Linux

If you mean "dumb friendly" by "An exact Windows clone"... there are plenty of "Windowslike" Linux distros out there.

If you mean "user friendly" by "Easy to understand by any user"... then yes, (any) Linux distro is user friendly as is.

Most operating systems these days are just micro-kernels to run the actual operating system, your browser. Most users will be perfectly happy using whatever in most cases as long as you can get one of the major browsers on it.

If they have special requirements, then you need to figure them out first.

It depends! You'll get a lot of recommendations. And they're probably good recommendations. But there are most certainly Distros out there that are very simple. I would suggest you don't be afraid to Distro Hop until you find one that you really feel at home on.

If you're looking for something that's simple, out of the box, and out of your way, I'd avoid anything Arch based. Ubuntu or Debian based Distros will have the most documentation and therefore minimize the amount of time you spend looking for answers, however, Fedora based Distros, in my experience, are rock solid and sit comfortably between stable and the bleeding edge.

Yes, it's easy. BUT:

• buy Linux-compatible hardware. While you might technically be able to get something to run by fucking around, it's just better to bit Linux-compatible hardware. If something doesn't work, it doesn't work, put it on a shelf and try again in six months.
• If you're dual-booting windows, know that windows occasionally nukes the boot loader, so that only windows loads. This happens irregularly, like every 2-5 years. A Linux friend can help fix it, or you can follow instructions online (you need an empty thumb drive to do it).

If the PC you're building has the latest and greatest hardware in it, you might find that Linux might not support that stuff yet. You might get lucky, but you might not either. It usually takes a little while to get new hardware supported. So it might be a better idea to install Linux on your older computer, then there's no reason to buy a new PC anyway. Linux uses about half the RAM that Windows uses, for example, so it's like you did an upgrade anyway. As long as you have over 4 GB of RAM, you're fine for desktop usage. Windows requires 8 to run as well that Linux does at 4. You'd only need to upgrade if you're after extreme gaming support.

Simple Answer: No

The moment you need to think about what distribution you need to choose from is where it'll stop any (dumb)user. Most people want a simple process with very little thinking.

If you are interested in learning linux and willing to take the time to understand the entire process that comes with it then yes.

I mean, yes. But also no, it sort of depends.

If you have very low bar of needs (needing a web browser and some utility apps, without specific apps in mind) then it's actually never been easier. If you use a Silverblue based system, all updates are done in a transactional way and old versions can be booted into at any time in case something breaks (which basically never happens with silverblue, with some exceptions.) Read only systems means you can't muck around with the root files and can't accidentally "break" your system in the way you used to be able to on older OS designs. I would say that "Linux with Guardrails" is effectively invincible, and I would like to recommend that new users try OSTree based systems. For example, Fedora Silverblue, Ublue's Aurora / Bluefin, Bazzite (Steam OS clone), etc etc.

If you have more specific needs, it can be a crapshoot depending on whether or not the hobby in question has a strong linux presence. Particularly, bespoke non-game windows apps are still a bit tricky to get working and require some Wine (Windows process wrapper for compatibility) knowledge. There are edge cases where running certain applications in flatpak (Steam, Bitwig) can mean that, while it's impossible for these applications to break your system, you'll be very limited in options for these programs. For Steam, this can mean more difficulty with out-of-steam application management. For Bitwig, this can mean no choice in VST. These are all programs that have work arounds, but on a read-only system like Silverblue (which I would like to recommend for new users due to the indestructibility) those are all a little more difficult to implement and require you to know a thing or two about virtual desktops. (Thus, not new user friendly.)

I would still say that it's never been easier, but as you get more famililar with any system, you generally demand more and more from it. Thankfully, with linux, its always been a case of "if there's a will there's a way" and the UX utility applications being made by other people have been getting better and better.

My recommendation to you would be to try UBlue Aurora. It's familiar to Windows, it's being managed in a way that makes gaming relatively simple, and it has an active discord community to help new users. It also has that indestructability that I was talking about before, but has a lot of the "work arounds" pre-setup for new users.

If you pick a new user-friendly distro, nine times out of ten it'll run like a dream out of the box.

If you want to change something minor like a desktop background, you might need to search through menus for the settings or ask for advice.

If you want to install new hardware, like swapping in a new video card, you'll definitely need some assistance.