I started using Linux in 2011 with Ubuntu 10.10 and then quickly up to 11.04 and have used an uncountable number of distributions since then and yet my main computer now runs Linux Mint Debian and I don’t have to worry about it. It just works.

Edit: I’m definitely not your standard computer user, but I also would not consider myself a highly advanced user either. I feel like I fall somewhere in the middle as I do use the command line quite frequently and am comfortable in it. But I do like things to be easy when possible.

After finally committing to Linux, Mint has been exactly what I wanted. It’s clean, sharp, intuitive, and works right out of the box, no fuckery required. I’m not a programmer or admin, just an elder Millennial who grew up on PCs, so I always kinda shied away from making it my only OS until recently. I’m very happy with Mint so far, it’s turning out to be a fantastic entry point.

I’m enjoying Mint, and I think it’s just about ready to install for my folks and kids. I do still encounter hard lock conditions every once in a while, and sometimes those necessitate some shell fuckery to repair the system after a hard boot. I’ve managed to recover every time, but I don’t want to support a half-dozen people because they sure wouldn’t be able to manage on their own.

Best thing I did was separate my /home partition from /. I’ve reinstalled or switched OSes a few times and never lost anything important.

I haven’t experimented with that many different distros. Everyone seems to have a favorite, but honestly if it’s stable, simple, and runs my software that’s all I need. Mint is that for me right now.