That is a key question .
I asked that ‘which distro’ question twice over the years
first time I was at work talking to a programmer guy who had Linux in a sparc station. I was considering doing it to my sparc box… I asked and he said …not RedHat.
second time i was in the local isp office here where we now live. I was considering ditching Freebsd in a PC and going to Linux. I asked their systems guy, and he said Debian. I ended up following that.
So it is not like you are on your own choosing a distro. Ask someone.
Loads of the computer press do the same and cause confusion for any would be new users. I also abandoned puppy for the same reason did not understand enough so just chose the top of the list, no one to ask at that stage.
Only kidding - but - say a new user comes along - NEVER seeing anything even UNIX like - and someone suggests “Arch” or even “Gentoo” - or - Kali… I think those are wrong answers… Heck even Fedora is probably not great for a n00b (I’m sure some will beg to differ - but they’ll be wrong - only kidding!).
I first tried Linux in 1995 - it was Slackware - and it was very unfriendly… The only comforting thing was that I was already aquainted with the shell and vi… If you wanted Linux back then - it wasn’t ever going to be friendly - and you had to do a bucketload of RTFM and the install guide (from the main Slackware guy - I believe Patrick Volkerding - and he is still the main guy) was about 1.5-2 inches “thick” printed on single sided A4 (I had a laser printer at work)…
And give that all of the above is moot anyway (no Fedora 32 bit Arch?) : back to topic : given Ubuntu (or Debian) don’t do 32 bit releases any longer… Which ones - we’ve diverged from the original topic somewhat (mostly me)…
For new users in 32 bit?
The simplest has to be antiX… maybe Bodhi. ?
The rest of the list are for experienced users.
There is no 32 bit BSD suitable for beginners.
Dont know about Puppy? It confuses me.
Linux caters to a lot of different crowds. A lot of changes can’t be done that easily. Think choice of package manager or the systemd/no systemd question.
Some need a desktop, others a server.
Some are fine with systemd, others not… Then what?
Some want to build from source, others want prebuilt packages.
Some want LTS release, others rolling release.
Some want to live on the bleeding edge, others want stability.
Some want a commercial product, others a community distribution.
Of course there’s the question of package management.
…and so on.
I did not want my comment to be agressive or cause problems, I understand the needs differ for each individual, we all want something to suit us.
I was thinking more along the lines of if there was one général flavour like there is for apple, like there is for windows ….. it would be easy for a new users to just select that. Afterwards delve into all the different requirements. 90 % just want a computer to work, surf the net and do emails, plus social media and VOIP (zoom, whatsapp etc)
Paul, you always echo the needs of new users… because that is what you deal with daily.
Surely there is enough info around suggesting new users should start with Mint.?
Yes most of my clients base is new users who I love to introduce to linux almost 90 % are ex windows so need something similar in looks part of my selling point is spot the difference. The cross in the top right is a different colours, maximise minimise is a different colours. If its a mac user they transfer from top left to top right and go from circles to boxes. Once you have covered that they start to feel at ease. Put a few icons on the desktop for Google or firefox, click the menu and select internet look Google Chrome……
Never show them command line take it off the menu !
Plug in a printer and select file print, by the time I have said that its installed and working.
I saw a client this morning who is 83 she has windows 7 and happy but its slow, removed the antivirus avast. Next week will install bit more memory to go to 8gb and put LMDE she wants her mail, watch TV and do Zoom calls to her family. Thats all. New computer at 500 euros or mint at 35 euros for my time !
What would you do ?
I dont offer ubuntu because it looks different being down the left of the screen and funny icons.
None of my users need much more. Mainly older people limited income never did computing before at work.
In the world of Windows you are a user. Everyone you know uses Windows.
Ask, “Hey, fellow Window user. What is this Linux I hear about some people run on their PC?”
Answer. “What is Linux?”
Not ONE person I know uses Linux. Okay, I don’t that many people, but maybe you get my point.
You do a great job at that. Helping people gets you close to the meaning of life.
I wonder why the shape and placement of icons and buttons worries people.? I accept that it does. I guess it is like driving an unfamiliar car… but cars are more standardised these days.
In my learning days with PC’s cheat sheets played a big part, but that was before graphic terminals. Some distros (eg Peppermint) bring up a help screen on boot.
Elderly people without computing experience from their work days is a big challenge. They have to learn , just to cope with the world today.
But so many now have smart phones with more apps than me, yet shy away from computers or even tablets. The lady I saw yesterday has both but still does banking in the bank, tax returns by paper. She told me stories of not being able to use parking mètres now as they needed her car registration so has to find a local to help her use it.
I believe I may know the reason. When was the last time your phone fail to boot? I may be elderly, but I can still remember my computer problems. What problems are I having with my smart phone? The pop up keyboard is too small. I keep touching the wrong letter.
I was at a resort not too long ago and wanted to wash my clothes. Pay by phone at the washing machine? WTF? Yes, I needed help, I needed to scan a bar code to pay to do my wash.
I dont use phone to pay anything. I dont have anything in the phone that can access money .
I use a credit card only. I would not even know how to scan a barcode or what to do with it after it is scanned.
Am I being stubborn not embracing things like Google Pay?
You can add Slackware to your list. The stable 15.0 version still has a 32-bit build, and you can find a mirror for it at Index of /slackware/slackware-15.0 .
