Say a friend is looking for a new system, and said person is not particularly savvy with technology, what system would you point them toward?
Whatever Linux is being sold pre-installed on a machine within their budget.
Told my dad to buy a Dell laptop with Ubuntu preinstalled after his last Windows laptop died. He’s been fine with that for the last 5 years.
Dad is on Mint as well
It’s just that I couldn’t install Whatsapp on it for calls… Which may be a huge win if iti gets him to switch to Signal lol
if they’re just doing web browsing - linux
if they have an iphone - macos
really depends what they want to do
If they are not savvy enough to do troubleshooting themselves or have no one to ask for help, I think macOS would be the best (assuming money isn’t an issue). Otherwise, Linux Mint.
There’s a rule you should learn. Never ever recommend Apple shit to people.
“Your opinion is wrong”
Absolutely, that’s par for the course for anything Apple.
You’re a good little Genius™.
I generally wouldn’t, but I do have a iPhone for work and got a good price on a M2 a couple of years ago.
The hardware is better than most laptops and the battery life way out preforms my work Win11 Dell of the same age
If you are mainly gaming, Bazzite. For everything else, Fedora.
iOS
Depends, what do they wanna do with it?
Otherwise just the OS they are most comfortable with.
If they are equally uncomfortable with all options, and have only the most rudimentary requirements, probably a tablet using the same OS as their phone.
If they genuinely wanted to take my opinion on the best choice, even if it meant learning, Linux. Probably something like Mint to start.
Linux. Hands down. Always.
New user? Try Kubuntu Linux
Power user? Eh, you can try anything but I’m still with Kubuntu because Ubuntu with KDE just works so damned nice
Mint, even though it’s becoming a bit of a boring hyped up answer. It does work out of the box and it’s got a good balance between being familiar enough for newcomers and a full Linux distro.
Also, I imagine the community must be HUGE by now, meaning lots of help out there if needed.
The community is the blind leading the blind. You guys are kinda legendary with manjaro users. No joke, mint forums are legend. Like the opposite of the arch wiki.
I’ll have you know good sir that I use Debian and Mx.
My socks go up to my knees 🧐
I can’t knock debian but i think about it like centos, doesn’t come to mind thinking desktop / end user
Linux
Mac or Linux, something like Mint, Zorin, or PopOS.
Mac for the better ingregration with more popular apps. Other than that, Linux, but test it out first since not all hardware works correctly. I had good luck with hardware on all that I have tried so far.
The amount of people who spend thousands of dollars on MacBooks to just open up Safari makes me want to believe the average person could just have a ThinkPad with Mint or regular Ubuntu and be just fine. But the reality is if you run into a solvable issue on Windows or a MacBook, usually the degrees of separation from someone (friend or family member) who can solve that issue is much, much, much lower. I just seriously doubt most people can conduct the bare minimum of troubleshooting to be able to even search the internet for easy solutions. Can people learn? Absolutely! Are they going to go through the trouble? Probably not.
But who knows, as personal computing becomes more expensive and system requirements stop people from updating. Maybe more people look to Linux as an alternative and perhaps we’ll reach a critical mass where my previous statement doesn’t matter.
thousands? the browse-the-net macbook air is $999
What do they want to do?
An iPad with a keyboard can serve the needs of a significant amount of users. I know people for whom it’s their only device apart from a phone.
A hardcore gamer will want Windows. Linux can play a lot better of games natively or fairly easily via Proton. macOS has some good ones natively but playing via Wine is more complicated. Some specialized industry workflows will require it. Windows-only games and applications are the only reason to recommend Windows.
Mac/macOS is great general purpose hardware and software. Good applications are available for art, science, engineering and productivity and it’s certified Unix. The ecosystem can be slick—Handoff from/to iPhone, unlock with Watch, TimeMachine backups, etc. Support people are usually native speakers from the same country. Some good native games and some through Wine are possible but Window and Linux have significantly more.
Linux can work for basic email, productivity and web browsing. Gaming choices are better than macOS but Windows is still better. They don’t have to worry about ads or the next interface fad being forced on them. They’ll likely need a bit more hand-holding and support down the road. They’ll need a Linux guy but they can be up and running on old/cheap hardware.
This is the first sane comment that understands OS is determined by use case. All the skids pushing mint are depressing.
Ask the person questions and find out what they want to do with the machine. This is very much the kind of question teenagers ask and confidently answer like what programming language is best.
Can confirm. A tablet can do about 99% of what people usually expect from a computer. Gamers and professionals are an exception to this rule.
Usually people just want to check their email, browse news and watch YouTube. Any tablet these days is good enough for that kind of basic use. However, OP specifically asked about desktops, so I guess we are talking about someone who does have particular requirements after all.
Point blank generic recommendation? MacOS.
Otherwise, Linux is the endgame, so it’s a matter of talking to the person to see what software is essential for them.
I wouldnt dare recommending something that most cant use, simply because they cant buy, beyond that there ethical considerarions, Apple is famous for ecosystem lockin which is extremely unethical
Ecosystem lock-in is likely not a concern for the average person, though. If they just need a computer to browse the web and edit some basic documents, everything else is just fluff.
I mean sure, if they have a specific need for MacOS, but otherwise I think it’s a bit disingenuous to recommend such an expensive platform.
I would love being able to pay for amazing Linux software. Don’t think having zero on the price tag is helping Linux, but maybe that’s just me. You pay with your time, not with your money.
Mint and no shit.
MacOS.
I hate Apple, and I do not like how they operate. But I cannot deny how user friendly their OS is, how affordable their machines are (Mac mini) and how even those who do not know how to use a PC, can pick them up and use them.
Linux Mint is my second choice
Only Linux which feels like a normal PC, and 99% of features can be installed via UI. There are holes, and I feel an immutable OS would fill this niche better, but for now this is my number 2.
I literally installed mom and dad’s Mac mini yesterday. They need to be able to run commercial software. Moving to Mac was foreign enough for them, I don’t think people in their 90’s would do well with Linux. I will, however, work on getting my sister onto Linux. We will see.
I fell with the right desktop environment like Plasma and a locked down OS that can be used without a password, Linux can be for all. Especially when it comes to using it as a web machine. If they don’t need apps, it’s fine.
Mac’s are my go to if you need commercial software. And the one pain point for Linux as a OS.
Though Valve is bridging the gap
Do they not have iPads? Every old person I know has an iPad they are glued to. If they are used to that, they can handle macOS
Ya, I do like my Mac, the track pad is phenomenal as well.
But fuck everything about their prices, or at least the laptop prices…
If I didn’t need a mac for work (iOS development), I’d probably try a linux laptop next.
