this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
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Linux Mint isn't the answer for Windows refugees anymore (www.xda-developers.com)
submitted 1 week ago by cm0002@literature.cafe to c/linux@programming.dev
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I've been having a big think over Linux distros. See, I've been looking back at my still-new Linux experience of nine months, and wondering how my own journey can help other people get started with FOSS operating systems. Whenever the topic of a Windows refugee-friendly OS came up, I would recommend Linux Mint because, first, it's the one everyone says, and second, it was the Linux OS that I started with, fresh off Windows.

I always follow that up with a comment about how you don't have to stick with Linux Mint if you don't want to. You can do what I did, which is to dip your toe into the Linux distro water and find something that suits you better. But if I'm setting up Linux Mint as "my first Linux distro," why not just skip the middleman and get right into the distros that have a bit more meat on them?

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[–] yakko@feddit.uk 59 points 1 week ago (1 children)

As long as people are moving away from Windows and Mac, who cares? You're never gonna convince most people that their OS should be interesting and worth talking about. Take the W.

[–] otter@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

As long as people are moving away from Windows and Mac

If people don't like it or Linux Mint doesn't meet their needs, they will go back to Windows or switch to MacOS. The article points out that there may be better stepping stone distros these days

[–] yakko@feddit.uk 7 points 1 week ago

I guess I had a kneejerk, a lot of times when someone starts up like this it always feels like a veiled "people don't like my favourite one" type of thing. He's pretty even handed and nuanced beyond that, credit where credit is due.