Recommend Solus To First-Time Linux Users?

dlalinsp

Justin Hey, man! I guess it is kind of a strange definition. 😂

kyrios I totally understand what you mean, bro! However, most people that I know expect it to be bug free as far as possible. That is why I say that we should wait it out instead of getting more people disillusioned with Linux. Introduce them to something mature and they can be introduced to Solus at the right time.

elfprince I get you. That is the entire reason I stuck with Solus and why I am still here. 😄 However, not everyone wants to do that. We should take it step by step for new users. That way they can slowly get accustomed to how Linux works. I agree with @Boggle247. Introducing them to a young distro now can push them away. Those are just my two cents. I hope there are no hard feelings! 😃

elfprince

dlalinsp Yes, Solus is a young distro. However, it performs like a mature, well polished one! I've been running it all day, every day since last August and I haven't experienced a glitch yet. What do I do? Browsing, emails, code development, Netflix, etc. What an average Joe/Jane might do. Works amazing. From what I've heard, other 'mature' Linux distros have regular quirks. How long can one wait for a 'perfectly' functioning os? Forever, me thinks ....
:-)

Justin

dlalinsp most people that I know expect it to be bug free as far as possible

Have you used Windows lately? 😀

dlalinsp

elfprince I agree. We can't be waiting for the perfect distro and Solus is definitely a bit more polished than most distros. However, I feel that it still has too many minor bugs and annoyances (for a novice) to be recommended right now compared to something like Linux Mint or Pop!_OS. I love this distro but it needs a bit more refinement. We are also having a couple of transistions going on right now, like the upcoming software center and Budgie 11. They will also likely have a lot of minor bugs when they are introduced. It is better to introduce new users to something else first.

mdiemer Most users who are transitioning will only have very basic use cases. They could find alternate methods to install extra software. However, we are talking about complete novices and even talented ones need some time to adjust. Hence, we need to recommend something that has a lot of official support from software devs. 😄

Juankz Manjaro is definitely not recommended for new users. It has a lot more issues because of its base (Archlinux). The best distros to recommend to completely new users, in my opinion, would be elementary OS, Linux Mint and Pop!_OS. No hard feelings, guys! I have had much better response from people for these distros than Solus. That is why I recommend them. 😅

mdiemer

I think the size of the software repo isn't that big a deal. Most Widows refugees will have their hands full for quite a while just becoming fluent with Linux, and anyone who wants stuff outside the repo can find other ways to install it, especially the talented ones. Which is not me, but I am very persistent.

Juankz

mdiemer I will recommend it to total beginners once the new software center is ready and migrations to fastly are done, this is a big pain point for new users.

Also if people have optimus laptops I believe they are better with Pop OS or Manjaro

dlalinsp

Justin I have. 😆 It is the worst but it is also familiar. New users are not used to Linux. Hence, we should be careful when recommending a distro and we should always recommend something that will closely resemble what they are used to. Windows users expect to have official support from the software devs, they expect to be able to just search about the issue on the net and get the answer on some forum or discussion without involving themselves, they are used to just downloading binaries from the internet to install software, they are used to having a nice logo when booting, etc.... No offence intended, man! I have always run into these problems when recommending new users to Linux. That is why we should recommend something else till we solve most of these issues.

Justin That is not always true! There are many average users who use specific tools, due to work or some other matter. Their needs do change and life is quite unpredictable. It would be quite uncomfortable for them not to be able to access something they need or want. Also, most people who are coming to Linux are going to have a decent level of computer literacy. They are not casual users. They are most likely already dependant on some very specific tools. 🏋️

Justin

I think some people are overexaggerating what average home users do with their devices, I find they mostly use a browser and an email client (most often not this these days).

Justin

dlalinsp work

And in a workplace you are usually given the PC with OS and not able to change it. So that's not really an issue.

dlalinsp

Justin Yes. However, most employees also have their own laptops and tend to work from home as well. Furthermore, not everyone has the privilege of being given a computer. Many employees in smaller businesses will most likely have to supply themselves with one. You are also forgetting people who own a business. We have to make Linux an attractive option for them as well. Hence, ensuring compatibility with specific software and tools are a top priority. 😁

kyrios

dlalinsp Very first sentence on the Solus homepage

Solus is an operating system that is designed for home computing.

This of course doesn't mean that Solus couldn't or shouldn't be used for other purposes but the statement cannot be more clear, can it ?

dlalinsp

kyrios People don't really seperate home computing and computing at work. Often, they are intermingled. Like I said earlier, a lot of people do work from home. We really can't expect them to use two different operating systems to do some work. With all due respect, you will have a tough time explaining that to people coming from Windows if they can't do what they need to do. You will end up scaring them away from Linux. That is why it is better to recommend a distro that is officially supported by third party software devs.

OmegaSupreme

I don't get this whole "Linux Mint is the most polished Linux" argument. In my experience, it's absolutely the worst. And no, this isn't from just using it once or twice, I've used it extensively both for work and personal use, and I've had nothing but issues with it. The biggest problems with it, though, have been with their preferred DEs. I can't stand Cinnamon and I simply can't understand how people can deal with Mate. Solus Budgie has been by far the most polished experience I've ever had with Linux. The few pain points I've had to deal with have been more general Linux issues rather than anything specific to Solus (other than the Software Center, but that's another topic). As I said before, other than those with advanced needs who can't find what they need in the Software Center, Solus is the one and only Linux distro I'd recommend to newbies.

mdiemer

I find Mint to be boring. Their forum also was not the friendliest, although I haven't been on it in awhile. That's an important thing. People are going to look to forums for help (if they don't just give up and run back to Windows because even a slight amount of effort and learning is too much for them).

I agree that Manjaro is not a good first choice. But is Ubuntu? Is Gnome 3 going to make sense to them? Perhaps it's a little better than Unity (well maybe a lot), but is it still a bridge too far? Elementary makes sense to the Mac crowd. But it doesn't even come with an office suite. Although Xubuntu or Mint XFCE might be good. Perhaps Ubuntu Mate. Kubuntu is definitely not a good first choice. I can't comment on MX as I have not used it, but it's been #1 on Distro Watch for sometime now.

All in all, I think Solus is a reasonable choice, along with Zorin, which has always been Windows-users friendly. Those would be my top recommendations at this point. Mainly because of stability and ease of use. Both have a Windows feel to them, and an intuitive layout that is easy to grasp. both also have friendly forums.

Justin

mdiemer I can't comment on MX as I have not used it, but it's been #1 on Distro Watch for sometime now.

Not for any legitimate reason. I believe there may be less than honest people manipulating these numbers.

Staudey

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I had pretty much no issues with Solus ever since I started using it. Very much unlike the "more mature" distros like Ubuntu or Linux Mint, which made me go back to Windows after some time because I didn't want to constantly google for solutions to annoying problems. Not major problems, mind you, just a whole lot of minor ones that sum up.
I do understand however, that some other less lucky people feel the same way about Solus.

kyrios

I used mint for a few years and had no real complaints about it apart from synaptic.
I wasn't really involved in the community but the few bugs I reported and the suggestions made on segfault blog where always handled/answered pretty quickly.

The negative points imho were that it was pretty obvious the the xfce & kde editions didn't get as much love as the cinnamon & mate flavors. At the very beginning, I had great hopes that the LMDE edition could one day take precedence over the Ubuntu-based edition but I quickly realized that it's nothing but a playground for the devs. This really disappointed me.

kyrios

dlalinsp If people don't understand what they read, there is very little we can do about it. Employers that allow home working usually provide a laptops their employees. And not offending anyone but a profesionnal that is a little serious will ensure to have the appropriate tools to accomplish the tasks he/she has to do.

And let's be frank, most companies won't support linux, most profesionnal software won't be available on linux and when they are, they usually aren't free (so the company will expect these software to be installed on material they own) and they are usually distributed only as .deb or .rpm -> Solus is not the best cadidate for that kind of usage.

Perhaps I am an exception but in my surrounding, I don't know anyone who is asked to use his personal computer by his employer. Some companies like mine have BYOD policies but it is very limited as it's on a separate network which has some gateways to things like the exchange server or give access to the company private cloud to use office and onedrive things (the kind of things you can use from any kind distro, even from smartphones or tablets), but it certainly not allow you to use everything and anything and for most advanced professional apps, you need a full access to the company network.

dlalinsp

kyrios I agree with you to a large extent, kyrios. That is also why we can't recommend Solus to newbies directly.

Justin

lizabrown01 This is for discussing first-time Linux usage, please create a thread with your issue.

rav101

Hi all,

I switched over from my Macbook Pro with OSX in December 2018 after buying a new laptop. I had never used Linux before so very much in the first time user category.

I did isntall Ubuntu first but did not like it's standard DE. Within in couple of days I switched over to Solus after doing a little research and talking to some friends who have been using Linux for years. My experience can be summed up as follows:

1) The installation wasn't flawless. For whatever reason, it took me 3 - 4 attempts to get Solus to correctly install and boot. I don't even know what I did different on the last try (as I don't think I did anything different) to get it working but after multiple tries one time it just started working? As a GUI installer though, I have to say the Solus installer is slick and nice.

2) The update via Software Centre crashed the first time doing a big update and had to take a few reboots and multiple smaller updates to get everything to latest. This hasn't been an issue since but from reading around the forums this is a known but unresolved issue with software centre.

3) As someone who doesn't know anything about Linux, searching around the web got me loads of articles around Ubuntu, Arch and other "more well known / supported" Distro's. It's not as clear how to do things on Solus as it is on some of these other distro's but I guess that's due to the size and popularity differences at this point in time.

4) It is known that the quality of packages supported by Solus is less than other Distros. I can't use PureVPN or Wireguard as some examples because they aren't supported by the developers or Solus for easy installation guides. However, mostly, I can find what I need and the Software Centre seems a lot faster to install than on other Distro's I have subsequently tried.

5) Budgie is an awesome DE. It feels familiar for anyone used to Windows, it's slick and polished and all round I just like it. Coming from a mac, you can also tailor it to use a dock and have that feel to it as well so it can be familiar to anyone with any experience with a little tinkering.

6) I have issues with a square box around my cursor which I think is due to the NVidia drivers. I have to logout and log back in after first boot to resolve this as a temporary issue. This is a bit frustrating and doesn't happen on Ubuntu or some other distro's I've tried so I know there is a fix somewhere, I just haven't figured it out for Solus.

7) Boot time on Solus is much faster than any other Distro I've tried. The computer just feels quicker using Solus that any other Distro.

Overall, I would say it's not a super easy transition from Mac or Windows to Linux. I think Solus is one of the easier Distro's to transition to in large part to Budgie being a solid DE that looks great and feels easy to learn and use. I think some things like Software centre crashes and package curation might make it a little harder for some users to jump on and have everything they want. I've switched around a few Distro's in the last 6 months as I get to grips with Linux. There are definitely things I don't like about Solus but the bottom line is... I keep coming back!

kyrios

rav101 3) As someone who doesn't know anything about Linux, searching around the web got me loads of articles around Ubuntu, Arch and other "more well known / supported" Distro's. It's not as clear how to do things on Solus as it is on some of these other distro's but I guess that's due to the size and popularity differences at this point in time.

There is the help center for this (Docs link in the top navigation bar of this forum). Unlike some other distro's that have exhautive wiki that cover advanced topics, Solus help center is kept intentionally small and simple to allow people who begin to easily find the basic info they need to settle down.

rav101 4) It is known that the quality of packages supported by Solus is less than other Distros.

Quantity and quality are different things you know !

rav101 I can't use PureVPN

That's not correct. OpenVPN configuration files are provided and instructions on how to set it up (here). I know this is not what you expect but you can set it up.

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