There are an awful lot of WinXP class machines still running out there and there’s no reason to throw them away just because XP will be even more vulnerable than ever once the updates are discontinued in a few months. Most of those machines can run Linux just fine.
If it weren’t for XFCE, I wouldn’t use Linux at all. I’ve made peace with Ubuntu only because Xubuntu works so very well. It’s been awhile since I installed it on a client machine. Naturally I chose the 12.04 LTS release because people should not be subjected to the upgrade merry-go-round. It’s good for another four years or so.
For the most part, it’s a matter of running from the CD to see if all the hardware is recognized. If it works well enough, I install it from there. Depending on the client, I typically set it to login automatically. The password I create is designed to be replaced anyway.
The first thing is adding the two “restricted extras” packages for Xubuntu. This pulls in all the stuff most people are used to having on their computer. I always add VLC as the most reliable multimedia player on any OS. Then I bring in LibreOffice since Xubuntu defaults to Abiword and friends. Gnumeric is really fine, but the rest of it isn’t ready for prime time, so if the machine can handle it, they get Libre. Most machines also get PySolFC and some mod-music files so it plays music. Almost everyone loves that.
I have a set of TTFs I always give them (just copy the entire .fonts folder over) and I’m careful to adjust font display for maximum sharpness. I really hate the default theme, but I wait for the client to change that. For myself it’s Trench with GTK2 Dirty-Ice colors, but you can’t easily get that on Xubuntu. I also prefer the workspace selector down in bottom toolbar, and I run GKrellM with the weather extension. My favorite theme is Blue Steel with sans serif fonts. Most people have no use for such things.
Then I add Chromium and run through basic privacy and security settings. Unless I know they don’t want it, I add Ghostery and Adblock Plus to every browser, along with Flashblock if needed. Then there’s Bleachbit and sometimes I add Wine if I know they want it.
Then I spend the time teaching them how to run it. Often I’ll show them where the settings are and what they mean, then I show them all the advanced settings in the browsers. If they want training on LibreOffice, GIMP and some of other major apps, I always throw that in. Only once has anyone asked me for the recipe to use FFMPEG on the commandline to strip an MP3 music file from Flash videos:
ffmpeg -i DnK-HandNHand.flv -vn -ar 44100 -f mp3 DnK-HandNHand.mp3
That’s an example based on changing the Flash video file name first to something I could recognize, then converting it to MP3. A similar incantation will give you Ogg files, if you prefer; just be sure to change the notation after the “-f” switch and then the file type. Also, the YouTube downloader Python script an also do the conversion if FFMPEG is installed:
./youtube-dl -x --audio-format mp3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[RANDOM]
You’ll get that [RANDOM].mp3 and need to change the filename.
Of course, SlimBoat browser makes it easy. However, you have to use the generic Linux version on Debian because of mismatched dependencies. I just unzipped it and dropped the folder into my $HOME directory and linked a launcher to the executable inside the folder. Then, when you click on the “Download Video” button on a YouTube page, select the highest quality available and check the “convert to MP3” switch. The first time you do it, the browser has to download the codecs, but it drops the MP3 into the same folder with the same filename you give the video, just changing the file extension. I’ve taught that method to one other person so far.
You’d be surprised how quickly most folks can learn this stuff if you take the time and patiently explain how it works in familiar terms. XFCE is quite different, but once you point out what to look for and run them through a few exercises, they simply get used to it. Aside from folks who simply must run certain software that works only on Windows (and not in Wine), I can recommend either Xubuntu of Debian with XFCE to just about anyone.
