me a really solid understanding of how things worked, troubleshooting, etc, while also not letting me see anything too heinous.

[–] FigMcLargeHuge 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Son, is that you? I had a linux machine setup for my kids with a reverse proxy. I let them have a handful of websites that were whitelisted and they could go directly to. Everything else was off limits unless I ok'ed it and added it to the list. It still boggles my mind at the scoffs I would receive from other parents, and even my spouse at the time.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Hehe well my dirty secret is that I was a Windows XP and MacOS X kid😅 I still have a real soft spot for those systems, especially XP. If I were ever to have kids though, I'd take this approach and introduce them to Linux young.

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