I went fedora which is not a beginner system and even fedora is easier than windows.
Common suggestions are: mint, pop os, endeavourOS. But it doesn’t matter, they are all functional OS that let you do everything.
Comment on End of 10 is a campaign to move people over to Linux with Windows 10 support ending
lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 days ago
Download a new OS // Download the operating system you want to install. Search for Linux distributions for beginners to get some suggestions.
I feel like it’s better to actually list/suggest a few beginner distros than to tell people to look it up.
endeavor@sopuli.xyz 11 hours ago
gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 17 hours ago
I think it doesn’t actually matter what distro you use.
It’s like whether you’re wearing red socks or blue socks. As long as you’re wearing socks, so you don’t get cold, any will do.
lvxferre@mander.xyz 14 hours ago
Myself mentioned a bit below that the choice of a distribution isn’t that meaningful in the long run. But I still think that some distros should be recommended - otherwise the newbie simply says “Hannah Montana Linux, Justin Bieber Linux, Ubuntu Satanic Edition… bleeergh I can’t choose, I give up”.
gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 12 hours ago
damn Ubuntu Satanic Edition sounds cool.
lvxferre@mander.xyz 12 hours ago
A shame the project was discontinued, the visuals were fucking cool. (Yup, it was a real distro.)
Zoop@beehaw.org 2 days ago
Yeah, I agree. Especially since there’s SO much information out there that’ll come up if they try to search, and lots of it isn’t good, and tons of it is conflicting with each other. It’s best to make it as easy and simple as possible. Like just suggest Mint or something.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 day ago
I recommend Gentoo for a beginner.
What better way to understand your new OS than by compiling it from scratch?
Scary_le_Poo@beehaw.org 1 day ago
Zorin OS is going to be the best for windows refugees. It is so far ahead in this area that it isn’t even remotely close.
I don’t know why people keep trotting out mint. Mint has far too many issues to be a serious suggestion.
HayadSont@discuss.online 1 day ago
Mint has far too many issues to be a serious suggestion.
Would you mind elaborating on that?
Scary_le_Poo@beehaw.org 1 day ago
Mint has a common issue of destroying itself on updates. It happened again to a coworker of mine a week ago when he decided to give nix a go (we are both systems engineers/network engineers).
That and mint’s GUI elements are a thin veneer. There is still a lot of legacy garbage. It isn’t made with the premise of “this GUI needs to be rock solid”. It seems to be built upon the old tired bullshit that nix users always trot out e.g. “most users only log into x y z site and make a document once in a while” or some shit. It simply isn’t true.
Most users do a variety of things. Some may be complicated, some may not be. The reason I tell people that Zorin is the distro of choice for refugees is that Zorin understood the assignment (although there are some very specific areas where it offers too much choice to the user, but those are exceedingly minor) and realized that the GUI and UX centered around that GUI is everything. Especially when you are trying to court windows users.
It should be noted that I am quite familiar with *nix, and he is to some degree familiar with it. Another guy we work with switched to popos on a whim a little over a week ago. He said he’s really enjoying it.
HayadSont@discuss.online 1 day ago
Thank you for the answer! Much appreciated.
Mint has a common issue of destroying itself on updates.
Could you be more explicit? Like, I don’t think it literally deletes itself from your drive. Right? So, what is it then?
ICastFist@programming.dev 2 days ago
Linux Mint (XFCE desktop) is the best for beginners coming from Windows, in my opinion. Linux enthusiasts will fawn over KDE because of customization, but they ignore that the vast majority of people don’t want to spend months tweaking pixels, widgets and animations, they just want to use the computer.
lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 days ago
My point is that the site should be recommending a few newbie distros, instead of telling the newbie to search it. for them.to look it up. Specially because the choice of a distribution isn’t that meaningful. out", instead of telling them to search it.
That said I agree Mint would be a good choice. Not sure on Xfce; I’d probably recommend Cinnamon instead, as it looks a bit more modern (even if myself would rather use MATE or Xfce than Cinnamon).
Velypso@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Windows user: I’m thinking about switching to Linux, mind helping me out Linux User?
Linux user: ok, so what you want to do is just figure it out yourself.
Windows user: finds debian and fucks everything up wow Linux is terrible, I’ll stick to using Windows 11.
lvxferre@mander.xyz 1 day ago
Speaking on that: a lot of people act as if promoting Linux means simply “to get others to install it”. And they ignore that the newbie will need help the first days, weeks, even months. Then the newbie gets burned out and switches back to Windows.
That probably explains why some people manage to retain even tech illiterate people using Linux, while others struggle to convince even tech literate ones to switch.
JennyLaFae@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
I like distrochooser.de
HayadSont@discuss.online 6 hours ago
While your endorsement is definitely well-intentioned, I’m unsure if it correctly reflects the project’s health. I’d argue we’ve got (a lot) better resources on the fediverse. Like, e.g. this excellent guide: Understanding Linux and choosing your first Linux distro, v2.0
endeavor@sopuli.xyz 11 hours ago
I have gnome and KDE fedoras on my two pcs. Gnome is a lot more work to tweak it and add some basic functionality(lmao at enabling right click to create new file). KDE is just fine out of the box. Nobody is forced to tweak KDE, you can if you want to.
KDE also has fun stuff like kde connect that lets you connect your phone to your pc and receive and answer to texts and other notifications, send clipboards and files. Something that is a ridiculous upgrade in QOL and its insane windows does not have it. Gnome also gets it but you need to install extension manager and search for it.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 day ago
Realistically, the best distro for a Windows user is one that runs all their existing Windows software (both applications and games) right out of the box.
Does any distro even come close to doing that?
endeavor@sopuli.xyz 11 hours ago
I’ve had no problems running practically everything I want using fedora. I would reccomend mint, popOS or endeavourOS instead as fedora is far out man and might be too cutting edge with some updates. (meaning you may break something and have to use the inbuilt system of linux to boot to the last working version for a few days)
I cant use autodesk softwares but whatever maya is replaced by blender anyway in gaming industry(I was a professional 3d artist for games), theres myriad of cad software but I switched to freecad (I design parts for cars and 3d print stuff). Clip studio and photoshop was replaced by krita which is insane that it is free as it is the best painting software out there. Photoshop was replaced by gnome and illustrator by inkscape.
Only thing you might miss are some games that specifically banned all linux users but its not like they are the only games to exist. Even tarkov can be played using spt mod which gives you a better experience anyway.
TL;DR: There are better alternatives that fill the same functionality and there are only a few edge cases where there arent. As more people switch to linux that means more donations, more developers making the missing software and more people finding and reporting issues and oversights that need fixing. Its a snowball effect.
TheFonz@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
I need autodesk for work so I’m setting up a 2nd box I can remote into. I looked into virtual cloud environments but they are too expensive
ICastFist@programming.dev 1 day ago
Not that I’m aware of. Wine only goes so far before programs misbehave. It didn’t work well with heroes of might and magic 5 for me in 2022, for instance, terrible framerate
brb@sh.itjust.works 22 hours ago
Mint looks pretty dated tho. I would go with Kubuntu because it looks pretty similar to Windows and is sleek and modern even without any customizations
ProvableGecko@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Why do you suggest Mint over Ubuntu?
ICastFist@programming.dev 2 days ago
Mint XFCE feels significantly more familiar to a Windows environment than default Ubuntu or Xubuntu (ubuntu with XFCE desktop), making the migration “less painful”;
The ISO image is ~1GB smaller \
accideath@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Ubuntu is developed and controlled by a corporation (canonical) and they have some non ideal practices (like pushing snaps heavily instead of the more open flatpaks or native apps). Mint takes what’s good in Ubuntu and cleans it up a lot.
DannyMac@lemm.ee 2 days ago
Snaps probably 😆
Revan343@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
Because fuck snaps
Broken@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
As a newer Linux user I think the priority in communication should be use Mint and then have some general information about how Linux isn’t Windows, with some key differences and how to do things. I know that’s more complicated than just saying it, but a “simple” get started guide would ease transition a lot.