Hey, so my friend asked me which distro i can recommend for him. He basically used Windows his whole life. The recent developments of Microsoft though seems to worry him, so he want to give Linux a try.

I myself use Linux since around one year, so i’m definitely far from being an expert and i don’t really feel i have enough expertise to give him an appropriate answer. I use OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and love it, but i suppose it’s not a good distro for him since he is not that tech affine and i suppose getting used to the terminal is a bit much too ask and could scare him away from the Linux experience.

So what im looking for is a distro, that is easy to use (for beginners & non techies; also not a rolling release) but is also good for Gaming (NVIDIA) and lightly everyday stuff. He uses his computer only for free time, not for his work.

I hope some people here have some helpful recommendations. I was thinking of maybe recommend Mint or Ubuntu, but i only used Ubuntu for a few days and don’t really know much about it.

  • ober@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Personally I would recommend Linux Mint. It’s based on Ubuntu so any issues should be easy to find and fix online. It’s very similar in terms of the actual desktop to Windows instead of being completely different like Pop!OS. You should also be able to completely avoid the command line as well though I do encourage you to have your friend learn at least some of the basics so he at least knows how to use it.

      • PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        1·
        1 year ago

        It destroys any incentive for game houses to develop native Linux versions of their games, leaving Linux gaming in an permanent almost as good state, and prevents integrations with chat apps and so on. Why promote a poorer experience for users?

        • Tempy@lemmy.temporus.me
          1·
          1 year ago

          Not that they have much incentive in the first place. As history has shown, developers are quite happy NOT to make Linux ports at all. The market just isn’t big enough to care.

          • PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com
            1·
            1 year ago

            Then please don’t ask for help from anywhere outside of Steam support, and certainly never blame Linux for any issues you come up against with your non-native game(s). If you face any issues with your Windows game on Linux, that is not Linux’s fault or problem.

            • thanevim@kbin.social
              1·
              1 year ago

              While you’re not completely incorrect about it not being Linux’s fault, trying to gatekeep “anywhere outside of Steam support” is just as unhelpful as game developers not focusing on Linux.

              Does that same logic extend to not-Steam’s ProtonDB, a 3rd party website for tracking how well games play on Linux using Proton?

            • Lady Formic@tilde.zone
              01·
              1 year ago

              @PseudoSpock I don’t blame Linux, I blame the game developers for not making linux versions of their games. Valve, Steam, Proton and the Steam deck are improving things for gaming on linux. Yes, I’d rather have native games, but it’s still better than nothing. I’m not gonna play HL2 till the end of time or tux racer because nobody wants to make native games for Linux.

              If Valve can invent a bandaid solution to get people gaming on linux, it will increase linux market share and developers might see a reason to make games for it.