Linux recommendations

[ntt]

I've been getting really sick of Windows lately. Microsoft in general, really. Small annoyances have been building up for ages, and it's about to get even worse with all the AI garbage we're getting pushed down our thoats.

So... I'm looking to switch to Linux. I'd like a version that's user-friendly and customizable. Does anyone have any good recommendations?

 

[GlitchyPSI]

Linux distros by default are hella customizable, and the desktop packages take on that customizability philosophy
I will assume you have a PC that can run Win11. In that case I can recommend Kubuntu or KDE neon (both Ubuntu based, which is Debian based)
Ubuntu is a very friendly distro and since it's based in Debian you get the deb package manager/APT which is easy to use IME
KDE stuff is very reliable (NOTE: KDE hosts Krita, an amazing raster graphics editor), and KDE Plasma is familiar and super customizable and HELLA good
However slightly heavy, but not really prohibitive if you can already run 11

An alternative is Linux Mint too, it's also based on Debian/Ubuntu
Pop!_OS also has good word out there for being a good distro for gaming

 

[ntt]

I will assume you have a PC that can run Win11.

Yes, I'm running Windows 11 atm, on both my desktop and my laptop.

 

[Mukky]

If you're not ready to drop Windows right away, I reccomend downloading and tweaking Winaero Tweaker. It allows you to easily disable a lot of the shitty features, including copilot

 

[mercedes]

linux mint xfce

 

[GlitchyPSI]

If you're not ready to drop Windows right away, I reccomend downloading and tweaking Winaero Tweaker. It allows you to easily disable a lot of the shitty features, including copilot

I actually advocate for this more than straight up switching for a distro. This choice is not made lightly -- lots of software many people use straight up don't work on Linux distros even with all the compatibility layers that exist like Wine or Steam's Proton

 

[silly]

Out of all distros Debian is the most stable . It's almost impossible to break , I've been using it for a while and I have nothing bad to say about it . The thing with Linux though is that you need to learn alot of new ways to go about getting stuff the way you'd want them to work . It can become a very time consuming endevour , but personally I think it's worth it . Alot of operating systems especially Windows are slowly but surely getting worse . I still dual boot windows but if things keep going the way they are it'll get harder and harder to tolerate the OS just because software works on it .

 

[ntt]

I've done a lot of experimenting since I first posted this, and I've landed on Manjaro for the time being. All the flexibility of Arch, but with a better release cycle imo. I'm dual booting on my laptop for now, desktop is still just Windows 11. Once I get to use my laptop more I'll know if I wanna switch entirely.

Alot of operating systems especially Windows are slowly but surely getting worse.

True that. I've been getting more and more frustrated by the day, but the sad reality is that I'll probably have to keep using it to some extent.

 

[Bylt]

linux mint xfce

I love mint xfce. Will run smoothly on just about anything, good compatibility and user friendly, and for the most part just works™.