I’ve been having a big think over Linux distros. See, I’ve been looking back at my still-new Linux experience of nine months, and wondering how my own journey can help other people get started with FOSS operating systems. Whenever the topic of a Windows refugee-friendly OS came up, I would recommend Linux Mint because, first, it’s the one everyone says, and second, it was the Linux OS that I started with, fresh off Windows.
I always follow that up with a comment about how you don’t have to stick with Linux Mint if you don’t want to. You can do what I did, which is to dip your toe into the Linux distro water and find something that suits you better. But if I’m setting up Linux Mint as “my first Linux distro,” why not just skip the middleman and get right into the distros that have a bit more meat on them?
By basic they mean boring. Its programs tend to be slightly older but more stable with new releases coming during patches and major version changes. However, that also prevents programs being broken by someone pushing an update that isn’t done cooking.
I use mine for gaming, programming, art, basic internet usage and have had zero issues so far. The software center, used for getting new programs, is extremely easy to use and snappy. The default programs are all tried and tested, and the cinnamon desktop is very windows like.
I will say I have been using linux for a few years now and only have amd hardware when it comes to my cpu/gpu. Not sure if Nvidia plays quite as well with it but mint is a great place to start for most folks. If not the best part of linux is that you have plenty of other easy options you can try and nearly all totally free!