I wonder if some distro couldn't give a plug-and-play experience for people who don't want the extra security of having to use root and who don't want extra customization.

Just wall off the sensitive areas and mimic the experience of Windows, but with newer, open software.

[–] Havatra@lemmy.zip 4 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I'd say Linux Mint, ZorinOS, and Manjaro Linux are all viable options for Windows users who want an easy transition. Although I don't think any distro will ever be considered a "plug-and-play" experience. There are varying degrees of user-friendliness, but if one wants user-friendliness like not having to do root/sudo actions even once, I think one might be better off with MacOS..? Though from what I've heard, the main reason Windows users are looking towards Linux and not MacOS is exactly because of the ability to customize more than just the wallpaper (and also the entire boycott US movement).

[–] Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I went to Linux because it was free and available. I used Linux Mint 22.1 Ubuntu and I didn't find it easy.

I think it would be helpful to have a central resource with docs and forums tied in to an AI, so you could type in the problem and get an answer without having to resort to search engines - which are getting worse and worse.

[–] SpookyBogMonster@lemmy.ml 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Search engines are getting worse, in large part because of AI...

[–] Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 18 hours ago

I agree that AI is ruining search engines (although they were already very bad because they were tweaked for people who paid to be first in results), but they actually can be useful in a situation like this, restricted to a very narrow data set to learn.

[–] MudMan@fedia.io 2 points 22 hours ago

I think people are more likely to give up the security of not having constant admin access if they could get the same software they do now.

As I said in the wall of text above, going "oh, by the way, all your software won't work, but you will find alternatives" is a massive dealbreaker. It's one thing to bring people over to Linux, but trying to do that AND transition people to a full open source environment is a crazy overreach. A Linux distro focused on being Windows-like by offering closed software out of the box and better options for a click-and-play Windows compatibility layer would be way more appealing to many. You can work on their open source bona fides once they are inside the ecosystem.

[–] FancyLad@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago

Isn't this possible with an atomic distro?