I ran Chakra for a while -- although it's been a few years -- and wouldn't recommend them to people looking to switch from Windows. Unfortunately they weren't careful enough with their rolling updates and they would intermittently break installed applications, including at one point smb. So one day I could connect to Windows shares, the next day I couldn't.

If it's been more than a year since you've used a distribution, your opinion, positive or negative, is likely innacurate. The Linux community iterates at an order of magnitude faster then the windows or Mac ecosystem. The Chakra of today is far smoother than the ones a few years back.

True. I wasn't clear, but it was more a criticism of the project's management, which iterates far more slowly. But still, that's why I mentioned it had been a few years -- so anybody could dismiss my experience as they wished.

fwiw though I took a quick look at their -stable forums (http://chakraos.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=32) and there are several recent threads related to updates breaking things. I realize that will to some extent be a problem on any platform, but it seems disproportional on Chakra.

And in any case, that probably makes it a poor recommendation for Linux novices switching from Windows.

fair enough. then switch to KaOS. :)

Or Kubuntu if you like to get help from then now abundant Ubuntu/Debian "how to" stuff on internet.

Also, avoid the problem of "privacity" with normal Ubuntu, as not use Canonical desktop stuff.

If you read up on Jonathan Riddell's (and the FSF and SFLC's) spat with the Ubuntu Community Council [1], you wouldn't touch Kubuntu with a 10-foot pole.

1. https://lwn.net/Articles/645973/