It was always a pleasure to meet new people and explain how basically "their computer is working" and how they can free from Windows.
The most interested person at that time was a 55 years old woman who knew nothing in computer. I installed Ubuntu on its computer and she came the next year with strong system knowledge for a linux-newbie, and the same laptop... with Debian in it!
As for the distributions mentioned, the points are definitely sage, but I would argue that the Flatpak-centered Fedora Silverblue is the best distribution for beginners, and that the sentence "...but the system can be potentially more unstable than Debian" is no longer true nowadays.
1:14 Arch record https://youtu.be/8utpbbdj0LQ (jokes aside the tmux trick is insane didn’t even know you could do that before I saw this video)
They used the regular Anaconda installer (used for Feodra, RHEL and related distros) to install the rootfs from a tarball, even doing a live demo - tha machine was doingn something - the reybooted it into the installer, which wiped the storage, unpacked the tarball and configured the system. After reboot the new system was up, ready to do something else - all in less than 60 seconds, including 2 reboots, back in 2013.
I'm also interested in smartphone operating systems like Ubuntu Touch and postmarketOS etc.
- make sure bring extension chords, and make sure you have enough fast wifi for all participants
- bring enough USB-s. Installation on older laptops can take time
- ventoy is useful
- for beginners stick to Fedora/Debian. Popular distros come and go, but these two are constant and will be supported for a long time
- don't give options to beginners if they don't ask for it. You will induce paralysis of choice
- automatic dual boot setup by Debian installer works very well. Partition shrinking on Windows isn't scary as I thought before
- sometimes you can't install BIOS/UEFI drivers without windows (on older devices). You maybe want to do that before installing Linux
- i think it is good to have a windows installation ready. At least for windows boot loader recovery if anything goes bad
- bitLocker can be PITA. Don't lock users device
- after installation update system
- write some material, what-to-do-after-installation guide, and give to participants. Maybe create group on some social network or messaging app
For a risk free just trying out, have linux live usb sticks prepared.
Would it be possible to create a Zorin OS USB drive that after inserting it into the USB drive of a laptop:
The user would get a running Linux, with the UX they know(win 10/11), with full speed and full capabilities - without installation ?
