I am too much of a tinkerer for Bazzite, but it’s still the distro I recommend the most for new users. If they decide they need more freedom, then Fedora KDE is the next step I recommend.
Most Windows expats should be completely happy with Bazzite.
Try Bazzite first. It really is the best beginner Linux distro, especially for gaming.
If you decide you want more control, switch to Fedora KDE.
Bazzite and Fedora, in my experience, are the two distros that “just work” best for new users on the widest variety of hardware.
Cachy is fantastic, but I wouldn’t recommend switching to it unless you need even more control and have become very comfortable on the command line. It’s not a distro I would recommend anyone start with.
You will also see Mint recommended often, but I’ve had problems with hardware support — usually on newer builds — and I absolutely hate Cinnamon, its default desktop environment. I would honestly only look at distros that include KDE Plasma out of the box, and Mint does not.
Build a time machine and go back in time to stop WebOS from being sold to HP.
There are two “just works” distros I recommend to new users: Bazzite or Fedora.
Start with Bazzite. It is familiar and has lots of guardrails so it’s nearly impossible to break.
If you decide you want more control over your system later, switch to Fedora KDE.
If you decide you want even more control and flexibility, consider CachyOS or OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.
You will see Mint recommended a lot, but I don’t like it. The default desktop — Cinnamon — is very Windows 95, and I much prefer KDE Plasma, which doesn’t work well on Mint. Mint also has driver issues with newer hardware. But if you like retro and your hardware is older, give it a try.
Avoid Pop_OS right now. It’ll probably be amazing in a year, but the new Cosmic desktop (currently a beta) has a lot of annoying bugs with common linux GUI packages.
Since Linux Foundation is a 501c6 corporate-controlled steering group, this is a non-story. Nothing meaningful will change.
Here is an archive link.
They will just keep trying until they can trick sneak it through. This fight will never be over because the system is broken.
Cosmic started as a fork of GNOME. They worked on that for a long, long time before deciding to start over.
I think it’s the right call. I can see myself using it once it’s matured some more. The ability to seamlessly switch between floating and tiled modes is wonderful. The simplicity and intuitiveness of the UI and settings. They take all the right features and ideas from GNOME, KDE, MacOS, and Windows and made something that could be better than all of them. All they need is time and polish, and they seem dedicated to doing it right.
I am looking forward to seeing it evolve and am cheering for them.
That’s what kept me on Fedora. It just works. When Ubuntu went all-in on Snaps and ignored every bit of criticism about it, that was the end of my love and support for Ubuntu or Canonical.
S76 has been focusing heavily on Cosmic, so Pop as a whole has fallen behind. The new Beta is very promising, but not something I would daily drive. I love a lot about Cosmic, but it has a long way to go before it’s as polished and functional as Plasma.
I’ve been test driving Cachy for about a month and it’s so smooth and cozy I am — much to my own surprise — not missing Fedora. I still avoid AUR as much as possible, though. This may be the first time in nearly a decade where I’ve felt completely comfortable with a distro other than Fedora.
I would absolutely not recommend it to a new Linux user, though. It’s still more hands-on than Fedora or Bazzite, but I appreciate that. I also appreciate the automation tools that will set up entire use-cases for you.
Cozy is definitely the right word. Like a warm blanket and a rum-spiked hot cocoa on a cold day.
I’m glad I switched exclusively to Raspberry Pi years ago. I just preferred Pico.
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That didn’t work. Maybe it doesn’t realize that’s the combination to my suitcase?
Look at Notesnook. You can even self-host the server, though it’s somewhat more complicated than it needs to be.
All the streaming services are unethical now, both in pricing and operation. Netflix is maybe the least bad, but I can’t justify the cost for that, either.
Stremio + Torrentio is the way to go.
What happens next is like what happened in the 2000s. People will turn to piracy as legitimate content is no longer feasible, affordable, or ethical. Then the corporate oligarchs will crack down violently to make examples of the people they’ve given no other choice or recourse.
It’s time to eat the rich.
I was recently turned on to Stremio + Torrentio and it’s very good. I’m considering making a Pi5 device dedicated to it.
WaterFox and LibreWolf are decent alternatives if you get tired of needing to opt out of Mozilla nonsense.
If you understand what is going on then you understand that, as of right now, all mobile users are thoroughly fucked. Google is about to gatekeep all Android app development and we don’t have any serious third options. The monopoly noose is tightening around the world’s neck.
Apple, Google, they are both greedy, evil, abusive corporate oligarchs. “Apple bad” helps nobody. Google is just as bad. We need more options. Until Graphene works on non-Google devices, it’s not much of an alternative. Until UBPorts gets more support and adoption, it’s not much of an alternative either. We’re in a very bad place.
For all intents and purposes it is Steam OS.