Hi everyone, I am planning to install linux on my friends laptop and I am not sure which distro to install for them.
The options I am considering:
- Fedora: I have it on my PC and since I will be the first person to be asked, I thought it would be best if I know the distro well
- Mint: is a default suggestion, but I am not sure if it is different enough from the Windows look that one does not expect it to behave the same as Windows
- Ubuntu: most widely available in forums, etc. And a good starting point in my opinion
What do you guys think?
EDIT: Thanks for all the suggestions, I think I’ll stick with Fedora and let them try Gnome, KDE and Cinnamon :)
I’ve installed Fedora on my sister’s laptop, and I barely have to do any maintenance. She’s not very technologically minded, but it’s been solid nonetheless. I don’t use Fedora on my machines, but for someone else, it is what I recommend.
Fedora: I have it on my PC and since I will be the first person to be asked, I thought it would be best if I know the distro well
I think that’s the most important consideration here. It’s your recommendation after all, so you have to be comfortable with it.
zorin
I gave it to two people in my family and they both have no complains.
I have never heard of it, but it fits right with my complaint with mint:
but I am not sure if it is different enough from the Windows look that one does not expect it to behave the same as Windows
Only that I am sure that it is not different enough from Windows 😅
I’d go with Fedora. If you will be their source of help, then it makes sense you know it. It’s also a widely known, stable distro with good and reliable packaging.
Mint is a good distro but there is a huge load of outdated advice out there, and I think it’s getting risky as a result. Like I still keep seeing tips to add 3rd party repos to install software, rather than pointing to things like Flatpak. However it remains very userfriendly and there is loads of support out there, so it’s still a great choice.
Another consideration is Fedora offers a better selection of DEs to use “officially”. Personally I like KDE, but also having Gnome available as a default option is good. Mint is somewhat limited in that respect by focusing on Cinnamon, Mate and XFCE as the official spins. They’re all decent but I feel like people coming into Linux should be introduced to the big 2. When I mained Mint a few years ago, I moved to KDE and it was actually a little frustrating how bloated it got to have lots of unneeded Cinnamon tools left behind, and some essential to the system.
I’d avoid Ubuntu. It’s big but it’s increasingly compromised by Cannonical’s behaviour, and personally I object to Snap. Snap as a technology is fine but the Snap store is closed source and controlled by Cannonical. And in Ubuntu so many apps are forced onto users as Snaps now - for example web browsers which are slow to start up. This is not a good experience for users.
Fedora will get you the most stock Linux environment without all the caveats, and it’s eash to switch from KDE to Gnome or whatever you want without fuss.
Mint is fine-ish, but has caveats when looking for support online.
I no longer recommend Ubuntu at all.
Mint is fine-ish, but has caveats when looking for support online.
What are the caveats in your opinion?
I no longer recommend Ubuntu at all.
Because of snaps? Or because of something else?
I had a couple small issues and the Mint forums.sorted it out easily for ne, suoer helpful
Mint caveats are that it’s Mint. Yes, most solutions for Ubuntu will work with Mint, but it has Cinnamon for its DE, whereas the bulk of all Linux users are on KDE or Gnome, so that puts this new user at a disadvantage due to that simple difference.
Canonical just keeps making poor decisions with Ubuntu, and can’t be trusted to keep putting the user first. Snaps, data/telemetry collection, attempting to shove ads into desktops, disengaging with the community, and all these subtle package shifts away from open community solutions to Canonical solutions.
Makes sense, thanks :)
Just FYI, or rather FTI, the arch wiki can still be a useful tool for non-arch distro. Debian also has a wiki.
They need to understand there are differences between arch and Mint, of course, and also some between Debian and Mint to an extent, but those tools can still provide helpful info.
I use Mint. I got used to it very quickly. I have a harder time going back and forth between that and my MacBook. I’ve used Ubuntu. It’s fine also.
It’s been so long since I’ve used Fedora that my opinion would be outdated, but I observe it has many adherents, which it wouldn’t if it was terrible.
I really like Mint, but if you’re looking for something that screams “not windows” I guess you could look elsewhere. I’m not a big fan of “how the fuck do I…” and for the most part Mint has worked as I’d expect.
I’m also a happy Mint user. If you look for something that just works and causes minimal hassle, it’s an excellent choice.
For which one would you like to provide free support?
Zorin
Zorin creator’s name is also artyom… Coincidence 🤔🤔
…what makes you think I’m the creator of Zorin?
Its just a funny coincidence that you recommend zorin and your username is artyom, like the creator of zorin. No need to take everything serious :p
Oh I had no idea, haha!
I’d reccomend fedora. mint and Ubuntu will be simpler but its like giving a toddler a wheelchair instead of teaching them to walk. the few things they’ll have to learn are necessary anyway.
I think you are exaggerating a bit. I am an adult having Mint on my private computer. I am by no means an expert, but I don’t need to be. I write my own shell scripts, I ssh around in my network, I navigate from the terminal, I install stuff, I set up services. Is Mint really a wheelchair for you because it is based in Ubuntu LTS? Maybe I don’t understand enough about different Linux distros, but I don’t see how a distro can be “too easy”.
IMO mint and Ubuntu make things simple in a way that keeps users from ever encountering something where they have to be aware of what the computer us doing. this means if something is happening that shouldn’t (malware, something misconfigured, steam being an asshole, etc.) they won’t know where to look. this is something windows and Mac do as well and it leads to the vast majority of people not knowing that they can make the software on their computer do what they say. if people dont know how to do that, corporations will (and do) take advantage of it. i probably am exaggerating a bit but I still think putting a new user on Ubuntu or mint is doing them a disservice.
Can you provide an example of a something misconfigured which is easier to manage with let’s say Fedora? I am genuinely asking, I don’t really know how other distros differ despite from Desktop environments and package managers/mirrors. If I have a problem with Linux I check man pages, stack overflow, the Arch wiki etc. How do other distros encourage you to to the same where Mint isn’t doing that? Is it because Mint provides more GUI options?
you misunderstand (or more likely I phrased it like an idiot). im not saying something like that is easier to manage on fedora. what I meant was that you would encounter minor things on fedora that would give you the chance to learn the skills necessary to fix or at least diagnose a bigger issue. on mint you wouldn’t see that and on Ubuntu you generally wouldn’t either (in my brief experience using each before settling on fedora as my main)
If you’re writing scripts and even just using ssh you’re already more technically inclined than probably 90-95% of Windows users.
Sure, I am a data scientist. I just dont understand the Mint-wheelchair metaphor.
Mint!
First two seem fine. Just commenting to actively discourage Ubuntu, as it does many things bad or just weird.
If you expect someone to need a lot of real windows programs (wine) or games, look for something pre-configured to be hassle free. Like Nobara or Bazzite (both fedora based).
Just commenting to actively discourage Ubuntu, as it does many things bad or just weird.
By that logic LMDE would be the only acceptable Mint flavour, since they can only gloss over so many of Canonical’s missteps.
And if any gaming will be involved I’d probably steer clear of either of them, since the available graphics driver will likely be outdated rather quickly.And if any gaming will be involved I’d probably steer clear of either of them, since the available graphics driver will likely be outdated rather quickly.
Ubuntu LTS (and therefore Linux Mint) gets updated graphics drivers between releases, so the situation is not too bad. I’d say it’s good enough for most people. You only really have an issue if you want to buy a brand-new AMD/Intel GPU.
For comparison, Debian 13 (and LMDE) currently ships the Nvida 550 driver, while Ubuntu 24.04 ships the 580 driver.
Mint or Fedora Plasma edition. Your friend might like Plasma as that looks polished. Anything gnome related could have a few problems getting used to the UI (though I personally like it).
Go with Fedora KDE. it’ll be the most polished DE and a good starting off point for transitioning from Windows. Mint is fine but there can be issues. Ubuntu is a headache especially when it comes to updates and upgrades (experienced it on my server this past weekend) and their sneaky “we’ll install a snap instead” approach to some things I just don’t like.
Fedora is easy and a good middle ground to get them into Linux. Also since you already use Fedora it will be an easy transition for both of you since you can provide first hand support.
I’ll throw my vote in with Fedora KDE Plasma. The fact you run it will absolutely help with any possible troubleshooting, and Plasma is IMO great for anyone coming from Windows. Fedora, from my experience, doesn’t throw many curve balls your way either.
Good luck with your friend’s transition!
I support this and would suggest Fedora Kinoite which is Fedora’s immutable version with KDE Plasma and is very very hard to meaningfully break.
