Which Linux Distro Should We Recommend?

[buster]

Jesse Smith on Distrowatch tests more Linux distributions in a year than most of us can name. He has selected four, but with one he strongly recommends as the best for beginners. It is not the one I use, nor is it the one he uses, but I like his first two choices. Bill and I will not be surprised by his choice for position one or two. So, if someone is giving up their Win10 machine to a Linux distro, which one should we recommend, and probably actually install for him or her?

Here are Jesse's choice four choices:

https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20251222#2025

[ssfc72]

Thanks Buster, for the Link.
A valuable info for some good Distros to try out.

[Jason]

Zorin should be in there. I do have one complaint about it, though. They upped the price of the Pro version from $40 USD to $80. Not sure when exactly but it was at some point in 2024. Disappointing.

First time hearing of Helium OS. But alas, I think my distro hopping days are over.

[ssfc72]

I am very gratefull that I am using Linux on all my computers and have no need to use Win 11 or the Apple OS.
Both Windows and Apple IOS now have AI embedded in their operating systems , making them a security/privacy nightmare.
I have seen reports for Win 11 that a hidden file or folder has been found, that takes snapshots or records info that displays on your screen. Probably the info gets sent back to the Windows servers.

[Jason]

But it's for your own good, Bill! I don't remember his name but the guy that heads up AI at Microsoft was being interviewed and was telling the journalist that he wants AI to be so pervasive that it will see everything you see, and everything you do, all so it can more helpful at assisting you. Sounds like a great deal! Give up what last vestiges of your privacy, have it stored in one place, all so it can help you do... what, exactly? My theory is just so they can serve up more ads; that's why they want you to use their store, and their browser, and their backup service, etc.

But yes, I am so glad that Linux developers haven't embedded any of that AI crap in to the desktop OS. If people optionally want to have it, fine, but I think the nature of Linux is that you can't force any software on anyone, even in the OS, if they don't want it. I doubt Linus will be embedding AI into the kernel any time soon.