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What is the best opinionated, minimal, happy-path-only, official-feeling landing page for Linux? A quick search right now didn't bring up anything I could endo

What is the best opinionated, minimal, happy-path-only, official-feeling landing page for Linux? A quick search right now didn't bring up anything I could endorse to a normie.

steelframe 2y ago
https://www.google.com/chromebook/chrome-os/ https://www.google.com/chromebook/chrome-os/
- kweingar 2y ago
  Normally if I were recommending Linux to a friend, I would encourage them to use their existing computer rather than going out and buying new hardware just for Linux. ChromeOS Flex might fit the bill though, and the installation process is probably the most straightforward and handhold-y out of the Linuxes. https://chromeenterprise.google/intl/en_uk/os/chromeosflex/ https://chromeenterprise.google/intl/en_uk/os/chromeosflex/
  - analog31 2y ago
    I recently installed Chrome OS Flex on an old Lenovo laptop. It's really quite snappy. I did it mainly out of curiosity. It was easy to install and bring up for the first time, and it's not loaded with crapware. For a lot of home users, a "the browser is the new OS." If they're doing everything with cloud apps, then they really don't need to interact with a conventional desktop very much. Assuming they don't run Windows software such as games. Battery life is no different than it was with Windows. Linux mode was easy to set up, and hard for me to damage. ;-) And it doesn't seem to do anything to the Chrome OS machine, so you can wipe it and start over without re-installing the entire machine. Jupyter Notebook runs just fine, so I'm pretty much all set. Jupyter is practically my OS these days.
justinclift 2y ago
Maybe the Kubuntu site? It seems targetted towards users in the right kind of way: https://kubuntu.org/feature-tour/ https://kubuntu.org/feature-tour/
- comeonbro 2y ago
  Sorry that's definitely not it. In an un-emphesized other tab, there is a raw link to an ISO with no instructions.
  - justinclift 2y ago
    No worries.
kweingar 2y ago
It depends on the use case. Linux often works well on desktop computers without too many fancy peripherals, but I generally do not recommend Linux as a laptop OS for “normies.” I have installed various flavors of Linux on various laptops over the years, and 100% of the time there were tough-to-diagnose issues with hardware components. With one laptop, the brightness level could not be changed. With another, installing Linux caused the battery to drain three times as fast and hibernation didn’t work properly. With another, I accidentally played music so loud that the speakers broke. These are all things that I was able to figure out using my Google skills and general knowledge of Linux, but it is not an experience I’d recommend for a “regular person.”
- tombert 2y ago
  I dunno, I had pretty good luck with Ubuntu on my previous laptop. I do not remember the model number but it was an Asus ROG Strix, with an AMD processor and graphics card. I did specifically buy it around peripherals that I knew were officially Linux supported, but the install on it was extremely painless. That laptop was a piece of shit that literally started disintegrating, but Linux was certainly not to blame there.
- mvkel 2y ago
  lol, this sounds exactly right. Vertical integration in computing is a feature, not a bug. It's amazing windows can do what it does on virtually -any- hardware. I do wish Linux distros had some kind of "guaranteed hardware" support, where if you buy exactly the right components, it'll be a totally seamless experience
  - SamuelAdams 2y ago
    There are many laptops and desktops that fit the bill. Frame.work: https://frame.work/ https://frame.work/ Dell: https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000138246/linux-on-dell-desktops-and-laptops https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000138246/linux-on-... System76: https://system76.com/laptops https://system76.com/laptops Kubuntu Focus: https://kfocus.org/land/business https://kfocus.org/land/business I am sure there are more, this is only what I have found in less than 5 minutes of searching.
65 2y ago
Linux Mint https://linuxmint.com/ https://linuxmint.com/
- comeonbro 2y ago
  Yeah, I was surprised by that for the top recommendation on every "beginners linux" search. The front page is a soup of meaningless babble. The installation guide is in programmers documentation style and split over 15 pages.
  - sneed_chucker 2y ago
    Wow so hard. https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/lates... Literally the same amount of effort and level of complexity as installing Windows.
    - happytoexplain 2y ago
      I agree with the parent. Mint is billed as the user-friendly distro, and maybe it is technically the most user-friendly distro (I don't know), but even this supposedly so-simple-it-warrants-bitter-sarcasm documentation you've linked starts out incomprehensible to the layman at paragraph one. I understand as a software person it's hard to have a generous perspective when trying to distinguish between "confusing only for the hopelessly computer illiterate" and "potentially confusing for regular computer users", but we should try to err toward giving people the benefit of the doubt.
      - sneed_chucker 2y ago
        > even this supposedly so-simple-it-warrants-bitter-sarcasm documentation you've linked starts out incomprehensible to the layman at paragraph one. If that's incomprehensible to someone, then they're probably not going to be installing any operating system by themselves, Linux, Windows, or otherwise.
genewitch 2y ago
Siblings may not understand the question; or, more likely, there isn't an answer. I have "fixed" people's old computers all my life, and for the past 15 years or so i've been doing it by installing linux or giving them an RPi. RPi isn't doable anymore, for $100 or whatever they cost now you can get a used elitedesk or something that's 3 times better in nearly every metric. I also prefer the maintenance load of a debian derived OS when i'm the person they call with issues. But to answer, my go to is either xubuntu or lubuntu for windows users, and kubuntu or mint for everyone else. Xubuntu first and lubuntu if for some reason Xubuntu wants to play stupid games (such as on elitedesks). There is some personal preference as to what makes a good "landing page", i think xubuntu's is a little better but they're both good (x and l ubuntus). Compare that to windows.com landing page, to contrast. But your average windows user isn't googling "which linux should i get" because generally they've never heard of or do not understand what "linux" is. they're googling "how do i fix windows" - and getting back "how to fix drafty windows" from a search engine powered by linux. It takes evangelizing, and sometimes straight chaotic good "i'll fix your PC" and installing linux on it. There goes 99.5% of all "normal" user problems! I've been using the *nix and linux since the mid 90s, and i still don't recommend anyone try it unless they're willing to sit on their PC and learn things. Sorry, not sorry. For the facebook/gmail/cnn/twitter browsers of the world, the three i listed above are just fine. edited to add: it's a pity that WUBI is no more (last i knew, at least) - that would be how i would evangelize it for people that had mostly empty windows machines just for browsing the web and maybe some cute games (samegame for instance).
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
slimsag 2y ago
The PopOS! installation page[0] - PopOS was the only Linux distribution that had both nvidia drivers and touchpad scrolling working out-of-the-box on my laptop. [0] https://support.system76.com/articles/install-pop/ https://support.system76.com/articles/install-pop/
npteljes 2y ago
I tried several over the years, specifically looking for a good out of the box experience, GUI-first usage, and one that's stable over time, and after upgrades. Zorin OS fit the bill the most. I think the landing page is good as well. https://zorin.com/os/ https://zorin.com/os/

What is the best opinionated, minimal, happy-path-only, official-feeling landing page for Linux? A quick search right now didn't bring up anything I could endorse to a normie.

steelframe 2y ago

https://www.google.com/chromebook/chrome-os/ https://www.google.com/chromebook/chrome-os/

kweingar 2y ago
Normally if I were recommending Linux to a friend, I would encourage them to use their existing computer rather than going out and buying new hardware just for Linux. ChromeOS Flex might fit the bill though, and the installation process is probably the most straightforward and handhold-y out of the Linuxes. https://chromeenterprise.google/intl/en_uk/os/chromeosflex/ https://chromeenterprise.google/intl/en_uk/os/chromeosflex/
- analog31 2y ago
  I recently installed Chrome OS Flex on an old Lenovo laptop. It's really quite snappy. I did it mainly out of curiosity. It was easy to install and bring up for the first time, and it's not loaded with crapware. For a lot of home users, a "the browser is the new OS." If they're doing everything with cloud apps, then they really don't need to interact with a conventional desktop very much. Assuming they don't run Windows software such as games. Battery life is no different than it was with Windows. Linux mode was easy to set up, and hard for me to damage. ;-) And it doesn't seem to do anything to the Chrome OS machine, so you can wipe it and start over without re-installing the entire machine. Jupyter Notebook runs just fine, so I'm pretty much all set. Jupyter is practically my OS these days.

justinclift 2y ago

Maybe the Kubuntu site? It seems targetted towards users in the right kind of way: https://kubuntu.org/feature-tour/ https://kubuntu.org/feature-tour/

comeonbro 2y ago
Sorry that's definitely not it. In an un-emphesized other tab, there is a raw link to an ISO with no instructions.
- justinclift 2y ago
  No worries.

kweingar 2y ago

It depends on the use case. Linux often works well on desktop computers without too many fancy peripherals, but I generally do not recommend Linux as a laptop OS for “normies.” I have installed various flavors of Linux on various laptops over the years, and 100% of the time there were tough-to-diagnose issues with hardware components. With one laptop, the brightness level could not be changed. With another, installing Linux caused the battery to drain three times as fast and hibernation didn’t work properly. With another, I accidentally played music so loud that the speakers broke. These are all things that I was able to figure out using my Google skills and general knowledge of Linux, but it is not an experience I’d recommend for a “regular person.”

tombert 2y ago
I dunno, I had pretty good luck with Ubuntu on my previous laptop. I do not remember the model number but it was an Asus ROG Strix, with an AMD processor and graphics card. I did specifically buy it around peripherals that I knew were officially Linux supported, but the install on it was extremely painless. That laptop was a piece of shit that literally started disintegrating, but Linux was certainly not to blame there.
mvkel 2y ago
lol, this sounds exactly right. Vertical integration in computing is a feature, not a bug. It's amazing windows can do what it does on virtually -any- hardware. I do wish Linux distros had some kind of "guaranteed hardware" support, where if you buy exactly the right components, it'll be a totally seamless experience
- SamuelAdams 2y ago
  There are many laptops and desktops that fit the bill. Frame.work: https://frame.work/ https://frame.work/ Dell: https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000138246/linux-on-dell-desktops-and-laptops https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000138246/linux-on-... System76: https://system76.com/laptops https://system76.com/laptops Kubuntu Focus: https://kfocus.org/land/business https://kfocus.org/land/business I am sure there are more, this is only what I have found in less than 5 minutes of searching.

65 2y ago

Linux Mint https://linuxmint.com/ https://linuxmint.com/

comeonbro 2y ago
Yeah, I was surprised by that for the top recommendation on every "beginners linux" search. The front page is a soup of meaningless babble. The installation guide is in programmers documentation style and split over 15 pages.
- sneed_chucker 2y ago
  Wow so hard. https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/lates... Literally the same amount of effort and level of complexity as installing Windows.
  - happytoexplain 2y ago
    I agree with the parent. Mint is billed as the user-friendly distro, and maybe it is technically the most user-friendly distro (I don't know), but even this supposedly so-simple-it-warrants-bitter-sarcasm documentation you've linked starts out incomprehensible to the layman at paragraph one. I understand as a software person it's hard to have a generous perspective when trying to distinguish between "confusing only for the hopelessly computer illiterate" and "potentially confusing for regular computer users", but we should try to err toward giving people the benefit of the doubt.
    - sneed_chucker 2y ago
      > even this supposedly so-simple-it-warrants-bitter-sarcasm documentation you've linked starts out incomprehensible to the layman at paragraph one. If that's incomprehensible to someone, then they're probably not going to be installing any operating system by themselves, Linux, Windows, or otherwise.

genewitch 2y ago

Siblings may not understand the question; or, more likely, there isn't an answer. I have "fixed" people's old computers all my life, and for the past 15 years or so i've been doing it by installing linux or giving them an RPi. RPi isn't doable anymore, for $100 or whatever they cost now you can get a used elitedesk or something that's 3 times better in nearly every metric. I also prefer the maintenance load of a debian derived OS when i'm the person they call with issues. But to answer, my go to is either xubuntu or lubuntu for windows users, and kubuntu or mint for everyone else. Xubuntu first and lubuntu if for some reason Xubuntu wants to play stupid games (such as on elitedesks). There is some personal preference as to what makes a good "landing page", i think xubuntu's is a little better but they're both good (x and l ubuntus). Compare that to windows.com landing page, to contrast. But your average windows user isn't googling "which linux should i get" because generally they've never heard of or do not understand what "linux" is. they're googling "how do i fix windows" - and getting back "how to fix drafty windows" from a search engine powered by linux. It takes evangelizing, and sometimes straight chaotic good "i'll fix your PC" and installing linux on it. There goes 99.5% of all "normal" user problems! I've been using the *nix and linux since the mid 90s, and i still don't recommend anyone try it unless they're willing to sit on their PC and learn things. Sorry, not sorry. For the facebook/gmail/cnn/twitter browsers of the world, the three i listed above are just fine. edited to add: it's a pity that WUBI is no more (last i knew, at least) - that would be how i would evangelize it for people that had mostly empty windows machines just for browsing the web and maybe some cute games (samegame for instance).

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

slimsag 2y ago

The PopOS! installation page[0] - PopOS was the only Linux distribution that had both nvidia drivers and touchpad scrolling working out-of-the-box on my laptop. [0] https://support.system76.com/articles/install-pop/ https://support.system76.com/articles/install-pop/

npteljes 2y ago

I tried several over the years, specifically looking for a good out of the box experience, GUI-first usage, and one that's stable over time, and after upgrades. Zorin OS fit the bill the most. I think the landing page is good as well. https://zorin.com/os/ https://zorin.com/os/