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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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Get a PineTab2 and put GCompris on it. If you want a distribution specifically oriented toward pedagogy consider https://primtux.fr/
IMHO though the distribution itself does not matter. What matters is what software you make available for the user and what rights you let them have, e.g. installing apps or adds-ons vs not, Website controls vs not, etc.
Its a pretty dependent question.
Depending on your hardware, I'd say if you consider compatibility first.
Touchscreen is something you mentioned, I've used lenovo laptops that have built in touchscreen that work well on fedora.
They want something close to windows then I say Linux mint.
I have used Linux mint with various ages past 2 years. Very on levels from beginner to complete non tech users. On those that need compatibility with various applications close to windows. Regular Linux mint
On users that just require basic internet and document usage (aka a word like application) Linux mint debian edition (why? Less complicated, for non tech savy people). Less configuration means lower chances of issues popping up.
TLDR base your decision on peoples needs, and your ability to assist with what they have. Right tool for the job. Hope this helps.
Any distros with Plasma or Cinnamon as it's DE will do the trick. Linux Mint is a good starting choice.
I've heard good things about the Gnome desktop environment. Ubuntu uses gnome, maybe linux mint you can get gnome on that. Perhaps fedora too.
I second any recommendation for a kde based distro. Ubuntu or it's derivatives are the easiest place to start. Kubuntu is the kde based flavor iirc.
My daughter just turned 6 and is competent with a mouse and keyboard. They have kid friendly houses and keyboards on Amazon for cheap. She's been daily driving slackware since she was 4 and has no idea how badass she is yet.
Gcompris is a great app. It's a bunch of games for kids to learn letters, typing, mouse skills and some stuff just for fun. Install it on whatever distro you land on. Also, tuxpaint.
Kid friendly houses? In this economy?
Gnome + flatpack with no sudo privileges and your golden
Maybe NixOS.
I’m hearing a lot of very poor advice in here, at least from my perspective as a Linux user who’s been through the gamut of various distros over the years.
Fedora atomic desktops are not beginner distros. That is not their purpose, and their limitations make many things a person may eventually want to do with their machine a lot more complicated.
Debian? Are we joking here? Debian is an amazing distro for what its purposes are, but it’s not beginner friendly. Debian is bare bones.
Linux Mint is the easiest answer here. Ubuntu LTS (or its classroom based fork edubuntu) is another great answer. I know every Linux user on the internet recoils in horror at the mention of Ubuntu but it really is a drop in plug and play solution for kids and old people.
The only thing I still don't like much about recommending Linux Mint to beginners is that their Cinnamon desktop still uses Xorg which has some horrible display tearing on some Nvidia graphic cards (can be usually fixed with some tinkering and this is also only my personal experience), which is usually not a thing with Wayland and being Xorg it also means it has inferior touchpad gestures (surely not as smooth as Gnome or KDE) which can be important for notebook users. While being very user friendly it is one of the more resource heavy DE's I would say even more than Gnome or KDE. It also seems to have some problems with battery life? The official Gnome and KDE desktop packages for Linux Mint are pretty outdated, are still Xorg versions and aren't officially supported AFAIK (maybe there are some good community maintained packages). Otherwise I agree it's one of the best choices.
My personal favorite for beginners is Fedora Workstation or KDE edition, because it's up to date and fairly hassle free and stable (except the frequent kernel updates which sometime cause issues, but booting the older kernel is straightforward) and does not much modify its packages from the original or push their products on you like Ubuntu.
I think I'm running Wayland on my mint today. Not that I ever cared, and my card is NVIDIA and i don't remember spending much time instaling its drivers
just a heads up last I checked roblox wasn't officially supported on Linux, though this may have changed in the last 6 months.
there's an app called Sober on flathub, developed by creators of Vinegar. i use it to play roblox and i can say it works without any issues. the setup is really simple, since it dowloads everything by itself
https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-ultimate-guide-on-how-to-play-roblox-on-linux/3171920
It seems that there are unofficial ports. OP could test it out before.
It's broken because of anti cheat. I believe it's possible to use the android version though.
I really wish we'd stop saying "anti cheat" and start saying "system compromising rootkit software"
Yeah, if it requires kernel level access, I consider it malware. Not all anti cheat requires a rootkit and some even works on wine when the game developers allow it. It's still not good for privacy, but at least you can play the game from a user account with limited access and keep your data safe.
KDE Plasma offers a UI similar to Windows out of the box, I would say that's a good start. Introduce them to the endless customisation options and they might start to dig it. Maybe take a distro aimed at gaming like Bazzite.
Other good options inlcude OpenSUSE or Linux Mint, the latter with another, but also similar feeling desktop.
Although caution is advised, this is a slippery slope to becoming a programmer.
Mint, Pop!OS, or Unbuntu LTS
Fedora Silverblue is basically Android.
You click on apps in a software store to install, it updates itself (without you noticing) on reboot, the terminal is entirely optional and almost entirely useless.
Why is the terminal useless?
She's exaggerating
VERY much.
It was hyperbole. I used Silverblue for a bit trying to avoid layering packages entirely.
But not being able to simply install CLI system tools I'm used to (like btop) or rummaging around in /etc felt really limiting. I realize that's on me, cause these distros work differently.
rummaging around in /etc felt really limiting.
Sorry, I didn't get this. Could you elaborate?
I meant not being able to rummage around in /etc .
Since it is read-only, you always have to copy a config file into your home/user/.config/... before you can edit it.
Sorry, I think there's a misunderstanding.
First of all, thank you for clarifying what you meant. I'm not native, so I haven't seen "rummage" being used within that context. And while a LLM did (at least an attempt to) provide its meaning, it didn't make sense... by which we have arrived at the misunderstanding.
Since it is read-only
Yes, for Fedora Atomic, (most of) /usr is read-only. Perhaps this also applies to some other folders of /, however this doesn't apply to /etc as it's not read-only; therefore, you can actually change its content. At best, you'd have to go sudo (or fill the credentials through polkit's window); but that's all. This part isn't different from how it's over on (traditional) Fedora. Compared to its non-Atomic variant, however, we do find the following changes regarding /etc:
/etc are being kept track of. You can access these through ostree admin config-diff./etc is kept at /usr/etc. And, that one, is actually read-only.So..., the following step, i.e.
you always have to copy a config file into your home/user/.config/... before you can edit it.
Isn't required or anything. Heck, it's the first time (after three years of Fedora Atomic) that I've seen something like that being mentioned within this context.
Then either they changed that, or I didn't understand it right, while I was using it.
Probably the latter.
That being said, my other frustration was a lack of easily discoverable in-depth documentation.
But I wouldn't be surprised if I was just too dumb to find that, too.
That being said, my other frustration was a lack of easily discoverable in-depth documentation.
That's indeed a big concern. Thanks for mentioning that.
FWIW, uBlue's images (which are just opinionated takes on Fedora Atomic) have better documentation, but those have only more recently been a thing.
I daily drive Silverblue (and the terminal is not useless >:c), and in a vacuum I would probably install Silverblue or another atomic desktop. But I worry about Windows compatibility.
Imagine the feeling when "you just click the .exe and everything installs itself" works for everyone but you. It doesn't matter that downloading executables from random websites is way worse than a proper package manager in pretty much every way.
It's still alienating. Going along with everyones technical dept may still be a nicer experience, because at least it doesn't require the effort of doing something different.
That's what I'm worried about.
Imagine the feeling when “you just click the .exe and everything installs itself” works for everyone but you. It doesn’t matter that downloading executables from random websites is way worse than a proper package manager in pretty much every way.
If this is your aim, you can't really do that with Linux. Better stick with Windows in this case, as that's the only place where this works.
Just want to add to the difference in experience:
I leaned Linux, because I wanted to learn Linux and as such I was fine with stumbling a bit from time to time. They want a working computer that does Roblox and homework and don't care much about the rest.
I totally understand where you're coming from, and I'm pessimistic that any flavor of Linux will be an acceptable experience for the person you're describing. Something like Silverblue may be least obstrusive, but compatibility will still be a prominent problem.
Alternatively, you could show them surface level cool stuff that's easier to do with Linux. Like blocking all ads, running your own Minecraft server, downloading YouTube videos, building your own PC with cheap parts (and maybe even pirating movies and TV shows, depending on your own practices and relationship to that person). There's a lot to love about Linux even if you don't care about privacy and open software as abstract values.
Ok, let me rephrase this:
Your kid is too young to understand the concept of a mouse, but they arent young enough to not use Tiktok, a Social media known for killing even young adults attention time. And for some reason they are thought how to use a PC? To a 5-7 year old?
That aside, I recommend using literally Any OS and just making a guest user excluded from the sudoers file. To install new Apps, just use flatpak at user level, and for roblox theres Sober