Most user friendly linux distro?

[SirGeneral]

When i upgrade my pc i'm gonna get a cheap case psu and hdd and give it to my mom as a christmas present, so whats the most user friendly distro of linux?

[Dissitesuxba11s]

I recently got into Ubuntu and it was really easy to install and use. It's also has the most support so most problems have immediate fixes.

 

Also, please don't get a cheap PSU.

[Crunchy Dragon]

I've used Lubuntu(which is more similar to Raspbian, which comes with the Raspberry Pi) and normal Ubuntu, between the two, I prefer Ubuntu.

[Cupar19]

personally, i think that ubuntu and linux mint are very user friendly and i have heard many people say that zorin or elementary os are some of the most user friendly

[Mira Yurizaki]

I'd say Lubuntu or Linux Mint for those who like a Windows-like desktop environment. For those who prefer a macOS like one, there's elementaryOS

[homeap5]

1 hour ago, SirGeneral said:

When i upgrade my pc i'm gonna get a cheap case psu and hdd and give it to my mom as a christmas present, so whats the most user friendly distro of linux?

It supposed to be a nice christmas gift, so SSD, silent PSU and silent cooler (may be cheap like SilentiumPC but still silent) will be nicer gift.

I think Ubuntu will be nice, but I think Windows will be better for handle old computer parts. And it should be operating system that you know if you want to help in case of problems.

 

[tikker]

15 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

It supposed to be a nice christmas gift, so SSD, silent PSU and silent cooler (may be cheap like SilentiumPC but still silent) will be nicer gift.

I think Ubuntu will be nice, but I think Windows will be better for handle old computer parts. And it should be operating system that you know if you want to help in case of problems.

 

Hardware support in linux is pretty good nowadays in my experience. On old hardware it may even run smoother than Windows, it being a bit lighter.

 

I'd say something like Ubuntu or Linux Mint are very user friendly. Mint used to be my daily driver, until I switched to Fedora.

[homeap5]

1 hour ago, tikker said:

Hardware support in linux is pretty good nowadays in my experience. On old hardware it may even run smoother than Windows, it being a bit lighter.

 

I'd say something like Ubuntu or Linux Mint are very user friendly. Mint used to be my daily driver, until I switched to Fedora.

If you're linux user then yes, it's easy for you. But I assume that guy who ask "what distro" isn't linux freak, so he will not be able to help in case something will be wrong.

 

And no - I was tested few linux distros, including Lubuntu, and even that "lightweight" distro can work like crap sometimes, CPU to 100% problem, web browser that eats resources with only few tabs open etc. I don't think linux is user friendly. It's not, unless you're using only preinstalled software and nothing else - in this case works like any other operating system.

[tikker]

22 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

If you're linux user then yes, it's easy for you. But I assume that guy who ask "what distro" isn't linux freak, so he will not be able to help in case something will be wrong.

 

And no - I was tested few linux distros, including Lubuntu, and even that "lightweight" distro can work like crap sometimes, CPU to 100% problem, web browser that eats resources with only few tabs open etc. I don't think linux is user friendly. It's not, unless you're using only preinstalled software and nothing else - in this case works like any other operating system.

In Ubuntu for example, updates and installing new software etc. can all be done through a sort of "app store", so there really isn't that much to it. It definitely beats the "I don't care what you're doing, I'm updating now" Windows updates  

 

Performance will depend on the hardware and distro I guess, but my old (as in 10 years old by now) went from battery powered paperweights to being  usable again for simple tasks, with Linux (Mint) installed. I'm not saying you should purposely get old hardware to save money  Linux isn't some magical pill to solve everything.

 

Knowing your way around the terminal will help, but for a facebook machine you'd never even need to touch it. It will take a bit of getting used to in the beginning probably, but so does Windows and so does MacOS.

[jpenguin]

Have a look at ElemtaryOS & Solus with the budgie desktop too

[ViscountStyx]

Been using Ubuntu for around 12 years now, and it's come a long way.

 

On most machines, Ubuntu will just work.  If you don't mind being a couple of graphics drivers behind (when really the performance increases in a couple of driver subversions is minimal - so it's fine ) then you can use the additional drivers menu items to enable the proprietary drivers, often quicker than it would be going to nvidia.com and downloading them for windows!

[Linus_torvalds]

Manjaro linux is the most user friendly! Friend of mine could never install drivers for his nvidia GPU (bumblbee) and Broadcom wifi card on ubuntu and on Manjaro both worked out of the BOX! Also it comes with libreoffice, MS office online, skype, steam and all the apps user would need. Also it's arch based so it has much newer software then ubuntu

[ViscountStyx]

2 hours ago, mate_mate91 said:

Manjaro linux is the most user friendly! Friend of mine could never install drivers for his nvidia GPU (bumblbee) and Broadcom wifi card on ubuntu and on Manjaro both worked out of the BOX! Also it comes with libreoffice, MS office online, skype, steam and all the apps user would need. Also it's arch based so it has much newer software then ubuntu

I always found manjaro a bit bloated to be honest - and the update servers were sloooooow - that was a couple of years ago mind.  Have things improved?

[Salacious B Crum]

+1 Mint

[Linus_torvalds]

33 minutes ago, ViscountStyx said:

I always found manjaro a bit bloated to be honest - and the update servers were sloooooow - that was a couple of years ago mind.  Have things improved?

You can set faster servers first in your config file. Bloat is needed for begginer users Manjaro took over every disto on https://distrowatch.com/

I install manjaro on other peoples laptops and they are happy with it.

 

I myself use arch linux + i3 gapps. I do not like/need all the bloat. But if you are begginer you need things to come with distro to not have to install or do things yourself.

[ViscountStyx]

5 minutes ago, mate_mate91 said:

You can set faster servers first in your config file. Bloat is needed for begginer users Manjaro took over every disto on https://distrowatch.com/

I install manjaro on other peoples laptops and they are happy with it.

 

I myself use arch linux + i3 gapps. I do not like/need all the bloat. But if you are begginer you need things to come with distro to not have to install or do things yourself.

Server wise I use vanilla ubuntu 18.04 - desktop wise I'm Opensuse tumbleweed as that allows me to do a pretty minimal install.  Laptop is minimal Ubuntu (now they have a minimal option during install

[linuxgod]

Use Lubuntu or Debian as a beginner 

[wasab]

You can install red star os. That thing gives you a knock off Mac user interface and let you worship Kim Jong un on your personal computer in the comfort of your own home.

[Linus_torvalds]

4 hours ago, ViscountStyx said:

Server wise I use vanilla ubuntu 18.04 - desktop wise I'm Opensuse tumbleweed as that allows me to do a pretty minimal install.  Laptop is minimal Ubuntu (now they have a minimal option during install

Can i ask how minimal is your tumbleweed install? How many packages do you have? What is ram usage like? Do you use DE or WM?

[ViscountStyx]

47 minutes ago, mate_mate91 said:

Can i ask how minimal is your tumbleweed install? How many packages do you have? What is ram usage like? Do you use DE or WM?

Server wise we've probably grown quite a few unnecessary packages at the moment:

879 -5  (the top 5 lines are just verbose table titles etc)

 

= 874 packages installed.

 

So not too heavy!

 

Just for you I installed another 17 for screenfetch......

 

See attachment 2 at how light it is RAM wise

 

 

 

 

 

Edit - sorry missed the DE / WM part - No DE / WM on this one - it acts as an SSH tunnel / Firewall.

 

Cheers

 

PS - will grab desktop stuff as soon as I can - at work at the moment and will likely be going into a coma when I get home.

 

Long day!

[Linus_torvalds]

2 hours ago, ViscountStyx said:

Server wise we've probably grown quite a few unnecessary packages at the moment:

879 -5  (the top 5 lines are just verbose table titles etc)

 

= 874 packages installed.

 

So not too heavy!

 

Just for you I installed another 17 for screenfetch......

 

See attachment 2 at how light it is RAM wise

 

 

 

 

 

Edit - sorry missed the DE / WM part - No DE / WM on this one - it acts as an SSH tunnel / Firewall.

 

Cheers

 

PS - will grab desktop stuff as soon as I can - at work at the moment and will likely be going into a coma when I get home.

 

Long day!

Still not as light as arch

I have WM i3-gaps running. This is a fresh start 0m uptime. Uses only 171 MB RAM on fresh start. Nginx + postgresql are running.

 

 

890 packages installed. Multiple kernels, arduino, many developer programs, VM + games + Steam and its 32 bit libraries

 

P.S. is that a VM?

[mrchow19910319]

ubuntu

[ViscountStyx]

11 hours ago, mate_mate91 said:

Still not as light as arch

I have WM i3-gaps running. This is a fresh start 0m uptime. Uses only 171 MB RAM on fresh start. Nginx + postgresql are running.

 

 

890 packages installed. Multiple kernels, arduino, many developer programs, VM + games + Steam and its 32 bit libraries

 

P.S. is that a VM?

Yes that one's a VM.

 

Basically acts as my SSH tunnel to the rest of the world.  One of the perks of working for VM/Cloud/Dedi provider

[PineyCreek]

Mmm...Ubuntu or Mint I'd say.

[Ashleyyyy]

On 8/1/2018 at 7:27 PM, M.Yurizaki said:

For those who prefer a macOS like one, there's elementaryOS

Linux mint is good for that too. flip the close-minimize-maximize buttons around, install Docky and move the panel to the top. done