I'm with @brent on this one. My preferences in DE's may not be the same as my neighbors.

brent Fair. I suppose I was a little unfair in my question. I love Linux, and the longer I use it, the more I love it. I think I already settled on what this person will be receiving, but was just curious for perspectives. I don't like to be in my own little echo chamber all of the time.

Thanks!

      amit025 that was unfair to you I skimmed past the "for a likely WIN person part; or other".. A person with extremely limited capabilities I would say budgie or xfce but that might be sheer prejudice on my part since kde is easy too. Gnome might go over their head So any of the three I would now say..

        Agree with @brent they mostly all do the basics. At some point the chosen hardware can still make the difference between a PC that will go on and on without issues and one that needs fettling. Graphics cards, Bluetooth dependencies, WiFi boxes and so many other parts can add unnecessary complications to a long term trouble free setup.
        For long term reliability some issues will arise due to the system evolving. An example of such would be the need to increase Boot Partition size in recent builds. Can't be helped but some technical knowledge is still going to be needed at some point to make everything run again.
        Even with all of the resources of the biggest (commercial) OS distributors things still go wrong. Computers become obsolete because old drivers and software are no longer available. Software updates broke them regularly.
        I guess the ability to hide menu items could be the best answer here. Start with a desktop with links to a web browser and an office launcher. Updates set to automatic maybe. Nope it is all getting technical again because there will always be PEBKAC - Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair. I have seen too many phones and PCs never updated because the user "didn't know what all that was about" TLDR

          I guess that depends on whether they have any previous experience with desktop UI's. If they've, say, used Windows before then they will find more familiarity in DEs like Budgie or XFCE (and I guess even Plasma). If they're really completely new to this then I think GNOME might work, as it's mostly pretty dumbed down and doesn't confuse you with a bazillion buttons/sliders/etc.

            Staudey I think GNOME might work, as it's mostly pretty dumbed down and doesn't confuse you with a bazillion buttons/sliders/etc.

            I always thought gnome had a certain order and particular way of seeing things that would appeal to a newbie if they were open-minded.
            But the other 3 have that traditional Windows corner menu and folders and icons.

            BuzzPCSOS Start with a desktop with links to a web browser and an office launcher. Updates set to automatic maybe. Nope it is all getting technical again because there will always be PEBKAC - Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.

            yep

            Solarmass I would go with traditional DEs: Budgie > Plasma > XFCE

            (I use Budgie btw)

            on paper I agree with this exactly. need more info on 'technically illiterate.' If one can run windows that's the stepping stone to everything. hard to know

                  Solarmass I would go with traditional DEs: Budgie > Plasma > XFCE

                  Gnome is just as much a traditional DE as the others ...
                  So you can go with every Solus flavouer 😉
                  In the end, it doesn't matter what you use, the main thing is that you are happy and satisfied

                      If they used Windows - Budgie, Plasma.
                      Mac user - Gnome should feel nice.

                      AlphaElwedritsch Gnome is just as much a traditional DE as the others ...

                      I always thought that traditional DE is DE like Windows XP/7 had.

                      In the end, it doesn't matter what you use, the main thing is that you are happy and satisfied

                      sure, but this thread is about what is the best for the tech illiterate 😉

                          Solarmass what is the best for the tech illiterate 😉

                          Logically, whatever makes him happy. You have to "learn" everything to some extent. But the learning curve isn't exactly steep for all DEs...

                            4 days later

                            If the tech illiterate can use a smartphone I'd say Gnome.