The government could order Linux ready hardware in bulk. Also, 30 years ago, normies were able to handle DOS, which is perfectly sufficient for bureaucratic applications. They'd be able to do so after two weeks of training even nowadays.
> Also, 30 years ago, normies were able to handle DOS (...)
"Normies" from the 80s do not represent the dissemination of personal computing we experienced in the last 10-15 years. So far we have one or two generations whose experience with personal computing is limited to downloading apps from app stores and ,at best, check webpages. That is very far from what people used DOS for.
> unless you're saying they are significantly stupider, they can learn
I'm saying that there's a far larger portion of the population using computers, and they all benefit extensively from R&D going into UX design that allow people to use computers without having to "learn".
What kind of dissociation from reality leads anyone to believe your regular joe will even have the motivation to waste their time sitting in front a computer, open a terminal, and type commands? Some software engineers don't even want to touch a computer when they clock out, and you expect others to push themselves to "learn" something the have no interest in?
While my DMV and TSA use some kind of green on black terminal system, I think this is still kind of optimistic for work more complex than sequential entry. Maybe something like q4os could be employed for a stable GUI. From what I’ve seen in government work, groupware and chat systems are a definite force multiplier over a locked dumb terminal
