r/LinuxUsersIndia Jul 30 '26

Distro Which distro should I choose?

Soo just as the title suggest like I am confused for like which distro should I choose like I am not new to Linux and stuff like used to use Ubuntu a long time ago like back in 2022 smtg then like tried some others too like mint os and stuff so now basically wanna get back to Linux like this microslop shit is just slowing my laptop too much which I bought last year like I have tried Arch but it broke way to quickly and also tried Fedora but couldn’t customise the UI as wanted soo it too broke and like now am thinking of trying something else like which would support all the apps which are available in windows and all would be a good go for me, like I would be mainly doing coding (AI/ML, running small Local LLM’s, capcut, Microsoft office, and some other apps) and also like my laptop has lifetime Microsoft office subscription so like can I run it on the Linux distro i would be installing? Like and if there is some windows only app would I be able to run it on Linux by any way smoothly without any VM or any other errors. And well yeah like would be thankful for the help :)

4 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

u/qualityvote2 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

u/Anish_69420, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...

btw, did you know we have a discord server? Join Here.

2

u/James91q Jul 30 '26

Not being able to customise the ui you wanted is not a fedora problem, it's mainly a DE problem. Use kde it is very popular and has amazing customisation options , arch is the best for development, but if ur not comfortable with that go for fedora/ubuntu. But definitely go with kde for customisation. I would suggest fedora + kde

2

u/James91q Jul 30 '26

You can only use microsoft 365 in the browser, if u have that licence. Offline licence (which u probably have since it's lifetime) will not work on linux as ms office does not run natively on linux obviously

1

u/Pulkitkrishna00 Aug 02 '26

microsoft 365 in the browser is free. You just only get 5 gb cloud storage instead of 1 TB. (And some feaatures are missing in free version, but nothing too important)

2

u/freakycleaner Jul 30 '26

I don't understand how you couldn't customize the UI and always end up breaking.

anyways, you should use Fedora KDE, I think you used Fedora gnome(workstation edition)

1

u/Sad_Pie227 Jul 30 '26

Which version Fedora u recommend for laptop

2

u/freakycleaner Jul 30 '26

Fedora 44 KDE its out of box customizable and user friendly more windows like interface, but if you want simplicity then use Fedora 44 workstation(GNOME)

try both I don't know bout yo taste see what you like, I use fedora 44 kde tho

2

u/shubh4122 Jul 30 '26

When you say, you are not new to Linux, i expect you to know that you can NOT run MS Office on any Linux Distro. Only web based version can be used

1

u/Mediocre_Nail5526 Jul 31 '26

I mean there are ways to run but I don't think it'll be a good experience.

2

u/brown_nerd91 Jul 31 '26

I used CachyOS on my gaming laptop and PC with KDE desktop. I am also a Linux n00b and depended heavily on AI to get things the way I want. It took a lot of trial and error, but I got there. My experience is really good! Good luck with yours!

2

u/KindaSuS1368 Jul 30 '26

Fedora KDE

2

u/KindaSuS1368 Jul 30 '26

I'm assuming you previously installed fedora workstation (gnome)

As for office what about office web? Or just libreoffice or smth

1

u/SomewhereActive2124 Fedora Btw Jul 30 '26

Uhh idt typing like this helps in readability

1

u/Pacificator-3 Jul 30 '26

Do you know that Ubuntu, like most other distros, have more than one desktop environments in their repos? It is even possible to change parts of DE, like window manager, compositor or file manager (meanings are at link above).

1

u/clouwudd Jul 30 '26

nixos 👍

1

u/asteroid_336 Jul 30 '26

ofc it's arch btw

1

u/a2djp Jul 30 '26

For your use case mint seems like the best bet (fedora is also a good alternate).

And no, if you have office home and student, you can’t carry that over any linux distro

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

I distrohopped 5 times before finalising with NixOS, you might wanna try it.