What's OS do you recommend for non-tech people? | Hacker News Reader

What's OS do you recommend for non-tech people?

7 pointsselmat9 comments

Reopening neverending story...what OS do you recommend for non-tech people?

My corp laptop has Win 10 (corp policy), my small business is runing on Ubuntu 18 good for me), wife has own laptop with Win 10, but disk is terribly slow. I've found that disk (os) replication to ssd is impossible. She has some windows only apps so thinking how to solve it. (She don't wanna MAC OS/device). I'd like to avoid buying new device.

Wondering what is the current HN trend.

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I always say they should get Macs. Hardware and software are always well matched in ways that are hard for others to compete. If the hardware is well supported, it's hard to go wrong with either Ubuntu or Fedora. I use a Mac a lot, as does my wife. I have a couple other computers, running Ubuntu and Fedora on well supported hardware from Dell, Acer and Lenovo.

Same here. But then people balk at the price. shrugs I'm a technical person and I like it for it's simplicity and it's power.

Windows, it works with the most software and hardware. People are used to it and it has the biggest community for support. Its easy to break and doesn't run that well but I have found that true for every OS I use on a daily basis OSx, linux (fedora, centos), freebsd and android they all have a few neat features and lots of obvious problems. All OS suck.

It's not clear exactly what kind of solution you're looking for. I would recommend either

  1. Install Linux Mint with xfce. It is very easy to use, is fast, even on older hardware, and has most things that windows has.
  2. Replace your harddisk with an SSD. It makes a world of difference. If an SSD is too small/expensive, you can buy a smaller one and use a supplementary external harddisk for your media (which usually takes the most space).
  3. Back up your files and do a fresh install of your OS. This time, only install things you need, and prefer standalone programs over installed programs.
  4. Buy a new laptop. You can also buy a refurbished hi-end model, which is a bit of a gamble but usually works out well in my experience.

ChromeOS. It's harder than Windows to misconfigure/infect/ruin an install, and it can do pretty much everything a non-techy wants to do.

Everything is in the cloud, so they don't have to keep up with backups (and they never do).

I used to recommend Macs.

My grandfather only uses Firefox. I installed linux on an old pc with only firefox on it. He is so scared to accidentally download a virus with everything he clicks.

Recently I gave him an ipad, productivity went up x3 and he only uses safari. Tapping is better for him compared to a mouse.

It depends on tech literacy.

You don't want to buy a new device, so you can either:

1.) Install Linux

2.) Re-Install Windows

I am not sure what you mean by "replication to ssd is impossible" but in either way I would suggest you replace the HDD with a SSD if the disk is slow, data can always be transfered.

>I've found that disk (os) replication to ssd is impossible.

Why should this be the case?

Just format that Windows. It will work like a beast once it is done.

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