So i was surprised today when my fiancee told me she was thinking about switching over to linux. Surprised because she is absolutely not technically minded, but also because she was weary about having Microsoft AI slop forced on her PC every update. ( i’m so proud!)

Now i’ve used a little linux but i’ve always been a holdout. Won’t stop me from moving someone else over but i have too much going on in my setup to deal with that right now. So i’m not super versed but i was able to give her the basic rundown of what distros are, concerns when switching, what may and may not be available, shes still on board so we’re doing this! Knowing her she would like to not have to transition too much, whats something fairly hands off and easy to learn. I’ve heard some good things about mint from hanging around you nerds the past few years but also some not so good things, any suggestions?

next concern is what kind of transfer process is this going to be? i have some spare HDD’s so we can try and get everything ported over but i’m so busy with school right now i can’t quite allocate the time to really deep dive this.

Any help is appreciated, cheers!

    • littletranspunk@lemmus.orgEnglish
      1·
      26 days ago

      This is the first I would suggest as well. As much as I like other distros, Mint has the appearance, capability, stability, and settings combination I would want as a new user

    • arsCynic@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1·
      25 days ago

      Even as an EndeavourOS user, I concur: Mint. Why? Cinnamon is hands down the best desktop environment. Beginner friendly default without blasting features in one’s face with configs all over the place, yet intuitively customizable for experienced Linux users.

      This means she will be able to freely use it without your help, but you will be able to easily fine tune it to her preferences as well.

      ⚜︎ arscyni.cc: modernity ∝ nature.

  • DaTingGoBrrr@lemmy.world
    1·
    26 days ago

    I think Linux Mint would be a good first distro.

    I recently learned about a project called Operese. It is a Windows to Linux migration tool that also sets up Kubuntu. Kubuntu is Ubuntu with the KDE desktop environment instead of the GNOME desktop environment. I don’t know how well that tool works since I never tried it but it looks promising.

    There is also a new project called Winboat that is meant to make it easier to install and use Windows software such as Adobe Photoshop

  • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    1·
    26 days ago

    If she’s a Windows refugee, Linux Mint.

    If she’s a Mac refugee, fuck if I know.

    If she’s a IBM OS/2 refugee, please let me know how to get the drugs she’s gotten. I want in.

    • thethunderwolf@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      0·
      26 days ago

      Windows refugee: Linux Mint or Fedora KDE

      Mac refugee: Linux Mint or Fedora KDE

      PC gamer: Bazzite (or Linux Mint or Fedora KDE)

      edit: fuck markdown, why do line breaks only work in pairs on lemmy, this is not a thing with markdown on discord so why here? it’s annoying

      • Sonotsugipaa@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        25 days ago

        Discord does markdown differently than intended: it’s better for non-techies because hitting enter once is more intuitive than the alternative, but the standard way to insert line breaks in markdown is to type two spaces at the end of the line you want to break.

        • thethunderwolf@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          0·
          22 days ago

          Like this
          I see

          but why is a singular enter character treated just like a space

          look at the raw text of the comment, the above sentence’s “spaces” are line breaks
          is there a use for this functionality?

          • Sonotsugipaa@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            1·
            22 days ago

            Spaces behave like this because markdown was designed to be like HTML but quicker to write and easier to read without formatting;
            most web services that use markdown translate it to HTML rather than parsing it directly, and in HTML whitespaces are supposed to work like you demonstrated in your comment.

            The reason for this behavior in HTML is “because someone in the 90s said so”, I’m afraid.

  • SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    26 days ago

    Linux Mint is the windows 7 experience of linux. It gets out of the way so you can work. It also has the best in-OS help tools. It’s also a bit more conservative in terms of newest features, so it’s a lot more reliable.

    If she does PC gaming, you might want to look at Bazzite rather than Mint. It’s a lot better equipped for non-technical people to start gaming. It’s basically a preconfigured Fedora linux, so it’s got a solid foundation. It’s also something called an immutable distro, which basically means it’s more difficult to break as the core OS is “read only” (to simplify).

    In terms of migrating, best to avoid dual booting off a single disk. Microsoft keeps breaking Linux installs (probably on purpose). So best to install a second SSD.

    Before you migrate, have her make a list of software she uses and the hardware she has. Best to post that on a forum like this to have more experienced people look for possible issues.

    When it gets to migration day, if bitlocker is disabled, you can access your windows data from linux.

    Also get her on Lemmy and asking questions directly. The best thing you can teach a low tech person is how to get help.

      • JesusChristLover420@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        0·
        26 days ago

        I have the deepest respect for my trans siblings - after all, the very first woman and humanity’s saviour were both trans. However, I googled “Linux mint transphobia” and couldn’t find what you’re talking about. I’d like to take your accusation seriously, so could you provide a source, or if that’s not possible, your story?

  • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    26 days ago

    A lot of folks recommending Mint Cinnamon. I agree, that’s a great choice, one of my favorites. If for some reason there are technical problems, you might also try something with KDE, like Kubuntu or Fedora KDE. Also windows-like, even more mainstream than Cinnamon, faster to adopt new shit like Wayland.

  • hperrin@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    26 days ago

    Three correct answers:

    • Mint
    • Fedora
    • Pop

    And a few incorrect answers:

    • Ubuntu
    • Arch
    • Ubuntu again
    • Really, don’t go with Ubuntu
  • Donaldist@feddit.org
    01·
    26 days ago

    I would recommend either Debian or Devuan - both are absolutely rock stable and are a good entry level drug for the Debian based ecosystem. I personally like Devuan more (it just feels more mature and has more old mature community members).