Which Linux flavor?

[sram]

From my personal experience, go with Linux mint. Feels like windows, and will make your old computer feel as a modern one.

 

[lexluthermiester]

From my personal experience, go with Linux mint. Feels like windows, and will make your old computer feel as a modern one.

Especially the Cinnamon Desktop version.

 

[Jarmer]

If Zoom for Linux had virtual backgrounds working I would probably use Manjaro 24/7, but I need virtual backgrounds for work, so I Windows it is.

There's this package in the AUR (and since Manjaro is Arch, it'll work fine):
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zoom_Meetings

and it has a specific section for virtual backgrounds:

Virtual backgrounds

Zoom saves the default virtual backgrounds to ~/.zoom/data/VirtualBkgnd_Default and the custom virtual backgrounds to ~/.zoom/data/VirtualBkgnd_Custom.

 

[Space Lynx]

There's this package in the AUR (and since Manjaro is Arch, it'll work fine):
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zoom_Meetings

and it has a specific section for virtual backgrounds:

Virtual backgrounds

Zoom saves the default virtual backgrounds to ~/.zoom/data/VirtualBkgnd_Default and the custom virtual backgrounds to ~/.zoom/data/VirtualBkgnd_Custom.

tyvm, I just bookmarked it... I may never need windows again for my work laptop... virtual background on zoom was literally the only thing holding me back lmao

 

[Jarmer]

Welcome! Hope it works out! If it does, please post confirmation here so others searching in the future can find it and know

 

[gaspode93]

Mint is always solid. Very Windows-like UI, fairly painless software installs and updates, etc etc. I tend to prefer Ubuntu these days because their software versions are slightly newer (without tinkering with repos on Mint) but the UI in Ubuntu is VERY different from Windows.

 

[Space Lynx]

Manjaro I am not smart enough to use for some reason. I had no issue using Ubuntu earlier this year, but I am struggling even installing Steam on Manjaro, and when I search for apps through Manjaro built in search, it offers two steam options, steam regular and steam native, wtf how do i know which one to use

anyways, don't answer that, cause I am just going to wait for mint to get updated and go that way instead

 

[sram]

Especially the Cinnamon Desktop version.

Yeah, that's what I do with my old machines and they become brand new again.

 

[Jarmer]

Manjaro I am not smart enough to use for some reason. I had no issue using Ubuntu earlier this year, but I am struggling even installing Steam on Manjaro, and when I search for apps through Manjaro built in search, it offers two steam options, steam regular and steam native, wtf how do i know which one to use

anyways, don't answer that, cause I am just going to wait for mint to get updated and go that way instead

This is a very valid point I feel like a ton of the distro maintainers (and even valve themselves) gloss over and just dismiss. For the average user, there NEEDS to be a clear and concise obvious option to pick. Otherwise, yeah just like you said: wtf version do I pick. And then you go searching and get a million different threads about it.

 

[sepheronx]

Currently, on another machine, I have GameOS installed and testing. Playtron GameOS

Playtron GameOS

www.playtron.one

Yes, it has Crypto wallet attached to it but you do not need to enable it. It has integration of Steam, GOG and Epic Games in 1 interface.

I noticed though it does not support currently HDR at least not on my setup.

I have set it up and tested Dead Space Remake.

As well, I was informed by the devs that HDR support and display options are coming as they had some issues with integrating it at the moment. So in a month or two.

 

[Jarmer]

OOOOOHHHHHHH nooooooooo. Please please please do not suggest people use that "distro".

It's just fedora with a bunch of scammy garbage on top. If you want to game on fedora there is literally a distro MADE for it by a well respected member of the gaming community:
Nobara

Playtron is just a crypto scam hardware company that nobody on earth should ever use for any reason. Please, please ... if you want to run fedora, just either run vanilla fedora, or nobora if you want something custom.

 

[Mindweaver]

I'm late to the party, but here is my list.

1. Ubuntu KDE (Kubuntu)
2. SteamOS (So, Arch?)
3. Mint
4. Everything else

EDIT: SteamOS, when loaded into desktop mode, looks like Windows.

 

[sepheronx]

OOOOOHHHHHHH nooooooooo. Please please please do not suggest people use that "distro".

It's just fedora with a bunch of scammy garbage on top. If you want to game on fedora there is literally a distro MADE for it by a well respected member of the gaming community:
Nobara

Playtron is just a crypto scam hardware company that nobody on earth should ever use for any reason. Please, please ... if you want to run fedora, just either run vanilla fedora, or nobora if you want something custom.

Except Grid works and it really does integrate the store fronts. I don't think you read what I wrote.

Aside from the crypto stuff, which you do not have to sign up to, what is scammy about it?

And it isn't fedora, but arch. I figured that out when grub loader failed first time.

Nobara does nothing of the sort that grid does. And nobara sucks honestly, I personally use cachyOS. I had nothing but instability with Nobara and eventual bootloader failure. At least I prefer cachyos compared to Nobara or pretty much most other "gaming" distros.

 

[xrobwx71]

And then you go searching and get a million different threads about it.

And 90% of the time, you get the ol "I'm L33T" answer. "If you don't understand it, you might not want to use it". No, I simply have a natural curiosity, desire, and willingness to learn. I'm reaching out to a community that has experience for help. I'm not asking you to come to my home and tutor me.

If they want more people to switch to Linux, the communities need to improve at teaching and mentoring. (There are some good ones out there.)

 

[Jarmer]

And it isn't fedora, but arch. I figured that out when grub loader failed first time.

from playtron's site itself:
"We are based on the Fedora Silverblue family of Atomic Desktop distros."

 

[leonavis]

I have used the MacOS at the office, Windows 11 at home, and have used Linux decades ago.
Now I have some PCs that don't support Windows 11, so it makes sense to think about
running those on Linux. I have a Core 2 Quad with 16 GB DDR3 and a small SATA SSD.

Which flavor might be best if I want a Mac/Windows like experience and am not interested
in gaming?

• Linux Mint
• Ubuntu
• Debian
• Other?

I even tried installing Raspberry Pi Desktop, but that is just 32 bit and out of date.

I'm after ease of use and installation while Windows 11 will remain my main OS.

It really depends.

Debian is good if you want a conservative OS that's updateable every few years and where, except for security updates, everything stays the same. Only use it if you have older hardware, because otherwise you're gonna have a bad time.

Linux Mint and Ubuntu are Debian-based, just more modern. Also a solid choice.

I personally like & use Arch Linux and derivates. They are known to be not easy, but they are easy if you are willing to do the work. Everything is configurable via easy scripts and the Wiki and the Arch User Repository are without example. You have to be willing and able to read the wiki and use the resources provided, but if you do, it's - in my humble opinion - actually easier to manage and use Arch than any other distro. If you're too lazy (not a bad thing, I am oftentimes too lazy) to use the installation guide to install the system, you can use EndeavourOS (an Arch derivate) to install a base system and go from there. Or, if you want everything out of the box, you can use Manjaro, Garuda or CachyOS, which are all based on Arch but use their own depositories.

The forums are also good, but only if you're willing to work with the people there. Use search engines like duckduckgo and also in the forums. Don't expect people to hold your hand or solve your problems, always give detailed explanations of the trouble and what you have tried. Only then they'll be able and willing to help. But then, the forums are a great tool and much help.

If you want a very Windows'esque Desktop Enviroment, take KDE Plasma. More on the Mac-side, use Gnome. If you wanna configure everything yourself, you can also use something like Sway or Hyprland.

The good thing about Linux is actually, that it's all in your hands. But you need to do the work to be able to enjoy it.

I would adivse using BTRFS as file system and Snapper so you can easily back up your base configs before any major change.

Good luck on your journey. Don't expect it to be too easy and it will pay off.

 

[sepheronx]

from playtron's site itself:
"We are based on the Fedora Silverblue family of Atomic Desktop distros."

Funny, wonder why arch was seen on grub loader. Will check again

 

[lexluthermiester]

Currently, on another machine, I have GameOS installed and testing. Playtron GameOS

Playtron GameOS

www.playtron.one

Yes, it has Crypto wallet attached to it but you do not need to enable it. It has integration of Steam, GOG and Epic Games in 1 interface.

I noticed though it does not support currently HDR at least not on my setup.

I have set it up and tested Dead Space Remake.

As well, I was informed by the devs that HDR support and display options are coming as they had some issues with integrating it at the moment. So in a month or two.

While this is Fedora based, caution should be used. This is not vetted and community tested yet. Let's not be suggesting it to the general public.

 

[sepheronx]

While this is Fedora based, caution should be used. This is not vetted and community tested yet. Let's not be suggesting it to the general public.

Huh, never saw where i suggested it. Care to quote that part?

Problem is, aside from Cachy and Nobara, rest of the gaming distros are just steam OS..... nothing new and nothing interesting. So I have this OS on a test rig to see. So far so good. Very early project I'm guessing so not much info on it.

But I do agree, caution is necessary.

If something bad happens, I'll let you all know.

Oh BTW, for those with nvidia gpus, CachyOS works out of the box. My system hasn't had any actual issues with it and I'm rocking a rtx 3080

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Roughly 5 1/2 years ago, just before Win 7's EOL, I started using Linux Mint Cinnamon as my daily (and only) driver. It had been recommended as being the easiest to migrate to from Windows. It also has an excellent user forum not overrun with the computer snobs and elitists many other Linux forums are cursed with. Overall, the folks there are extremely helpful.

The first of two pieces of advice I found to be essential was Linux is NOT Windows (the same is true of Mac). While Mint Cinnamon looks similar to Win 7 back then, under the hood, it's completely different. If one wants to succeed with Linux, one has to forget much, if not most, of what they learned about Windows and start all over again, learning how to use Linux. You will need to accept that most of the programs you used in your former OS will work in Linux and you will have to learn new programs and adopt new workflows. There may also be some hardware incompatibility issues due to a lack of Linux drivers for some hardware. If you expect to be able to use Linux like windows or Mac, you will be doomed to failure.

The second piece of advice was not to switch cold turkey. The advice I received was to install Linux (in my case, Mint) on a used El Cheapo laptop (I had a couple of retired ones already but thrift store finds are a possibilty) while using your current OS. That way, you will still have a usable computer while learning how to use Linux. You will make mistakes, often bricking Linux, but it's part of the learning process. You can always start over again. You have to accept that you will not become familiar, let alone proficient, at using Linux overnight; it will take some time. In my case, it was a month; others my need more or less time.

One thing I did do that made the transition easier and faster was to find programs that had versions for Windows and Linux to replace ones I had been using long before I made the switch. I do a lot of PDF creation and editing. While there are free programs that will do much of what I needed, they are compatible with only Windows or Linux. I had been using Adobe Acrobat Standard but they were getting ready to switch to an abominable subscription model. I bought Qoppa's PDF Studio Pro; featurewise, it was between Acrobat Standard and Pro. Unlike Acrobat, it is not necessary to upgrade frequently to be secure. While you do have to pay for upgrades to get new features, if the version you have meets your needs, there is no need to upgrade nor or you required to. You can install PDF Studio on up to two computers per license. I have two licenses but I was able to get the second one for a song when it went on sale.

Master PDF is another paid for solution that is popular but I preferred PDF Studio.

My scanners—one flat bed (then one, now two of them) and one duplexing (scans both sides at the same time) ADF (Automatic Document Feed)—didn't have Linux drivers so I bought a program called VueScan. It has a lifetime license which, back then, had lifetime free upgrades which is grandfathered in for those who bought it back then. Now, if you get a scanner that isn't compatible with the version you have but a later version is, you have to pay for the upgrade.

Brave Browser is free and works well with both Windows and Linux.

I used the free FreeFileSync for backing up my data.

Solaar is a free program that allows you to pair up many wireless Logitech mice (mouses?) with their USB dongles.

I replaced MS Office with the free Libre Office.

All these had learning curves of various degrees of ease or difficulty but I had plenty of time to lean how to use them or adapt them to my needs. That allowed me to become more productive faster in Linux since I already knew how to use them while learning to use Linux Mint.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Huh, never saw where i suggested it. Care to quote that part?

Hold that thought while we examine the op...

I have used the MacOS at the office, Windows 11 at home, and have used Linux decades ago.
Now I have some PCs that don't support Windows 11, so it makes sense to think about
running those on Linux. I have a Core 2 Quad with 16 GB DDR3 and a small SATA SSD.

Which flavor might be best if I want a Mac/Windows like experience and am not interested
in gaming?

• Linux Mint
• Ubuntu
• Debian
• Other?

I even tried installing Raspberry Pi Desktop, but that is just 32 bit and out of date.

I'm after ease of use and installation while Windows 11 will remain my main OS.

Huh, never saw where i suggested it. Care to quote that part?

Yup. That's what's been asked. You posted in a thread where the whole point is to suggest Linux distro's for daily-driver use in an older Core2Quad system and they specifically ruled out a gaming focus.

So yeah, let's not suggest distro's that have not been widely tested, vetted and verified by the community.

 

[sepheronx]

Ah I see. Good point except for that I'm technically posting in the wrong thread.

So that I agree is my fault.

To OP:

Ignore my main post about playtron. I didn't read initial thread and thought I was in another thread.

With that said, may I make a suggestion on CachyOS? I'm rocking it on my main rig and I can say it's fantastic on lots of setups.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Ah I see. Good point except for that I'm technically posting in the wrong thread.

So that I agree is my fault.

It's all good. I loose track of what thread I'm in sometimes as well. It's easy to do when we get wrapped up in conversation.

 

[sepheronx]

It's all good. I loose track of what thread I'm in sometimes as well. It's easy to do when we get wrapped up in conversation.

I thought we had a general "which linux you using" thread and I thought it was this one.

Guess dementia is starting to sink in.

 

[Shrek]

I still find it a bit strange that we have a

• Linux / BSD / Mac OS X

section under software, but no place for Windows.