@Tomedi :-
Newcomers need a distro that will most likely work out of the box (sound, video, network, keyboard, mouse, touchpoad...), so forget the ones that come without preinstalled codecs etc. Take Puppy, for example. Great distro, but setting up persitent storage is not something newcomer can easily do.
^^^ +1.
Couldn't agree more.
Despite being a committed Puppy "fanboi" for well over a decade [

], I remember - and
still know - that 'our Pup' is NOT the easiest lightweight distro to set-up. She's infinitely customizable, and unbelievably versatile (once you understand how she works).....but, because many things about Puppy are unique to her - and her ALONE - even I won't recommend her to beginners / noobs. If they learn Linux on Puppy, when they decide to go 'mainstream' they'll have to learn the nuts'n'bolts all over again (and to my mind that's not fair):-
- Sudo
- Apt-install
- Synaptic
- A full Bash vocabulary & suite of functions
...none of these exist in Puppy
(I guess Busybox has to shoulder some of the blame for much of the latter, since we have to put up with whatever it comes with OOTB; it's been a long-standing, integral part of Puppy since the very early days). As for "running-as-root", WELL.....as far as the wider Linux community is concerned, that alone is the biggest "crime" a user can possibly commit (because such has been drummed into them for more than 2 decades, since multi-user came along). The net result being that many people act as if they're afraid of their own machines, but.....I digress.
'Fear not root...'
Far better for noobs to learn 'standard' Linux practice & get used to that FIRST. Then, by all means, come and have a play with Puppy (with her odd ways of doing stuff) ONCE you have some experience under your belt. By then, you may be in a better position to appreciate 'our Pup's' finer points..!
She's an 'acquired taste', for sure.....but the vintage is superlative once your palate adjusts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Call me a 'traitor' if ya like (!), but I will direct beginners to Linux Mint. Simple as that. I used it briefly for a couple of weeks 10 years ago, during my initial distro-hopping phase; although it wasn't really to my taste, I could still appreciate the sheer amount of work that had been expended to make it easy-to-use.....and for beginners, dipping a toe into the waters of the Linux eco-system for the first time, this is ALL-IMPORTANT. We want to make them feel welcome, NOT send 'em away with a flea in their ear....
(
shrug...)
Mike.
