I use Linux Mint. It's very good for beginners. I don't recommend Ubuntu.
this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2026
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Ubuntu is the only distro that tends to work for me long-term
What's wrong with Ubuntu? I used to use it as my default distro back in the 2010s and it was very beginner friendly.
https://distrochooser.de/ & https://distrowatch.com/ are your friend.
And maybe a little later, when more familiar and skilled, maybe after having tried a handful of distros for a while, https://bedrocklinux.org/ (or even just https://distrobox.it/ ) means you don't have to choose just 1.
ah, classic hangup. you're looking for Debian with KDE
No no, don't use KDE..
/s
All you need to know is that, whatever you pick, you made the wrong choice and you will be roasted if you ever attempt to explain your decision.
Unless you use Arch, then you have chosen correctly.
Not true, you just become immune to the opposition.
I use Fedora, but I frequent the Arch wiki often enough that I feel like an honorary Arch user.
The Gentoo wiki is pretty good too
Urgh! Why did you choose Arch? It is just the worst!
Actual reenactment:
Screams in Debian....
Arch is utterly inferior because of its use of the Systemd "init" system, which is a bloated mess that completely disregards the Unix philosophy of doing one thing and doing it well, and shouldn't be forgotten for its sins and heresy. "Arch Linux" (Really Arch Gnu/Linux, or more preferably Arch Gnu+Linux (Unless you consider that Gnu runs on top of Linux, in which case it's Linux+Gnu)) cannot be taken seriously as a minimal do it yourself distro when it hinges on an software that has ties with RedHat, which has had a history of forcing their woke Wayland Display Server (Even though Xorg worked just fine, suspicious much?), as well as their DEI onto the entire Linux space - where politics shouldn't play any role. A WOKE company like RedHat has no place in the open source community. If you want to be a true and righteous Linux user, I recommend Either Void Linux+Gnu (What manly men like myself use) or Gentoo.
It says something about how sad of a state the world is in when I can't tell if this is satire or not.
There are many correct distro choices (except Ubuntu), but the only correct desktop environment is KDE Plasma.
If Cosmic keeps evolving, it could win me over.
People go about it backwards when recommending/choosing. Beginners should be encouraged pick the desktop environment first (my KDE preference excluded the universal recommendation of Mint). Then the next decision should be stability vs fast updates (potential instability); and then ease of finding support for the inevitable problems they run into (beginners might find it easiest to find support for Debian based distros).
That being said, I had constant problems when I was starting and the distro with which I managed to get there best start was OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. Yet my most downvoted comment ever on Lemmy is suggesting Tumbleweed to beginners.
KDE is good for a first go at Linux. I started with SUSE, ages ago, which was nice enough.
But by now, I'm just more of a gnome fan. I don't know how that will change if I dig deeper into window management logic, but right now, it just works for me.
I’ve now gone down this rabbit hole several times now and installed several of them many many times over now just figuring it all out and finally getting a stable setup which took a few months.
From my perspective after doing all of that : Chances are if you are not a developer, high end cgi artist, or specialized in tech, you might just need something safe like Ubuntu. At least just grab it to start. It gets you up and running, nice interface. Easy to use. Works for basic out of the box stuff making plex server, basic computing, house hold stuff. Could set it up for your technophobe friends and family and find it easy to just update and run. Big colorful app icons. Looks and works like an android phone for usability and easy to learn. Stuff even installs from a gui similar to how windows does.
You’d only go deep on something like fedora/nobara with some serious intentions with a high end computer where you just couldn’t reach some goals on Ubuntu. You just wouldn’t go to these ones if you didn’t have to. Those reasons also rhyme with kde plasma reasons/Developer reasons where in you absolutely need specialized software. And you have to be comfortable with swimming in the bios often.
If you don’t know and it sounds weird just googling it then just stick with Ubuntu.
I’ve talked to people in the Linux community gatekeeping hard on others who don’t even know about why someone would need kde plasma. So that should tell you everything you need to know about the fanboys. And I’ve taken heat from them only to have them breaking their own brain on the idea that people actually use computers for simulations or just use computers for anything other than what they would use a computer for.
so Take what they say with a giant truck of salt. Not even Mac users are as annoying as the some of Linux assholes I’ve met.
slow clap Half these posts are shitting all over Ubuntu. It's fine for newbies.
Gate keeping Linux bros are seriously hilarious. It's like silly No True Scotsman.
former solaris / irix / ubuntu user here who works in graphics. is there a particularly good distro suited for someone doing davinci resolve, blender, inkscape, godot etc ? desktop use specifically.
what properties in a desktop env and a distro should I seek and avoid?
I tried to encourage fellow Linux users to just encourage one distro. It doesn't have to be a good distro, but just one the person is least likely to run into issues with and if they do, the most likely to be able to find solutions easily for their issues. Things like Ubuntu and Mint clearly fit the bill. They can then decide later if they want to change to a different one based on what they learn from using that one.
No one listened to me, because everyone wants to recommend their personal favorite distro rather than what would lead to the least problems for the user and would be the easiest to use. A person who loves PopOS will insist the person must use PopOS. A person who loves Manjaro will insist that the person must use Manjaro. Linux users like so many different distros that this just means everyone recommends something different and just make it confusing.
I gave up even bothering after awhile. Linux will never be big on desktop unless some corporation pushes a Linux-based desktop OS.
People need to put their egos aside and recommend a distro suited to a soft landing for a new person. That includes knowing that person's technical skill and who around them will help when real issues pop up that require hand-holding and not just "Well, there's a forum and you ask there."
IMO that's Mint, but I also haven't found a distro that has tempted me away from Mint, either.
I always recommend Mint. I'm neither particularly fond of KDE nor do I personally use Debian / Ubuntu any more, but I still think it's a great "beginner" distro.
I use Nobara, which is Fedora-based, and I think it's great for gaming, but I'm not sure support for it is thorough enough for people who can't confidently wade into configs.
Mint doesn't use KDE out of the box. They have an own DE called Cinnamon.
Linux will never be big on desktop unless some corporation pushes a Linux-based desktop OS.
And of all possible companies, Valve is the one that's made the most progress with this.
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Honestly, this is partially what is gatekeeping Linux. People hate making choices, especially when it is a new world. We should promote one distro with one desktop as the “best linux for Windows users”, ideally immutable with a flatpack store.
And no, fuck Canonical.
Fedora Atomic Budgie is where I'll probably set my boomer parents up next, with a framework laptop for each.
What have I missed? Canonical was the "best Linux" for newbies. Widest online support and easy to update. Did they become bad somehow?
Gnome with dash to panel is what everyone uses. And fedora
My general guidelines would be: Gnome if you're used to Android, KDE if you're used to Windows, Cinnamon if you're used to MacOS, XFCE if your PC is a potato.
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