Im literally a Linux support guy for a living and even I think people can be obnoxious recommending Linux.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll shit on Windows when I get the chance, but I get why people either have to use it or just don’t want the hassle of Linux.
Sorta related. I'm gonna be moving in a couple months and decided I want to start dipping my toes Into Linux when I do. I want to set up a mini pc hooked up to my TV as my 'streaming box', not planning on doing anything fancy like iptv or any of the RR suite apps/self hosting since I don't actually watch much TV except for movie nights and the odd TV show.
OK here's my actual question, what's a solid simple distro I can set up and not fuss with much that'll serve that purpose?
Realistically it'll just be for browsing the free streaming sites and possibly later on setting up old console/arcade emulators.
My tech level is 'go to guy in the non tech related office that fixes pc stuff 90 percent of the time'.
Bonus if anyone can recommend a mini pc or brand I should look into.
Not the guy you asked, an he may have a better recommendation, but Linux Mint Cinnamon was incredible for when I needed something that just worked out of box. It’s really good in terms of compatibility and defaults to a super usable system right out of the box.
You could take a look at Kodi for more of a "smart TV" vibe. I'm currently running it on a RPi 4 using the LibreELEC OS (very minimal Debian based distro), and I'm really happy with it. I'm mostly using it to watch YouTube, our country's national TV and my locally stored series and movies.
I get it.
Im literally a Linux support guy for a living and even I think people can be obnoxious recommending Linux.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll shit on Windows when I get the chance, but I get why people either have to use it or just don’t want the hassle of Linux.
Sorta related. I'm gonna be moving in a couple months and decided I want to start dipping my toes Into Linux when I do. I want to set up a mini pc hooked up to my TV as my 'streaming box', not planning on doing anything fancy like iptv or any of the RR suite apps/self hosting since I don't actually watch much TV except for movie nights and the odd TV show.
OK here's my actual question, what's a solid simple distro I can set up and not fuss with much that'll serve that purpose? Realistically it'll just be for browsing the free streaming sites and possibly later on setting up old console/arcade emulators. My tech level is 'go to guy in the non tech related office that fixes pc stuff 90 percent of the time'. Bonus if anyone can recommend a mini pc or brand I should look into.
Not the guy you asked, an he may have a better recommendation, but Linux Mint Cinnamon was incredible for when I needed something that just worked out of box. It’s really good in terms of compatibility and defaults to a super usable system right out of the box.
You could take a look at Kodi for more of a "smart TV" vibe. I'm currently running it on a RPi 4 using the LibreELEC OS (very minimal Debian based distro), and I'm really happy with it. I'm mostly using it to watch YouTube, our country's national TV and my locally stored series and movies.