My argument has always been for mint because it looks and feels like windows 7 did. Robust, secure, works out of the box, has all the right tools ready installed (except chrome or google) even for mac users except the maximise, minimise buttons being on the right instead of the left, menu at bottom instead of top, just add a dock bar and you are in business. Plus mint on a mac is easy install.
I dont often distro hop and if called to do so its just to get a result then upgrade to mint
I dont play games
I dont think now I could build a linux from scratch, and my command line knowledge needs a lot of work or a good manual as just donāt need or practice.
The version of xfce linux mint ships with is not left in its default look and feel its customised and themed by the linux mint team. If you are looking for a distribution that ships a vanilla version of xfce without any theming applied debian trixie is a perfect example of that . As an xfce fan myself i think using it is a great way to learn how to configure and customize this wonderful desktop environment thatās how i learned . Good luck
I could make a list that would include sourcing, installation and deinstallation of applications, but a comprehensive reply would better be provided by someone with experience of taking a fairly complex well-designed item of equipment from prototype stage to mission-critical or full commercial implementation, complete with troubleshooting and updating arrangements.
I was involved only in some aspects of pharmaceutical production developement and quality control, which is rather different.
Itās soo easy to underestimate the difficulties. One point Iāve made already is that at that level, the developers and maintainers need to be paid, so the Free in FOSS would need to be modulated. Presently, depending where you live, it isnāt always easy for an individual to transfer money to another country, and if that can be arranged, off-line licensing arrangements would require some thought.
Practically everything - and certainly the machines - we have at home is a commercial product.
Iām convinced that an OS for use at home and that lasts a long time needs a level of development and support that matches the best commercial standards, with the additional constraint of being user friendly.
Achieving that without a large proportion of users being persuaded or obliged to pay something will be a challenge; it has already been proposed that some elements of the āsocialā media should be supplied as a public service. The European Union could and should be taking the lead here, because the specialists who create and enforce standards (including the CE marking system) should have some detachment from the 27 national governments, which tend to let them get on with their job.
Some home users like to distro hop, canāt do that just sticking to Windows. I like the choice to have the best of both worlds. You forgot to mention that old cheap skates like me, want to use their AM3 machines still. One of mine is almost, (but not with the Ryzen --but still a frugal build) with an 8370e and 14 gb ram as fast. And can switch from Zorin, to Fedora, to Mint, to MX, (multiple hdd, and same in another AM3 with a GTX 750 and 8 of memory hooked to TV) Where Ubuntuās latest can show off its speed. I also can use printers that even Windows 10 and definitely 11 canāt handle. Whatās a home user, again?
Agree, but with far less emphasis on security.
A lot of this nonsense Linux goes on with about typing your password every time you do something, comes from commercial multiuser systems and is totally inappropriate for a single user home system. It needs to be removed to make the system more user friendly.
Friendliness and security are opposites.
No, it does nothing to help with security in a single user system.
I simply irritates everyone. I should be removed . You cant have a user-friendly linux with that annoyance.
Same goes for screen locks ā¦ at least you can disable those.
Secure boot? ā¦ do we really need it at home?
Firewalls ā¦ you already have one in your modem ā¦ you dont need two.
ssh, sftp ā¦ if you only use them on your local LAN why do they need passwords?
They invented all this stuff for commercial multi-user systems then imposed it on home users without any thought as to whether it was necessary.
sudo js another one of these things invented for multiuser systems. It is meant to allow some users to do limited superuser functions.
In a single user system it is useless. Just use su and become rootā¦it is a lot simpler because you can do a wnole sequence of root commands, without having to sudo each one.
Sudo should be removed from single user home systems.
The distro that at least tries to remove all of this nonsense is Solus.
They dont go far enough.
You are welcome to disagree.
I am trying to convince @crl that commercial linux is not a friendly solution for home users.
Iāll throw another fish in the barrel: my Android phone and its fingerprint sensor function really well to replace the constant password issue. If USB fingerprint readers and multi-platform software could be implemented Linux-wide, security needs would be met.
My wifeās phone has the same function but quite often we go out together with just her phone what about an emergency I am locked outā¦ ,(ok I should carry mine but prefer silence when out)
Yes I agree with that sense lockdown at work to stop entry or installation
But I like it at home as well I sell that as part of the security features of Linux. Unlike windows is open to all. If someone could take over your machine at a distance they cannot do much more. Thatās my preference. Again in gui password not asked for.
Some people may think sudo should be kept because itās a way of warning the user that theyāre changing something in the configuration of the system. Perhaps the warning popup in Windows when you try to run uninstalled software would be better for home use - you just need to click.
On the same topic, I always configure Linux to start up without the password, because my children left home some time ago. This option could be explained in simpler language in some installation sequences, and perhaps made the default.
