Mint is a great start. I use ubuntu currently but I've tried a good handful on my laptop. Installing different linux OS systems is generally easy once you do it once or twice.
I've only run into one I didn't like, it was a school's system though so I think it was their "adjustments" to the system that made me hate it.
I switched to Mint around six months ago. Everything was fine except it would not recognize my USB wifi adapter. So I had no internet.
So I found a place online where they sell usb wifi adapters specifically made to work out-of-box on various linux distros. The mint version I was using was listed as supported so I bought it.
The system recognized the device and I was able to connect. However, the connection speed was pretty shit, and it lost connection every 5 minutes or so. I had to manually toggle wifi off and back on to get it to reconnect. Then it started disconnecting and would only reconnect if I rebooted the system.
I spent two months troubleshooting and nothing ever worked, so ultimately I had to switch back to kikerosoft. It was the only issue I had but not having working internet is kind of a significant issue. I'd love to give linux another go but it's just not worth the hassle.
Some distros are beginner friendly some are not. Avoid any distro the lists itself as a 'server' distro. Arch is not meant for the beginner; it is meant for embebed deployments and is a very minimal footprint...
I put Ubuntu on a laptop for my wife and she loves it and has zero Linux experience... but I have had one or two issues with auto updates causing issues and required a few min of work but that was a few min for someone that knows what they are doing... If I was going to do it again for my wife I would consider using Mint.
I use GalliumOS on a ChromeBook of mine, and Ubuntu LTS on my work laptop.
Arch. By far the best.
Before people bitch saying it's too hard to install, just read the instructions.
+1 get an old laptop or desktop to play with, install arch from scratch all the way to a display/login manager and desktop environment with a browser able to watch youtube videos, then tear it down and repeat the process 5 times. that'll learn you a lot real quick
for a newb linux tech talk would be gibberish, also if he's a newb and has wifi his arch install will last till he gets to the network install then he like me would be fucked without knowing network manager commands by memory to find and activate his wifi connection.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Installation_guide#Connect_to_the_internet
It is in the manual, plain as day.
Why use Linux if you do not want to learn it? Go be a normie on Mac ffs.
Well not the best memory so cannot memorize those commands, also I don't have a smart phone or other internet device to go to the arch wiki to read that and before you ask no printer to print out the page. Stuck at the setup back then with no resources to let me move forward especially internet based resources.
openSUSE is a great and very mature choice. Check the Gecko variant if you want something perhaps more suitable for a first time user.
There are varying levels of security, but still every linux distribution is pretty secure.
The main difference though is the desktop environment you choose. MATE is a good balance of everything, KDE if you are used to Windows look and feel, Gnome if you are after the smartphone look, Cinnamon is pleasant like eye candy, XFCE is minimalist. There are a few others as well but these are the basic choices.
I use mint on a usb boot. Still have windows 10 for certain programs. Making a bootable usb works well, but has major limits.
What kind of limits?
I am a noob, so a lot of the limits are user. Specifically, i had problems with my router configuration after a lightening strike killed my modem. Also installing new programs while using a boot usb was not possible with the way i had set up my Mint usb.
But the plus is i didn’t have to partition my computer to run two OSs. Also, i could use windows while i was learning Mint. It only cost me a usb and time.
Get usb. Format usb. Write Mint iso to usb Profit
MX Linux here, installed on a 256gb sandisk extreme pro usb stick which is usb 3.2 ver 1 that is basically as fast as a sata drive when reading or writing from it.
I use Ubuntu MATE. Due to restrictions most people do not have.
in this order are the best ones I've used Mint Cinnamon, MX linux or the MX Linux ahs for new systems with less than 2 year old hardware, Manjaro xfce. All are the most stable for me when installing as in not failing to load the live installer. If you run intel cpu board video then it'll be a more guaranteed install with all the drivers. Suse really isn't a beginners OS. I'd stick with Mint as a first time linux install. The cinnamon desktop reminded me of windows xp and the installer is very simple, just remember if you also running windows when you get to the install location for partitioning if you're keeping windows then the last choice something else on the installer is the only choice.
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