Best Linux Distro Privacy/Usability for a mid level user
What do you think is the best linux distro for a user who wants to migrate from windows in terms of privacy, usability and respect for the FOSS spirit?
I’m thinking to give a chance to #ElementaryOS https://elementary.io
Manjaro is really easy to use and understand for beginners.
a distro that has let their SSL certificates expire four times …
No it’s not. Unless by beginner you mean geek that’s beginning with Linux.
I work with elderly people, they’re the real beginners and I’ll never install a Manjaro on their machines.
Please don’t. ElementaryOS is bad for new user this days. Try Fedora Workstation edition or Plasma spin, Linux Mint.
@FarLine99 @privacy
what’s the problem with elementary for new users?
Its not a privacy problem, its a software being up to date problem. Elementary is slow to be updated so you’re going to spend a lot of your time debugging and troubleshooting why your wifi isn’t working, what’s the deal with your font rendering, why is the login screen acting like that?
#Elementary has a very opinionated design and includes some defaults that would be desireable for pretty much absolutely nobody - the most prominent of them being that it only lists apps from its own store, which is almost empty, and then gives warnings to users to try and discourage them from going to a place like FlatHub for the software that they will no doubt need. There is a tone about the OS in its design and especially its language in dialogs that may make people feel like they are the ones who are “wrong” if they do not wish to stick with these defaults - I think that’s what really rubs so many people the wrong way, and a brand-new user that doesn’t know much about Linux would just be completely lost.
It also has no direct upgrade paths for major new versions, and they do their own apps and DE which is great, but they are also under-resourced and so the experience can be a bit glitchy sometimes.
You mention being a mid-level user though, so I think you’d be fine with it, if you like the look of it. In terms of privacy, usability and respect for the FOSS spirit, I think Elementary and its Pantheon desktop environment is fantastic, and I believe it’s actually worth trying to adapt to its way of doing things. I use it and love it.
For someone brand new to Linux that just wants to get up and running quickly and get work done, I’d highly recommend #ZorinOS instead. It’s very much a counter-point in philosophy to Elementary OS and gives a vibe of: “You do things however you’re used to, I just want to make it as easy for you as possible.”
@ianmclean @FarLine99 @privacy
thanks for your comments. I’ve already decided to install #LinuxMint. Actually I’ve been using it for around a month and I’m very satisfied. Currently I almost don’t use windows.
I think to start, Mint or Ubuntu is a good choice, it has support for most hardware and will probably run on whatever you install it.
Also something that I think most new Linux users should focus on; instead of distro pick the desktop environment (DE). As a beginner it does not really matter if you use, lets say, a Debian- or Fedora-based distro. Pick a DE that looks pleasing to you maybe GNOME or KDE and take the installation with that DE. Maybe do not start with Arch or Gentoo as they are for more experienced users that already have some Linux experience.
Distros will be way more interesting and important when you got a hold of Linux and you want to explore the differences of them.
Last tip: Make a separated /home directory, so when you want to change to a new distro you do not have to delete all your files and start over with an empty machine.
I wish you a good start into Linux and do not hesitate to ask questions if they arise!
I’d recommend against ubuntu (but not against derivatives of it) because they clearly don’t respect the FOSS spirit with their insistence on snaps.
@Encryption @privacy I’ve discarded Ubuntu due to snapd. Does Linux mint also use snapd? 🤔
Mint helped me a lot when I switched from Windows. I found it very straightforward, as much as that’s possible with Linux
Debian. If for some reason (software) you need a RPM based distribution then openSUSE. But the good thing is that in open-source world, you can try as many as you want almost for free (you invest your time, obviously).
