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End of 10 is a campaign to move people over to Linux with Windows 10 support ending
(www.gamingonlinux.com)
this post was submitted on 12 May 2025
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I feel like it's better to actually list/suggest a few beginner distros than to tell people to look it up.
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.
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".
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.
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
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?
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
My point is that the site should be recommending a few newbie distros, instead of telling the newbie to search it. Specially because the choice of a distribution isn't that meaningful in the long run, but newbies struggle picking one.
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).
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.
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.
I like https://distrochooser.de/
Why do you suggest Mint over Ubuntu?
Mint in any of its default offerings feels significantly more familiar to a Windows environment than default Ubuntu, Lubuntu (LXDE desktop) or Xubuntu (XFCE desktop), making the migration "less painful";
The ISO image is ~1GB smaller \
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.
Snaps probably 😆
Because fuck snaps
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.
I recommend Gentoo for a beginner.
What better way to understand your new OS than by compiling it from scratch?
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.
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.
I was just on Zorin OS web page and I like what I am seeing.
Have to set some time aside this weekend to seeing dual booting it
Would you mind elaborating on that?
Edit: Note that I've been a Linux^[Including the likes of: EndeavourOS, Fedora Atomic, Nobara and Zorin OS] user for a couple of years now, so no need to dumb down the answer for me. Just a heads-up*.
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.
Thank you for the answer! Much appreciated.
Could you be more explicit? Like, I don't think it literally deletes itself from your drive. Right? So, what is it then?