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Flow chart for choosing a Linux distribution
(lemmy.ca)
When I first began researching Linux, for my needs, I found the number of different Distros to be overwhelming. So I made this flow chart, with the intent to help new users find a starting point for choosing a distribution.
I'm open to critique, as to making this chart as helpful as possible.
EDIT: Chart updated based on suggestions in the comments.
A nice idea, but the whole image could be replaced with "Just use Mint".
If I want my GPU supported without having to use level not parameters to boot and without manually installed drivers, Mint isn't going to work
(I know because I couldn't tolerate the restrictions of bazzite which was the default for my machine, so I installed Mint 22.1, it wouldn't boot successfully. I added the nomodeset (noModeSet) kernel parameter at the boot menu to get the computer booted, then had to download and install the drivers)
People on new high performance hardware might find that all difficult
New, high performance hardware is built with Windows in mind. It's going to take some work to change that fact.
Whats the difference between Mint and Mint XFCE?
My understanding is XFCE is a lighter-weight desktop environment than the Cinnamon desktop environment used in the standard Mint distribution. That makes XFCE better suited for older or lower-resource hardware.
XFCE stands for "extra fresh" mint.
The different desktop environments. Really basically described as the interface, XFCE is a very lightweight one, whereas mint is MATE, and mint cinnamon is... cinnamon which are each different from each other (I don't know I've never used them for long enough to find out)
Mate, the great thing about Linux is it isn't just one thing. I love Mint, but I think it's great that people who like different things can get what they like, too. In fact I want those folks not to use it. If everyone used Mint, it would just become another Windows (or maybe RedHat would be a better parallel).
Having options means everyone is pushed to improve. Consolidation means ossification.
That said, Mint rocks and people should use it—if they want.
Another Windows (XP) would a strong positive if we could get to that level of market dominance. It means OEMs and hardware makers will target that OS for compatibility. It means software devs will write software targeting that OS and tell people that they're doing so. And it's not about just writing for "Linux", not even "Debian Linux", but for "Mint" specifically. That way we have less stuff like Waydroid that's definitely written for Linux, but not for Mint. Centralization and accessibility are incredibly important.