Say a friend is looking for a new system, and said person is not particularly savvy with technology, what system would you point them toward?
I wanna mention this: If there are niche movies/shows you wanna watch but you can’t find a torrent for it… the the only way to really watch it is the mainstream sites and those require DRM and if you run Linux, Netflix, for example, would run on L3 Widewine instead of L1 Widewine and that means SD content only…
so yeah… depends on how this “average user” really want to watch niche content… or is even comfortable with the idea of torrents
(I’ve personally found a bunch of stuff that I literally cannot find torrents for… so yeah… there’s that…)
I don’t think I’ve ever come across niche content that was available on a mainstream streaming site but not as torrent or on a direct streaming site.
Schitt’s Creek got removed from debrid for copyright violation so I’ve been watching it on Amazon 🤮
Run a webbrowser inside of a Windows environment, on Linux?
WINE/Proton?
Afaik, it uses secure boot and/or TPM shenanigans to decrypt L1 Widewine, so I don’t think emulating it would work.
Btw, Unlocking bootloader on Android also cause the video to revert to SD even if you haven’t replace the rom yet.
Oh dear god.
Welp, I tried.
But at this point I’m convinced that the Windows implementation of secureboot just basically is a direct to FBI/NSA/CIA backdoor/wiretap so uh…
Like, come on.
What other software just regularly directly rewrites the BIOS/UEFI when you try to fight it? Or just, when a Windows update happens?
Its a bootkit, as far as I’m concerned.
Yeah that’s a bit of a tough problem to crack, lol.
Linux
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At this point, I would also second MacOS/iOS just because of how much the two synergize with one another. But if you’re just doing basic shit and web browsing, iOS cause at least you can hold onto your phone for a long while before feeling the need to upgrade again.
There’s a rule you should learn. Never ever recommend Apple shit to people.
There is another rule you should learn too: don’t showcase your Apple envy more than twice in the same thread.
See, there’s the face of the fanbase. Poor people think Apple is expensive. I gave away my Macbook after a few weeks because it sucked and because I can 😏
It’s important to protect potential customers of becoming like you.
My Fedora/KDE setup is superior in any regard. The only thing Apple is better at is screwing their idiot buyers.
His Apple hatred knows no bounds.You mean corporate hate?
Keep sucking off your overlords.
What do you think about Microsoft and Windows?
As a Fedora user - Apple has better security. Linux doesn’t do everything better.
The French call that «l’issue du skill». Privacy and security start in your mind.
I said security. Privacy is related but different.
And you know that the answer is the same ;)
Apple users are the easiest to scam because they … well, bought Apple.
Is this some kind of a bot?
Check for yourself Schluppi. You seem a bit lost online.
I don’t think he’s a bot, just someone who wants to shit-talk for the fun of it.
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A lot of these answers were preference but this one is just incorrect.
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Ask them what they want to do.
Gaming? Windows. SteamOS is great but there are too many games that require Windows.
Creatives? MacOS. Yeah, you can do all that (and more!) on Windows machines, but the creative space is largely all Mac all the time.
Office Productivity? Anything. Libre Office is cross platform.
Want to complain about how you don’t fit in and it would be a better place if the world would just accommodate you? Linux.
SteamOS is great but there are too many games that require Windows.
It’s mainly multiplayer games with anti-cheat malware. If they prefer single player games, they’ll be fine.
I’d even go further and say that it’s primarily PvP games. I think most multiplayer PvE games are ok too.
Gaming? Windows. SteamOS is great but there are too many games that require Windows
I’d say it depends on what types of games you play. From my understanding, the big issue with Linux and gaming is incompatibility with anti-cheat software. If you aren’t playing competitive PvP games that use it, you generally don’t need to worry about this.
Honestly there aren’t that many games with Windows requirement. A game not working on Linux is usually due to an anticheat with kernel level permissions, that is, games that contain a rootkit.
arch (i use arch btw)
iOS
Linux mint
Stupid fucking answer.
I love Linux. I use it on multiple machines daily. It’s not for an average user.
Correct, I wrote a decent comment about the actual issues with Linux for the average user in this thread
Mint is not run by professionals. It has been pwnd more than once. It’s pretty, slightly better run than manjaro and has no reason to exist when ubuntu, fedora and suse exist.
Please stop pointing to mint as a starting place. Every level user is going to get a more secure and reliable experience avoiding mint.
Ubuntu, fedora, suse and spins of those 3. I wouldn’t put a normal user on anything else without extenuating circumstances.
From what I can find, the Linux Mint website was breached once, in 2016, for a short duration and during that time the download link for the ISO referred to a site that was hosting a version that installed a backdoor.
Meaning it was short in scope, the dev team reacted to it, handled it, and then were open and transparent about it, and it only affected people who downloaded the ISO at that exact span in time and also installed that version instead of replacing it when the announcement came.
The harsh reality of IT security isn’t that it’s a question of if you get hacked, it’s a question of when, even for multi-billion dollar companies.
Besides what other people said, manjaro breaks regularly.
I love mint, have you tried a KDE desktop though?
Yes, they’re terrible because you can’t navigate through their settings without a mouse. Tab only goes so far in KDE. I couldn’t stand it.
I respect your opinion, but it’s not one that will be held by average users.
Nearing my 60s, very satisfied Linux Mint user. Obviously, it all depends what the user expects from their computer.
I use Linux Mint
Steam games work on Linux Mint without issues, or at least I was lucky enough not to have issues so far.
Linux alternatives to popular apps are very good (Libre Office, Inkscape, Gimp etc) and they don’t try to shove AI down my throat or demand subscription.
I also would like to include that in terms of ease of use and interface familiarity Linux Mint looks quite a lot like Windows XP.
If they’re only doing web stuff, I’d recommend ChromeOS on a Chromebook+ tbh.
Most users never use anything more than that and web-based apps will be more than enough for what they’re likely to use. It’s also ideal for those not tech savvy. Plus can use android apps too if needed so it can be used as a big tablet.
But of the 3, I’d probably chose Linux for them. But you’ll have to expect to still be the tech support. That’s why I say ChromeOS - it’s used by kids a lot for a reason
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted here, Chromebooks are a solid option as basically a web terminal, or even for some slightly more demanding workflows that are supported, although it’s not for many people.
I for one bought a Thinkpad 11e 5th gen off a friend for $10AUD (what a friggin steal), which had windows 10 on it and was incredibly slow (hence the friends price), but I then flashed chromeOS flex on it and the battery life was insane, even with more than 20 tabs open all the time as well as crosvm Debian running constantly so I can run vscode.
Currently, since I graduated, I now use it as a throw around laptop for browsing news articles and Lemmy, and somehow I’ve not needed to charge it for I believe 2 or 3 days so far, and it’s at 53% with a battery degraded to 66% of its original capacity.
Although, it is on the chromeOS flex support list so it makes sense as to how it’s so well optimised. If I weren’t however using this specific device, I would’ve just chucked fedora or another Linux distro on it, since those work pretty well too.
Nah I get why - it’s mostly a matter of perspective. Many had to deal with crappy school-supplied Chromebooks or the cheapest model their non-tech parents bought them for under $150. Or early models. And those were very poor implementations. Still are. I have a weak tablet style model and it takes a while to get going. My wife though, she has a Chromebook as her personal laptop, a higher end model from 7 years ago and it’s still stupidly good and fast for a computer that old. But it also cost a lot more too - can’t remember exactly how much but closer to $500-600 range. Was pre-Chromebook+ but all the specs were above those requirements. She uses it for browsing and web stuff primarily and it only ever causes issues when she forgets to update it for a few months and then wonders why she can’t video call her parents.
If all you’ve used is a shit one, you’re going to assume they’re all shit - it’s unfortunate that they “can run” on a potato and they sell them like that too which they really shouldn’t. I also understand that I didn’t choose one of the three options so would get discussed for that. And also, I get why some might not want to support anything Google-related too.
Unless you are looking to learn nix, go with Windows or Apple.
Unless you made sure all the hardware works and you want to fuck around Linux ain’t for normies despite what this forum is going to screech at you.
I agree. I am probably going to put my 70+ year old on Linux mint but I’ll have to do tech support
if they’re just doing web browsing - linux
if they have an iphone - macos
really depends what they want to do
If they are not savvy enough to do troubleshooting themselves or have no one to ask for help, I think macOS would be the best (assuming money isn’t an issue). Otherwise, Linux Mint.
There’s a rule you should learn. Never ever recommend Apple shit to people.
“Your opinion is wrong”
Absolutely, that’s par for the course for anything Apple.
You’re a good little Genius™.
I generally wouldn’t, but I do have a iPhone for work and got a good price on a M2 a couple of years ago.
The hardware is better than most laptops and the battery life way out preforms my work Win11 Dell of the same age
They all suck in their own unique ways, and I use them all, so I feel uniquely qualified to say that.
To be honest, I’m ready for the hate, but about 90% of the people I know looking for a recommendation are not the type of people for whom any flavor of Linux is well-suited. Apple is too much of a closed system and likes to do things its own way in contrary to everybody else, forcing users down their one and only path of truth regardless of whether it makes sense to do so even though it’s completely different/opposite of nearly all best practices, which makes them a hard sell. Plus, they lost me with the “it just works” when they in fact do not “just work”. So, just to make my life easier, I usually find myself suggesting people stick with Windows. I hate it, but it saves me time and sanity in the end.
It’s funny to think about, because I have the exact opposite experience. I think it really comes down to the type of person though.
Most of the people I help (with IT) is people who is not that comfortable on a tablet and would like the next step up. A cheap laptop, with bigger screen and a physical keyboard. Used for banking, writing, browsing. Nothing that really can’t be done on a tablet as well.
All of these people use Linux. Mostly Mint or ElementaryOS, depending on their preference.
If we add gaming into the mix, it becomes a little more “complicated”. This really depends on the person. I have family/friends who game on Linux, but I also know one who didn’t last that long using Linux, because it simply didn’t fit their needs.
