Linux

Comma splice akimbo.

AnduinOS

start with something simple that’ll teach the basics of Linux – like LFS

Did this with my SO, they have mint like me. And they like it!

They wanted puppy linux though xD

You could install bunch of popular liveboot distros on USB with ventoy and have them try each one. Just make sure to mention it will run faster when not in a USB.

I'm honestly astounded at how many people are suggesting Mint. I recently switched full time to linux and even as a software dev, Mint has to be one of the worst experiences I've had with a computer. Not only driver issues, but software issues and general buginess. Along with being butt-ugly, I do not think any windows user is going to confuse Mint for Windows.

I switched my wife to Bazzite (not necessarily recommending that) and she literally didn't notice it was a different operating system (even though I told her it was and walked her through it). Bazzite has a nice UI for installing pretty much anything a normie would be thinking to install. The only issue we've had so far is that Dropbox just outright does not work on it. I've filed a bug with them and have been awaiting a response from their dev team for like two months now. I'm sure they'll fix it eventually, but if you need the Dropbox UI (you can use rsync otherwise) then don't choose Bazzite.

As for myself, after trying out like 6 different OSes, I settled on CachyOS. There are still issues, but it's pretty dang stable and they're very fast to fix issues. It's not for a person not willing to touch a terminal at least once though.

I know, it sounds odd, but: Arch! Once my best friend wanted to try linux. So he asked me, which distro to use. I gave him an honest answer: "I use Arch. But for beginners I would recommend Mint." He don't gave a shit and installed Arch anyways 😅 - with success! That's when I noticed, that the Arch Wiki is actually SO GOOD, that even a newbie can install Arch without any help. It's just a bit more time expensive, compared to distros with an installer. However, there are some huge benefits, that made me switch to Arch:

• I used Ubuntu on my daily driver before. However "stable" packages means in this case "antique". A 3 years old version of Sway isn't more stable than the newest release version.
• I never survived a dist-upgrade. That's why i prefer a roling release linux today.
• Your system is slim, because you only install what you really need. Also you know your system this way.
• Especially for gaming it's good to have the newest kernel + drivers.

However, you should also notice the down sides. Sometimes an update breaks something. It doesn't happens often, but it happens. A few years ago the bluetooth stack was broken, so i wasn't able to use my headset during a meeting. However they released a fix like a few hours later, so I just needed to update. But still: That's something to consider too.

When I switched a while back I somehow got my partner to switch with me. We've both been using Kubuntu. I had her try popos, and it was flippin terrible with her multiple monitors, and unfamiliar. If Kubuntu wasn't already set up, I'd totally have her try Bazzite.

If it's her first, I think Ubuntu is a great place to start

The one she likes... How about listening to her needs, and then show here some examples, and let her choose?

I'd present her with Mint and Ubuntu - and then what you know is her "style"...

openSUSE.

If older computer that works fine, I'd get a new 780m (Amd) mini pc. They support 3+ monitors, have 2 network ports allowing to "daisy chain" the old computer. No transfering of anything, or worrying about getting old stuff still working.

Deskflow is a mouse/keyboard sharing app. If you keep old computer in sleep mode you don't need extra keyboard/mouse, but power outages, mean that if you don't have a floor standing old pc you can stack old keyboard/mouse on top of, then you will need to occasionally plug in keyboard and mouse into old computer to get deskflow restarted (if you don't put it as autostart).

It's far more convenient than dual booting. Can use resources from both computers in network, and seemless mouse/keyboard focus. Switching 1 monitor for occasional use is better than dual booting, because rebooting on older computers especially is slow.

Deskflow needs a modern kernal linux distribution. Ubuntu 24.04 is recent enough. Linux mint has not upgraded kernel yet. AFAIU, the only difference between mint (recommended here) and Ubuntu is a slightly prettier version of kde.

There are so many resources on what to pick as first distro. I do not understand why people don't check those out first ...