Originally Posted by Lysander666

OP, I've thought about your post a little bit while having my latte [a crime against coffee, I know, but I was in the mood for one]. I'll try to explain what's going on here as best as I can. From my subjective perspective.

As far as I can see it there are [at least] there types of Linux user. There may be more, but for simplification let's call it three. This list does not apply to everyone, it generalises to give you an overview of what can happen - not what always does.

Firstly there is the new user or the user who wants no challenge. Let's call him or her type A. This user may have come from Windows and wants a distro that just works. This is great. The more the merrier. This user may not like a challenge at all and may just want to get on with things while enjoying their OS. More power to them, as they say.

Then there is type B. Type B is probably interested in intermediate distros like Debian. Type B users can be a massive pain in the arse. A lot of them think, because they've graduated from the noob distros, that they are better than other users. This is not the case. They are just different. They may know a little bit more but that's it. It's like the middle classes being more snobby than the aristocracy: they look down but are unable to look up with any experience or authority.

Finally there is type C. Type C has used one or some of the harder distros. They may still be using them or they may have gone to a simpler distro for their own reasons. They are generally older, more experienced and more laid back. However, because they have a longer-term experience of Linux and Unix, they have a birds-eye view of its advantages and disadvantages. They want people to have good, fun experiences but to learn too because they know what good it can do for the user. They want people to respect and enjoy Linux the way they do/did. They also realise that hard work yields great results.

You're seeing a few type Cs in this thread. Over the years there are more and more type As coming to Linux, which is fantastic but often the type As just don't listen. They have a set idea of what they want, or can't explain themselves properly or get impatient. Seeing as they have come from Windows or Mac, which holds your hand all the way and from whom they can get paid support, type A users often want immediate answers. This is the kind of thinking that Windows encourages - in fact - wants. It wants people to depend on it, to be at its mercy, so to speak, therefore and thereby it can control its users.

Things don't work like that in the Linux world. If type As want answers from the type Cs [of which there are many on LQ] they have to explain themselves properly, be respectful and be patient. In this thread you have been praising Mint a lot, which is fantastic, but not really explained why you'd want to move on. If you like it that much, stay with it. But you're curious, I understand that. I absolutely love salmon, and I can ask round for similar fish to see if there's one I will enjoy more than salmon, but the enjoyment may not be the same because it's about the sensation and experience, not the source [or as a sommelier said to me once, "I have all this expensive wine and some people just want Blossom Hill, but if that's what they like, so be it, it's doesn't mean they're wrong"]. The more distros you try, the more you will experience the paradox of choice and the less likely you will be to be happy. Little gives one the same feeling as the first Linux distro one loves.

We've had to do a bit of detective work in this thread because you haven't been all that clear about what you wanted, hence the impatience. It's for this reason that the famous article on how to ask good questions was written. Have a look around, you'll see threads with titles like "Help me, urgent!!" and "How to install Linux??" or some things like that. It gets tiring and has a cumulative effect. We'll help people but we won't hand them answers on a platter unless they're clear and specific about what they are looking for, what they want and what they've tried.

When I first went to the Debian forums I had the book thrown at me. But I took it to heart and learned about Linux. I realised that I had to learn from people who knew more and be a bit humble. It's like the new recruit who starts a job and wants to revolutionise the company from the ground up. It never works. In the end people have to bow to experience. Forums are like life, as you say. So, apologies if you feel got at, but here at LQ we will be polite, but we will not hold your hand all the time because Linux works best when the user does the work for themselves. You're starting to see the first signs of that. For instance, you could have easily Googled "distros like Mint", could you not [when I first starting learning about Gothic metal years ago I Googled "bands like Nightwish" and went from there, same kind of thing].

If you want to be a good Linux user, get into the mindset of doing things for yourself. Come to the forums to have fun, discuss things or get support for problems [after you've tried solving them yourself]. It's different to being in the Windows world, where you will get endless hand-holding because MS and their cohorts want your money. Here it's not the same - but you will find more friends, get more experience, get more control over your OS and maybe get a whole new interest. Please post more, because I think this could be the start of something good for you.

I'll finish this rather prolix post with the last words of a very good friend of mine [RIP] who said, "no one can be an expert on everything, but yes, I firmly believe that developing one's own expertise is an inherently worthwhile thing".

Originally Posted by Lysander666

... your prolix post ...

Originally Posted by noobfingers

but I (or anyone else, I'm sure) don't want to get into a heated debate

Originally Posted by noobfingers

Also, a latte is not a crime against coffee.

Originally Posted by noobfingers

Thanks v much to everyone else who replied, I have noted all your suggestions and ideas; grateful.

Originally Posted by noobfingers

Also, a latte is not a crime against coffee.

Originally Posted by hydrurga

If you do try any of the distros suggested on here, do let us know what you think of them.

I've been a Mint guy myself ever since I moved over from Windows, apart from short dabbles with Ubuntu and Manjaro, and even shorter dabbles with some other distros, but I've always got one ear open to good recommendations, despite being very happy where I am.



Sacrilegious. Milk should be nowhere near good coffee.

Originally Posted by Lysander666

Actually we could definitely have a heated debate about that [my preference is plain black Americano, personally]!
Thank you from me - and enjoy your Mint install.

Originally Posted by hydrurga

Sacrilegious. Milk should be nowhere near good coffee.

Originally Posted by ChuangTzu

These come to mind that should satisfy either:
SalixOS
Geckolinux
Mageia
MX Linux
SolydXK

Originally Posted by noobfingers

Dude, you can't beat a latte machiatto, especially from Australia - though I was advised to try a "double restretti" afer a slightly bitter one.

Originally Posted by Lysander666

After Americano I'd go for a macchiato, a cortado or espresso/espresso con panna.

The thing about macchiato is that it's the most visually aesthetic coffee. Behold - coffee porn. One day I'll even frame this picture, it's just... beautiful.

Guilty pleasures/hangover cures: latte/cappuccino.