for fun, i'm reading this article about the "5 best linux distros for beginners" https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-linux-desktops-for-beginners/

i agree with the number one spot, linux mint is my personal recommendation for windows users looking to switch, but the cons are kind of just... not true? linux mint does have some proprietary drivers, most distros these days do, because if they didn't, you wouldn't be able to really even use them lol

also wtf does "might not be compatible with all programs and games" mean? i guess it could be referring to snaps, but basically every snap is also available as a flatpak or an appimage... or a regular package

this is fucking stupid.

chrome OS is not a linux distro, it's an operating system based on linux, just like android isn't linux either. sure, chrome OS can be hacked to run linux programs, but i still wouldn't consider it "linux." chrome OS is closed source and doesn't let you do most things real linux distros let you do, it doesn't even come with a terminal if i'm not mistaken. i don't really understand why they put "free" as a pro here, sure it's free as in no cost to install, but it's not truly "free." if anything, the biggest pro is android app compatibility, too bad it's not in the flex version

??????

ubuntu *is* free though, it's open source software, the payment options are just for cloud hosting and technical support

this article really said chrome OS is free and ubuntu isn't

also ubuntu sucks for beginners

at this point i begin to wonder why the author is even showing pros and cons at this point, most of these points apply to both zorin OS and every other linux distro. sure, most distros don't have a paid option, but most distros don't require coding experience, several look like windows, most work on both PCs and (x86) Macs (i don't think zorin even supports M1 Macs), all distros can't run any windows or macOS apps, and most distros don't support 15 year old hardware

this list is dumb

also zorin OS is fine i guess

i've never used mx linux before

maybe i should try it

that's the list, personally i'd replace ubuntu with fedora, specifically for macOS users and get rid of chrome OS, it doesn't belong here

let's see if it's foss can do any better: https://itsfoss.com/best-linux-beginners/

nope, no they can't

ubuntu is just not that good of a distro, not just because it uses snaps, but also because it has an awkward customization of GNOME which isn't that good, it has a lack of innovative features, and there's just way better options out there.