Hello! I’m new to Linux, and I’m thinking of switching from Windows to Linux because I don’t want anything to do with Microsoft, Google, or any other evil corporation, and I don’t want them spying on me. I’m thinking of using Linux Mint since it’s the most recommended for beginners, but there’s also Ubuntu. I don’t really care if it looks a lot or a little like Windows, I just want it to have a nice design and be easy to use. Kubuntu is also recommended for those coming from Windows, and ElementaryOS for those coming from macOS. I don’t know which one to choose; they all seem very good to me. Here are some of the features I would like the distribution to have:

  1. Nice design and easy to use
  2. Customizable
  3. Focused on privacy and security
  4. Easy to install
  5. Best for Linux beginners Which one do you recommend? Which one do you use?
  • Sonalder@lemmy.ml
    1·
    8 hours ago
    • ZorinOS (especially for Windows users)
    • LinuxMint (especially for Windows users)
    • Fedora (if users want something radically different than Windows or macOS, it’s closer to macOS than Windows tho)
    • Bazzite (Fedora-based atomic distro, if most of usage is gaming)
    • ashx64@lemmy.world
      2·
      4 hours ago

      The only thing MacOS and Gnome have in common is a top bar and app grid. Other than that, MacOS is closer to Windows than Gnome.

      • Windows and MacOS have always visible panel showing favorite apps and open apps, Gnome dosen’t
      • Windows and MacOS have appindicators on panels, Gnome doesn’t

      And to further differentiate Gnome from MacOS,

      • Gnome’s UX is closer to Windows. There are many, many reasons why, but some are: don’t need to click a window to focus it before you can interact with it, fullscreening behaviors, assumes Windows-style keyboard layout
      • No global menu, Gnome doesn’t even use that paradigm.

      Honestly the closest DE to MacOS is Cosmic. The launchers work similarly, the overviews work similarly, it has the option to handle minimized windows similarly to MacOS, uses menubars (but not global).