Just wondering as ive been told many os’s online and then told to not use certain one aswell, i feel confused on what linux os to try someday. i come from windows 10 and i always find i need windows on atleast 1 device, and put linux on the “outdated” devices, but i keep hoping around, i cant seem to make up my mind.

  • BreakingBigfoot@lemmus.orgEnglish
    1·
    3 days ago

    I’ve been using MX for years, stable reliable Dedian distro, regardless of which kernel, KDE Plasma desktop keeps workflows clean & familiar. If I was a total newbie in 2026… I’d try ZORON… it’s impossible to goose that up and can use ubuntu store.

    • a14o@feddit.org
      7·
      9 days ago

      I think OpenSUSE is a great choice for anyone who wants to actually learn Linux, which is what the OP asked for.

      • SwooshBakery624 [they/them]@programming.devEnglish
        3·
        8 days ago

        openSUSE is good as long as you have an AMD GPU. For users of NVIDIA GPUs, openSUSE is a headache because of the constant mismatch between the open kernel modules and the rest of the driver packages. I had to use a script that checked whether the packages were matching each other before updating. Otherwise, the system could break for weeks until the drivers in the repository were updated.

        • Cricket [he/him]@lemmy.zipEnglish
          1·
          8 days ago

          Can you tell us more about this? I’ve been running tumbleweed with an nvidia GPU for a few months and the only issue I’ve run into was once recently, when the key for the nvidia repo had expired, preventing me from updating at all. I tried again the next day or two and it had been resolved. I would like to know what else to expect. I’ve heard of occasional issues with tumbleweed and nvidia driver versions before, but didn’t know if it was something that had been resolved.

          • SwooshBakery624 [they/them]@programming.devEnglish
            3·
            8 days ago

            Sure. I used openSUSE as my daily driver for a couple of years, and after switching to open-source kernel modules, a common problem was when the modules would be updated but their versions wouldn’t match those of nvidia-video or other NVIDIA packages. Or when the kernel would be updated but the kernel modules would lag behind (which happened even more often.) Because of this, some components would get updated while others wouldn’t, leaving you with dGPU drivers that didn’t work.

            I had to roll back the system using snapper and lock packages until the problem was resolved.

            • Cricket [he/him]@lemmy.zipEnglish
              2·
              7 days ago

              Thanks! What do you mean by switching to open-source kernel modules? I’ve heard of people having to lock packages with tumbleweed before. I’m glad that I haven’t run into these issues so far.

              It seems that nvidia drivers are a common cause of issues in many distros. I had heard of Fedora being a difficult one to work with nvidia drivers, but then if I search the web for <distro name> nvidia issues, a bunch of message threads about exactly that come up for each distro. I would love to switch to AMD GPUs, but apparently they don’t work as well as or aren’t as widely supported as nvidia ones for graphics and video applications. The whole thing is a pain.

              • SwooshBakery624 [they/them]@programming.devEnglish
                3·
                7 days ago

                What do you mean by switching to open-source kernel modules?

                Some time ago, the entire NVIDIA driver stack was proprietary, but recently the kernel modules have been made open-source for new graphics cards. Only older GPUs still use closed-source modules. If I’m not mistaken, GPUs from the 2000 series and newer have switched to open-source modules.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
      5·
      9 days ago

      This is how I roll (tumbleweed joke here) but the addition of NixOS on my wife’s computer because she needs it to be exactly how it was if the hardware changes. (She’s not good with tech and Windows was too frustrating for her, so it is Nix and Gnome DE)

  • myszka@lemmy.ml
    301·
    8 days ago

    Linux Mint. It was specifically created for this use case. It just works. That’s it.

    • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
      8·
      8 days ago

      And it’s still great once you know what you’re doing. If you just want your computer to work, Mint is a fantastic option.

  • eco_game@discuss.tchncs.de
    9·
    8 days ago

    To friends I usually recommend the distro I run myself, as I’m most familiar with it and troubleshoot it the best.

    If it’s someone who won’t get constant tech support from me, I’d probably go with Mint.

    As a power user Ubuntu sucks, but if you’ve never used Linux before it could also be a good starter distro. The vast amount of tutorials online are made for Ubuntu.

  • Azazel@lemmy.ml
    101·
    9 days ago

    The “want to learn” is gonna carry a lot of weight here but I think and arch based distro like cachy works well for this. Cachy was my first distro and I really wanted to learn so it gave we a working starting place from where I could tinker and replace parts one at a time until they fit my liking. If I were to reinstall today I’d do plain arch since I know what I want and don’t need Cachy’s defaults anymore. Obviously everyone has their preferences but I think cachy is a really solid approachable distro for beginners, there’s a reason it just passed steamOS to claim the throne of most used distro on the steam hardware survey

    • thingsiplay@lemmy.ml
      2·
      9 days ago

      An alternative to this kind power users who want control and learn everything, would be EndeavourOS instead CachyOS. I wouldn’t recommend anyone starting with bare Archlinux, but depending on the person it could be the right choice, but its hard to know who the person is you recommend it.

  • Thorned_Rose@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    91·
    9 days ago

    Learn basic desktop Linux? Mint. Learn how Linux works and really interested in more of the ins and outs? Arch (Artix if you want systemdless) Learn how Linux works in great depth and are very committed? Gentoo.

  • artyom@piefed.socialEnglish
    92·
    9 days ago

    Everyone has their preferences. That’s why there isn’t one answer. The problem is almost every distro compares themselves to Windows, and so they all have the same “pros” from that perspective. Personally I have 2 recommendations, and I’ll tell you which ones and why:

    1. Zorin: Makes a good mesh of familiarity and ease of use. They maintain a database of different apps and will automatically point you to the most appropriate option. They greatly simplify the process of installing and using WINE. I happen to just like GNOME (looks more modern than KDE), and I like their modified version of it. Comes with a lot of what I consider “obvious” tweaks “out of the box” so you don’t have to figure out how to implement them. Their GNOME is also super outdated though, so some extensions don’t work.

    2. Bazzite: If you want a console/PC hybrid, this is probably the best way to get it. If you just want a desktop gaming PC you can get that also. Either way it comes with a lot of gaming utilities pre-installed. Best of all is their “Bazzite Portal” which makes a bunch of common apps and tweaks that are otherwise complicated to install, easy, with the click of a button. There’s also an app for updates that upgrades everything all in one place, with the click of a button, and also will run automatically in the background if your system is idle.

    But if you need support I hope you’re comfortable using corporate shithole platforms like Github, Discord, and Reddit, because if you don’t want to, they don’t give a shit.