[ShadowAce]

[bigbob]

Don’t disagree with the result, but the authors initial requirements and stipulations are BS

[cuban leaf]

I use visio, Sonar, Winamp, Adobe photoshop and video editing software, Sonar sound editing software, Nero cd & DVD burning software, a number of free apps for things like ripping CD’s to MP3, etc. and still play command and conquer, I also use Microsoft office tools that I know can be replaced by open office easily.

But other than the Microsof Office stuff, do any of those things work on Lynux? When they do, I’ll make the switch. Gladly. Until they do, I won’t.

[Kirkwood]

By what standard(s) is a modern user interface defined in this comparison?

[Billthedrill]

One vote for Mint, although I haven’t tried Deepin yet. It’s what I give users who don’t want the hassles of a proprietary OS. I love Linux but I will still repeat Jamie Zawinski’s comment - “Linux is only free if your time has no value.” There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

[Scrambler Bob]

M4L

[aquila48]

Bookmark

[Svartalfiar]

Common apps
Most applications are user-specific. Internet browser, yes, everyone uses that. LibreOffice, not bad. But who uses an email client outside of work? Browser-based email is, I would think, what most people are used to. This isn't a phone where such apps make it easier.

App Store
What? Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but who uses an app store on a laptop or desktop? You download an installer off a website, or stick a CD in the drive. Command-line install is pretty easy on Linux, if you know what you're looking for, it's easy enough to find the line needed. The closest thing to an app store I ever use is Steam. The only reason Linux would need this at all is because there isn't a wide variety of Linux-compatible installers for many programs.

Modern Interface
Huh? As in a desktop? A start menu?

But what other distros did we look at for this article? Or did the guy just pick three, and then compare them?

[PoloSec]

I downloaded Linux Mint a while back, don’t use it much anymore, a couple of things, I can run youtube vids, but can’t run Netflix; I found a youtube vid on how to run it, but that didn’t work.

The other thing is scrolling, when I am scrolling by mouse or arrow, there is constant wave on the screen, too annoying to contend with, especially for as much time as I spend on FR, which is 80% scrolling.

It’s there if I need it when something happens to windows.

[so_real]

I switched from Windows XP to Linux Mint and am very pleased with the move. It was a very natural transition. I used Ubuntu off-and-on prior to the Unity interface. Once Unity became the standard, I had to give it up. Unity is to Ubuntu what Metro is to Windows. I find them both equally unintuitive and my frustration level rose while using them.

[Utilizer]

The author assumes that everyone prefers the Gnome or Gnome-style desktops, as well as disregarding the fact that not everyone has the newest and cutting-edge machines and needs a more general-purpose distro that can work well with older platforms.

I prefer KDE, YMMV.

That's the one thing about the 'doze OS. Much as I personally dislike it for various reasons, it works across pretty much all PC machines.

Also, I question some of his other positions. Web browser? If you don't like the default one (usually Firefox) pretty much all distros allow you to easily download and install many others. Or they can install Opera from the homepage.

Email client? Please. I use Fastmail.fm for emails and it does not care what OS or browser you use to access it. Plus, Opera comes with a built-in email client so no big whoop there.

Office suites are fine for those who need them (I don't), but if you don't like the default one so badly that you want to change it then downloading and installing a different one is not a problem.

Music files: don't care. If I want to listen to music I'll put on a music CD. I do not need to waste this computer's processing power on playing music over cheap computer speakers. Don't care about streaming audio either, although I believe Amarok should be able to handle it.

Hey, some people claim to need an RSS app. My list of needs does not include that.

"That's the short list of apps nearly every user depends upon."

Actually, that's a personal opinion -not A Standard.

[martin_fierro]

For the Linux n00bs among us:

I like Xubuntu for ease of a) installation and b) overall use on older PCs/laptops. It's essentially Ubuntu with a more basic Graphical User Interface, so it doesn't require as much CPU/graphics card power.

Xubuntu runs like a charm on a 10 year-old P4 Toshiba satellite laptop and 8 year-old Acer Celeron laptop.

If you have an old XP machine sitting around, give Xubuntu a try!

[kevao]

After much distro hopping, I settled on PCLinuxOS. Everything has just worked out of the box on everything I’ve installed it on, old and new. KDE for newer machines; LXDE for the antiques.

[GeronL]

I use Pale Moon browser on my Ubuntu and I do not miss Firefox one bit