I'm considering transitioning my mom from Windows 10 to a Linux distro since her current setup is getting a bit outdated. She has an older HP system with an AMD Phenom 2 x6, 8GB of RAM, and I've upgraded it somewhat with a 512GB SSD and a budget AMD graphics card. She primarily uses LibreOffice, Microsoft Edge, Spotify, and plays some games like Tropico 5, Sim City 3000 (which works well under Proton), and a few old DOS games that I can run with DosBox. I want to pick a distro that's user-friendly for her and has good long-term support (LTS). What would be the best Linux distro for her needs?
4 Answers
I have my mom on Linux Mint, and she’s been really happy with it for years. She's currently on the Cinnamon edition, and it runs smoothly. Just make sure you're comfortable with whatever you choose, as you'll be the one helping her out if she hits any bumps.
Zorin is also a nice choice. My teachers have been using it without realizing it’s Linux! It’s user-friendly and looks pretty similar to Windows.
It might be best to go with the same distro you're using. You'll be her primary support, so being familiar with it can save a lot of trouble. If that's not ideal, Linux Mint is a solid choice—it's user-friendly and has a great community.
That's definitely good advice. Mint is great for new users, especially the Cinnamon version!
For something a bit different, you might want to consider an arch-based distro. They allow easy installation of a lot of software which could be handy later on.
Yeah, plus there are plenty of alternatives to Windows Solitaire available on Linux—just take a little time to find one she likes!