I daily drove Linux for about 6 years and finally managed to convince some of my family members to try it!
However, I realized I don’t have a lot of ideas about beginner distros. I have some requirements that led me to some decisions, but there doesn’t seem to be a fit-all option:
- Minimal maintenance -> Debian-based (stable release)
- High compatibility -> Debian-based (.deb seems more convenient than say, AUR)
- Familiarity -> KDE Plasma (looks like Windows, very customizable)
It’s for a Thinkpad X1. The main purpose is going to be academics.
All of that points to Kubuntu, but I worry about the Canonical Snap store stuff.
Everyone recommends Linux Mint for starters, but it doesn’t come with a KDE Plasma flavour. I know I can install it myself, but the integration is gonna be bad and they’re gonna bug me a lot.
I use Endeavour OS personally, so I’m somewhat familiar with Arch-based system. I guess .debs can be installed with debtap, but that feels like a whole another hacky solution. I have done university courses with my Endeavour OS laptop and I know quite a bit of software comes in .deb but not AUR.
What should I pick for them? And should I get more input from them? If so, what should I ask about?
I often have this conversation with the people I do Linux support with. We either go for Debian, which can be a bit tricky to install on some machines or Fedora/OpenSUSE with KDE Plasma. Since you want an Ubuntu based system, maybe check out MX Linux, but be aware, that it needs manual migration between major versions (https://mxlinux.org/migration/). Maybe also have a look at this list: https://distrowatch.com/search.php?desktop=KDE+Plasma#simple