So like it says in the title. I’m looking to make a change. The only coding I ever did was like, some very light HTML on stuff like LiveJournal 20 years ago (because I’m ancient in internet years, haha) and even that I barely remember.

I’ve seen people talk about LinuxMint in other comment sections and how that one might be closest to something like Windows (in that a layman like myself can use it out of the box like buying a new laptop from Best Buy or whatever store). Is that actually a good one or is there something better for somebody like me?

I’ve seen enough people go ‘NO UBUNTU!!!’ to steer me away from that one, but otherwise I have no clue what would actually be good for somebody in my shoes.

I have a laptop that still technically runs Windows 8 that I just use for downloads so I’d be trying it on there so that if something goes wonky I’m not fucked. After looking at the LinuxMint website, the specs on that laptop meet the requirements for it.

Thanks so much!

  • dajoho@sh.itjust.works
    53·
    20 hours ago

    Do:

    • Mint if you’re coming from Windows
    • Ubuntu if you want lots of help online
    • Fedora if you want strong and stable
    • Bazzite Gnome if you want indestructible, grandma-safe and Apple-like.
    • Tuukka R@sopuli.xyz
      1·
      7 hours ago

      Regarding the lots of help online:

      Linux Mint is made so that they take the most recent Ubuntu, make certain alterations to it and then ship it as Linux Mint.

      Because of this, over 95 % of advice for Ubuntu works on Linux Mint out of the box. But of course, sometimesthe few changes Linux Mint has done causes the advice to not work. So, first look for

      Computer physically explodes killing me when I launch Solitaire Linux mint

      But, sometimes that doesn’t work and you find no solutions. Then try

      Computer physically explodes killing me when I launch Solitaire Ubuntu

      …and you almost surely find a solution that solves the problem.

      Just remember, it is impolite to go ask for help on Ubuntu forums if you’re using some other distribution, such as Mint. But, sometimes it could be the only good option. In those cases begin with something akin to “I am running Linux Mint which is based on Ubuntu and nobody on the Mint forums was able to help, so I’m trying my luck here.”

    • seralth@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      11 hours ago

      Telling someone to use gnome feels like a hate crime.

      We are trying to help people use a PC the way they want. Not just give them a different boot heel to grovel under.

      • Norah (pup/it/she)@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        2·
        9 hours ago

        I was with you in the first half, Bazzite GNOME seems like a wild recommendation over the KDE build which is far more Windows-like. But seriously, calling GNOME a boot-heel? I assume because of Red Hat contributing heavily, but you know the GNOME Foundation is a fully independent non-profit entity, right? The closest thing to a boot-heel on that list is Ubuntu/Canonical and even that is a stretch. Grow up.