[Update] Re: [OT] Granny-friendly Linux Distros?

[Nick Sabalausky (Abscissa)]

Thanks for the input, all.

If you don't already know me by know, I'll warn you: There's a lot of 
ranty-ness the further this gets. But I *do* have a (tentative) plan...

So, for anyone curious, and for documentation purposes, my additional 
research tells me a few things:

- Apparently, Linux (libptp) and iOS both support PTP (ie, treating a 
USB device as a digital camera and transferring photos). Don't know what 
the UX is like on Linux, yet.

- PTP doesn't support videos (only photos), but the MS-created extension 
"MTP" does. It's apparently on Linux (libmtp), but I'm still unclear 
whether iOS supports it, or if not, whether there's another good way to 
transfer videos between iOS and Linux. (Again, I'm not much of an iOS 
guy myself...Hell, I don't even like Android, but that's what my phone is.)

- That alone (photo and video transfer) accounts for the main iPhone 
connectivity I was concerned with[...trying to get her to actually use 
since she's constantly low in iPhone storage space and doesn't know how 
to sync]. There *is* some iOS connectivity (unfortunately forgot what) 
that is still yet-to-be-working on Linux. But it seems that general, 
overall phone-wide iPhone backups are possible on Linux, which is an 
extra bonus on top of the photos/videos I'm mainly concerned with.

- Apparently it's possible these days to use ribbon-based versions of MS 
  Office (which she likes) through Wine. Although, TBH, she doesn't seem 
to use Word (or other Office tools) all that much anymore these days, 
AFAICT.

- I guess, as a last resort anyway, she can still just use her old 
laptop and a USB HDD for anything her new laptop has any issues with. 
(Although her old one doesn't do USB3, but still...feasible.)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Based on all of your helpful feedback, I've given a few of the latest 
versions of Ubuntu and Lubuntu a spin in the ol' Virtual Machine. 
(Aside: I was surprised - it seems I never touched VMs since I switched 
from Debian Testing to Manjaro back I-don't-know-when-ago, so I had to 
reinstall one. *Almost* had to give up on VMWare in favor of Oracle 
VirtualBox due to apparent Manjaro-host issues, but finally managed to 
get it working).

My (L)Ubuntu-client results:

- *Number 1*:
Lubuntu's homepage is <lubuntu.me>...It is *NOT* the outdated and 
rubbish <lubuntu.net> which search engine results would have you believe.

- These days, LXDE now has an offshoot I never knew existed, called LXQt 
(ie, Like the name suggests, it's LXDE, but based on Qt instead of 
&@#!%* GTK).

- Newest Lubuntu LTS (18.04) still just uses LXDE, but newest Lubuntu 
non-LTS (18.10) is updated to use LXQt.

- Stock Ubuntu is just as OSX-envious as I remember from the pre-Unity 
GNOME 2 days, and MUCH slower.

- It turns out, based on actual hands-on experience, LXDE (Lub. 18.04) 
is still just as crap as ever (though vastly faster than stock Ubuntu), 
but LXQt (Lub. 18.10) is actually really, really, *REALLY* freaking 
*GOOD*. In fact, *so* freaking good, I'm REALLY tempted to ditch KDE in 
favor of LXQt myself!!!  (Biggest holdback is the fact that 
<https://github.com/papylhomme/diskmonitor> doesn't have a widget or 
systray tool for LXQt. God I wish [*proactive*!!] S.M.A.R.T. tools like 
that were more standard!!! It's an absolute SIN against computing that 
they aren't </rant>)

- As a side note, I'm still absolutely amazed, by how ALL the Win9x+ 
imitating desktops STILL, even *OVER* twenty years later in 2019, 
*still* completely and utterly fail to even *remotely* match (let alone 
surpass) the seamless UX simplicity of...adjusting the freaking 
taskbar...basic no-mess drag-to-resize it...basic intuitive reorienting 
of its mounted side (while having side-mounted panels actually 
*WORK*)...that Windows was *perfectly* capable of **24 YEARS** ago!!! 
Pathetic, linux. Absolutely pathetic!! (*This* is why I'm still very 
tempted to make my own DE, even though I don't know the first thing 
about hooking a home-spun DE into a linux desktop.)

- Trying to convert stock Ubuntu LTS to LXDE (let alone LXQt) 
is...well...absolutely INSANE. I can't even find a freaking way of 
*querying* whether I'm using LXDE vs LXQt (other than the 
overly-objective question of "Does the UI seem crap or good?"), let 
alone which version of which I'm running (and no, the package managers 
don't help because even on Lubuntu they report I have *NEITHER* LXDE 
*NOR* LXQt even installed!!!), let alone trying to get Ubuntu LTS to use 
something Lubuntu added in a non-LTS...just...forget it, screw the whole 
"replace stock Ubuntu's godawful, Apple-envious, slow-as-f*** DE" notion 
entirely...

"Summary" (That's "TL;DR" for you nerds...):
------------------------------------------------

Unless I hit upon unexpected roadblocks, my current plan is:

1. Get a machine meeting the various correct physical requirements that 
also supports unlocking the bootloader (so I can kill Windows in favor 
of Linux). I suspect we can get this pretty cheap, as long as the 
onboard-CDR-in-2019 requirement doesn't prove TOO esoteric (Modern PC 
manufacturers *LOVE* artificially limiting their machines to iPad 
capabilities for inexplicable reasons...).

2. Get a modest USB3 HDD to handle archival needs and shuffling data 
between old-and-new PCs (Because even today, direct LAN data-transfer 
across different OSes (or even the same OS in many unfortunate cases, 
especially if mobiles are involved) is still a royal PITA).

3. Then I'll dual-boot-install Lubuntu 18.10 (non-LTS), but retain an 
optional OEM Windoze partition just-in-case. I'll get what she needs 
up-and-running on that, figure out how to set up automatic updates, and 
leave it at that until Lubuntu has their first LXQt-based LTS...at which 
point I'll update the system to that, re-enable automatic updates, and 
laugh maniacally until either A. It becomes clear I've made huge a 
mistake somewhere or B. It becomes clear it's time for her NEXT new 
computer and I'm forced to prepare ANOTHER round of questionable 
compromises for the alleged sake of "progress"...

Speaking of which...I don't suppose anyone knows where I could find for 
myself...a laptop with:

- SSD+HDD
- DVD-RW (because peripherals are the *obvious* enemy of portability)
- Hardware killswitches for things like WiFi/bluetooth/webcam(if 
any)/mic(if any)/gps(if any) (because why *wouldn't* any reasonable 
human want that? But I guess "reasonable" must be the sticking point...)
- A non-glossy matte screen (again...*duh!!!*...Bonus points if it isn't 
short-screen)
- Good battery life when GPU is NOT active.
- HDMI-out (duh!)
- An actually *sufficient* number of USB (and USB3) 
ports...(again...peripherals are the *obvious* enemy of portability, and 
laptop keyboards are *always* crap).
- AND...perchance...to dream...a competitive CPU/GPU that would allow me 
to play the few AAA games I actually care about with a Steam controller 
rather than DualShock/XBox, and **maybe** even Oculus/Vive? I figure 
that would be $$$, granted, and would obviously kill battery whenever 
the GPU is active, but...but is it *really* too "lack of completely 
unnecessary compromises" to even consider???

If so, even if its $$$, then you would *totally* be my hero (and, yes, I 
realize that's such a *HUGE* honor, but please, don't trip over each 
other reaching for such a star!!!) ;)