Are you a thinking about moving to Linux from Windows as a non-technical user? I have been seeing a lot of noise about people leaving Windows for Linux recently. I also noticed people online tend to recommend supposedly easier distributions like Mint or Ubuntu. Let’s get this straight, it really does not matter which distribution you choose as they are mostly the same. The majority of terminal commands, the file system layout, configurations, and open source software will be found on any distribution you choose so pick whatever works best for you.
I do recommend new Linux users avoid Arch, Slackware, Gentoo, and Qubes OS until you get your feet wet, unless you really just want to learn the hard way, which is not a bad thing. I would also recommend avoiding tiling window managers if you just want to get right into things without a ton of learning and extra work.
If you are a gamer there are Linux distributions that make setup really simple, that is not Ubuntu or Mint in my opinion. You can game on them, but you will need to set things up a bit more manually and performance may not be the best compared to some others. However, since most people game from Steam, maybe it doesn’t matter for the vast majority of people. Steam is way more simple than say setting up Lutris with different gaming environments.
Here are some things I consider important when recommending Linux to new users.
The one thing I would like to drive home is that you have a lot of choice when it comes to Linux and open source. Keep that in mind and at the same time realize that Linux will free you to do and choose your whole computing life with no restrictions beyond what you are willing to learn. It may seem overwhelming at first, however, it really isn’t so bad when you consider you do not have to fork out money to sort it out.
Note: I do mention a few Linux distributions. Do not take that as you should focus on those. There are so many great Linux distributions that I could write all day about them. Those I speak of are simply the more common or often referenced Linux systems online. I personally love CachyOS, but I also run Pop! OS and move around a lot between Arch, Fedora, Parrot, etc. So yes, I may mention CachyOS several times, it is because I love it and recommend it to everyone, but you can ignore me.
Distribution Types
The first thing you may want to consider is the type.
LTS means long term support. Do you want the latest OS/kernel releases as they release or do you wish to stick with an OS for a few years and upgrade later when major releases drop? LTS are a bit more stable as things are tested longer and the developers make sure things are going to work as expected when you upgrade.
Rolling Release means your OS will get upgraded as new versions become available. There is more of a chance something could go wrong with constant upgrades so unless you are willing to learn and tackle the rare issues that may present you may want to stick with LTS for maximum stability. I will admit, I have had no major issues using rolling releases while I have had major issues upgrading Ubuntu. Ubuntu upgrades can be smooth though and are for the vast majority of users.
Arch (Arch based) are rolling and Ubuntu (Ubuntu/Debian based) are typically LTS. You do have the choice to upgrade Ubuntu or others in-between LTS releases if you so choose and there are unstable software repositories as well that you can turn on. Fedora is a semi-rolling distribution so it will update the OS more often than Ubuntu LTS will and less often than Arch.
There are two more types to consider. Immutable like Nix OS and isolated like Qubes. Each has its place. I won’t go into the details as I wouldn’t think these are for most people new to the Linux, but they exist and are options depending on your use-case and willingness to learn.
Software availability
Some Linux distributions have limited software availability or older versions of software, which are considered more stable. Ubuntu and Pop! OS tend to have less software available than Arch. If you use Snaps or Flatpak you will find they add a bit more, and they are updated more frequently, but not everything is there either. I will admit, I use a lot of software, enjoy testing things, and want the latest and greatest, so I am an edge case. The main applications most people use day to day are available in all distributions and easily installed from their respective software centers.
External hardware
Do you have a lot of gadgets that need Windows drivers? Make sure your hardware is supported before removing Windows. Most things work out of the box these days, but there are some things that do not. You can sometimes find alternatives for those devices if you are willing to spend money to replace them or can live without them. Worse case, keep your Windows install and dual boot to access those devices if possible.
I myself have not run into anything that hasn’t worked for me in long time. It used to be that some printers, scanners, and drawing tablets gave me the most trouble. Over the last several years my Wacom tablets work great with Linux out of the box and most printers work even if you do need to install drivers, like I do with my HP Multi-Function’s scanner using HPLIP. It is an easy setup, and it works every time; although, It is not always clear how to get things like that working for new users. This really isn’t as much of a problem as it once was, but I felt I should mention it.
There are also older WiFi devices that need proprietary drivers as well, which may require manual installation. Apple Mac Book Pro laptops would require me to manually install the WiFi drivers on many Linux distribution due to the device driver being proprietary. The device itself works fine once the driver is installed.
Older hardware
Do you have an older computer or a brand new one? Linux runs really well on older hardware, but there are some things that are simply falling out of support. Older 32bit hardware and older CPUs are falling out of support by many Linux flavors. If you have ancient machines greater than fifteen years old, give or take, check to make sure everything will work with the version of Linux you choose.
Many older or low-end computers can actually benefit from running certain Linux distributions along with learner Desktop Environments. There are Linux systems specifically designed for that, like Puppy, LXLE, AntiX, and others. You can do a search online to find something that will work if you need to go that route or have resource trouble on some heavier Linux systems.
Laptop specific
Some laptops, new or old, occasionally have features that do not work. In my case, I run System 76 laptops where I need to install drivers to get keyboard lights, screen brightness, and fans working properly. I have run Linux on Asus, Dell, IBM, Gateway, and Surface Pro (Surface requires a special kernel) with no issues. Always run the Live version of Linux to make sure everything works and lookup anything that doesn’t to see if you can get it working in the Linux version you want to run. Likely someone has solved the problem already.
Determine Your Usage Needs
If you’re a light user, mostly surfing the internet, reading email, chatting/social media, Office use, photo management, listening to music, maybe some light gaming, Mint and Ubuntu are good choices here for their stability and simplicity. A new kid on the block, which is based on Manjaro, might be a good fit and is stocked with default software. It is called Elegance. Manjaro, Fedora, or Mageia would be good too though.
Note on Arch: Arch has a community software repo called AUR. This expands the software catalog greatly, but be careful installing things as bad things can slip in. This may be one reason people do not suggest Arch for new users. I would recommend avoiding AUR until you have a good understanding of it and stick with the software center.
Note on Ubuntu/Debian: One thing nice about Debian based Linux is that many developers support the packages. If you purchase a piece of software it will be likely they provide a .deb download (technically a software installer specific to Debian and Debian based distributions). Deb files are easily installed via the software center. Bitwig and Xojo are two that provide Debian packages for downloads. Some of these have found there way into the software centers, like Bitwig, so it may not be important. The XPPen drawing tablet also provides a .deb for its drivers.
The way I look at it, the more you want to do, the more you may want to look beyond Ubuntu or Mint. I fall into this category. I do heavy gaming, programming, TUI and terminal work, heavy graphics, audio, and video work on top of the above-mentioned tasks. If you are like me, you may want or need the latest software, the latest OS, drivers, and kernels. For that I would go with an Arch based distribution, but you do not need to. Again, you can do all that in any distribution, I just find Arch based excellent for those tasks.
Windows software
If you want to move to Linux but have Windows software that you cannot live without, see if it can be run in Wine. There are free tools to help with this, like Bottles (my favorite) and PlayOnLinux. There is CrossOver, which is a commercial Wine based product. These tools make it easy to install and run some Windows software directly on Linux.
You can also use VirtualBox, VMWare, or Boxes (my favorite) to run Windows in a virtual environment within Linux if nothing else works. Most software in the Windows world does have an open source equivalent, however, there are things like Amazon Kindle or Affinity original line of graphics programs, for instance, that simply will not run in Wine. If you need those you will need to dual boot or run Windows in a virtual environment.
Do I run Windows? No. I use Boxes to install other Linux distributions and Haiku OS to evaluate or develop things. Do I use Windows software? I have run PhotoShop CS6 for some plugins I cannot replicate easily in Gimp or Krita, although, I have not installed Photoshop in a couple of years.
Desktop Environments and Window Mangers
Like with Linux there are many options here. Shop around, it’s free. Try live CDs or install in virtual to get a feel for the various desktop options. Linux is a kernel, the driver behind everything happening with hardware. The OS is the many tools, utilities, and software that make the kernel a usable system. The desktop or terminal is how you interact with that system and the programs you install.
Desktop Environments
A desktop environment or DE is designed by the developers to be feature rich by default. You can extend functionality in some beyond the defaults using extensions or plugins.
The windows in a DE are floating so when you open something you can move it around, resize, etc. using the mouse as you would on Windows. In a DE the mouse is the default way to navigate and interact with the desktop. You do have some keyboard bindings and many now have manual window docking, that is similar to the docker found in Windows 11.
DEs usually come with a default theme or branding by the Linux creator and can feel similar to their proprietary counterparts. You want to stick with a Windows like environment KDE, has a similar feel. If you like Mac then Budgie has a similar feel. Want something a little different? Gnome is a bit different then either. If you want a lightweight environment with similar feel to Windows, or possibly Mac depending on your configuration choices, you can choose Mate or Xfce.
Either way, you are in control and can totally move away from the usual styles you see with commercial operating systems. With that in mind, realize that the whole “it looks like Windows or OS X” means nothing. You can make most DEs look like either or do something completely different.
Note: If you want to try tiling but feel more comfortable using a DE take a look at the Cosmic Desktop, which can operate like a full on tiling window manager with some similar keybindings that can be toggled off and on from the panel.
Window Managers
There has been a lot of buzz with tiling window managers over the last few years. If you are new to Linux you may wish to avoid these as I mentioned earlier. Window managers, especially tiling, do not always include everything you need and require a lot of manual configuration or even coding know-how. To use a tiling window manager you will likely need to install and manually configure software or plugins to make it full-featured.
Blackbox, Openbox, and Enlightenment are floating window managers and would be easier than say Hyperland or Sway as they include things tiling window managers may not. They also rely on the mouse more. I ran Blackbox many times in the past, including on Windows (xoblite), but these days I just want to get work done more than I want to build a fancy desktop.
Omarchy would be an excellent choice if you are interested in Hyperland and Arch but are unwilling to dive in and build everything yourself. Omarchy has a simple terminal based installer and everything in Hyperland is configured for you. Another option would be the various scripts around the internet that will install full-featured tiling environments, just be careful as they can cause problems and may be difficult to remove if you no longer want it. Some distros do offer branded full feature tiling window managers as an option either at install time, like CachyOS, or as a downloadable ISO, like Garuda and Fedora.
Difference between a DE and WM.
WM: Everything you open in a tiling window manager gets put into a section of available screen real-estate automatically. As you open windows they will tile themselves against the others. Tiling windows managers are keyboard-centric relying on user or system defined keybinds as opposed to the mouse. The mouse is still used, it just takes a backseat to the keyboard.
Note: Windows in a window manager can be configured to float on demand using a user defined keybind so you can enable floating if you want it.
DE: In a desktop environment new windows float allowing you to resize, move and overlap other Windows using the mouse as opposed to using the keyboard. You can still set some keybinds in a DE for windows or various applications, but you can ignore them if you don’t use them.
Terminal or even Emacs
You don’t even need a desktop! I will say this again, with Linux you have choices. Don’t want a DE or WM? No problem. You can simply load the terminal at boot and do everything through TUI apps and terminal commands. You can do a lot there, you’d be surprised. Most people likely won’t, but it is an option.
Emacs! Make Emacs your shell and work in an alternate universe.
Terminal and Emacs are a bit beyond the scope of this post, but options are options! You can install and use Emacs in any DE or WM as an application so give it a try. It’s like its own world.
My Opinion
Linux is Linux. Ubuntu is not better than Arch, Arch is not better than Slackware, Slackware is not better than Fedora. Some may be more work and sometimes things in one distro may not work the way you expect compared to another. One thing yo will see is that some Linux systems are built for a specific purpose. Here are some examples.
Kali is designed for Pen Testing, hacking, security.
Tails is designed for user privacy and security.
Drauger OS is designed for gaming.
The biggest differences between these, besides the distro’s default theme/branding, its purpose, or the developer’s philosophy, is the way you manage software and variations in utilities. Redhat based, like Fedora, uses dnf, Arch based, like CachyOS, uses pacman (and AUR via paru or yay), and Debian based, like Ubuntu, use apt and/or Snaps. I am not sure it matters as most have GUI software centers allowing you to skip installing things via the command line.
Some distros include Flatpak and/or Snap packages as well, which also have software centers where you can find and install software with the click of a button, and they are easily added to those that do not. Yet another choice for software are AppImages downloaded directly from the software developer. These are essentially stand-alone software packages that you can download and run with little to no reliance on your system. You can even compile and download binaries, but we won’t get into that here.
Philosophy can change the distribution as far as what is installed by default. Some developers want pure Open Source where you will find no proprietary defaults, like Nvidia drivers. Some want to stick with xorg while most are moving to systemd. Others don’t want bloat and leave you to install what you need rather than providing a bunch of pre-installed software installed with Linux. My opinion is that systemd is the future, and you can install proprietary software or drivers on any distro as well as remove any software that came with the OS that you do not want or need.
Starting the journey
My advice is to invest in a second fast solid state drive if you can. Install Linux on that second drive or create a separate partition on Windows if you have the space. You do not have to fully commit or invest a lot of time in getting Linux setup beyond the basics. Install and play some games, create some documents, edit some photos to get a feel for things. Install software and note what you like. If you do not like what you installed, install something else, same goes for the OS itself. Try different distributions and window environments until you find a fit. You can dual boot Windows and be secure in knowing that you have not lost anything.
Once you find something you like copy your data over from Windows and commit, but be fully aware that some files created with Windows applications may not work with Linux software. If you have MS Office or Photoshop files you are fine, MS Publisher or Wordpad files, not so much.
When you are ready, assuming you bought a drive exclusively for Linux, simply reformat the Windows drive giving you an empty drive waiting for backups or whatever you want to use it for. I would suggest backing up your Linux home directory often to that disk. KBackup is great for that. Home is where all your data and settings live. If you run into trouble you can copy everything back or copy a over any file(s) that caused the problem. You can even copy everything over a fresh home if you installed a different version of Linux, that way you will have most things configured the way they were in the previous OS.
Snapshots
I do tend to select Linux distributions that provide BTRFS with snapshots. I still backup home separately as my personal preference. Snapshots are great if your OS becomes broken for any reason, you can restore to the last working copy. Not all Linux distributions provide that so read up on the distros you are looking at to see if they make it available if you want to get it setup easily.
Security
Linux is more secure than Windows, period. If you are careful with elevating permissions, smart online, and keep your system up to date, you should not have to worry as much as you might with Windows. It is still possible to be infected with things so if you feel you would benefit from a more secure or private flavor of Linux, shop around. I think Tails is overkill, but if you really want a secure distribution, that would be it.
Note: It is not a bad idea to run files through ClamAV (antivirus) if you share files with Windows users. If you want to scan your system, ClamAV is a decent choice. There are other malware scanners for Linux as well, but they are mostly used by server administrators. They are available if you want to check your system occasionally. There are things like AppArmor and Firejail that you can look into. As Linux gains more users, it will likely gain more bad folks attacking it. I also use SpamAssassin in Thunderbird or Evolution email clients, there is also Bogofilter. PGP for encryption is also available if you need it. Ah, yet more choices.
Conclusion
Working in Linux really isn’t much different than Windows. The biggest difference is the lack of drive letters. Also, Linux hides files using a dot at the beginning of a file or folder and the paths are case sensitive. You can view hidden files in your file manager by turning it on. If you are not manually configuring things, you likely won’t need to view them. If you backup home, you will need to see hidden files if you want to restore a configuration file. Most applications store those in .config, .local, or in your home folder. For standard use you should really have no reason to mess with anything outside of home, but it is a good idea to learn and understand the basics of the file system at some point.
No matter what, have fun and don’t worry too much about leaving Windows behind as it costs nothing to try Linux. Anyway, Windows will be around if you ever want to go back.
