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this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2026
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Linux is legit pretty easy now comparable to Windows. It's application preferences and familiarity that keeps people at bay. New to computer user, I don't think they'd struggle anymore with a gnome or kde linux desktop than with windows. to do the regular stuff people do. Browse the internet. Save their photos/documents in some folders
I would guess literally 99% of people could switch to Linux Mint and be more than happy.
I installed Cinnamon the other day, because I remembered it to be easy to use. It is.
But. It looks dated to me. Could really use a facelift. Maybe it's just me, but in light of modern user interfaces Cinnamon is functional, but not a looker anymore. Zorin OS and Gnome in general, for example, show how it can be done.
Maybe just me...
No, it's not just you. Mint and Ubuntu get thrown around a lot by people recommending them to new users, and they're fine, but they are a bit dated.
I usually push new users to KDE Plasma if they are most used to Windows. It helps that Plasma is also my preference and I know how to help them with it, but yeah. I think it's most likely to make intuitive sense to Windows users.
In my opinion both Cinnamon and Plasma are the GOAT, but for new users I think Cinnamon is the best, because from my experience it is trouble-free, and very easy to use, especially for Windows users. I have it on Linux Mint that is installed on one of the family laptops (I use Debian with Plasma myself).
What do you mean? I know that Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS these days, that means that it has slightly outdated packages, but for most users that need their computer only for browsing the web and other simple uses, it is fine. You can also install flatpaks.
With Ubuntu I don't think the problems is that is dated (it literally is updated every 6 months), but how buggy it is. I literally tried it out like a year ago, and simple applications like Settings app, were just crashing on me after installation.
i quite like the cinnamon theme in mint, I think it looks really nice, especially with a vibrant wallpaper. In my opinion it's modern but simple and relaxing to look at
I love the way it looks. It's super easy to figure out where everything is. "Cutting edge" UI designers have a tendency to change things to justify their own existence. Is it easy for the user to navigate? Is it clear what does what? Great. Stick with your design language and only change it if you're forced to by some fundamental change that is incompatible with the framework you currently have.
I fucking hate how every time my phone updates something is bound to be changed with no obvious benefit. Even worse when they remove functionality I was reliant on.
Eh, don't know about that. Probably a very large portion of people would need word/PowerPoint/etc... For company document compatibility.
For sure a lot of people though could easily get by with LibreOffice.
Not anymore. Most corporate environments I've been in use Office on the web or Google Docs.
MS Office works in a browser, and LibreOffice opens Word/Powerpoint files just fine. Been using LibreOffice for years while my coworkers send me files made with MS Office. It's simply not a blocker.
web office products from microslop have reduced functionality in comparison to desktop variants, which is most obvious with Powerpoint. However, for sleek designs, canva might work better already, just the interoperability of the m365 office suite between multiple users at once keeps it at the front of the market.
Having used it in the browser, it barely works in a browser. >50% of functionality is simply missing. Pretty much only the very very basics of typing and formatting.
I also use libreoffice and actually like calc better than excel because python support ia a first class citizen for programming within the spreadsheet in Calc, but AFAIK macro spreadsheets aren't very cross compatible, but I guess I work in engineering so every company I have worked with or for uses excel macros, probably not representative of other professions.
The grapuh of Linux suitability as a function of user skill is a U. At the bottom of user skill, you've got your aunt who needs a Chrome bootloader. Linux is perfect for them, maybe better than Windows.
As you get into the middle, you get into "I just need to use Photoshop" or "I just want to play Valorant". It's gotten to where software that doesn't run on Linux is a deliberate choice, but they're still out there. Gaming has been easing up in large part due to Valve, so the middle of the U has been rising, but it's still a big dip.
At the top end you've got the computer science types developing all these internet and AI based systems almost all of which run on Linux servers in the back end. Linux dominates literally every computing platform except desktops.
Very good analogy, only would say there's a wide range of creative people who are stuck with windows/mac because of compatibility in their field. They can be quite highly skilled but you can't escape the industry standards.
Luckily Adobe seems hell-bent on self-destructing, that should help.
Oh yeah, it does help indeed. After I got used to Gimp, I don’t think I’d ever want to open Photoshop. For my personal tasks that’s 100%.
I got so used to PS UI I can't figure out Gimp. That's why I use Krita
The UI is the worst I’ve ever seen, but you can use PhotoGimp
Have you tried this?
https://photogimp.com/
My school system had thin clients running CentOS growing up and nobody had issues.
Gaming is better on Linux than Windows now. I said what I said.
If you don't play some of the big multiplayer games, definitely.
And that's an artificial limitation. The game would work fine if they didn't go to extra effort to hamper it; so the technical hurdles have been overcome.
It's been so long that I've gamed on Windows that I'll have to take your word for it.