this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Arch is the one of the last things I'd recommend for an out of the box experience.
I'd recommend Fedora with Gnome if people are coming from iOS and KDE if people come from Windows.
It's also one of the last things I'd recommend to someone migrating from Windows to Linux lol it has a fairly high learning curve
Anecdotal, but I jumped straight into EndeavorOS from Windows 10 with very little knowledge about Linux before hand and it's been a very "it just works" out of the box experience for me.
Granted I just use my PC mainly for gaming, but outside of a few issues that were my own fault for not reading/doing any research before wiping my Windows install, its been an incredibly smooth experience.
While I agree that overall it can be a smooth experience I'd say for the majority of people who are just coming to Linux I woukd rather recommend Linux Mint. Especially when someone doesn't know what they're doing at all yet.
Arch and its derivatives are cool dor tinkerers but realistically speaking if you're looking for stuff that works out of the box without hassle it's much much better to stick to distros like Linux Mint, Fedora, Pop_OS!, and similiar. Need the latest stuff? Flatpack or Fedora should be good, or Debian sid if you want a rolling release (tho realistically you won't really need a rolling release over semi-rolling if you're still a noob). Sure the AUR is cool but it's a bit overrated in the sense that unless you're actively looking for stuff on it 99% of the time you're using it because something isn't in the official repos and that's not good, while distros like Linux Mint have large repos with pretty much everything you need already without a real need for the AUR.
I ran Debian Sid on my primary computer for a few years, and it broke hard several times, requiring things like booting into recovery and package dependency untangling to fix. It was years ago, so they might have better safeguards against that now, but there's no way I'd recommend that to a new Linux Desktop user.
That's because you shouldn't recommend rolling releases at all to new users. I just put it there for completion sake
Yeah, something arch based is a really weird recommendation for beginners...
Don't forget Tumbleweed KDE!