On Sun, 9 Aug 2015 18:14:10 -0700
Isaac Dunham <ibid.ag@???> wrote:

> Hello,
> I'm looking for a Linux distro that I could recommend to friends who
> are rather frustrated with Windows 10.
> The friends in question ask me about how to fix problems with their
> computers from time to time.
>
> The essentials would be:
> -has a *good* Windows migration assistant, which must be able to
> handle Windows 10; I know that Ubuntu used to have this.

Could you describe this further? I don't know what you mean.


> -glibc-based, so that Flash and Avast Workstation will work
> (at least one of the friends in question uses avast on Windows)
I think all the majors and semi-majors have glibc, although some might
also have musl.


> -has Chromium (and preferably Chrome)
I think all of them have that.


> -has Open/LibreOffice (one of the friends in question has used
> OpenOffice on Windows since...7 or 8 years ago, I think)
I think all of them have that.


> -DE familiar to Windows users (if Trinity were more active, I'd go
> with that without hesitation; but I suspect properly configured Xfce
> or Mate may be better at this point.)
I'd highly recommend LXDE. It looks and acts just like w95, w98, wXT,
and somewhat similar to W7. Xfce can also look the same way, if it's
set up to do so.


> -can install to hard drive, though support for Live CD is desired.
I think most or all of them are like that.



> -binary based
You just ruled out Funtoo.



>
> Highly preferred:
> -not rolling release, since one of the friends in question is rather
> upset about the new Windows mandatory automatic update policy.
You just ruled out Manjaro-OpenRC, Void Linux, and Funtoo a second time.


> -non-systemd based, so that I can help debug issues; OpenRC or sysv-rc
> preferred
Sounds like you're down to Devuan, PC-BSD, FreeBSD, OpenBSD


> -dpkg/apt based, since that's the package manager I'm most familiar
> with. -easy-to-navigate system administration GUI.
:-) You're down to Devuan.


> -wireless GUI that doesn't require preconfiguring wpa_supplicant.
I think Devuan makes intelligent use of Wicd, so you're still in the
ballgame with Devuan.


>
> A lot of these features are not what I use:
> I last migrated from Windows about 5 years ago, so I have no idea
> what the state of the art is; I use Links, Otter, and Iceweasel;
> I haven't used OO/LO much in the last 3 years; I spend most of my time
> in the terminal; the only desktop I use is CDE; ...
> So I'd like some recommendations for something a little more
> mainstream.

If you'd like an easy time maintaining your Windows refugee friends,
I'd highly recommend installing LXDE. Most reliable window manager I've
seen that isn't just a black screen you click on. Relatively low
resource usage.

By the way, there could be some other distros that fulfill all your
preferences: I just don't know about them. Distros are switching to
systemd so fast it's hard to keep track of who's still not evil, so
I've familiarized myself with a bunch that have actively stated their
independence from systemd.

SteveT

Steve Litt
July 2015 featured book: Rapid Learning for the 21st Century
http://www.troubleshooters.com/rl21