Call out to the Linux heads out there... Desktop Distros?
Hello you Steemy bunch! My download of Windows has failed 3 times on me yesterday and I'm getting really annoyed with it, so I figured I'd throw everything aside and toss on a Linux distribution as my main desktop use OS. I'm debating between Linux Mint and Elementary OS and was wondering if any of you out there would have an idea what would be the best distribution to use for everyday desktop use (while keeping in mind that my girlfriend is not technologically inclined). I'd love to get feed back from you guys out in the steemit community regarding this, so please comment away! Thank you for reading and for any insight you can provide.
( Penguin image source: pixabay.com )
Personally, I use Ubuntu Mate as my daily driver. I like it because it can easily be customized to benefit her workflow. Additionally, Ubuntu Mate has an excellent software boutique that allows users to easily install or remove applications, and a welcome screen that will help her learn some of the basics of running a Linux distro.
Greetings @abso! You can review a nice list sorted by popularity here.
Thanks a ton sxiii, I'll be playing around with a few of those via VMs to see what I prefer. Much appreciated!
I use Ubuntu as it's the best supported, though I really like Mint. Windows 10 for regular use though.
They are actually both based off the same packages, so I think I should be fine. Thank you very much for your answer!
Excellent choice switching to GNU/Linux. Could you tell us a bit more about your foci /needs? There are literally thousands of distributions available but without knowing your background and goals, it will be hard to recommend one. What would be the main reason for you to make the big switch? Is it freedom? Usability? Ease of use? Costs?
Actually, cost is rather irrelevant, I'm just switching up because for the most part the software I use is available on Linux (beyond my gaming needs and a few professional grade tools) and I figure I have no real reason not to be running it anymore. I've actually been using it for a while (I actually had RedHat 4.2 on my PC 12-13 years ago) on and off. My hard drive crapped out so I figured I'd throw on a desktop oriented distribution as my main OS on my laptop and just keep Windows as a secondary OS for when I absolutely need to use it. I was just asking for opinions on here to see who's been using it on their machines and what they suggest for an every day desktop use. I'm pretty sure Mint is more than fine for what I'm currently doing, but thanks for looking into this post, much appreciated.
I personally use Trisquel (https://trisquel.info/) which is a GNU/Linux system for hardcore freedom-lovers as it runs completely without ANY proprietary components. However, I would not recommend this distribution for beginners as it is not very actively developed and rather clumsy to operate.
If you want to have a freedom-friendly operating system, Debian (https://www.debian.org/) is the way to go. If user-friendliness is important, you can go with Ubuntu or Linux Mint even though those distributions include proprietary components by default.
Fedora (https://getfedora.org/) is a RedHat-based system providing the latest bleeding edge packages, which might also be interesting for you. Regardless of how your decision looks like: Please let us know about it and have fun with the penguin. :-)