this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Which Linux distribution do you recommend for beginners? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 1 week ago by Giraffe@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Hello! I'm new to Linux, and I'm thinking of switching from Windows to Linux because I don't want anything to do with Microsoft, Google, or any other evil corporation, and I don't want them spying on me. I'm thinking of using Linux Mint since it's the most recommended for beginners, but there's also Ubuntu. I don't really care if it looks a lot or a little like Windows, I just want it to have a nice design and be easy to use. Kubuntu is also recommended for those coming from Windows, and ElementaryOS for those coming from macOS. I don't know which one to choose; they all seem very good to me. Here are some of the features I would like the distribution to have:

  1. Nice design and easy to use
  2. Customizable
  3. Focused on privacy and security
  4. Easy to install
  5. Best for Linux beginners Which one do you recommend? Which one do you use?
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[–] sonalder@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)
  • ZorinOS (especially for Windows users)
  • LinuxMint (especially for Windows users)
  • Fedora (if users want something radically different than Windows or macOS, it's closer to macOS than Windows tho)
  • Bazzite (Fedora-based atomic distro, if most of usage is gaming)
[–] Giraffe@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago

Good choices! I think the best one for me is Mint and ZorinOS. I'll try mint first and then ZorinOS.

[–] ashleythorne@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The only thing MacOS and Gnome have in common is a top bar and app grid. Other than that, MacOS is closer to Windows than Gnome.

  • Windows and MacOS have always visible panel showing favorite apps and open apps, Gnome dosen't
  • Windows and MacOS have appindicators on panels, Gnome doesn't

And to further differentiate Gnome from MacOS,

  • Gnome's UX is closer to Windows. There are many, many reasons why, but some are: don't need to click a window to focus it before you can interact with it, fullscreening behaviors, assumes Windows-style keyboard layout
  • No global menu, Gnome doesn't even use that paradigm.

Honestly the closest DE to MacOS is Cosmic. The launchers work similarly, the overviews work similarly, it has the option to handle minimized windows similarly to MacOS, uses menubars (but not global).

[–] sonalder@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Maybe I don't remember the defaults on macOS and assume my setup is macOS UX but it's quite tweaked yeah. I find my config closer to Gnome than my memories of Windows. But I agree that Gnome is radially different and that's what I've write in my comment.

Isn't Cosmic based on Gnome? I have to try it, I was hyped when they announced it and now it's realeased.

What about the DE used in ElementaryOS? ZorinOS Pro has some macOS themes and KDE is heavily flexible to replicate macOS's UX.

[–] ashleythorne@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The old Cosmic was built on top of Gnome using extensions, but the new Cosmic was written from scratch. It largely mimics the look of old Cosmic, but has introduced a few new things.

There are desktops try do mimic the look of MacOS, but none I've used actually felt like using MacOS. The first time I used MacOS, I was shocked at how many quirky things it does, the way it operates. No Linux desktop prepared me for that.

[–] sonalder@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 days ago

Honestly I fined macOS fine feature-wide but the defaults aren't great for me so I tweaked many things and the annoying part of this is that I rely on multiple third party tools for what I consider should be native settings to change.