Hey everyone! I'm trying to help my sister, who hasn't used a PC in about a decade and is used to just her phone. She's only ever been on Windows 7 and 10. I'm convinced that switching to Linux would be a smart move for her, especially for privacy and security reasons.
Her needs are pretty simple: she requires Firefox, Kdenlive for video editing, and a camera recording tool (I was thinking of OBS, but if you have other suggestions, I'm open!).
I want to find a stable and secure distro that's light on bloat, preferably with official support for KDE, and that's easy to install and update. My top choices right now are Linux Mint and Fedora KDE, but I'm unsure if Mint officially supports KDE.
It would also be great if she can easily transfer files to and from iOS and Android devices. Language support would be nice too, but I think KDE covers that well.
Lastly, I'm curious about how stable and secure Arch-based distros are these days. I haven't used any in years and would like to know if they use the official Arch repos or their own, since I want to keep her experience as hands-off as possible.
7 Answers
Maybe you’re overthinking this. Does your sister actually want Linux? If she's just used to Windows, she might prefer sticking with it since it’s made for easier use. If she wants Linux, Bazzite is beginner-friendly and looks a lot like Windows, making it an easier transition.
The best distro is the one you know best; you'll be her tech support. Let her try a few different desktop environments in a virtual machine and see what she likes!
This is actually the best advice I’ve heard so far!
Definitely install Fedora with KDE! It's super stable and always has the latest software. You can't go wrong there.
I think Linux Mint would be just fine for her. Most everyday users don't really care too much about having a super bloat-free distro. It’s user-friendly and works well for beginners.
I get that you're worried about bloat, but honestly, she probably won't even notice.
If you want a stable release with KDE, try openSUSE Leap or Fedora. Both are solid choices. If she's open to Cinnamon, Mint could work too!
I know what you mean about Kubuntu; I've had bad experiences with it myself... It’s like a derivative of a derivative, which can be risky.
I’ll definitely check out openSUSE Leap but I'm really curious about Tumbleweed now!
Consider OpenSUSE, either Leap for standard releases or Tumbleweed for a rolling release. Both have great support for KDE and are pretty stable.
Have you tried Tumbleweed? I’m curious if it really minimizes upgrade issues.
You can use Firefox and Kdenlive on pretty much any distro. For webcam recording, consider using Webcamoid or Cheese. Arch might not be ideal if you want something ‘hands-off’ since it requires a bit more maintenance than others.
Totally get that. Stability is key for me too, which is why I'm leaning towards Fedora KDE or Mint.
Yeah, she wouldn't notice much difference. I just want to protect her from invasive ads and data tracking.