Terminal is the only thing that is pretty much universal in all distributions. It is too essential to lose relevance. Besides, even when giving advice to new users, you can either list settings for each specific DE and possibly distribution, or you can just give a terminal command.

Said software must not be resource-intensive, or else you’ll have to do GPU passthrough, which not only adds a heap of complexity, but also requires a dedicated GPU.

Also, I think it’s much easier to teach dual boot (just install Linux, most installers will do the rest automagically) than proper VM setups.

Still, for experienced users, Windows VM is a brilliant option.

Dual boot should be default suggestion for everyone trying Linux out. No pressure, just try it.

There will always be newbie-oriented distros as well as ones for experienced/professional users. It’s alright if the former will go towards simplification, as long as we have plenty more keeping the tinkering spirit.

Besides, each and every distro has a powerful tool that can help you do everything: the terminal. No one limits you there, and unlike in Windows, terminal is heavily and commonly used.

I know how it works, my problem is that server software is meant to run constantly in the background, and needs to be managed in a specific way, and I specifically don’t want this to happen.

I know I can put self-hosted server behind a VPN, but it’s an entirely different use case.

The rise of self-hosted option comes from the distrust of the Big Tech and the desire to avoid a single point of failure.

Sure, commercial solutions are better hardened, but they are also more likely to be attacked in the first place. And nothing is there to protect you from the prying eyes of those who host it for you, which is a valid threat as well.

Still, one thing better, privacy-wise, than having your own server is to not rely on any servers to begin with.

Aside from all controversy around snaps and stuff, which newbies don’t have to get into, there’s GNOME coming as default.

Desktop environments essentially define how the new user treats the system and Linux as a whole. And I believe GNOME is a terrible starting point, at least for those coming from Windows.

It follows entirely different logic, is very different visually, and overall, adds a lot of extra confusion.

IMO, for a smooth transition, you’d rather offer something based on KDE or at least Cinnamon. Kubuntu will do fine, but it has to be mentioned specifically. Mint will be nice. And then as they explore, they’ll find what fits them best.

Quite some people do, so it’s great such options exist.

My own gripe is with self-hosted apps that don’t need a server to begin with.

Why do I have to run a server to manage my bookmarks? Write down recipes? Control available stock? Manage finances?

All that can be done via local-first apps that may then have some backup functionality (or have files in one place so I could sync them). Adding a server layer only adds complexity and forces me to keep it on or toggle every time, affecting performance and battery life.

For what in partricular?

For all I remember, Timeshift only supports /home snapshots, which won’t help to revert the system. Could be wrong though.

I’m happy you’re happy about your distro, though!

For a boring stop, I ended up on OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.

It’s not too boring, and at the same time, once you set it up, it just works and does what you ask it to.

It’s also very drama-free, not taking radical and controversial steps and not breaking someone’s workflow.

In case something got broken anyways, rollback functionality is set up nicely out of the box on btrfs systems, and snapshots are automatically taken before any updates.

This rollback functionality, along with extensive automated testing of all packages in the official repos, also makes it pretty much the only stress-free rolling release experience.