08-27-2016, 09:43 PM
I think this particular list is a bit off, and I am user familiar with all the distros listed except for elementary OS.
1) I personally think that Linux Lite is the best Linux distro for new Windows converts largely because of its features, its stability, its intuitive ease of use for Windows refugees, and its excellent support, which by the way, every distro out there these days could take a lesson from. It is well conceived to be easily maintained and tweaked from the GUI, a feature which Windows converts need available as much as possible to feel comfortable.
2) I consider SolydX, (though not SolydXK) to be at least as equally stable, and just as readily intuitive for Windows clickers as Linux Lite, and with some nice feature options, and a little better Debian package versatility, but it is my second choice because of its somewhat scanty support and relatively small user base.
3) I’d put every other distro beyond these two in third place, because they all have less user friendly support, and/or sometimes too much (Internet pseudo genius’s) support (i/e Ubuntu, Linux Mint) that Windows refugees are almost certain to break things via misguided Google quests. I mean really? Just run Debian if you want to go through a useful learning curve. Trust me. Serious people, small businessmen, entrepreneurs, etc.; who currently use Windows, but are not geeks, really do not want the headache, or don’t have the time, or don’t want to spend money on tech support personnel, and even if they did, in that event they would all use, or at least seriously consider Debian, or Suse Enterprise, because they actually are not stupid, just not educated in computer programming.
Linux in general is making what inroads it’s making into the home and small office user market utterly dominated by MS, largely because of progress in a few excellent Linux applications, notably, Firefox, Libreoffice, and VLC media player, and as always because of MS security issues. These applications, much like Linux Lite itself have begun to recognize what a typical Windows user really is like, and certainly there are around two hundred million PC users of this kind. They are not geeks, but rather home net workers and small businessmen, and they are unlikely to become geeks in their lifetime, not because they are not intelligent important people, but because their successes in life are not based on their computing education. There is no place for arrogance in this market, as many of these users are time challenged, and are mainly interested in a reliable computing utility that allows the further development of their particular interests and businesses. In my opinion no other Linux distro appreciates and serves the needs of these users to a greater degree than Linux Lite.
To add a little nasty humor at this point, and probably an unpopular personal opinion: I have never understood the sense of Arch Linux. What is the point of building from scratch anything other than Debian or Slack? If it’s not at the big end, servers, hard science, etc. and it’s not going to be addressed at Windows market share, it just essentially amounts to a hobby. I wish I had that kind of time on my hands. Seems a little vain these days to me, but of course I am old.
Anyway friends, it’s probable that Windows 10 will be in use on half a billion PC’s by the end of this year, and there are probably only about two billion running PC’s in existence, and a big chunk of those not on Windows 10 will still be running on Windows 7. I’ve installed dual boot Linux Lite 2.8 and 3.0 on around a hundred Windows 10 users PC’s now, so I’m making my own dent in that number.
Finally the only simple complaint that consistently repeats itself from my friends and customers, is the need for a better photo album handling application, and simple editing tools, like those in Gwenview. Most Windows converts I’ve dealt with are intimidated with Gimp, so much so that I think it does not really need to be a default application in Linux Lite, though it should be kept in the Lite software list. Remmina on the other hand should be in the default installation and tied to updates, and probably Audacity too. It would be nice to have a Linux Lite default build of something like Gwenview without the KDE file manager dependencies.
A fan of good solid pragmatic choices,
TC
1) I personally think that Linux Lite is the best Linux distro for new Windows converts largely because of its features, its stability, its intuitive ease of use for Windows refugees, and its excellent support, which by the way, every distro out there these days could take a lesson from. It is well conceived to be easily maintained and tweaked from the GUI, a feature which Windows converts need available as much as possible to feel comfortable.
2) I consider SolydX, (though not SolydXK) to be at least as equally stable, and just as readily intuitive for Windows clickers as Linux Lite, and with some nice feature options, and a little better Debian package versatility, but it is my second choice because of its somewhat scanty support and relatively small user base.
3) I’d put every other distro beyond these two in third place, because they all have less user friendly support, and/or sometimes too much (Internet pseudo genius’s) support (i/e Ubuntu, Linux Mint) that Windows refugees are almost certain to break things via misguided Google quests. I mean really? Just run Debian if you want to go through a useful learning curve. Trust me. Serious people, small businessmen, entrepreneurs, etc.; who currently use Windows, but are not geeks, really do not want the headache, or don’t have the time, or don’t want to spend money on tech support personnel, and even if they did, in that event they would all use, or at least seriously consider Debian, or Suse Enterprise, because they actually are not stupid, just not educated in computer programming.
Linux in general is making what inroads it’s making into the home and small office user market utterly dominated by MS, largely because of progress in a few excellent Linux applications, notably, Firefox, Libreoffice, and VLC media player, and as always because of MS security issues. These applications, much like Linux Lite itself have begun to recognize what a typical Windows user really is like, and certainly there are around two hundred million PC users of this kind. They are not geeks, but rather home net workers and small businessmen, and they are unlikely to become geeks in their lifetime, not because they are not intelligent important people, but because their successes in life are not based on their computing education. There is no place for arrogance in this market, as many of these users are time challenged, and are mainly interested in a reliable computing utility that allows the further development of their particular interests and businesses. In my opinion no other Linux distro appreciates and serves the needs of these users to a greater degree than Linux Lite.
To add a little nasty humor at this point, and probably an unpopular personal opinion: I have never understood the sense of Arch Linux. What is the point of building from scratch anything other than Debian or Slack? If it’s not at the big end, servers, hard science, etc. and it’s not going to be addressed at Windows market share, it just essentially amounts to a hobby. I wish I had that kind of time on my hands. Seems a little vain these days to me, but of course I am old.
Anyway friends, it’s probable that Windows 10 will be in use on half a billion PC’s by the end of this year, and there are probably only about two billion running PC’s in existence, and a big chunk of those not on Windows 10 will still be running on Windows 7. I’ve installed dual boot Linux Lite 2.8 and 3.0 on around a hundred Windows 10 users PC’s now, so I’m making my own dent in that number.
Finally the only simple complaint that consistently repeats itself from my friends and customers, is the need for a better photo album handling application, and simple editing tools, like those in Gwenview. Most Windows converts I’ve dealt with are intimidated with Gimp, so much so that I think it does not really need to be a default application in Linux Lite, though it should be kept in the Lite software list. Remmina on the other hand should be in the default installation and tied to updates, and probably Audacity too. It would be nice to have a Linux Lite default build of something like Gwenview without the KDE file manager dependencies.
A fan of good solid pragmatic choices,
TC
All opinions expressed and all advice given by Trinidad Cruz on this forum are his responsibility alone and do not necessarily reflect the views or methods of the developers of Linux Lite. He is a citizen of the United States where it is acceptable to occasionally be uninformed and inept as long as you pay your taxes.