I consistently say the same thing to everyone: no computer or OS today is good for more than 5 years. The entire industry is pushing us onto that treadmill, and you only get >5yrs through... well, basically, luck.

If you don't want to run Windows or MacOS, and just want something that will *work* with minimum surprises, run the latest Ubuntu LTS release. Period.

There are a few niche exceptions to this, but almost everything else available is aimed at either "enthusiasts" who enjoy constantly upgrading, or IT professionals who want something they can transfer skills to and from. Fedora, for example, is good OS, but has a rolling release model - if you want assistance from anyone, you have to keep upgrading - about once a year, at minimum. With Ubuntu LTS, you're (a) using the same system a *lot* of other people are, so it's easier to get help, and (b) you don't have to face a major upgrade until the 5yr mark - at which time you're typically looking at new hardware anyway.

Most of the MUUG membership are either professional users or "enthusiasts" (I wish there were a better word...) who are not looking for something that Just Works and they Never Have to Think about it. That even applies to me :-)

But in supporting family & friends, I've found the Ubuntu LTS releases - no matter how much I personally dislike the UI and some of their architectural decisions - fits the bill for the "average user" far, far better than anything else out there today. And it's almost *entirely* because of that 5yr support cycle.

YMMV. Everyone has different needs. -Adam ________________________________ From: Roundtable roundtable-bounces@muug.ca on behalf of eh@eduardhiebert.com eh@eduardhiebert.com Sent: Monday, May 27, 2024 9:40:55 PM To: Continuation of Round Table discussion roundtable@muug.ca Cc: Adam Thompson athompso@athompso.net; almastrauss@outlook.com almastrauss@outlook.com Subject: Re: [RndTbl] Intel Mac linux recommendations?

Alex, should you still be looking for verifiably sound information as to which Linux OS to choose from among an overwhelming array, since your post I stumbled across the following simply searching when my newly acquired used Windows 10 computer would no longer be supported as I too have the intention, having deliberately started with on Osborne's CPM system in the early 80's, but at some time the better mouse trap was superseded by Gates cornering a large part of the PC market.

Not only did I find Windows10 support ends Oct 14, 2025 https://www.zdnet.com/article/when-windows-10-support-ends-you-have-5-option...

I found the following article quite informative in differentiating between whatever kernel means and OS. As well it provided some good comparative information on why Ubuntu is good but in the greater detail Fedora may actually be somewhat more robust. Whether this is sound would welcome others weighing in.

However at one point it added the following teasingly interesting information bu without any helpful link. Perhaps MUUG members can fill in the gap?

Good Luck and would be interested if you or others can fill in what is still missing in this article.

Eduard

PS if I find the time in a day or say may add with my poor eye-hand coordination I strongly prefer key-board systems or having to move between the board and the mouse and so many inferior steps to a word processing program like Wordstar that even today provides superior editing capacities to any of the newer bells and whistles Word type applications.

On 2024-05-24 13:56, Adam Thompson wrote:

There are multiple reports online of people successfully installing Ubuntu on that vintage of Mac Mini (late 2012, not necessarily _exactly _the same model#, but plenty close enough). Since Ubuntu 24.04 LTS has now been released, I would start with that. I don't like the UI, personally, but Ubuntu has good hardware support and is very popular, so easy to find support on. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS will get security updates for 5yrs; do not update to 22.10 or any other non-LTS version unless you're sure you know what you're doing... The one catch is that the install and initial configuration must be done with an ethernet cable connected, as WiFi will NOT work until Ubuntu has downloaded the drivers for it from the internet (this should happen automatically during installation). -Adam

---

From: Roundtable roundtable-bounces@muug.ca on behalf of Trevor Cordes trevor@tecnopolis.ca Sent: May 24, 2024 14:31 To: MUUG RndTbl roundtable@muug.ca Subject: [RndTbl] Intel Mac linux recommendations?

Can someone help out here with this Linux distro on Mac question? Please cc: almastrauss@outlook.com on any replies, thanks!

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Thu, 23 May 2024 10:00:18 -0500 From: Alex almastrauss@outlook.com

Dear Sirs:

I would like to migrate from macOS to Linux, and would very much appreciate it if you could please recommend me the most stable, fast, secure, and user-friendly Linux distribution to install on my Mac mini 2012 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/111926) computer based system comprising of:

· 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU

· 16GB (two 8GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory

· 2TB SSD

· Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard K811 (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023464673-Logitech-Bluetooth-E...)

· Logitech T651 (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023466673-Logitech-Rechargeabl... Trackpad (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023466673-Logitech-Rechargeabl...)

· HP ZR30w monitor (https://www.hp.com/canada/products/landing/monitors/files/ZR30w-data-sheet-J...)

I am thinking along the lines of Ubuntu or Linux Mint (various desktop environments!), but it is extremely hard to understand which one is the most suitable for me… Or, perhaps, I am barking at the wrong tree?

Please help a newbie!

---

Respectfully,

Alex

---

From: Roundtable roundtable-bounces@muug.ca on behalf of Trevor Cordes trevor@tecnopolis.ca Sent: May 24, 2024 14:31 To: MUUG RndTbl roundtable@muug.ca Subject: [RndTbl] Intel Mac linux recommendations?

Can someone help out here with this Linux distro on Mac question? Please cc: almastrauss@outlook.com on any replies, thanks!

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Thu, 23 May 2024 10:00:18 -0500 From: Alex almastrauss@outlook.com

Dear Sirs:

I would like to migrate from macOS to Linux, and would very much appreciate it if you could please recommend me the most stable, fast, secure, and user-friendly Linux distribution to install on my Mac mini 2012 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/111926) computer based system comprising of:

· 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU

· 16GB (two 8GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory

· 2TB SSD

· Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard K811 (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023464673-Logitech-Bluetooth-E...)

· Logitech T651 (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023466673-Logitech-Rechargeabl... Trackpad (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023466673-Logitech-Rechargeabl...)

· HP ZR30w monitor (https://www.hp.com/canada/products/landing/monitors/files/ZR30w-data-sheet-J...)

I am thinking along the lines of Ubuntu or Linux Mint (various desktop environments!), but it is extremely hard to understand which one is the most suitable for me… Or, perhaps, I am barking at the wrong tree?

Please help a newbie!

---

Respectfully,

Alex _______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.ca https://muug.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable

_______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.ca https://muug.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable

Sorry, in the earlier email the info following the line of asterisks was inadvertently dropped off

Alex, should you still be looking for verifiably sound information as to which Linux OS to choose from among an overwhelming array, since your post I stumbled across the following simply searching when my newly acquired used Windows 10 computer would no longer be supported as I too have the intention, having deliberately started with on Osborne's CPM system in the early 80's, but at some time the better mouse trap was superseded by Gates cornering a large part of the PC market.

Not only did I find Windows10 support ends Oct 14, 2025 https://www.zdnet.com/article/when-windows-10-support-ends-you-have-5-option...

I found the following article quite informative in differentiating between whatever kernel means and OS. As well it provided some good comparative information on why Ubunto is good but in the greater detail Fedora may actually be somewhat more robust. Whether this is sound would welcome others weighing in.

However at one point it added the following teasingly interesting information bu without any helpful link. Perhaps MUUG members can fill in the gap? ****************************************** One aspect that will help you narrow down your choice of distribution is what desktop you prefer. There's GNOME, KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, Mate, Enlightenment, Xfce, LXQt, Budgie, Pantheon, LXDE, Trinity Desktop, Sugar, and more.

For the article please see "Thinking about switching to Linux? 10 things you need to know | ZDNET https://www.zdnet.com/article/thinking-about-switching-to-linux-things-you-n...

As I too contemplate switching to Linux, can anyone point me to safe Linux sites, hopefully comparable to ninet.com which has both a free and more robust subscription plan to easily keep your system's many programs updated without program vendors like Chrome surreptitiously changing your defaults and sneeking in other crap?

On 2024-05-24 13:56, Adam Thompson wrote:

There are multiple reports online of people successfully installing Ubuntu on that vintage of Mac Mini (late 2012, not necessarily _exactly _the same model#, but plenty close enough). Since Ubuntu 24.04 LTS has now been released, I would start with that. I don't like the UI, personally, but Ubuntu has good hardware support and is very popular, so easy to find support on. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS will get security updates for 5yrs; do not update to 22.10 or any other non-LTS version unless you're sure you know what you're doing... The one catch is that the install and initial configuration must be done with an ethernet cable connected, as WiFi will NOT work until Ubuntu has downloaded the drivers for it from the internet (this should happen automatically during installation). -Adam

---

From: Roundtable roundtable-bounces@muug.ca on behalf of Trevor Cordes trevor@tecnopolis.ca Sent: May 24, 2024 14:31 To: MUUG RndTbl roundtable@muug.ca Subject: [RndTbl] Intel Mac linux recommendations?

Can someone help out here with this Linux distro on Mac question? Please cc: almastrauss@outlook.com on any replies, thanks!

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Thu, 23 May 2024 10:00:18 -0500 From: Alex almastrauss@outlook.com

Dear Sirs:

I would like to migrate from macOS to Linux, and would very much appreciate it if you could please recommend me the most stable, fast, secure, and user-friendly Linux distribution to install on my Mac mini 2012 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/111926) computer based system comprising of:

· 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU

· 16GB (two 8GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory

· 2TB SSD

· Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard K811 (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023464673-Logitech-Bluetooth-E...)

· Logitech T651 (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023466673-Logitech-Rechargeabl... Trackpad (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023466673-Logitech-Rechargeabl...)

· HP ZR30w monitor (https://www.hp.com/canada/products/landing/monitors/files/ZR30w-data-sheet-J...)

I am thinking along the lines of Ubuntu or Linux Mint (various desktop environments!), but it is extremely hard to understand which one is the most suitable for me… Or, perhaps, I am barking at the wrong tree?

Please help a newbie!

---

Respectfully,

Alex

---

From: Roundtable roundtable-bounces@muug.ca on behalf of Trevor Cordes trevor@tecnopolis.ca Sent: May 24, 2024 14:31 To: MUUG RndTbl roundtable@muug.ca Subject: [RndTbl] Intel Mac linux recommendations?

Can someone help out here with this Linux distro on Mac question? Please cc: almastrauss@outlook.com on any replies, thanks!

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Thu, 23 May 2024 10:00:18 -0500 From: Alex almastrauss@outlook.com

Dear Sirs:

I would like to migrate from macOS to Linux, and would very much appreciate it if you could please recommend me the most stable, fast, secure, and user-friendly Linux distribution to install on my Mac mini 2012 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/111926) computer based system comprising of:

· 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU

· 16GB (two 8GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory

· 2TB SSD

· Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard K811 (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023464673-Logitech-Bluetooth-E...)

· Logitech T651 (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023466673-Logitech-Rechargeabl... Trackpad (https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360023466673-Logitech-Rechargeabl...)

· HP ZR30w monitor (https://www.hp.com/canada/products/landing/monitors/files/ZR30w-data-sheet-J...)

I am thinking along the lines of Ubuntu or Linux Mint (various desktop environments!), but it is extremely hard to understand which one is the most suitable for me… Or, perhaps, I am barking at the wrong tree?

Please help a newbie!

---

Respectfully,

Alex _______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.ca https://muug.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable