What would be the easiest plug and play Distro to switch from Win10 for someone without any IT knowledge ?

Hello all !

I a guessing this topic has been adressed a few times, but I haven’t found a clear answer to my questions.

I am currently seriously considering moving from Windows to Linux for a few reasons :
- My laptop is getting older (6yo, i5, 4Gb RAM)
- Windows 10 support is ending and 11 will just eat up what perf I have left.
- I want to move away from the GAFAM and support OSS and if possible EU distro.

I use my computer for the following uses :
- Internet browsing
- Play some Steam games (Paradox mainly, but also AoE2 Which is a Windows one)
- Libre Office
- VLC media playing.

The thing is that I am not in the slightest an IT guy. I don’t know how to code, how to debug through counsol command, etc. I am really an average Windows user doing anything through the desktop.

So, here is my question : what distro and desktop should I use for these uses and given my knowledge ? ie. The most plug and Play / windowsy, the most stable and unlikely to crash and lowest learning curve possible ?

When it comes to distro, I understand 3 a recommanded :
- Ubuntu : fully supported and tested, least prone to crash and cause incompatibilities. But less plug and play.
- Zorin : game oriented, ready to use, but more likely to crash as specific packages not tested ?
- Mint : more windosy and easier UI, but specific packages (?) not tested thus prone to crashing.

And there is 2 desktop :
- GNOME : no choice if Zorin, good stable UI but no menu so can be difficult to start.
- Cinnamon : a more windowsy version of GNOME with menus and all.

What would you recommend based on your experience ?

Thanks a lot for your help !

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After yesterday's post, I added some updates to my project
https://redd.it/1jyaooe
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Dude was spitting facts.

Y’all really deleted that post calling out gatekeeping in the Linux community? That kinda proves his whole point.

He wasn’t even being disrespectful — just his own take And let’s be real for a sec: he was right. Way too many people in here treat Linux like it’s some secret society, acting like helping newbies is beneath them unless they’re compiling kernels blindfolded on a ThinkPad from 2003.

I’ve been on the Linux grind since I was like 12 — set up my first server to host a TeamSpeak 3 server back in the day ‘cause my squad needed a place to link up. Had no clue what I was doing at first, but I figured it out, and it was dope. That experience is literally what got me hooked on Linux. So yeah, I know the learning curve is real, and I get how overwhelming it can be for new folks. That’s why it bugs me even more when I see people get clowned just for asking questions. We should be encouraging that curiosity, not shutting it down.

Not everyone wants to run Arch or Gentoo. Some folks just wanna dip their toes in with Ubuntu or Mint, and that’s okay. Let people learn without making them feel dumb. It’s not a crime to make Linux more accessible.

Deleting posts that critique the culture? That’s not moderation — that’s insecurity. If we can’t handle a lil’ self-awareness, how are we ever gonna grow as a community?

Dude spoke the truth. Maybe instead of silencing it, we should listen.

https://redd.it/1jye30x
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postmarketOS has added support for COSMIC
https://postmarketos.org/blog/2025/04/09/pmOS-update-2025-03/

https://redd.it/1jyfaxq
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Shockingly bad advice on r/Linux4noobs

I recently came across this thread in my feed: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux4noobs/comments/1jy6lc7/windows\_10\_is\_dying\_and\_i\_wanna\_switch\_to\_linux/

I was kind of shocked at how bad the advice was, half of the comments were recommending this beginner install some niche distro where he would have found almost no support for, and the other half are telling him to stick to windows or asking why he wanted to change at all.

Does anybody know a better subreddit that I can point OP to?

https://redd.it/1jyfm6y
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Journey to GNOME Circle: Community, App Ideas, and Getting Started
https://redd.it/1jygnub
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"smol" -- Simple Minimal Optimized Lightweight HTTPS file sharing server.
https://redd.it/1jylvnu
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TIL Kitty terminal can show a dock panel on Linux desktops!
https://redd.it/1jymg2c
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Permanently Banned
https://redd.it/1jypec8
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Who uses Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS?
https://redd.it/1jyq99z
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Ubuntu's namesake is based on an African philosophy which encompasses the interdependence of humans on one another. Nelson Mandela said while talking about Ubuntu, "The question therefore is, are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you, and enable it to improve?"
https://redd.it/1jypz2m
@r_linux

I finally did something

So my last post on here was about me unable to switch to Linux due to my friends. Well after a bit of a chat they're trying out Linux who would've known. I'm currently using my build of arch with KDE Plasma and couldn't be more happy, let's see if they switch.

https://redd.it/1jytg3k
@r_linux

yet another trxsh cli

I've craete a very basic trash cli called trxsh for myself, but I'm sharing in case anybody was looking for something similar. It's made with golang, btw.

repository

https://redd.it/1jytew6
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Which distro should i use?

removed

https://redd.it/1jz05vj
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Hibernate workaround post 6.8 kernel.

Hello r/linux,

I'm not exactly sure if this is the right subreddit to put this but since it's not specific to any one distro I thought here would be the best place, so please forgive me if I'm wrong.

Anyhow, there seems to be a kernel bug that happened after 6.8 with the intel_hid module if you have an intel based laptop that prevents hibernation from working correctly.

So after HOURS of google searching and digging through forums and such I have found a work around that helped me and I thought I would share it just incase anyone else is having the same nightmare.

If you have an intel based laptop that wakes up immediately or just refuses to sleep after issuing the systemctl hibernate command give this a try.

Create a SystemD service with the following:

Unit
Denoscription=Intel HID module unloading to prevent kernel bug stopping sleep.
Before=sleep.target
StopWhenUnneeded=yes

Service
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
ExecStart=-/usr/bin/rmmod intelhid
ExecStop=-/usr/bin/modprobe intelhid

Install
WantedBy=sleep.target

Then enable the service and reboot then give the hibernate a try again.

This should unload the HID module and hibernate the system and then when you resume it should re-load the HID module.

Hope this is helpful to someone, and if this is not the right place to post it I apologize.

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What Linux Distro is "unique"?

So there are countless of linux distros to choose from,but what distros are unique or never used?

I'll start with VanillaOS, almost no one uses it for obvious reasons. It is advanced with apx to change os shell but it makes it very hard for users to even install apps. Its like they're trapped in the system if they have no idea how to configure it.
What's your "unique" distro?

https://redd.it/1jz1bor
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PanVK is officially Vulkan 1.1 conformant on the Mali-G610 GPU
https://www.khronos.org/conformance/adopters/conformant-products#submission_906

https://redd.it/1jz2o39
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Privacy focused, local-first, inference engine app for Linux
https://github.com/Capsize-Games/airunner

https://redd.it/1jz9atr
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[UPDATE] Qualcomm, fsck you.

Lately, I posted this: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/s/hh6TMP6BCS

Here, I discussed about a Wi-Fi firmware/driver/chipset and how it's plaguing The Linux Experience.

I shifted to KDE Neon and continued having these issues. My wlp1s0 was randomly turning off despite trying to make `wifi.powersave=2` or trying to echo the skip_otp option.

Then I noticed the inxi properly.

```
Network:
Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: Dell driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s
lanes: 1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:0042 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp1s0 state: up mac: <filter>
IP v4: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
broadcast: <filter>
IP v6: <filter> type: noprefixroute scope: link
```

Ok... so I have an 802.11ac Wireless adapter. I searched using those keywords, and I found this GLARING GITHUB ISSUE: https://github.com/pop-os/pop/issues/1470

Like, this thing has been plaguing users for 4 YEARS. And if the Wi-Fi doesn't work, then the people who don't wanna delve into firmware, goes back to Windows. I'm not making this up, I have seen in one of the comments of the GitHub Issue itself.

The fault is of Qualcomm's closed-source policy. Even that is fine if the piece of hardware is functional with that closed-source firmware. However, Qualcomm isn't even providing function, but is making everything closed-source. Candela Technologies has released some firmwares of ath10k, but it can only do so much. There still isn't any updated firmware for QCA9377.

Imagine this: because of abandoning closed-source firmware updates, these companies are actually making laptops obsolete, because nobody would have the energy or knowledge to buy a new Wi-Fi chipset. The normal users would just move on from what they might call as their 'obsession' over Linux if they don't get their Wi-Fi working. Worse if that chipset is soldered with the motherboard.

So Qualcomm, fsck you.

https://redd.it/1jzcx7d
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Common pewdiepie W
https://redd.it/1jze66x
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Debian Bug #1094969: "git-remote-http is linked against incompatibly licensed OpenSSL"
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1094969

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