this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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Linux

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I'm trying to set up a Linux laptop for a friend who lives in another city. They have only ever used Windows, and likely won't have easy access to fix issues (not that I'm an expert).

First off, is it a good idea to give them a Linux PC at all? Have others had good/bad experiences giving technophobes Linux?

Secondly, if I go ahead with it, what's a good, stable, "safe" OS for a beginner? I'm shy of anything that's a rolling release (e.g. Arch, Manjaro etc) as "bleeding edge" can break things more often than not. I'm leaning towards Debian or something Debian based. But I've also heard good things about Fedora.

If I was the one using the PC, I'd have installed Fedora, as I've heard it's well-maintained. Then again there's been some good buzz about Debian 12. What would your advice be? Thanks!

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[โ€“] cthulhu@emacs.ch 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

@piezoelectron For academic use, #debian12 with the default #gnome desktop. Make sure to install #flatpak, then you can grab the latest #libreoffice and #firefox. If #debian is good enough for use on the #ISS it should be fine for your friends use case.

FWIW, #debian12 is now my daily driver on two ThinkPads (X200 and X61S), everything works fine out the box ๐Ÿ––

[โ€“] stargazersmith@social.linux.pizza 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

@cthulhu @piezoelectron
I use the debian flavor of puppy Linux, which for me is the best of both worlds.

[โ€“] dekkzz76@emacs.ch 1 points 1 year ago

@stargazersmith @cthulhu @piezoelectron

:stargazersmith which DE/WM do you use on puppy