{"id":79472,"date":"2019-02-01T15:42:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T15:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/?p=79472"},"modified":"2019-02-01T15:42:07","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T15:42:07","slug":"top-5-linux-distributions-for-new-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/02\/01\/top-5-linux-distributions-for-new-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Linux Distributions for New Users"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Linux has come a long way from its original offering. But, no matter how often you hear how easy Linux is now, there are still skeptics. To back up this claim, the desktop must be simple enough for those unfamiliar with Linux to be able to make use of it. And, the truth is that plenty of desktop distributions make this a reality. <\/p>\n

No Linux knowledge required <\/h3>\n

It might be simple to misconstrue this as yet another \u201cbest user-friendly Linux distributions\u201d list. That is not what we\u2019re looking at here. What\u2019s the difference? For my purposes, the defining line is whether or not Linux actually plays into the usage. In other words, could you set a user in front of a desktop operating system and have them be instantly at home with its usage? No Linux knowledge required.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, some distributions do just that. I have five I\u2019d like to present to you here. You\u2019ve probably heard of all of them. They might not be your distribution of choice, but you can guarantee that they slide Linux out of the spotlight and place the user front and center.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the chosen few.<\/p>\n

Elementary OS<\/a><\/h3>\n

The very philosophy of Elementary OS is centered around how people actually use their desktops. The developers and designers have gone out of their way to create a desktop that is as simple as possible. In the process, they\u2019ve de-Linux\u2019d Linux. That is not to say they\u2019ve removed Linux from the equation. No. Instead, what they\u2019ve done is create an operating system that is about as neutral as you\u2019ll find. Elementary OS is streamlined in such a way as to make sure everything is perfectly logical. From the single Dock to the clear-to-anyone Applications menu, this is a desktop that doesn\u2019t say to the user, \u201cYou\u2019re using Linux!\u201d In fact, the layout itself is reminiscent of Mac, but with the addition of a simple app menu (Figure 1).<\/p>\n

Another important aspect of Elementary OS that places it on this list is that it\u2019s not nearly as flexible as some other desktop distributions. Sure, some users would balk at that, but having a desktop that doesn\u2019t throw every bell and whistle at the user makes for a very familiar environment — one that neither requires or allows a lot of tinkering. That aspect of the OS goes a long way to make the platform familiar to new users.<\/p>\n

And like any modern Linux desktop distribution, Elementary OS includes and App Store, called AppCenter, where users can install all the applications they need, without ever having to touch the command line.<\/p>\n

Deepin<\/a><\/h3>\n

Deepin not only gets my nod for one of the most beautiful desktops on the market, it\u2019s also just as easy to adopt as any desktop operating system available. With a very simplistic take on the desktop interface, there\u2019s very little in the way of users with zero Linux experience getting up to speed on its usage. In fact, you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a user who couldn\u2019t instantly start using the Deepin desktop. The only possible hitch in that works might be the sidebar control center (Figure 2).<\/p>\n

But even that sidebar control panel is as intuitive as any other configuration tool on the market. And anyone that has used a mobile device will be instantly at home with the layout. As for opening applications, Deepin takes a macOS Launchpad approach with the Launcher. This button is in the usual far right position on the desktop dock, so users will immediately gravitate to that, understanding that it is probably akin to the standard \u201cStart\u201d menu.<\/p>\n

In similar fashion as Elementary OS (and most every Linux distribution on the market), Deepin includes an app store (simply called \u201cStore\u201d), where plenty of apps can be installed with ease.<\/p>\n

Ubuntu<\/a><\/h3>\n

You knew it was coming. Ubuntu is most often ranked at the top of most user-friendly Linux lists. Why? Because it\u2019s one of the chosen few where a knowledge of Linux simply isn\u2019t necessary to get by on the desktop. Prior to the adoption of GNOME (and the ousting of Unity), that wouldn\u2019t have been the case. Why? Because Unity often needed a bit of tweaking to get it to the point where a tiny bit of Linux knowledge wasn\u2019t necessary (Figure 3). Now that Ubuntu has adopted GNOME, and tweaked it to the point where an understanding of GNOME isn\u2019t even necessary, this desktop makes Linux take a back seat to simplicity and usability.<\/p>\n

Unlike Elementary OS, Ubuntu doesn\u2019t hold the user back. So anyone who wants more from their desktop, can have it. However, the out of the box experience is enough for just about any user type. Anyone looking for a desktop that makes the user unaware as to just how much power they have at their fingertips, could certainly do worse than Ubuntu.<\/p>\n

Linux Mint<\/a><\/h3>\n

I will preface this by saying I\u2019ve never been the biggest fan of Linux Mint. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t respect what the developers are doing, it\u2019s more an aesthetic. I prefer modern-looking desktop environments. But that old school desktop metaphor (found in the default Cinnamon desktop) is perfectly familiar to nearly anyone who uses it. With a taskbar, start button, system tray, and desktop icons (Figure 4), Linux Mint offers an interface that requires zero learning curve. In fact, some users might be initially fooled into thinking they are working with a Windows 7 clone. Even the updates warning icon will look instantly familiar to users. <\/p>\n

Because Linux Mint benefits from being based on Ubuntu, it\u2019ll not only enjoy an immediate familiarity, but a high usability. No matter if you have even the slightest understanding of the underlying platform, users will feel instantly at home on Linux Mint.<\/p>\n

Ubuntu Budgie<\/a><\/h3>\n

Our list concludes with a distribution that also does a fantastic job of making the user forget they are using Linux, and makes working with the usual tools a simple, beautiful thing. Melding the Budgie Desktop with Ubuntu makes for an impressively easy to use distribution. And although the layout of the desktop (Figure 5) might not be the standard fare, there is no doubt the acclimation takes no time. In fact, outside of the Dock defaulting to the left side of the desktop, Ubuntu Budgie has a decidedly Elementary OS look to it.<\/p>\n

The System Tray\/Notification area in Ubuntu Budgie offers a few more features than the usual fare: Features such as quick access to Caffeine (a tool to keep your desktop awake), a Quick Notes tool (for taking simple notes), Night Lite switch, a Places drop-down menu (for quick access to folders), and of course the Raven applet\/notification sidebar (which is similar to, but not quite as elegant as, the Control Center sidebar in Deepin). Budgie also includes an application menu (top left corner), which gives users access to all of their installed applications. Open an app and the icon will appear in the Dock. Right-click that app icon and select Keep in Dock for even quicker access. <\/p>\n

Everything about Ubuntu Budgie is intuitive, so there\u2019s practically zero learning curve involved. It doesn\u2019t hurt that this distribution is as elegant as it is easy to use.<\/p>\n

Give One A Chance<\/h3>\n

And there you have it, five Linux distributions that, each in their own way, offer a desktop experience that any user would be instantly familiar with. Although none of these might be your choice for top distribution, it\u2019s hard to argue their value when it comes to users who have no familiarity with Linux.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Linux through the free\u00a0“Introduction to Linux”\u00a0<\/a>course from The Linux Foundation and edX.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linux has come a long way from its original offering. But, no matter how often you hear how easy Linux is now, there are still skeptics. To back up this claim, the desktop must be simple enough for those unfamiliar with Linux to be able to make use of it. And, the truth is that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux-freebsd-unix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}