this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2026
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I really wish people could get together and just agree to recommend like 1 of 3 distros to people and put their personal y preferences aside.
Once people actually switch and use Linux for some time they can figure out what is actually best for them.
I say it should be,
Mint Kubuntu Maybe bazzite (Iβve never used it, but Iβve heard itβs popular for gaming.)
I still have to make the switch, have been keeping track of these topics a bit.
Right now, the shortlist I would make is:
I can't recommend to a newcomer a distro that can potentially break or introduce bugs or vulnerabilities with software that's too bleeding edge. That's why I'll never recommend Arch or even Fedora. And Bazzite is really too gaming focused and you can only install software through flatpaks. (I know there's other ways, but we're talking about newbies here. We need to keep it simple.)
Flatpak and AppImage. What programs can't be installed on Bazzite?
It's not that they can't be installed. But that the process is highly technical for newbies.
Yeah but like which ones? I'm using Kubuntu, but everything I need is either Flatpak or AppImage, and it's easier than Windows
Ah sorry. I was referring to Bazzite.
Yeah but either way I'm just using Flatpak and AppImage. Is that harder in Bazzite than Kubuntu? I think Bazzite uses Discover just like Kubuntu
For desktop apps you'll be fine for the most part. But if you need to install a module for your hardware or some other system software it gets more complicated.
Yeah I'm just wondering how common that is for someone that just wants to play games and browse the Internet
Only thing that matters is that you realize, none of it's permanent. Getting your feet wet for a few weeks working from a live USB is okay too. Go as fast or as slow as you want. People get stuck on "The Paradox of Choice".
Fucking it up is part of the fun
Not for the people who just want a working computer.
Not everyone wants OS hopping as a hobby
I like Fedora plasma the best personally, but the gnome version requires configuration to just get a minimize button and it also needs rpm fusion configured and codecs installed.
That is why I donβt like to recommend this for a newbie.
Upvote for Fedora.
We had that consensus with Ubuntu for 15 years but haters had to hate so now we're here. π
that's because even people who are using ubuntu for 15 years and don't really care that much are finally fed up and starting to look for an alternative.
"get these security updates with ubuntu pro" is the ultimate wake-up call...
Ah yes, the 10-year corporate-grade security support for communiry packages provided for free to small users. I use it on the machines I haven't converted to Debian yet. It's great.
You're not wrong.
But, what about Snaps? What's your take on these?
I use Flatpaks in Kubuntu no problem, don't think I have any Snaps installed
I tend to prefer flatpak over snaps myself. Depends for what.
Not op, but I use Ubuntu because I will need a job at some point and want to use something relatively marketable.
Snaps are annoying, I tried to use them once for something and then have basically ignored them. They aren't hugely core as something in windows would be.
i am on 22.04 lts, so should i really need ubuntu pro to get security updates and why is it forcing me to join?
You don't need Ubuntu Pro to get updates on 22.04 LTS. Without it you're getting the same type of updates 12.04 was getting, for the same period of 5 years. The main repo gets security patches from Cnonical, the community repos get patches from the community. Same as it's always been. With Ubuntu Pro, you get additional security updates for the community repos done by Canonical, like they do it for main. In addition you get additional 5 years of support for 10 years total. And apparently there's now yet additional 5 that extends it to 15 but I haven't read what that's about. So for a user that doesn't care about Ubuntu Pro, nothing has changed. For the user that wants to stay on 22.04 till 2032, Ubuntu Pro is an incredible deal. This kind of support does not exist in Debian. It can be provided by a commercial third party for a price.
I am convinced that Ubuntu/GNOME is the main reason that Linux onboarding has taken so long and has been so slow.
I never knew KDE Plasma and other Windows-like desktop environments existed until Valve released the Steam Deck.
Kububtu (Ubuntu with KDE) has been an official Ubuntu flavour almost aince the beginning. During the Ubuntu consensus years, it was being promoted along with Ubuntu for every release.
It's totally cool you learned about it from Valve but that doesn't mean people were oblivious about KDE in the 2000s and 2010s.
Sure, but it hasn't been well promoted by the community or by Canonical. Otherwise I would have seen it a long time ago.
In the 00s, it was a different thing. KDE3, now forked as Trinity, seems much more solid and easy. Would be cool if more distros pushed it instead of the heavier more-fiddly KDE since KDE3.
Ubuntu basically used to be what Mint is now (although Gnome sucks). Mint shouldn't need to exist.
I really love those haters who had to hate. ;D
kubuntu and mint are basically the same, spare the desktop environment. I think something like Fedora, EndeavorOS plus CachyOS and Bazzite for gamers sounds more fair of a possible suggestion list. Unlike Mint, all of those have comprehensive wiki, Fedora and Bazzite for those preferring fixed release, and EOS and CachyOS for rolling-release.
Bazzite for gamers is a good suggestion, as is Fedora. I've found Fedora to be quite usable even if someone doesn't know that much about tech. The setup is clear, the appstore doesn't require any CLI or effort to install most apps someone will need, games can still run on it easily with basically no user modifications if you're using Steam with Proton, the UI is easy to navigate for most former Windows or Mac users, etc.
Felt way better than Mint in terms of the out of box experience and just general design and usability imo.
I believe that people recommending Mint do so only because they once heard that it was a noob distro themselves. When i first switched to linux, i had lots of issues with it. I especially struggled with troubleshooting. EndeavorOS was my second, and it was perfect for me until i discovered CachyOS.
100% agreed. I tried it early on because I was told it was good for beginners, and stopped using it quite fast because it didn't feel much like a "noob distro" at all aside from a few things being a little more user friendly right at the very start of the experience.
I only recommend what I'm willing to support. Can't recommend distros I would never use.
This is not gonna happen.
Thankfully.
When it comes to distros, having something like a central website or something that contains up to date info on beginner friendly distrks probably wouldn't be the worst. Like distrowatch, but specifically just for distros like Mint or Zorin or MX or whatever.
The problem is we'd need to get people on board and find a way to advertise it. The advertising might be the hard part since I hazard a guess that there's nobody on the Fediverse that is big enough to reach the normal computer users. Just us fediversians or whatever we're calling ourselves.
Iβm cozy on Cachy these days, but I always recommend the same two distros to new users.
Do you want to play games or are you not very technical? Bazzite.
Are you a Windows or Mac power user? Fedora KDE.
For any other situation, try Bazzite first and switch to Fedora KDE if Bazzite feels too restrictive.
When you start feeling comfortable with those, put Ventoy on a thumb drive and experiment.