@davidgerard not a linux evangelist, but yeah I will say which distro you pick at first does matter - as long as it’s user friendly. Info that’s nearly impossible to find when you’re starting out (googling will give you bad SEO list articles)

I recommend linux mint to everybody, because I tried linux like 3 times over 3 years following the advice of ‘it doesn’t matter which distro’ and with the knowledge that Ubuntu was apparently very popular. Each time I’d say ‘oh this isn’t ready, linux doesn’t work yet for normal people’ and end up reinstalling windows. Bloody hell, the software centre in Ubuntu just didn’t work for all those years I tried it.

Tried mint once and loved it. The terminal is optional, not mandatory, which is how it should be. Things just work on it.

Sadly, as an artist I’m stuck dual booting. Which is also what I recommend to others who want to try linux. These kind of enormous lists tend to really scare people off trying linux I think. And then really common advice I see is for people to ‘just install VMs’ which is not something and average user knows how to do or what that means

@davidgerard nice guide! I'm planning to move from Windows soon

@davidgerard https://distrosea.com/

@davidgerard lmao comments were exactly as expected

@davidgerard I recently tried this for my partner's computer, but it was eventually a failed attempt because of Microsoft Office.

I even paid money to buy CrossOver to get the fkn thing working. Until institutions move away from Microsoft Office and LDAP, it's not so easy to switch over I'm afraid.

Office 365 installed, but I failed at the bespoke 2FA her university has to authenticate. Fuuuuukin Microsoft they have a tight grip around every IT department.

@davidgerard@circumstances.run

> Ubuntu and Mint are common starters.

Love to be a linux evangeist but those suck butt, Ubuntu is literally being vibe coded and Mint has packages so old it makes up for however much easier it is than other distros in theory with how many things will be mysteriously broken

I recently installed Linux Mint on an older HP laptop. Some bios security stuff was a hurdle. Manageable with a little research. Had to use an usb mouse during installation in compatibility mode.

OS installation was quick and I got all essential software via Flatpack (like an integrated app store for linux).

I now got a dual boot system should I ever want to see the sluggish Windows 11 performance and cluttered ui again 🤓

@davidgerard hello, what is a bad screen and a good screen?

@davidgerard
Linux can read the Windows product key if it's in the BIOS.

@davidgerard A step I'm missing here is: back up your data!

@davidgerard

"AMD is actively helpful and supportive, so if you have an AMD laptop or an AMD video card you should be very happy."

By exclusion, this seems to imply that Intel is not actively helpful and supportive; is that the case?

@davidgerard for 4. I really like @lutris
Not just because it supports other gaming storefronts too, but you can also use the "install from windows exe" mode to at least try and install anything very easily and see if it works.

@davidgerard

If you’re not in a hurry, starting with step 3 helps. I spent the year before I finally ditched Windows moving away from Windows-only software to cross-platform things. When I switcher operating systems, it was completely painless because all of the apps I used were the same.

@davidgerard I would also consider keeping the old windows install in place, even though it's icky. I've had one instance where a firmware update was only delivered in Windows, so I had to boot back into it in order to use my usb4 hub.

@davidgerard Regarding step 5, @winboat is an even more user-friendly approach to using Windows on Linux.

@davidgerard Desktop choice I think is an important detail. It's worth knowing that something like Cinnamon feels much more Windows like and thus less confusing than some of the other choices.

I've seen people totally baffled and put off by GNOME for example.

@davidgerard Unfortunately the kind of brain that is willing to switch from Windows always seems to inherently gravitate towards a weird niche distro that ultimately scares them away!

My recommendation for Windows users is Fedora Kinoite. Very similar setup to Windows and nearly impossible to break due to immutability. But as you said, it doesn't matter!

@davidgerard

Amplifying the live USB thing because very often people are not aware that they have weird hardware. A model number that differs in a single character or some other oddity.

@davidgerard An English grammar point:
"4. Most Windows software works under Wine. If you use Steam, just install that."
Just install that => Install Steam or install Wine?

@davidgerard dunno if it is a common problem but when I wanted to dual boot, I noticed that I am unable to shrink my disk as Windows has placed files near end of volume so zero MB available to shrink.

@davidgerard ... and if you did not think of writing down the license key, you can still get it from within Linux after installation. Open a terminal (doesn't matter which one), and type this:

sudo strings /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM

(then press Enter)

It will print a few lines, one of which is the (easily recognizable) license key.

Note: the command may ask you for your Linux user password.

Cc @Pepijn

@davidgerard Good advice. Also, Mint really is a good starter distro. It feels very friendly and nice. 😊