A very common question: What's the best distro for a Linux beginner coming from Windows?
Most people answer with what distro would be best for them rather than what's best for the person asking. If only because they don't know the person asking well or at all. There's a lot of variation as to why someone might switch. I suspect there may be a lot of devoted Windows 7 users out there right now who are flummoxed because they've heard nothing good about Windows 10 but don't know what to do. I can't imagine a worse time for MS to have their latest vulnerability exposed on the eve of ending support for what might be their most popular release. Now may be the time to attract new users into the Linux fold.
The difficulty in giving an appropriate answer to the "which distro" question is because the question is more complex than one might think. It requires an understanding of the skills, desires, and resources of the beginner themselves.
Questions that might need to be answered before advising on a distro;
Is the subject...
(skills)
...a very skilled computer user leaving the Windows world behind? (A)
...a somewhat experienced user, but not really talented at operating system level things? (B)
...a totally non-skilled user? (C)
(desires)
...wanting to learn how the OS works and want to dig in? (A)
...wants to be able to make changes to things, but not really learn much about why or how? (B)
...could care less as long as it works and has what they need - like email and a web browser and maybe solitaire? (C)
(resources)
...has an experienced user close by or is very familiar with using the 'net to get information? (A)
...can reach out to the internet if needed, but would rather not if they don't have to? (B)
...is on an information island and has no time or desire to learn? (C)
A great example is when my then 70 year-old mother-in-law had yet another virus on her Windows 98 computer. I couldn't figure out why - she only used solitaire and email occasionally - and I got tired of fixing it. Turned out, my 15 year-old niece would stay at grandma's and use her computer and well, you can guess the rest. Since she (my mother-in-law) had me as a resource, I didn't even ask, I just installed Kubuntu 9.04 on her machine, set up her desktop with email, Firefox and solitaire icons and left it. She never complained again (my niece sure did, lol). In this case, "Mom" was a "CCA" user based on the above ratings. The distro itself really made no difference and since I was the maintainer I used what I wanted.
So back to the "which distro" question: I was browsing Reddit and there's very often posts asking this question, so how does one answer helpfully? I think one would need to access the above areas of the poster by asking questions and know enough about the distro to make a judgment as to where it fits on the scale.
To that end, I sometimes d/l and install various distros to Vbox and play with them. Today I chose "Mint 19.3 Cinnamon" because people often recommend Mint to new users and since I haven't used Gnome in decades I was totally unfamiliar with the latest Gnome variant. My judgement is it's an excellent choice for a wide range of those new to Linux. A "B" range user will have no trouble installing and using it and will probably be satisfied and most partial "C" users would be able to as well. They have a pretty good forum, excellent release notes that include solutions for common install problems, and the solid Ubuntu base.
I probably wouldn't recommend Kubuntu to someone who didn't hit at least one "A" category and no "C"s at all. Manjaro, or a slew of others would require at least two "A"s and a "B". I would not recommend a Ghome-ish desktop to any "A" user as it's just too locked down and obscure (not fun IMO).
Your thoughts or favorite distro to recommend, and why?
Most people answer with what distro would be best for them rather than what's best for the person asking. If only because they don't know the person asking well or at all. There's a lot of variation as to why someone might switch. I suspect there may be a lot of devoted Windows 7 users out there right now who are flummoxed because they've heard nothing good about Windows 10 but don't know what to do. I can't imagine a worse time for MS to have their latest vulnerability exposed on the eve of ending support for what might be their most popular release. Now may be the time to attract new users into the Linux fold.
The difficulty in giving an appropriate answer to the "which distro" question is because the question is more complex than one might think. It requires an understanding of the skills, desires, and resources of the beginner themselves.
Questions that might need to be answered before advising on a distro;
Is the subject...
(skills)
...a very skilled computer user leaving the Windows world behind? (A)
...a somewhat experienced user, but not really talented at operating system level things? (B)
...a totally non-skilled user? (C)
(desires)
...wanting to learn how the OS works and want to dig in? (A)
...wants to be able to make changes to things, but not really learn much about why or how? (B)
...could care less as long as it works and has what they need - like email and a web browser and maybe solitaire? (C)
(resources)
...has an experienced user close by or is very familiar with using the 'net to get information? (A)
...can reach out to the internet if needed, but would rather not if they don't have to? (B)
...is on an information island and has no time or desire to learn? (C)
A great example is when my then 70 year-old mother-in-law had yet another virus on her Windows 98 computer. I couldn't figure out why - she only used solitaire and email occasionally - and I got tired of fixing it. Turned out, my 15 year-old niece would stay at grandma's and use her computer and well, you can guess the rest. Since she (my mother-in-law) had me as a resource, I didn't even ask, I just installed Kubuntu 9.04 on her machine, set up her desktop with email, Firefox and solitaire icons and left it. She never complained again (my niece sure did, lol). In this case, "Mom" was a "CCA" user based on the above ratings. The distro itself really made no difference and since I was the maintainer I used what I wanted.
So back to the "which distro" question: I was browsing Reddit and there's very often posts asking this question, so how does one answer helpfully? I think one would need to access the above areas of the poster by asking questions and know enough about the distro to make a judgment as to where it fits on the scale.
To that end, I sometimes d/l and install various distros to Vbox and play with them. Today I chose "Mint 19.3 Cinnamon" because people often recommend Mint to new users and since I haven't used Gnome in decades I was totally unfamiliar with the latest Gnome variant. My judgement is it's an excellent choice for a wide range of those new to Linux. A "B" range user will have no trouble installing and using it and will probably be satisfied and most partial "C" users would be able to as well. They have a pretty good forum, excellent release notes that include solutions for common install problems, and the solid Ubuntu base.
I probably wouldn't recommend Kubuntu to someone who didn't hit at least one "A" category and no "C"s at all. Manjaro, or a slew of others would require at least two "A"s and a "B". I would not recommend a Ghome-ish desktop to any "A" user as it's just too locked down and obscure (not fun IMO).
Your thoughts or favorite distro to recommend, and why?
I definitely am losing my touch, if i ever had any. 45 minutes or more wasted.
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