CobaltInferno

Agreed - OBSD has always been the model! (I was playing off of an earlier comment :-) )

At my time, OBSD was (is?) the security standard - but was server-oriented and lacked a lot of the applications I wanted. I ended up using https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Hardened_Gentoo which I liked a lot and was very much influenced by OBSD, but required a big honking machine.
Qubes running hardened Gentoo would be the way I'd go if I had the hardware and the energy; now I run Qubes with a straight forward fedora linux dist. and flush virtual machines regularly and frequently.
GOS is hardened and minimal (as was OBSD) - but has applications (as does Hardened Gentoo), and offers a LOT to a careful user.

    Windows 11 for work and gaming. No personal data on it

    I have a openbsd laptop and server for stuff that never leaves home network

    Keurig I've only tinkered with this on a cursory level for fun so can't give a definitive thumbs up/down, but Nobara Linux may be worth your time. Everyone who wants to migrate from Windows to Linux should be prepared for a bit of learning about how & why Linux works the way it does, to minimize pain points, there's no such thing as a completely seamless move from Windows to another OS.

    https://nobaraproject.org/

    As far as a gaming-focused Linux OS, this one seems right up there. Personally I really like some of the kernel enhancements offered by default, it saves a lot of time vs. doing it yourself and enables a better gaming experience. Privacy/security is not top priority, but it has all the enhanced security the Linux ecosystem already provides.

      Kubuntu, but have used Manjaro, Fedora and Linux Mint

      I use 2 laptops, both with linux (ZorinOS) and windows 10 LTSC. I also run 1 or 2 Windows OSes inside VMs.

      I use windows for programs I can't run in linux, and I don't do any private browsing on them including entering passwords.
      I use the linux OS for browsing and portable browsing (moving around the house)

      One machine has random mac, so it leaves no wifi foot print. The other doesn't so it stays wired with wifi disabled.

      When I need use the web I switch to linux. If I have to brows AND use windows apps, I either use 2 machines, or I run windows in VM without internet.

      It depends on usecase.

      I tried to switch to linux but many small things you take for granted in windows you have to make a big effort for in linux. Also not knowing how to increase the security and privacy on linux was a problem. Learning it was also a tall ask. So I just gave up and only use linux for browsing and maybe a VM to run windows in.

      If you want linux for a new person. I recommend you look at Zorin, Mint, and POPos. These 3 OSes make it really easy for new users and are quite robust. Mint and POP have strong support behind them. POP has latest Kernel out of box.

      Other linux OSes either lack some important comforts or are too technical. What I mean is, to alliviate some problems you have becoms too technical, and there are more basic problems (lacluster-ness) in them.

      Wanna make sure your SSD gets trim commands? Wanna have progress bar for basic file copy? wanna control the network input output / firewall? want to mount drives? Wanna install a driver? Wanna have a simple screen scaling like in wondows? well... Good luck with all that in linux.

        chromeOS. It just works and is actually secure. People are still impressed when they see two isolated Signals side-by-side with different color codings and it's not Qubes.

          alex

          any tips for using it in a private manner to minimize google tracking?

          • alex replied to this.

              applesbana Deactivate telemetry, go through the privacy settings, don't store sensitive stuff in Google Drive (alternatively encrypt your files before uploading). It can be quite straight forward

                2 months later

                [deleted] for newbie and hardware compatibility I would recommend Ubuntu or other Ubuntu based distros.

                  I would suggest to avoid qubes os as it is a nightmare for beginners.
                  Start learning with user friendly distros as ubuntu, kubuntu, mint with cinnamon or xfce, open suse with kde or xfce. Most windows like experience is with xfce or KDE. And there is Zorin os that tries to look like windows and it is based on Ubuntu or Debian, I'm not sure.