I'm using Solus for about a week by now. I was (and still am) a windows user. Back in 2006 I used Ubuntu Dapper Drake as my main OS for some time, after that I used all the ubuntu's distros till mid 2009 I believe. Always with LXDE for best performance. I loved the linux experience, but I got into some difficulties since I was learning chinese and I couldn't install QQ Messenger and some tools language related. Gaming was also one of the reasons I went back to Windows.
By that time I was using Windows 7 and I just got used to it, it just worked fine for me. So since then I've been using Windows and I was actually pretty happy about it.
About one or two months ago I installed Ubuntu as a second OS just to see how were things going after all this years, I didn't use too much because I hate the Gnome 3 interface, I'm used to the Windows interface and the Gnome 3 interface for me looks like Windows 8 (I hate windows 8). So I was looking for alternatives and I also wanted to try different distros (I tried archlinux before and I like the theory behing rolling releases), and different desktop enviornments, so I downloaded Manjaro Budgie to give it a try. I'm not gonna lie, although I liked it, it didn't seem very polished, I experienced some graphical glitches so I was researching a bit about it and found out about Solus. I realized soon after that many of my issues on linux are solved already, gaming on linux were never so easy (thanks steam), chinese support is alright, and most of the apps I use have now their own native linux apps.

For me, Solus feels like the right distro to start on Linux desktop for a few reasons:

  1. Easy Installation;
  2. Stable rolling release;
  3. Easy to use Software Manager without junk or obsolete packages;

I would recommend a Windows user give it a try, also now that we have snaps and flatpaks... You can actually install apps like you do on Windows. You can play many games using steam beta and proton. Most things I was doing on windows I can now do them on Linux pretty much the same way.

TLDR; Yes, I would recommed Solus to a 1st time Linux user.

6 days later

HolySoap If that's how you feel/work there's nothing I can say to fix that. But personally I never cared for doing that anyway, I'm fine with a single taskbar (on the plus side you get a bit more screen real estate to work with), and the other things seem pretty minor to me. Still I won't mind if those things get upgraded eventually.

I'm really liking the new super ultrawide monitors we finally have now (49" with over 5,000 pixels now!) so my multi-monitor days might be coming to an end anyway. Of course they pose a whole other set of usability "issues", don't they? 🤣

      Louhy

      (...)on the plus side you get a bit more screen real estate to work with(...)

      You can activate intelligent hiding. 😉
      If you go back to a single monitor setup (even with ultrawide) you still have the problem of fullscreen applications blocking your monitor.

          6 days later

          HolySoap Yeah, fullscreen is a challenge with ultrawides in general really. I've mostly adapted to stay windowed.

          Intelligent hiding is cool but I think since some apps have semi transparent "drop shadow" borders, and since those borders are technically part of the application window, it confuses intelligent hiding unless you leave an awkward 5 pixel gap between bottom of the window and the taskbar. At least I think that's what happening (GitKraken is one of the offending applications here.)

          Of course we're well into "first world problems" now... 😄

            In accordance with many, I think Ubuntu has a large user base and this means It's easier and faster to solve all the problems that may occur to a newbie without having to subscribe any community forum. On the other side, Solus forum is friendly and responsive, so this is a relative issue.

            The repository isn't as big as well, and here something could be done; but, again, all the applications (I've tried) work well. Ie: Abiword has all the export modules, while in elementary Os it can save files in the native format only... DisplayCAL puts the measurement window perfectly in the screen centre while in Fedora 29 it appeared randomly, thus unusable, since in the screen corners gamma and even colours are different. In elementary, the window is movable but it drags around part of the wallpaper beneath it.

            The integration of programs in Solus is also very good, clearly verified, and it doesn't happen, like sometimes on community maintained repos, to find programs with black icons on a black background like in Manjaro.

            On the contrary what I like in the Manjaro repository is that's up to date: applications version is always the last one and you can download Scribus 1.5.4 instead of the 1.4.6, but also the latest Xsane. Even if it's not been developed since 5 years ago, it's still the only quasi-professional scanning app available for Linux. You can do nothing with Simple Scan, I'm sorry.

            Solus is, indeed, stable, compact, consistent, reliable, it does not betray you, and you can quietly use bleachbit in SU mode with no risk to collect 1.000+ errors after the next system update as in Manjaro. And Solus, Solus Budgie is the best, has a familiar desktop where to (may be temporarily) past files picked up here and there, which is very handy, unlike the Apple/Android/Gnome3 Launchpad that doesn't have any.

            At the end of the day, after having tried out at least 12 different major distros, I feel comfortable to suggest Solus to any newbie.

              Yes, without question I would recommend Solus to first time users. Why? My journey to Linux was one of necessity, not of disillusionment with Windows. I bought a second hand pc from a co-worker for $60 in 2006, a Dell Dimension Desktop 2350, little did i know the copy of XP on it was infected with 2 trojans and a backdoor. After receiving a system recovery disk from Dell, I wiped the HDD and reinstalled a clean copy, and at least one time a week, counterfeited updates would lock me out of the OS by asking for username and password at startup, and after several long hold times on the phone with CSR's at Microsoft, i would just wipe and reinstall. Hard introduction to the computing world I had, and it got worse over time. If I had to start all over again, I'd take Solus in a heartbeat, one huge security feature, the Dev team owns and controls the update infrastructure, which is light years beyond Linux Mint. Their expertise and dedication to a job done right is without compare from what I've seen in the computing world. The Solus Plasma GUI is easy to navigate, user-friendly, and not heavy on the hardware. The code is woven like a Tapestry artfully done to maximize efficiency and functionality, and while not without bugs, the issues are addressed in a Professional manner on the Forums, by thoroughly knowledgeable Individuals. The copy/paste of commands into the Konsole window are quite easy for first time users, and can correct most any issue they would have. The ability to change background pictures on any of my 3 monitors with just a click is a bonus, and much easier than Windows, where menus are deliberately changed to make finding something harder with each new version release. While Coding is not my strong point, Philosophy may be, Analogously, each new version of windows, is like a house with the inside renovated and remodeled, the bathroom is where the kitchen used to be and so on, and a new upward floor added. Linux is lean, and a great filing system, with Solus in the lead as strong as it is artfully done.

              I have no problem with recommending Solus to first time Linux users, although it would most likely depend on their needs. For those with very basic needs from a computer, Solus comes with virtually everything they need. with little need to add more. The only ones I wouldn't recommend it to are those who have more advanced needs that can't be met sufficiently by what's available in the repos.

                OmegaSupreme -Most people remark that they're surprised to find the repos actually do have everything they need (I'm sure there are exceptions), I haven't really found anything I need that isn't there (but then my current needs are pretty basic I guess).

                    Absolutely, it's the only Linux distribution I've tried that actually feels like it is attempting to make Linux truly accessible to newcomers, user friendly and Budgie out of the box has an amazing user interface that feels like something that was made by a team of paid UX designers rather than something you'd typically find brewing around the typical Desktop Environments.

                    Ubuntu on the other hand still feels kinda cobbled together and there's a lot of inconsistency, Solus doesn't have that to me nearly as much, it just flows a lot better in my eyes.

                    I can't thank the developers enough. 💜

                    I first heard of Solus in sometime 2016-2017 I believe? It's been my go-to distribution for a home environment since, and I would absolutely recommend it for new Linux users!

                    dbarron Not at all the case with me, but I wouldn't expect perfection given that I do a lot of dev & experimenting (although a few times it was just about version differences). The Solus team does seem to have a pretty strict software repo adoption policy though (correct me if wrong?), so this may never change.

                    I'm planning to provide a Solus Budgie install as the default OS for the next PC I build for the parents, and one potential issue I see is the lack of auto updates. I'm not sure I can get them to check for these even in the Software Center regularly, so it might be 1-2 updates a year if that doesn't happen... 😅 Still better security than Windoze I guess, but it does make me wish there was an "auto-update" option (preferably configurable at install time so you don't forget).

                    However, shouldn't be an issue for a new-to-Linux user willing/wanting to try Solus first if they're going to the trouble to install themselves. And then again, do other distros like Mint even have an automatic update option? Hmm... maybe it's not an issue period?

                        Louhy You get a notification of updates pending. It doesn't FORCE you though.
                        Also if you wanted to force them, then you could set up the systemd equivalent of a cron job (haven't got that down pat myself, but you can search the howtos for it) and set it to run at whatever interval you find desirable.

                          youswer For me, Solus has only one minus. This is something that there are no mirrors in my country Russia and the packages are pulling slowly.

                          Solus will be soon moving back to the CDN (Content Delivery Network) Fastly. This has mirrors all around the globe and will improve the experience for all.

                          dlalinsp What problems did they face? Helps to know so we can try and improve it.

                          dbarron What do you do on your server that you need replicated to Solus to work on it?

                          Mothman You can do nothing with Simple Scan, I'm sorry.

                          You can amazingly scan with it, which is what 99% of scanner users want. They aren't fussed about options, they just want the document digitised.

                          Louhy Auto-update can be set up, it's not a tickbox but is relatively easy using a systemd service and timer.

                                      Justin Err Justin, I simply said that the repository seems to meet most people's needs. WAY back, I siad that if I were doing development would, I would be using the same distro that the server I was working on was using, for conformity/predictabilitys sake.

                                        So I'm guessing the lack of CDN is the reason for eopkg's dropping out as of late, though given I'm in the UK I'd have expected the server location to be relatively close 😛

                                        Though it seems running "up" instead of "update" in eopkg is strangely more stable...

                                          chillyfairy Though it seems running "up" instead of "update" in eopkg is strangely more stable...
                                          I guess that's the placebo effect ^^

                                            chillyfairy It's in the USA. update isn't a command, update-repo is. Up/upgrade are the same.

                                                    update-repo (ur) - Update repository databases
            upgrade (up) - Upgrade eopkg packages

                                              Justin He faced some issues with the icons in the taskbar not working after the window is minimized (in Budgie). There was another issue where Viber (from the third party repository) stopped working properly. He also did not like the terminal-like boot we have. He had some issues with LibreOffice. (I am not blaming the Solus devs for that.) Solus has a small window management issue, where some windows are really large and you would have to move the window around to see the rest. Some applications had an issue where some controls were not visible or obfuscated. This was some time ago and the forum was not very active. When we posted on the forum, it usually took about a week or two to get a reply. I appreciate the Solus team for having fixed that now. 😃 The Software Centre had a few bugs as well. He said that he liked Solus a bit but it had too many annoying little issues like that. (Now, he zones out whenever I try to encourage him to use Linux. 😆 ) I understand the effort that the team puts in to create Solus. However, I feel that too many people will pushed away by minor issues like that. The best thing would be to introduce new users to mature distros, where most minor issues have been ironed out. Once Solus becomes very stable, we can recommend it to new users. Until then, keeping doing what you do and keep making Solus great! 👍️

                                                  Justin It's stable aside from a few bugs that might put newer Linux users off like the software centre being a bit slow sometimes other than that it's really good for home use