Hello all,
I would like to transition my GF to linux.
To make the switch easy I’ll go for Ubuntu, but what would be the most windows-like desktop ?
Thank you!
Edit : thank you everyone, I’ll go with Mint instead then 👍 Thanks for the help!
Out of the box, KDE has the most similar look and feel as Windows. That said, I do believe Linux Mint has Windows themed DEs that go one step further
Depends on Windows version I guess.
Win XP: XFCE
Win 7: Cinnamon
Win 10/11: KDE
Though you might choose Zorin OS, Ubuntu-based and looks like Windows out of the box.
I have an XFCE box that I dressed up as XP. Honestly, if it had the XP calculator, I would get confused sometimes.
Linux mint would be the best for windows user
Go Kubuntu if you want Ubuntu and Windows-like. Otherwise, Mint is a solid choice for a Windows user too, I believe Mate and Cinnamon both are very similar UI to Windows. Sadly Mint only does LTS versions now, but maybe that’s for the best if your GF isn’t super into tech?
You can install the 6.2 kernel on mint through the upgrade manager gui. It’s just a couple of clicks.
On the other hand Mint has a reputation for “just works” because the defaults are indeed LTS
I’d say KDE since it offers fully working Wayland already.
Enough about Wayland already. We knowwwww.
Wayland mfs trying not to talk about Wayland whenever Linux is mentioned
What difference would this make to a new Linux user? Basically none, right?
No screen tearing never. My laptop saw a significant battery life boost (basicly doubled) when I switched DWM into DWL but I don’t know exactly why.
And because Wayland is the future and xorg decrepatec, why you’d recommend xorg for anybody since they must swtich at some point and I doubt even the most basic user can make that transition 100% flawlessly.
Lack of screen tearing is a good point if it makes a difference on that person’s hardware.
My thought wasn’t so much about recommending xorg (or not), more about whether the user would even be aware what that meant, or care at the point when they start using Linux. Kind of like launching straight into a flame war about systemd. In theory they (or their distro) should be able to switch the backend without the user noticing
Why do you want to get your girlfriend mad at you?
Keeps the relationship interesting.
This is my Linux Mint Cinnamon dressed up as Windows XP. How much more Windowsy would you like it ;-)
My GF is happy with Linux Mint Cinnamon! Even my parents use it :)
My dad also made the switch to mint cinnamon about 3 years ago and I only had to fix things once for him (which was something in partitioning/fstab he or the installer messed up), he has successfully updated and maintained the system for 3 major releases yet and is even happier with Linux on his home laptop than with windows on his work laptop
Edit: he’s not really tech savvy or something, he’s a teacher by profession
I’d give her Linux Mint with Cinnamon/MATE instead.
KDE is more similar to windows, Gnome is maybe closer to MacOS.
But generally, KDE felt always a bit “super user” to me, and I found the amount of customizability and features more overwhelming than useful. Gnome is simple, clean, and I prefer it for that reason.
I’de rather go with Linux Mint Cinnamon or Nobara with their custom GNOME DE
Removed by mod
Glad you’re not her then 👍
Cinnamon has an official Ubuntu flavor now. I would recommend that over Mint, since mint is LTS-only. You can also do KDE-Plasma, but my personal preference is Cinnamon.
Mint defaults to LTS. You can install the latest kernel through the upgrade manager
You can install newer kernels in Mint and upgrading to the next version also works very well.
KDE plasma and cinnamon
Check this distro in a VM first https://www.linuxfx.org
Not linuxfx, it’s a joke
It looks like a joke, but it’s actually scaring
Why scaring?
Cause it offers onedrive too. With latest wine it could replicate and replace win for real
