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Choose one at random from those with easy installation. Use it for a week. If you like it, stick with it. If it’s frustrating as heck, try another distro. Your skills picked up from the first one will very likely transfer over. As you narrow down your experience with what’s frustrating you, you can pinpoint what things you like and which you don’t and settle on the perfect distro for you.
There is absolutely NO way to know that before you get your hands dirty and see what these options are and their quirks.
“The first place to direct new users was to Linux From Scratch, so that they could determine whether they wanted to use a Linux distribution at all, or a more freeform approach.”
And that is the reason Linux will not go mainstream.
No average user wants to spend time distro hopping, they want a functioning computer that can do anything they want. A configure and forget.
So they will MUCH rather use Windows or Mac and be done with it than jump to hoops like you are proposing.
I suspect there’s a circular definition of “average user” lurking there.
Just ask your favourite slop generator to shit a suggestion for you, it already replaced your ability to draw stick figures, something every person knows hownto do by the age of 7.
Clearly there’s an unwarranted assumption baked into this comic that one needs a desktop environment. I have my non-headless Linux systems set up to run the emptty display manager using the Linux console:
Which then launches the Sway compositor without having Sway start any desktop environment if I want to log into a graphical environment. That’s my favorite option. Let’s not impose an artificially-restricted set of choices, here. :-)
Pop OS is a safe recommendation from me.
I’ve now gone down this rabbit hole several times now and installed several of them many many times over now just figuring it all out and finally getting a stable setup which took a few months.
From my perspective after doing all of that : Chances are if you are not a developer, high end cgi artist, or specialized in tech, you might just need something safe like Ubuntu. At least just grab it to start. It gets you up and running, nice interface. Easy to use. Works for basic out of the box stuff making plex server, basic computing, house hold stuff. Could set it up for your technophobe friends and family and find it easy to just update and run. Big colorful app icons. Looks and works like an android phone for usability and easy to learn. Stuff even installs from a gui similar to how windows does.
You’d only go deep on something like fedora/nobara with some serious intentions with a high end computer where you just couldn’t reach some goals on Ubuntu. You just wouldn’t go to these ones if you didn’t have to. Those reasons also rhyme with kde plasma reasons/Developer reasons where in you absolutely need specialized software. And you have to be comfortable with swimming in the bios often.
If you don’t know and it sounds weird just googling it then just stick with Ubuntu.
I’ve talked to people in the Linux community gatekeeping hard on others who don’t even know about why someone would need kde plasma. So that should tell you everything you need to know about the fanboys. And I’ve taken heat from them only to have them breaking their own brain on the idea that people actually use computers for simulations or just use computers for anything other than what they would use a computer for.
so Take what they say with a giant truck of salt. Not even Mac users are as annoying as the some of Linux assholes I’ve met.
The fanboying to the point of blinders is maddening to deal with among Linux users.
I don’t have issue with Ubuntu personally. I still prefer Zorin over it though. It’s a really nice “transition from windows” type distro and not as bloaty as Ubuntu.
The fanboying to the point of blinders is maddening to deal with among Linux users.
Alien who has arrived on Earth: “I’ve heard that you humans drive motor vehicles to get around. I should get a motor vehicle. Could someone tell me the best type to get?”
Human A: “You want a Prius.”
Human B: “No, that’s for tree-hugging, probably-homosexual hippies. You need a proper truck, a Ford.”
Human C: “Actually, Ford trucks are trash, what you need is a Chevy truck.”
former solaris / irix / ubuntu user here who works in graphics. is there a particularly good distro suited for someone doing davinci resolve, blender, inkscape, godot etc ? desktop use specifically.
what properties in a desktop env and a distro should I seek and avoid?
Frankly, the right answer is that pretty much any non-specialized distribution (e.g. don’t use OpenWRT, a Linux distribution designed specifically for very small embedded devices) will probably work fine. That doesn’t mean that they all work the same way, but a lot of the differences are around things that honestly aren’t that big a deal for most potential end users. Basically, nobody has used more than at most a couple of the distros out there sufficiently to really come up to speed on their differences anyway. Most end users can adapt to a given packaging system, don’t care about the init system, are aren’t radically affected by mutablity/immutability, can get by with different update schedules, etc. In general, people tend to just recommend what they themselves use. The major Linux software packages out there are packaged for the major distros.
I linked to a timeline of Linux distros in this thread. My own recommendation is to use an established distro, one that has been around for some years (which, statistically, indicates that it’s got staying power; there are some flash-in-the-pan projects where people discover that doing a Linux distro is larger than they want).
I use Debian, myself. I could give a long list of justifications why, but honestly, it’s probably not worth your time. There are people who perfectly happily use Fedora or Ubuntu or Arch or Gentoo or Mint or whatever. A lot of the differences that most end users are going to see comes down to defaults — like, there are people in this thread fighting over distro because of their preferred desktop environment. Like, Debian can run KDE or GNOME or Cinnamon or XFCE or whatever, provides options as to default in the installer, and any of them (or multiple of them) can be added post-initial-installation. You wouldn’t say that a car is good or bad based on the setting of the thermostat as it comes from the dealer, like.
was hoping for a more clearcut answer but this is honest and I appreciate it.
slow clap Half these posts are shitting all over Ubuntu. It’s fine for newbies.
Gate keeping Linux bros are seriously hilarious. It’s like silly No True Scotsman.
Fair point. Just remember that almost everyone that’s in the Linux Desktop space has formed a subjective opinion based on past experiences, and the popular hate for Ubuntu is there for a reason. Sometimes it’s a silly reason, sometimes it’s a valid reason.
Anyway, if I’m recommending a distribution for newbies it’s going to be (1) something KDE-based (or possibly LMDE if they’re a Mac convert) and (2) something as far away from Canonical’s shenanigans as possible.
It’s fine for newbies.
As someone who used it when he was a newbie: Gnome is fucking awful to learn - it’s so bloody alien, it’s not even funny.
I’m now using a distro with KDE and it feels just right.
KDE plasma gas been braindead easy on my ancient laptop as a first time linuxer! My next experiment is gonna be Bazzite on my desktop. Kinda seems like I’ll find the differences as I try new distros, then be better suited to form a preference for myself. Then eventually I’ll be on Arch btw…
Then eventually I’ll be on Arch btw…
Or maybe NixOS, or Gentoo, or Devuan, or GuixSD, or Slackware, or LMDE, or Calculate, or VoidLinux, or Puppy, or Solus, or, or, or, or, or, or, or, or, …
Arch is not the inevitable destination.
Or maybe it is for you, but in a different form… such as Artix, or Parabola, or Hyperbola, or Obarun, or Joborun, or Xero, or Acretionos, or Manjaro, or Endeavour, or, or, or…
But yeah! Good going, as a first time linuxer. :)
OH NO! NOT FREE OPTIONS! I hate it when I can try multiple things at no cost! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Same thing with Fediverse instances.
IMO the linux and/or fediverse community could learn a thing or two about UX from the establishment.
IMO the best approach is to take note of the Pareto Principle: 20% of instances / distros would meet the need of 80% of users.
I would simply just recommend Ubuntu / lemmy.world to complete beginners just based on market share. If they are interested in alternatives, they would naturally seek those out themselves.
This concept is nothing new e.g. Google presents their searchbar front and centre; power users would click on “Advance Search” for their needs.
If someone were to recommend me a distro with the GNOME desktop environment then I would not be a Linux for long. GNOME is weird and confusing. I am convinced that KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, LXDE and other more Windows-like desktops is better for a new Linux user. If they want an alternative desktop environment they can seek it out themselves.
a distro with the GNOME desktop environment
We would have lost a newbie by the end of this line.
I don’t think we are representative of the average user. For example, none of my family heard of these terms, or even care. They just want to browse the web, watch some Youtube videos, and that’s it.
That why they shouldn’t be recommended anything that has to do with GNOME. Just give them anything that closely resembles Windows.
I installed Linux Mint on my mom’s old laptop and on my stepmother’s aunt’s laptop as well. I have had 0 support calls since then! As you say, all they want to do is browse the web.
I started mainlining Linux about a year and a half ago after playing with it for a bit in 2007-ish and running a headless server for a decade or so.
I just installed Ubuntu because that was what Framework officially supported. I can’t think of what a newbie user would find lacking with Ubuntu. It does about everything that Windows does fine. I’ve heard similar things about Mint. Why do we have to over-complicate things for new users? Just shove them towards a distro and let them know they can probably fix whatever they don’t like with a reinstall later.
I use Linux Mint. It’s very good for beginners. I don’t recommend Ubuntu.
I use Ubuntu its very good for beginners.
I use arch, btw.
Just kidding. I use Hannah Montana Linux, the only distro worth using.
What the fuck that’s actually a real thing.
…I love it
Hannah Montana Linux compiled itself in 1786 in Staffordshire, England.
I’ve heard that it’s got the best of both worlds.
After years of distro hopping, I always come back to Mint. It’s just a nice balance of everything, though I do tweak it with a bit of a custom setup using btrfs with LUKS and grub-btrfs so I can boot from automated Timeshift snapshots if I accidentally jack something up.
Ubuntu is the only distro that tends to work for me long-term
What’s wrong with Ubuntu? I used to use it as my default distro back in the 2010s and it was very beginner friendly.
What’s wrong with Ubuntu?
Canonical.
I used Ubuntu for a while until about 7-10 years ago when they started bogging down the interface. I moved to Mint because it was easy to not have to learn new stuff. Here is a list of some of the grievances:
Advertiements for Canonical in the OS.
The telemetry is consentual and optional, but it still gives Linux users a weird itch.
Snaps are the default packages, which is not completely FOSS. I use Fedora now, and flatpack is a similar tool, but it is less bloated, FOSS, decentralized, sandboxed by default, and asks you too update packages instead of automatically doing so. Snaps seem to be easier for maintainers and supposedly has better security. https://itsfoss.com/flatpak-vs-snap/
People were irritated with the Unity interface when it came out.
Also, it’s corporate and that bugs people.
Debian is upstream of Ubuntu and a bit more simple. Mint is downstream and includes many of the QOL fixes in Ubuntu without the above grievances.
Proceeds to use it exclusively for browsing the web.
Exactly 69 upvotes - as it should be.:-P
https://distrochooser.de/ & https://distrowatch.com/ are your friend.
And maybe a little later, when more familiar and skilled, maybe after having tried a handful of distros for a while, https://bedrocklinux.org/ (or even just https://distrobox.it/ ) means you don’t have to choose just 1.
Distrobox is fucking awesome
Distrobox is fucking awesome
JFCLM
Just Fucking Choose Linux Mint.
lol no. Completely failed to run 90% of my games and had audio popping no matter what I did with pulsewire or whatever. If a noob encounters that they’re never using Linux again.
how long ago was that? what GPU? what kernel version?
is something odd
It was 6 months ago when I finally switched to Linux. I tested several distros. Zorin and Mint both had numerous, numerous problems.
Nvidia 3080. No clue what kernel version, just installed the default from the website (full install, not a live image).
hmmmm, back then mint did have quite an old kernel, but you could update it to a newer version trough the update manager, but now is not a problem beacuse in the new releases of LM 22 and LMDE 7, they ship with a fresh kernel.
Six months ago??? People were saying to use mint back then too, like every thread. I understand it’s completely based on your hardware but you can understand how it’s hard to trust anyone saying mint right? On the other hand CachyOS and Garuda both work really hard to make sure every hardware config works properly.
Nah. I’m a gamer and need something with more up to date packages. I can’t rely on Debian / Ubuntu base.
Fedora and Arch base are my go to.
I’m using Kubuntu LTS and I’m gaming just fine.
If you know what you want then you’re not the person depicted in this comic.
I’m a gamer too and i’m not sure what is about that, everything seems fine on the 6.12 kernel LMDE is on.
Ditto. Also a gamer on Linux Mint and never once had a problem.
bazzite?
I used Bazzite for a bit and I like the direction of the project. I’m still not happy with where Flatpak is and so I switched to CachyOS for now.
I’ve been gaming on Debian (granted, with the backports kernel). What am I missing? Everything works and I’ve had zero issues.
Debian and Ubuntu get packages and kernels upwards of 6 months late. If you run newer hardware, you need the most up to date drivers/kernel. Fedora and Arch just offer more bleeding/cutting edge releases.
I use Kubuntu with the backports ppa
Yep, been gaming on Ubuntu for decades. Zero issue. Occasionally have to do a thing, but it’s Linux, so you know; everything is always do able.
maybe youve always been using 2 year or older hardware *shrug
Or maybe I just run the mainline kernel in the cases I need it.
The present-day Linux kernel tree (not the Debian guys) actually has a target to build a Debian kernel package (
make bindeb-pkg) straight out of git if you want, so you can pretty readily get a packaged kernel out of the Linux kernel git repo, as long as you can come up with a viable build config for it (probably starting from a recent Debian kernel’s config). I have run off Debian-packaged kernels built that way before, if you want to play on the really bleeding edge.
If you have recent hardware mint is not a good choice. Otherwise yes.
This is not true anymore.
Bazzite is good now and you don’t have to spend hours trying to install Nvidia drivers
in linux mint there is a buton, that says “driver installer” you press on it, select what version (choose the recommended one) then press install.
I did not know that! I was thinking about my issues on Debian and assumed Mint had a similar process
if you use LMDE is still a bit easier because the sources are already added, “sudo apt install nvidia-driver” and then use the envy control program to configure it properly.
mint doesnt even offer kde, i dont see the point.
Cinnamon >>>>>>> KDE, you can install KDE regardless, but cinnamon is plainly better IMO.
Why is it better? KDE has more features and first-class Wayland support. If I wanted an X11 DE, I would choose XFCE because of its general clean code and performance.
it comes to personal preference i guess, but i find KDE clunky at times and not that ergonomic, even when you customize it a bit, like adding centre spaces to put things in the panels.
Cinnamon feels polished and relatively simple while still being highly customizable.
You’re not wrong. I think there’s definitely room for some improvements.
And sometimes too many customizations can become confusing. I tend to keep everything vanilla to avoid things breaking, except for a few things. I installed a Win 10 theme and even a Win 10 style Tile start menu because I love the concept so much.
I know it’s controversial in a Linux community, but I absolutely LOVED the Windows 10 ergonomics. Square, flat, predictable, and your eyes can quickly pick up the necessary information and you can navigate faster with a mouse. Plus with the Powertoys that added the fancy zones feature, that was perfect. I get all of this in KDE.
is reasonable to say, that W10, specially years ago, was one of the good windows, specially with a debloater.
there were a lot of shit in the middle but yeah, Cinnamon feels like “what if the windows desktop was made with love and passion”.
wdym by ergonomic in this context, may i ask?
you get to develop muscle memory faster, configurations are easier to find, and things start simple and become complex when you need them to get complex instead of always be kinda complex.
Also, I hate dolphin, it is quite bad, you can’t open files with sudo directly, you have to navigate trough various menus to find the button for that, is also harder to read IMO.
i think i explained it poorly, but i mean you get the hang of things faster, and usually stuff is where is more convenient for for them to be.
I don’t hate KDE, if Cinnamon wasn’t a thing, i would go for it, but as things stands now, I prefer cinnamon.
hey right on, appreciate the thoughtful reply. i cant say i share the same experience, but now i understand where youre coming from.
side note, im new(ish) to lemmy and im really appreciating the quality of the takes im seeing on here. refreshing feeling, so cheers to adding to that.
cant use gnome after realizing all the terrible usability choices/lack of customizability options is deliberate, people really will powertrip/gatekeep the weirdest shit
I think Zorin OS did a really good job at customizing Gnome to make it the way it should have been. As for limiting customizeability, I don’t think that’s necessarily bad. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by KDE’s customization options. Vanilla Gnome has too little. Zorin’s desktop is just right.
But that’s my opinion.
yeah i dont hate gnome users or even if i have to use gnome, but i do hate the conceptual approach to functionality they take, as you mention.
If you know what KDE is you can make an informed choice. Mint is the recommendation for people who just want something easy to get started with.
this touches on my point exactly. i find that due to the “over recommendation” of mint/cinnamon, that many new people will inevitably “waste time” with cinnamon. this is a feeling i have that frustrates me, is all. KDE is exactly as easy to get started with as is cinnamon.
anyway cheers :)
Exactly. I never see people actually liking Cinnamon as a DE, but everyone keeps recommending Mint. It’s so frustrating, and perplexing.
If Mint would just treat KDE as first class like it used to, I would be inclined to recommend it more often. Not as often as Fedora KDE — which has always seemed to have the best hardware support of all major distros — but at least I wouldn’t feel the need to fight people for recommending Mint to new users. Blindly recommending something as clunky and outdated as Mint and Cinnamon to new Windows expats is a great way to earn Linux a bad reputation just as things are looking up.
quite refreshing to get some support on this opinion. cheers
KDE’s still available in mint. They don’t strip it out of the repos. Just one install command away …
sudo apt install kde-fullright? (or clicky clicky through the gui package manager).You can absolutely do that.
But do be careful with
kde-fullif you’re running very old hardware. I’m talking about <4gb DDR3, CPUs from Obama’s first term etc.I’m not saying KDE’s “bloated”; I am still in absolute shock at how light it is compared to Windows.
But if you are dealing with hardware that needs a daily lethal dose of donepezil, opt for
kde-standard(Difficult lesson I learned)
still in absolute shock at how light it is compared to Windows
KDE’s still the bloatiest we have though.
Would be nice if Trinity (KDE3) were still ubiquitously available across all distros’ repos.
Or I suppose we could just strip alllll the bloat, and use something like IceWM for a classic “Windows” feel. (Or LXDE. XFCE (bit bloatier), or any of a dozen(+) other DE/WM following that model (panel & startmenu)).
They can try Kubuntu (or whatever) live whenever they’re ready. Beginners just need something that works with minimal configuration.
kubuntu is trash. you have to wait forever for kde updates and not everyone wants to use ubuntu / derivatives. it just seems like everyone is so stubborn and just says mint. tons of distros “just work” out of the box with minimal configuration, even some based on arch.
really i only have one opinion here that im strong on, and its that i feel cinnamon is a waste of time for many.
kubuntu is trash
That’s like… your opinion, man.
true
“This is america, why are there more than two choices”
Choice is good when you can make an informed choice. Choice is bad if you are forced to make a decisions where you have no idea of the consequences.
I am linux mint - cinnamon.
