Thinking about making the big switch – recommend me a distro!

Hey all, I’ve been thinking about making the jump from Windows to Linux as my daily-driver and I’ve been struggling on what distro to use.

On my laptop I’ve been using Fedora’s KDE Spin for a bit but I can’t say I really like KDE all that much. I took that Distrochooser test and 9/10 of the suggestions were all Ubuntu-based or Arch-based for some reason lol.

I would prefer a distro that “just works” but I’m not scared of having to troubleshoot or fix things. I guess I’m just looking to see what everyone else uses and what you all recommend. Thanks!

Scout,

I just switched from windows to Linux a few months ago. I just picked opensuse tumbleweed KDE at random and it just works. Idk anything about Linux so maybe give that a try and see if it works for you as well.

whaley,

I like Garuda. I use the dragonized theme and it makes it look similar to mac OS. IMO it’s as easy to use as any other justworks distro but is far prettier

Kory,
@Kory@lemmy.ml avatar

Linux Mint and Pop!_OS are the most recommended beginner friendly distros that “just work” in my experience. That being said, before you install, you can try out the look and feel here: distrosea.com

1984, (edited )
@1984@lemmy.today avatar

Pop OS is the best, from System 76.

pop.system76.com

gregorum,

Seconded

Ashiette,

For something that “just works” and feels quite like home, without being KDE, I’d recommend Zorin.

It’s stable, beautiful to look at and works as expected. I’d not recommend Arch-based distros to begin (but if you want to go the troubleshooting and fixing things way, that would be choice #1).

Unpopular : I’d not recommend mint.

Kory,
@Kory@lemmy.ml avatar

I’m curious, why would you not recommend Mint?

Ashiette,

Maybe it is me but Cinnamon, while being very user friendly, feels limited. I feel that when you want to start tweaking, the options are not there yet.

Kory,
@Kory@lemmy.ml avatar

Oh I see, so it’s more about the DE, thanks for clarifying.

Bronzie,

Mint Cinamon.

«Everybody» gave me the same advice.

Good luck!

Shady_Shiroe,
@Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world avatar

I second this, Ubuntu gnome feels more like Mac UI in my opinion.

savvywolf,
@savvywolf@pawb.social avatar

Imo Mint is the gold standard for a Distro that just works and meets the needs of most people.

GravitySpoiled,

Compared to other debian based distros, right?

savvywolf,
@savvywolf@pawb.social avatar

I mean, just in general.

Besides Fedora (maybe) I’m not sure other non-deb distros really are recommended for new users.

Besides that, like it or not, nowadays most software is distributed as deb files (until Flatpak fixes it). Using something not debian based requires learning how to port .deb files or use manual dependency resolution for tarballs.

GravitySpoiled,

In times of distrobox, package manager and repositories do not matter anymore.

Tippon,

What would you suggest is a better distro for a new Linux user? I’ve found Mint to be great out of the box, and only needs minor tweaks if you want the Microsoft fonts, for example.

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