Could this be a thing? I’d love to get paid to help people leave Windows and move to Linux Mint, but I’m not sure of where a funding source could come from. I wonder if anyone would know if libraries could possibly be open to such a program.

  • Ephera@lemmy.ml
    4·
    22 days ago

    I mean, you could offer tech support for some hourly rate, where you do consulting whether Linux is good for some person, do the switchover on their PC (and maybe a backup before that) and then help them, if they have any problems after the switch.

    But yeah, I don’t really see why libraries should get involved in that, unless you do it as a public service with no or minimal payment.
    If you want full payment, you’ll just have to advertise in the newspaper or such, like other companies do, too. Of course, that still requires that there’s actual demand…

    • Dymonika@beehaw.orgOP
      2·
      22 days ago

      Right, I was hoping that there might be some way to partner with the library to get the power of its marketing. Libraries are there for us to learn stuff, not just for books. I guess I’m wondering if a library is a better place for this versus a rec center or something.

  • Libb@piefed.socialEnglish
    3·
    22 days ago

    Up until recently you might get funding as a teacher (of something considered worth teaching, I doubt ‘leaving Windows for Linux’ would be considered such) but even that is subject to radical change with AI getting its grubby digital fingers everywhere in education.

    Maybe start doing it out of passion (you mentioned love, I imagine it was more about people switching to Linux than getting paid to help them do it?) and if enough people find you’re doing a terrific job you might get some support, eve from some local authority willing to promote such a change?

    • Dymonika@beehaw.orgOP
      2·
      22 days ago

      It is a passion that I’d like to extend to the public and turn into a/replace my current career if possible! I suppose I could call a library directly and just ask…

  • NannerBanner@literature.cafe
    3·
    22 days ago

    Well, you might be able to talk a library into hosting a ‘computer education’ class weekly or monthly, with a focus on linux, but I highly doubt you’re going to be paid for it. It would certainly have to be a passion project, just to get people off of windows more.

  • Elextra@literature.cafe
    2·
    22 days ago

    I honestly moved over to Linux Mint and am motivated to stay but I find it significantly more difficult than Windows and I consider myself quite tech savvy.

    Some things I still need to figure out:

    • How to find other drives. I have a HDD in my computer but idk how to find it
    • Install and link to my BackBlaze account
    • Soundcard. I have a sound card and I guess thats not compatible. How do I switch between headset and speakers?
    • Steam also can’t find my HDD
    • Why some steam Linux compatible games arent launching

    I’m sure I have encountered some other annoyances…

    Just keep this in mind for others. You would have to gauge how many people would like to move/learn Linux. For your local library it might be a volunteer thing or for very little pay but they may not entertain if no demand.

    • ReptilianCleric@lemmy.zip
      2·
      21 days ago

      What format is your HDD? If you recently switched from windows, it’s possible the HDD is using the NTFS filesystem, which is not well supported so many distros will not auto mount NTFS partitions to avoid file corruption. Good news, though, better NTFS support is coming with kernel version 7. Anyway, for starters you want to check if /dev/hda exists; if it doesn’t, that’s a whole other problem…

      Edit: I hesitate to recommend this distro to someone new to Linux, but it occurred to me CachyOS has a decent chance of solving every one of the issues you mentioned. It’s gaming focused, has the latest kernel already, good hardware support, and includes an environment for running windows apps. Unfortunately, troubleshooting or installing new apps will likely involve a much steeper learning curve. But again, it might have ready to go support for everything you need, so…

      • Elextra@literature.cafe
        1·
        21 days ago

        It might be NTFS still. Its my internal HDD and yes same PC I switched from windows to… Main is an SSD and no issues.

        Okay I’ll check if that exists.

        Thanks for rec for CachyOS I havent heard of it.

      • Elextra@literature.cafe
        1·
        22 days ago

        I was told by BackBlaze “The error “No such file or directory” means the b2-linux file isn’t in the directory where you’re running the commands.”

        So I have to figure that out.

        Re: ProtonDB. They’re on there.

    • Dymonika@beehaw.orgOP
      1·
      22 days ago

      Does the drive not show up in Baobab, the GNOME storage manager?

      I do not know what BackBlaze is but could investigate. I also don’t know why Steam can’t find your HDD… I wonder if there’s a visibility issue at work there.

      Clicking the options in the bottom-right speaker icon should let you switch between different output options. I think you can also type “sound” in the menu and find them that way. Do you mean it’s silent for at least one of the outputs?

      Which games are failing? I presume they’re listed on ProtonDB, right?