6* months away now. If you're on 10, do you plan to upgrade? Make the jump to Linux?

Outside of Steam, how have you found gaming compatibility? I know Xbox Gamepass doesn't work as that's very specifically a Windows app, but how about other standalone games/platforms?

Outside of steam will be a case by case basis. I wouldn't expect a lot of luck, and it may require that you use a compatibility layer like Wine.

for newcomers, maybe this is the best combo. Debian stable with KDE Plasma.

Unless you're using NVIDIA. Didn't work out of the box for me and required a couple hours of fiddling. Mint worked seamlessly.
- PopOS (scroll down to the "Pop_OS with Nvidia" link).
  It is tailored for Nvidia cards, is Debian(Ubuntu) based, & super friendly for new users.
  EDIT: Here's a link to the 24.04 release that provides only the Cosmic desktop environment (no X11, no gnome or kde). This is what I use, but it's in alpha so user beware.
  
  Saving this.
- Manjaro with KDE Plasma has been working pretty flawlessly with an nvidia card for me.
- Wrangling my Nvidia drivers into Mint also took a couple hours for me but I haven't had problems afterward
- That's weird. It worked for me just fine. I have GTX 1060 3GB.
Debian is not a good choice for beginners. It's extremely bare bones compared to Ubuntu or Mint.
Drivers on Debian stable are also heavily outdated
- Drivers being outdated is not a big deal, unless you use recent hardware, then it might make sense to make a jump to current testing release (trixie), or just stay on testing indefinitely.
  Also it being "barebones" is a good thing in my eyes, since I can configure it how I want.
  
  It's definitely a good thing if you're interested and knowledgeable enough to build what you want. I was just arguing it's not the best choice for a casual user because a lot things they'll want won't work out of the box.
  Even updating to the next stable Debian version requires editing system files and running the command line.
  Drivers can matter quite a bit if for example you're on an Nvidia card and the Debian drivers are 2 years old. It happened to me and caused dlss to not work in some games. And with Nvidia you can't just move to testing, you need to backport the driversc and that's quite involved.
  I run a Debian server and it's amazing for that.
  
  I definitely agree with most of the points but I don't get what do you mean that you can't move to testing, because that's what I literally did recently by upgrading from bookworm to trixie with no issues whatsoever and I have Nvidia card, although older one (GTX 1060 3GB).
  
  When I tried it, testing was on the same version of Nvidia drivers as stable so it didn't solve my problem. It was possible to manually backport them, but it wasn't straightforward to do.

I completely disagree. Debian is not beginner-friendly. Go with Bazzite if your focus is gaming.

It is a gaming-focused distribution. It's also an "atomic" distribution, which basically means it's really hard to break it. It's more like Android or IOS where the OS and base system are managed by someone else. They're read-only so you can't accidentally break them.

For example, instead of trying to manage your own video card drivers, they come packaged with the base system image, and they're tested to make sure they work with all the other base components.

I've been using Linux since the 1990s, so I've run my share of distributions: Slackware, RedHat, Gentoo, Debian, Ubuntu, etc. Even for someone experienced, atomic distributions are great. But, for a newcomer they're so much better.

How does Bazzite fare when I want to do something a bit different. Install docker, Python, PHP, sqlite, etc. I'd normally just install them, but does this work for Bazzite and other atomic/immutable distros?
- So, there are multiple ways of installing things. For GUI apps the standard way is flatpaks. Some non-GUI things are installed that way, but it's less common.
  For CLI apps, homebrew is installed by default and it's recommended as a way to install CLI things.
  The method I like for apps that have a lot of interdependencies is to use a distrobox. If you want a development environment where multiple apps all talk to each-other, you can isolate them on their own distrobox and install them however you like there.
  I currently have a distrobox running ubuntu that I use for a kubernetes project. In that distrobox I install anything I need with apt, or sometimes from source. Within that kubernetes project I use mise-en-place to manage tools just for that particular sub-project. What I like about doing things this way is that when I'm working on that project I have all the tools I need, and don't have to worry about the tools for other projects. My base bazzite image is basically unchanged, but my k8s project is highly customized.
  If you really want to, you can still install RPMs as overlays to the base system, it's just not recommended because that slows down upgrades.
  More details here:
  https://docs.bazzite.gg/Installing_and_Managing_Software/
  
  I moved to endeavouros. First time using a rolling release, and I was struggling with some webdev stuff cause node was on a recent non-lts build and a few other things.
  Not a problem for building, cause I already have that containerised. But things like installing packages was refusing, and obviously couldn't run dev workflows.
  Until I realised I should just work inside a container.
  I know vscode is still Microsoft (and I'm sure I could get it to work with vscodium), but the dev container workflow is fantastic.
  Absolute game changer.
  And I know I can easily work on a different platform, os whatever. And still have the same dev environment.
  
  Until I realised I should just work inside a container.
  Yeah, it's a game changer. Especially if you have different projects on the go. I'm used to having to deal with an ugly path with all kind of random things in it because I need them for one project. But, with containers / distroboxes / toolbx you can keep those changes isolated.
  
  Awesome, thanks for the explanation! I'd been put off Bazzite and other immutable distros because I had seen threads saying you basically needed flatpak for everything, but it sounds like that's not true.
  I don't need a project at the moment but I will give this a go once I am ready for one!
  
  Yeah, I only use flatpak for GUI apps that don't need any special handling. To be fair, that's a decent number of the things I use most often: Firefox, Thunderbird, Signal, Kodi, Discord, Gimp, VLC. I think it's also how I installed some themes for KDE / Plasma.
  Console stuff I've either done in a distrobox using the conventions of that OS (apt for the Ubuntu one, DNF for the Fedora one), or I've used homebrew. But, I haven't used too much homebrew because I want my "normal" console to be as unchanged as possible.
  There are a few things I've used distrobox-export to make available outside the distrobox.
  It took me a little while to understand how you're supposed to think about the system, but now that I think I get it, I really like it. My one frustration is that there's an nVidia driver bug that's affecting me, and nVidia has been unable to fix it for a few months. I think I'd be in exactly the same situation with a traditional distro. The difference is that if they ever fix it, I'll have to wait a couple of weeks until the fix makes it to the Bazzite stable build. I suppose I could switch to Bazzite testing and get it within days of it being fixed instead of weeks. Apparently just use a "rebase" command and reboot. But, I'm hesitant to do that because other than the nVidia driver, everything's so stable.
  
  Lucky for me I don't have any Nvidia so things sail a bit smoother.
  Thanks for all the advice 🙂
I find this interesting as I'm a beginner with only about 3 months of Linux use under my belt, whereas Ive used Windows since I was like 5 years old, and I found Debian to be a really good introduction to Linux. I was originally recommended Mint, like many are, and I found the experience to be a negative one as opposed to my later experience with Debian. (Note I have no experience with Bazzite or any other distros).
The additional 'bloat' in Mint obfuscated from me various aspects of Linux. It insulated me from learning how Linux is different from Windows, and that actually hindered me from understanding the OS. By starting with Debian I got a feel for using the CLI, setting up my drivers, package installer, and desktop environment. And, while those aspects can be complicated for new users, i think its somewhat necessary that they get a feel for them if Linux is going to be recommended as their OS.
- Debian is fine as an introduction to Linux, if that's what you want. But, as a beginner, you're going to screw up, and Debian doesn't do anything to protect you from that.
  Atomic distributions let you use Linux but make it harder to shoot yourself in the foot. It's much harder to break the system in a way you can't just reboot to fix it.
  It all depends on what your goal is. If your goal is to learn Linux by using it, then by all means, go for a traditional distribution. Debian is nice, but I'd go for Ubuntu. But, if your goal is to have a stable system that you can't screw up as a beginner I'd go with an atomic distribution. If your goal is to play games, Bazzite is hard to beat.
  You can still learn Linux if you use an atomic distribution. Configuring and using the desktop environment is basically the same. But, you don't need to worry about your drivers, and you don't install packages the traditional way. If you want to learn those things, you can run a VM or a distrobox.
In what world is a Debian base not beginner friendly my fiancé that could barely use windows is using it just fine
- Has your fiancé had to update drivers? Has he had to upgrade to a new release? Has he had to figure out how to install a version of something that isn't in the Debian stable repositories?
  If the only application your fiancé uses is Firefox, then he might go a long time before having any kind of problem. It all depends on how he uses it.
  
  It’s basically a Chromebook for her
  
  If it's a her, you mean fiancée, fiancé is used only for men. And, it's basically a chromebook in how she uses it. But, chromebooks are designed so that you never have to do any system administration. You never have to upgrade drivers or figure out how to get to the next release.
  She probably hasn't had to deal with that yet, but eventually the system will have to be updated. Over time, cruft piles up and makes it harder and harder to upgrade and manage. Atomic distributions are designed to be much more like chromebooks. Someone else manages the upgrades and the tricky choices, and then you just install their base image.
  
  Autocorrect on my phone always chooses fiancé for some damn reason but I showed her how to update when I set it up for her and she’s been keeping up with it checking once a week and she’s had a couple questions I’ve had to answer but less then when she was just trying to do basic things on windows so it’s been great for me
  
  The thing with autocorrect is that you don't have to accept the correction.
  
  Yea iOS does it automatically unless you select it I’m just lazy
- Did she set it up herself?
  
  For the most part

and the only final thing that I'm missing is Adobe products.

I miss Affinity Designer! Bought a license and I like it but no linux port 🙄

I can't get used Inkscape, it's so different and confusing for me

Have you ever seen how to draw a circle in GIMP?
- Krita > Gimp
  
  Krita and GIMP are tools for different use cases.
  
  On a more professional/advanced level I agree.
  But for average users, they accomplish 90% identical tasks, but Krita, while less mature, is more intuitively designed (superiorly designed I would argue), and uses better algorithms for things like select & fill.
  Also Krita is less ugly. Sorry, I'm notoriously shallow.
- I hate you :c that was... Disturbing
- I think torrenting a copy of Photoshop would be faster than drawing a circle in GIMP

As long as you're running KDE, it will feel familiar to a Windows user. I started with Kubuntu which was great until I had a system update, and it completely shat itself. Wanted to try Bazzite next, but the installer wouldn't work properly, so I installed OpenSUSE Tumbleweed, and I've seen no reason to switch since.

I went with Mint but I'm thinking about KDE (or maybe KDE flavored Arch? Idk I'm new) on my second computer. Pretty painless?

So Mint is the 'distro', which is actually based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian. In simple terms, a distro is a bundle of programs and configurations assembled for you. Basically, Debian is a stripped down version of Mint.
A 'desktop environment' is a separate program(?) that changes what your desktop looks like, and they can be downloaded on any distro. So you can try out KDE Plasma on your Mint installation! The one that you're likely using right now is called 'Cinnamon', which I personally didn't like and turned me off of Linux my first time trying to switch over years ago.
Something cool about KDE Plasma is that you can download themes and make your desktop environments look really cool. For instance, sometimes I like to rock this Windows 7 theme: https://www.pling.com/p/2142957/
I honestly think mint is an outdated suggestion for beginners, I think immutability is extremely important for someone who is just starting out, as well as starting on KDE since it’s by far the most developed DE that isn’t gnome and their… design decisions are unfortunate for people coming from windows.
I don’t think we should be recommending mint to beginners anymore, if mint makes an immutable, up to date KDE distro, that’ll change, but until then, I think bazzite is objectively a better starting place for beginners.
The mere fact that it generates a new system for you on update and lets you switch between and rollback automatically is enough for me to say it’s better, but it also has more up to date software, and tons of guides (fedora is one of the most popular distros, and bazzite is essentially identical except with some QoL upgrades).
How common is the story of “I was new to linux and completely broke it”? that’s not a good user experience for someone who’s just starting, it’s intimidating, scary, and I just don’t think it’s the best in the modern era. There’s something to be said about learning from these mistakes, but bazzite essentially makes these mistakes impossible.
Furthermore because of the way bazzite works, package management is completely graphical and requires essentially no intervention on the users part, flathub and immutability pair excellently for this reason.
Cinnamon (the default mint environment) doesn’t and won’t support HDR, the security/performance improvements from wayland, mixed refresh rate displays, mixed DPI displays, fractional scaling, and many other things for a very very long time if at all. I don’t understand the usecase for cinnamon tbh, xfce is great if you need performance but don’t want to make major sacrifices, lmde is great if you need A LOT of performance, cinnamon isn’t particularly performant and just a strictly worse version of kde in my eyes from the perspective of a beginner, anyway.
I have 15 years of linux experience and am willing to infinitely troubleshoot if you add me on matrix.
Eh Arch can be quite stable if you're careful, but it could also be a frustrating experience, there's lots of manual configuration
I went to Manjaro (Arch) with KDE from Mint about 5 months ago, and it's been nearly flawless, allowed me to easily install a real time processing kernel for audio production, and it's run every game I've thrown at it performs better than Winblows.
- Manjaro is legitimately a terrible choice and should not be recommended, https://github.com/arindas/manjarno
  If it works for you, that's great, but you're lucky so far and it's a ticking timebomb.
  I used to give manjaro to a lot of people because i was an arch user and supported a bunch of linux users, it was a massive mistake, arch is just a strictly better version of manjaro, the things manjaro claims to do it doesn't do well because it's just kind of hacked onto arch. Let me give you an example of something stupid that manjaro does:
  normally, in linux, all packages are upgraded centrally, however, manjaro has decided to make an exception for the kernel, and now the kernel is versioned, and each version upgrades separately... this can result in you being stuck with an ancient kernel. I had to go into peoples computers, boot into a console, manually swap out the kernel, and put on the latest one, because the updater wouldn't update due to the newest drivers being incompatible with the old kernel.
  This happened enough times, that and the concerns raised in manjarno make me think it really isn't for anyone. The team is laughably incompetent (they can't even get their certs sorted out? really?) and you don't want an incompetent team running your desktop.
  If you're enough of an expert to fix these things... just use arch, it's strictly better. If you don't know what you're doing, an arch based distro is a terrible choice and you should go with bazzite.
- Yeah Manjaro + KDE is kinda what I was thinking, thanks!
  
  Manjaro is legitimately a terrible choice, https://github.com/arindas/manjarno
  I used to give manjaro to a lot of people because i was an arch user and supported a bunch of linux users, it was a massive mistake, arch is just a strictly better version of manjaro, the things manjaro claims to do it doesn't do well because it's just kind of hacked onto arch. Let me give you an example of something stupid that manjaro does:
  normally, in linux, all packages are upgraded centrally, however, manjaro has decided to make an exception for the kernel, and now the kernel is versioned, and each version upgrades separately... this can result in you being stuck with an ancient kernel. I had to go into peoples computers, boot into a console, manually swap out the kernel, and put on the latest one, because the updater wouldn't update due to the newest drivers being incompatible with the old kernel.
  This happened enough times, that and the concerns raised in manjarno make me think it really isn't for anyone. The team is laughably incompetent (they can't even get their certs sorted out? really?) and you don't want an incompetent team running your desktop.
  If you're enough of an expert to fix these things... just use arch, it's strictly better. If you don't know what you're doing, an arch based distro is a terrible choice and you should go with bazzite.
  I'm willing to troubleshoot infinitely over matrix for free and have 15 years of experience, feel free to message me!
  
  Very helpful, thank you!
  
  I would recommend endeavor os with plasma instead honestly. Its a similar setup, but you won't have to deal with manjaro holding back updates.
  
  Oh okay! Thanks,, that's helpful. So EndeavorOS has pretty frequent updates then? I'm ngl since switching I look forward to them, which is funny! It's like "oh cool my computer got better and also new toys instead of worse and more bloated!"
  Ahh I should've done this years ago but better late than never
  
  Yeah, it should get updates exactly the same as arch. And I'm the same way, I check for update every time I log in lol. It does feel nice that you're always up to date

If you're into primarily gaming, try PikaOS. It's Debian based and uses the same tooling, but it's on an optimized kernel. Is generally geared toward gaming.

There are other gaming specific distros of course, this is just the "Debian"-related one. I would not recommend the real debian if you're mainly into gaming. It'll need manual intervention and/or optimization to get games running, or at least get them running well. It's not impossible (it even hard if you've got but is Linux experience), but just harder than necessary.

maybe give debian testing a go for a little more up to date software :)

Not having access to Adobe products is a feature not a bug.