Hi all, thanks in advance for indulging a complete newbie! I'd like to try Linux on an 11-year-old MacBook Pro (gifted by a relative), but I don't know where to start. What distribution would you recommend based on my background?
-Coming from the Mac world; haven't used a PC/Windows since before the pandemic. I'd prefer something that feels similar to MacOS.
-Not a techie. I've forgotten everything (everything!) I ever learned about command line because I never ended up needing to use it, and I haven't had to debug anything in a long time.
-What I'll be using it for: accessing the internet, various kinds of creative projects that I'll probably try making with FOSS software (something I've only recently started to look into), and making another attempt at learning programming (my interest will probably peter out before I get anywhere with it, though, because that's what happened the last two times). Probably won't be gaming. I'd prefer having the option to use mainstream office software in case anything happens to my current computer, but I don't actually expect anything to happen to it in the next few years, so that's just a nice-to-have.
-Priorities: works on old Mac hardware, good for privacy, decent software availability, not buggy, ability to avoid generative AI (i.e., no repeat of Apple installing the Image Playground app on my computer along with a software update, without the ability to remove it.)
It seems like a lot of people recommend Ubuntu or Linux Mint to beginners, but I'm seeing some people complaining that Ubuntu is has spyware(?) and forces things users don't want, and it seems like Linux Mint is usually recommended to people coming from Windows, so IDK if either of those make sense for me. Advice/recommendations appreciated!
By old Mac hardware I assume you mean x86-64 Intel Macs? Pretty much any modern distro should work on that.
If you are in general ok with tinkering a bit with your computer, I'd recommend Arch derivatives like EndeavourOS or CachyOS, these come with full GUI installers and software availability on Arch is one of the widest around.
Arch is rolling release, though, meaning each package gets updated as soon as a new version is available, rarely it leads to things breaking.
If you want something more stable, Fedora is a great choice, too.
As you mentioned yourself, Mint also exists. It's packages are usually on the older side, but the distro itself is trying to be this "gateway drug of Linux".
The feel of the system is mostly determined not by your distribution, though, but rather by your desktop environment. As far as I know, GNOME is the most "Mac-like" out of popular ones. KDE is "Windows done right", and there are a lot of other options, but you'll mostly have to try them out yourself until you find something you like.
Yeah, it's an Intel Mac. Intel Core i5, which appears to be in that x86-64 range if I'm understanding correctly.
I think I'd prefer stability over rolling release. One of the things I've really appreciated about Apple's stuff is not having to deal with zillions of updates, like I did with my last PC. I'm not sure what you consider to be tinkering "a bit" with a computer, but I haven't had to do that in a long time, and I suspect I'll be happiest keeping that to a minimum (at least for now). So based on this, I'll look at Fedora and Mint.
Thank you for all of this info!
This is a fantastic comment!
To add to this I would start towards Fedora as it's stable but also fresh, and as lots of people have been saying try Gnome as your desktop environment.
Interesting, what do you mean by "fresh"?