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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Which DE for my parent's laptop (old Lenovo IdeaPad)? Wayland or X11? (lemmy.sdf.org)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I chose Debian 12 as a solid and stable base. Which of these shipped DEs is the best for this particular laptop series and Windows 10 like user experience?

GNOME 43, KDE Plasma 5.27, LXDE 11, LXQt 1.2.0, MATE 1.26, Xfce 4.18

Don't know the exact laptop model and year, but here are some specs: IdeaPad, only HDD, DVD drive, shipped with Win 8 or 10 (I think), unbearably slow on Win 10 currently

Use case: office, web, movies (not streaming), things for non-tech-savvy users

Personally, I'm using Arch btw with KDE Plasma 6 on Wayland, so I would prefer this over other DEs, but Debian still ships version 5. Has anyone experience with performance on an old Lenovo laptop with any of the listed environments?

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Replace the HDD with SSD. It will run faster. You can configure any DE to look similar to windows, maybe Gnome to the lesser extend. One think to keep in mind when choosing the distro, you have to support it. Good luck.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

This. It will perform better than when it was new. Pop in some extra RAM while you're at it as it's probably dirt cheap.

As far as DE, Gnome and Cinnamon are closest to Windows IMO. Nothing wrong with KDE, but it's not as simplified.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

GNOME is basically nothing like Windows, in fact KDE Plasma is much closer. Cinnamon isn't in OP's list of DEs, though it should be available as a pre-installed option for Debian based on what I see in their live ISO list. At that point, it would probably be better to go with Linux Mint though, given the target user. I assume OP would have their reasons for choosing Debian over Mint if they wanted to use Cinnamon, though.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Gnome's ui is a couple of extensions away from being windows-like. You don't need to subscribe to the full gnome experience™ to use gnome.