I really think you would have a great time with either “Linux Mint” because of its rocksolid philosophy of not breaking stuff or shipping “beta software”.

Otherwise a safe option would be a Linux variant with professional support options - just in case you need it. ZorinOS, Tuxedo or Pop_OS! are the most common ones.

Personally i’d take Linux Mint, which in most cases works flawless out of the box. The premium options are nonetheless also great options.

I’m going to reframe the question as “Are computers good for someone tech illiterate?”

I think the answer is “yes, if you have someone that can help you”.

The problem with proprietary systems like Windows or OS X is that that “someone” is a large corporation. And, in fairness, they generally do a good job of looking after tech illiterate people. They ensure that their users don’t have to worry about how to do updates, or figure out what browser they should be using, or what have you.

But (and it’s a big but) they don’t actually care about you. Their interest making sure you have a good experience ends at a dollar sign. If they think what’s best for you is to show you ads and spy on you, that’s what they’ll do. And you’re in a tricky position with them because you kind of have to trust them.

So with Linux you don’t have a corporation looking after you. You do have a community (like this one) to some degree, but there’s a limit to how much we can help you. We’re not there on your computer with you (thankfully, for your privacy’s sake), so to a large degree, you are kind of on your own.

But Linux actually works very well if you have a trusted friend/partner/child/sibling/whoever who can help you out now and then. If you’ve got someone to help you out with it, Linux can actually work very very well for tech illiterate people. The general experience of browsing around, editing documents, editing photos, etc., works very much the same way as it does on Windows or OS X. You will probably be able to do all that without help.

But you might not know which software is best for editing photos. Or you might need help with a specific task (like getting a printer set up) and having someone to fall back on will give you much better experience.

For someone as tech illiterate as my mom, I’d advise against trying it. But you are here and my mom would never know that Lemmy is a thing. You also ask about Linux.
I’d guess that you will have great fun using and appreciating what Linux and the foss communities have created.

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Thank you so much everyone. I’m very likely going to try the live usb method with linux mint probably. I really appreciate all the advice.

Based on my own experience as well as taking into account the suggestions of other people, here are the top three Linux distros for beginners:

• Ubuntu
• Linux Mint
• Pop!_OS

These are basically just “install-and-go” distros; no need for advanced setup.

• old laptop
• windows 11
• tech illiterate

Something doesn’t add up, or only 2/3 are true.

If you’re not doing anything crazy, there’s no reason linux should be any harder to use than Windows.

Once you’re up and running, daily life will be pretty straightforward.

Plenty of great advice in the other posts that I won’t rehash. One thing I didn’t see mentioned is using a live boot to try out linux. You can basically run it off a USB stick before you install it to get a feel for what it’s like. Most “beginner friendly” distros will have tutorials on how to create the live disk. Example for Pop!_OS: https://support.system76.com/articles/live-disk/

Ok i’m reading up on this sub and not arch seems to be the consensus for a newbie. I want to download smth and just have it there without thinking bout it the way it is with windows. Not a hobby that i spend hours on.

Apparently theres many versions of linux you can get?