best distro for "people" ?

[MurphCID]

Nope all data is on the basic drive. I have not yet figured out how to do the separate home partition thing. But it is not a big deal since I can re-install and have everything back where I want it in less than an hour unlike my Windows installations which are a two to four hour ordeal.

Again the best distro for People is one they use and are comfortable using.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Nope all data is on the basic drive. I have not yet figured out how to do the separate home partition thing...

I don't recommend using a separate home partition; it unnecessarily complicates creating Timeshift snapshots and backing up data. Instead, I recommend keeping personal data on a separate drive (or, in the case of a computer with only one drive, a separate partition) and leaving /home in its default location.

When data is on a separate drive or partition, Timeshift can be set to Include All so your OS, programs, and setting will be included in snapshots but your personal data will not.

When I set up my computers, I make new personal data folders on the drive or partition I want my data on (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos; I didn't make one for Public since i never use it), then delete the same folders in /home (make sure they are empty first!). Then, both to prevent Mint from recreating those folders in /home and accidentally saving personal data into /home, I make symlinks (shortcuts) in /home to the new folders.

The quick and dirty...er...quick and easy way to create the shortcuts is to open the drive or partition the new data folders are in on one side of the monitor and open /home on the other side. To make each short cut, left click on the folder you want to make a shortcut for to highlight it. Press down the SHIFT and CTRL keys and, while holding them down, left click on the folder in the data drive or partition and drag it to /home and release it. This will automagically create the shortcut in /home. Rinse and repeat for the other folders.

If you want to see the folders on your data drive or partition on your desktop, just follow the same procedure to also put folder shortcuts onto your desktop.

...But it is not a big deal since I can re-install and have everything back where I want it in less than an hour unlike my Windows installations which are a two to four hour ordeal...

Lucky you! I have so much "stuff" going on, a reinstall takes hours, or even days, for me. For me, restoring from an image is so much easier. I take a handful of minutes to start the process, then walk away, take a nap, fix a meal, watch TV, whatever, and just let the computer do all the work (and it's a heckuvalot faster and more accurate than I am!).

...Again the best distro for People is one they use and are comfortable using.

I totally agree.

[RollyShed]

...But it is not a big deal since I can re-install and have everything back where I want it in less than an hour

Lucky you! I have so much "stuff" going on, a reinstall takes hours,

Basically what they call "horses for courses".

I'm in the "it will only take about 1/2 hour" and everything (data) is stored on a different disk.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...But it is not a big deal since I can re-install and have everything back where I want it in less than an hour

Lucky you! I have so much "stuff" going on, a reinstall takes hours,

Basically what they call "horses for courses".

I'm in the "it will only take about 1/2 hour" and everything (data) is stored on a different disk.

All my data is also on different disks. I just use quite a few programs and I'm not as experienced as you.

[albertcamembert]

I do personaly think computer is already by itself a submission, and I mean here for "people" not for those who are able to deal with it at its core

Windows is a stupid massive use tool, limited to regular all day life, and macintosh is more like a snobist version where having more money is confused with having a better tool
Both systems are interface like, no deep work into computer except for those who like it, but for people working on internet, graphism and so on
Tools by Adobe are powerfull, good for pros and for amators, but they are not fair and monopolistic

Windows is some sort of sheep way, mac is going a bit deeper imo

Linux is a perfect system for those who are going deep into computing, scientists, hackers etc
Also, I don't want this being politic but that is a bit, like some said, Linux is free and is open and this is politic
Computer, digital, numeric, it's all related to capitalism and modern economical world, nothing social here
So Linux distros are bringing a little human into this

BUT
I've read wikipedia page about Ubuntu and (I never know) facts are far from this picture
These days I've tried Ubuntu and I find it awfull, really like a modern add, being cool, being modern with no sight on global problems
I can not understand how someone could use Firefox without going blind, if I had no blocks on adds I would never use internet anymore
Google is stupid, moneywormed, a perfect eample of capitalistic computing, even Qwant is stupid - well to me out of scientists tools and database internet is dumb
So Ubuntu is shiny, moving 3D like and amazon is not so far - I am not a windows user of modern W but i see here no comparison to windows - plus, making it "looks like" is worst cause you think you got it but it's not
I also tried Debian and I was disapointed, interface is more like macintosh, it's simplier, this is the good point
Bad points are asking if you want to share datas with mozilla - and most of all aabout security I said "paranoia" and here is the best top of this

some say "linux is secured because of these securities, it's not paranoia" - of course it is, if I do put 25 locks on my door it is safe but it is paranoia - is there anyone here going to use my computer in a meaning way ? no! Is it like a threat that someone would try to install a log, no, I fear nothing, and I fear even less on a system I can re-do whenever
I understand this is true for workers, institutions, and probably for some who like having their life in the computer, but I do think this is a choice and this choice is not - on Debian accessing your files is a password moment, this is to me evolving in a paranoiac environement

So, at the end, Linux Mint still got my favor, it's not perfect because computer at this level is not, but it's lighter on paranoia than Debian, and it's not going that far into glamourous interface

Now look, here we are on an english forum, so if you have a problem this is a barrier - and I think there's a lack of didactics, no explanation, simply trying to "look like" windows is saying nothing about how it work
And I think there's too much, from <800Mo Debian and 4.8Go of last ubuntu, many many thinks here are too much to manage

Font as example: I read having too much is not good, but when I open GIMP I have tons of unusefull fonts I can't even remove simply - and I have none of mine - so, that is artificial complexity, a geek move symptomatic

[albertcamembert]

today I had this terrific move of according my system to make updates, now I lost my screen resolution and I can not work today and I'm spending time again and again and this is ultra boring - this is what people want I think, for the simpliest

[SMG]

Now look, here we are on an english forum, so if you have a problem this is a barrier...

There are multiple languages available on this board. Please see the International section.

[Hoser Rob]

... on Debian accessing your files is a password moment...

Only if you really screwed up your Debian installation. You have a bad habit of blaming the OS for your own failings.

[RollyShed]

today I had this terrific move of according my system to make updates, now I lost my screen resolution and I can not work today and I'm spending time again and again and this is ultra boring - this is what people want I think, for the simpliest

Here (at home) there are about 8 computers running Linux Mint and some have been doing it for years. None of them have problems with updates and screen resolution so how do you manage to break everything?

[wwblm]

today I had this terrific move of according my system to make updates, now I lost my screen resolution and I can not work today and I'm spending time again and again and this is ultra boring - this is what people want I think, for the simpliest

Here (at home) there are about 8 computers running Linux Mint and some have been doing it for years. None of them have problems with updates and screen resolution so how do you manage to break everything?

That's pretty much what I'm thinking as well. Not as many computers as you but have not had any issues that I remember from any updates. Even the version updates have just worked.

At the moment I am on a road trip without access to any backups and I still updated my browser and the update manager. Holding off on the Linux kernel updates and likely most of the rest until I return home out of an abundance of caution. However, in my experience Mint has been the most reliable and stress free updating system of any that I have used. I did have something go wrong with a Firefox update years ago but it was running at the time. I no longer update running programs if I have a choice and perhaps that helps.

[RollyShed]

I did have something go wrong with a Firefox update years ago but it was running at the time. I no longer update running programs if I have a choice and perhaps that helps.

Firefox back in about version 60? 70? had an odd update that if done, stayed with it. I had problems with our IRD (tax department) not being able to download a PDF from them, just got miles of code garbage. Firefox was one of their nominated web browsers.

"Install and try another web browser." they said. Why should I?

As I was putting up hundreds (yes 100s) of PDFs to websites and they all worked and I'm not trained or paid to do it I simply "shrugged my shoulders". Their problem.

They eventually took down their website and rebuilt it so I'm suspicious I wasn't the only one. And I'd had some other stupidity from them too.

This computer is still running Firefox now version 121 and the Mint is version 20.3.

I'll probably upgrade everything when 21.3 comes available.

Our organisation's (Men's Shed) main computer worked OK but things getting a bit rough around the edges so it had it's system wiped and 21.2 installed end of last year. All files and folders are held on another disk. The thing about a separate disk is when doing a major update i.e. installation, it can be unplugged internally so there is no way it can be accidentally compromised. You can't accidentally do the install on the wrong disk.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...At the moment I am on a road trip without access to any backups and I still updated my browser and the update manager...

When I'm on the road, I take a set of backups and a spare drive of each type I use with me. Since all my drives are SSDs, they don't take up much room at all. I also have other backups at home and in my safe deposit box at my credit union so I'm not worried about losing my data and backups while on the road (my important information, such as financial, is encrypted so no worries there).

[rossdv8]

I can see by the overparanoiac system of password that the system is fragile

A strange conclusion. If you see that a car has seat belts, does that tell you that the car is unsafe?

and also that this is done for people working in building in administrative companies

This is even stranger.

I was late getting to this Topic because I've been exploring a Distro called Mint 'Cinnamon Edition' in depth for the first time in years as a possible daily driver OS. A bit of time spent with the current version and more recently Dual-Booting with my current Linux and mint Cinnamon 6 Beta, as well as time on KDE 6 Betas. suggests that I should stick with my FrankenMint Mint KDE, because it is seems to have all the best bits of Mint and Plasma working perfectly for the last couple of years - until Plasma 6 kills it.

The thing that grabbed me about this particular post when I got to it, was that the "overparanoiac system of password" doesn;t suggest to me that "the system (or car) is fragile."
What it suggest to me is that someone actually thought to give the car a "Set of Keys" so I can lock doors when I leave, or lock something in the boot (trunk for non-English speakers) to make it less likely that my possessions will be knocked off by passers by.

As for the best distro for people, Cinnamon is right up there. I booted a Persistent-Live USB stick with Cinnamon, and a couple of moments after I enabled WiFi, the thiing started making Ding Dnig Ding sounds, as it found and installed all the Wireless printers on my Wireless Network, plus a couple that showed up as being in the general area, but are actually next door and must be ad-hoc.

My only recent experience with Cinnamon is running it on MS Surface Pro Tablets, where it runs amost better than an Android and is nicer to use than Windows 10 or 11 on the Tablet.
Cinnamon 6 took to the Tablets like the proverbial Duck to a Ski Run. And It still scores points over KDE 6 in some of the ease of setup and daily use.

There are lots of 'Easy for Beginners' distros I have experience with including PCLOS, Zorin, Elementary and a lot of new ones I am not familiar with. But Mint Cinnamon seems to be one of the best 'current' distros for everyday 'people', because it seems dead easy to get simple stuff done, yet I was able to theme it with most of the things I usually do to arguably more complex distros, in an hour or two. Bearing in mind I didn;t really have a clue wjere most of the bits were and had to think like a newb.

In the end, as people have said towards the end of this post, I agree - the Best Distro for you, is the one You Feel Comfortable with.
And that, is why we started seeing Live CDs with things like Knoppix on, and that concept spread to more or less every distro over the next 20 years.
And now, with tools like mkusb and similar things, we can not only burn a Live Bootable USB Stick - but we can use that as a day-to day OS until we are satisfied - then use it to write that OS to HDD or SSD.

We're 'Spoiled for Choice' or 'Blessed' these days (whichever way we think of it).

[rossdv8]

Nope all data is on the basic drive. I have not yet figured out how to do the separate home partition thing...

I don't recommend using a separate home partition; it unnecessarily complicates creating Timeshift snapshots and backing up data. Instead, I recommend keeping personal data on a separate drive (or, in the case of a computer with only one drive, a separate partition) and leaving /home in its default location.

Speaking as a professional, I 'always' recommend separate /root and /home partitions and have done for the last 25 years or so - not that we had much choice in the olden days. Any of the backup / recovery systems should let you choose to backup the root, or the home, or both. In my case, I mostly backup home fairly often, but I am not quite as fastidious with root, because these days of huge drives cheap - there's almost no excuse not to have a second root partition. So for me the rule of thumb is - 2 roots then home.

It not only means that if I screw up an OS by doing something dumb, or in the case of a normal person, something accidental - I can easily reinstall Mint in 15 minutes, then run a script to repopulate my PPAS, then another one to reinstall all except the last few Apps I normally run. That runs unattended for about 20 minutes while i rack off and make coffee.

It is also handy should I decide to do a fresh install of say Mint 21.3 soon, because that would normally mean restoring my /home.

Whenever I had to fix a problem or reinstall Linux on a customer's machine over the years it was usually back up and running with all their 'stuff' intact in something like 20 minutes.

Having two root partitions meant I could work magic with customers' systems.
Having two roots and a home as a re-tired individual means I'm free to have something like Cinamon 6 Beta as a Dual-Boot option to 'play with' and still have everything I need whichever OS I am running. With the caveat that Cinnamon still creates havoc with perhaps three shared Themes because of the way its WM does things.

[albertcamembert]

so computer peoples don't have problems so we don't have problems, and this is perfect life
one think was true "within linux only user is guilty"
so if I see a "emergency alert" on my screen I'm so dumb to clic on and say "solve it", that means I don't understand linux jokes kind of
what a real ignorant person I am for being not into computing

[RollyShed]

so computer peoples don't have problems so we don't have problems, and this is perfect life

Of course not. I've just had 42 computers to fix for a school so obviously life isn't perfect. And they weren't software problems.

one think was true "within linux only user is guilty"

Guilty of what? Having a drink with dinner?

so if I see a "emergency alert" on my screen

Have you seen that?
And then what did you do?
I suspect very few, if any, have seen that.

that means I don't understand linux jokes kind of what a real ignorant person I am for being not into computing

Jokes and humour tend to be understood by those who understand the language the joke is made in. British humour is really funny. American humour tends, to some of us, to simply be "slap-stick".
Because of your language problems you wouldn't be able to understand British humour. Not a problem, just the way it is.
I definitely would not understand any jokes in French.

[albertcamembert]

So I'm the only one on earth and probably galaxy to have an alert down there on the right side ?
I'm also the only for whom people asked to make all updates to solve my other problems (printer and so on) for some unexplained reasons (rules 1: never explain anything) ?
When I read "your printer is supported" that's a joke ?

For MONTHS and maybe years people asked me to solve my problem to make updates and to use next generations OS
you know, I have problem with old devices and people ask me to make my computer more and more contemporary
that's humour? "Mint 19.2 isn't working? go install 22 then"
I've lost sound for some mysterious reason, then I was asked to install pipewire instead of alsa... not working ? what a joke ahah
I think you got knowledge, you probably also got budget for computer (I mean here no offense), so that's like macintosh, no problem, why?
OK, let's think I'm a computer maker, MY computer is working fine so ALL computers are doing aswell, right?

The only answer to computer problem is BUYING ANOTHER ONE - check linux compatibility and get one, problem solved ! easy right ?
I had pleasure for some time but right now I'm totally disgusted by computer, I don't want to learn anything about it anymore - and I can imagine why lot of people got "computing" on phones, no need to think just take photos, nice & stupid democratic tool that is

[Moem]

It may just be me, but all the hyperbole and the drama makes me less inclined to help you.

[Pjotr]

It may just be me, but all the hyperbole and the drama makes me less inclined to help you.

It's not just you.

[RollyShed]

So I'm the only one on earth and probably galaxy to have an alert down there on the right side ?

It appears so.

I'm also the only for whom people asked to make all updates to solve my other problems (printer and so on) for some unexplained reasons

The suggestion of doing updates is because doing that might solve the problem. If you haven't tried that as a possible fix then no one knows if it isn't the required fix.

(rules 1: never explain anything) ?

Things are usually very clearly explained on this forum. Is the problem your lack of understanding English?

When I read "your printer is supported" that's a joke ?

Is the person saying that using that printer? If YES, then it isn't a joke.

I have problem with old devices and people ask me to make my computer more and more contemporary

On another thread a lot of those on the forum mention just how old some of their computers are. And they work perfectly.

I think you got knowledge, you probably also got budget for computer (I mean here no offense), so that's like Macintosh,

Wash your mouth out, Apple !!!!???? Of course not. Are you also suggesting having to buy a computer? Why? I've only got a couple of dozen desktops I'm trying to get rid of. And half a dozen laptops on the shelf too.

OK, let's think I'm a computer maker, MY computer is working fine so ALL computers are doing as well, right?

If they are Lenovo Chromebooks, no, just rubbish, they blowup. Acer C731, rubbish construction, the hinge mounts break.

The only answer to computer problem is BUYING ANOTHER ONE - check linux compatibility and get one, problem solved ! easy right ?

No, why buy another one? I do lots of installations for people and sort their problems out. No I'm not going to show you my list of 50+ people I've fitted SSDs to their laptops and made them happy users.
At the library today and always a happy smile from one of them there. Because of Linux on her laptop she got qualifications and a job.

I had pleasure for some time but right now I'm totally disgusted by computer, I don't want to learn anything about it any more

OK, get out on your bicycle and get some exercise like any sensible person.