this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2025
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switching from windows to linux, can you give some advice? (sopuli.xyz)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/linux
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I need some advice regarding which distro to choose. I tried installing fedora workstation on my laptop as test and it seemed quite annoying to get the user interface right.

I dont mind the technical differences, in fact i'm looking forward to them as linux is more secure and better designed.

The problem i'm having is that i want the good things from windows desktop. for example; tray icons, being able to control filesystem easily with gui, shortcuts on desktop.

Every distro i have tried or seen has been really basic regarding this out of the box with very little customization options. I prefer not having to download million extensions for every little feature that might stop working at every major update or if developer doesnt feel like continuing.

I also would like to be able to easily backup customization settings so i dont have to do everything again if i need to reinstall. I like being able to easily customize everything so having a lot of settings is good thing for me.

I read somewhere about kde plasma and screenshots seemed promising and downloaded kde fedora. Haven't installed it yet but am I on the right track for what i'm looking for? Are there other even better choices? I'd like to nail this from the start so I dont have to reinstall later. I really dont want to wade through every possible distro.

Thank you all, you have been big help

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[–] ThePowerOfGeek 4 points 1 week ago

Zorin is a good transition point from Windows to Linux, since it's an easy distro to install and it's pretty Windows-like from a UX perspective.

Here's a more general recommendation: start off by installing a VM platform (VirtualBox or similar) on your Windows system and spinning up a few VMs, each one with a different beginner-friendly distro on it (Zorin, Mint, etc). That way you can play around with them, get more comfortable, and choose the one you like best, before you go all in.