Linux mint

If they are not savvy enough to do troubleshooting themselves or have no one to ask for help, I think macOS would be the best (assuming money isn’t an issue). Otherwise, Linux Mint.

TempleOS

MacOS if they can afford it. Otherwise Linux Mint.

Are we assuming this person has never used any other operating system before?

Because I do think a lot of the perception of Linux being more difficult is just because people who grew up on Windows or MacOS have gotten so used to those that the inertia of trying something new is what's hard about it.

MacOS

If this average user doesn't need to use Microsoft or Apple software, Fedora Workstation Linux. My dad, who is 78 and of average intelligence can use it, anyone can.

Linux can run on older, used hardware, has no AI, no Apple or Microsoft account required.

What do they want to do?

An iPad with a keyboard can serve the needs of a significant amount of users. I know people for whom it’s their only device apart from a phone.

A hardcore gamer will want Windows. Linux can play a lot better of games natively or fairly easily via Proton. macOS has some good ones natively but playing via Wine is more complicated. Some specialized industry workflows will require it. Windows-only games and applications are the only reason to recommend Windows.

Mac/macOS is great general purpose hardware and software. Good applications are available for art, science, engineering and productivity and it’s certified Unix. The ecosystem can be slick—Handoff from/to iPhone, unlock with Watch, TimeMachine backups, etc. Support people are usually native speakers from the same country. Some good native games and some through Wine are possible but Window and Linux have significantly more.

Linux can work for basic email, productivity and web browsing. Gaming choices are better than macOS but Windows is still better. They don’t have to worry about ads or the next interface fad being forced on them. They’ll likely need a bit more hand-holding and support down the road. They’ll need a Linux guy but they can be up and running on old/cheap hardware.

MacOS.

I hate Apple, and I do not like how they operate. But I cannot deny how user friendly their OS is, how affordable their machines are (Mac mini) and how even those who do not know how to use a PC, can pick them up and use them.

Linux Mint is my second choice

Only Linux which feels like a normal PC, and 99% of features can be installed via UI. There are holes, and I feel an immutable OS would fill this niche better, but for now this is my number 2.

Fedora, now it's shockingly easy to use.

I silently replaced windows in the home PC and it took 2 months for the tech illiterate SO to say "WTF, why you put Apple on this PC, I thought you hated them" (put same username/password, same wallpaper, even Microsoft Edge)

At work I was shocked that I could login directly as user@windows.domain without any extra configuration. Plain vanilla fresh install, typed my active directory account for laughs, it worked 😲

Also at work I was shocked to see that I could just run the exe of the windows-only accounting software and everything works. I even installed LibreOffice in wine, lol (the accounting software needs soffice.exe for generating spreadsheets). I could even install foxit reader for windows 😂 (sorry, all the Linux PDF readers completely suck when printing, I need previews and booklet and all the extra features)

From my perspective, it kinda depends on what phone your friend has.

If they have an iPhone, and want to be able to integrate both systems, then macOS. If they're on Android, then Mint.

Prior to my shift to Linux, I was all in on Apple. My MacBook, iPad and iPhone all worked beautifully together. These days I have a Pixel running Graphene, and my computing is a mix of macOS and Kubuntu, and while I'm using Kubuntu my iPad is basically useless. KDE Connect is spotty at best, and while SyncThing theoretically works, it's too much of a faff to bother setting up. Oh, and Apple Music is essentially non-existent on Linux if you value lossless audio.

However, there are ways to integrate. Signal works well across the platforms for messaging, and even WhatsApp to some extent. Firefox is decent enough on iPad so you can sync tabs across. And WinBoat will run Apple Music in a VM, though that obviously takes a reasonable amount of utility from your computer.

Linux (probably mint or zorin), unless they need some specialty software ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Apple for sure. I dislike them personally, but their OS has a great UI/UX and is very user friendly. And their stuff just works together really seamlessly.

But, if all they do is browse the Internet, Linux is also a good option as long as you're ready to set it up for them and answer questions. I switched my 75yo mom to Mint when Win10 hit EoL and she hasn't had an issue.

Whatever Linux is being sold pre-installed on a machine within their budget.

Told my dad to buy a Dell laptop with Ubuntu preinstalled after his last Windows laptop died. He's been fine with that for the last 5 years.

Point blank generic recommendation? MacOS.

Otherwise, Linux is the endgame, so it's a matter of talking to the person to see what software is essential for them.

If you are mainly gaming, Bazzite. For everything else, Fedora.

Nice post to stir some shit, OP. 🍿

Mint, even though it’s becoming a bit of a boring hyped up answer. It does work out of the box and it’s got a good balance between being familiar enough for newcomers and a full Linux distro.

Also, I imagine the community must be HUGE by now, meaning lots of help out there if needed.

Nearing my 60s, very satisfied Linux Mint user. Obviously, it all depends what the user expects from their computer.

Depends, what do they wanna do with it?

Otherwise just the OS they are most comfortable with.

If they are equally uncomfortable with all options, and have only the most rudimentary requirements, probably a tablet using the same OS as their phone.

If they genuinely wanted to take my opinion on the best choice, even if it meant learning, Linux. Probably something like Mint to start.

Windows. If you do anything work related, you need to be able to use excel and word. It's still annoying shit, but it works and it's more stable/easier to use than linux. I have tried both. I say this with poison spitting out of my mouth, because I don't like the Microsoft AI and forced advertisement shit, but overall, the OS performs better, because desktop linux still has massive problems in 2026.

The linux community may claim that you can "do anything" on a linux system and "make it your own", but if you're not a 24-year-old tech god who can code, it's unfeasible. I tried several times to go on forums and ask for help regarding certain customization changes. Sometimes I got help, but it was very complicated. Most of the time, nobody answered in those threads or if they did, they blamed me for the "problem" and wrote stuff that didn't help at all. At some point you gotta go: Okay, this is nice and everything, but I want to play or work at some point and this is not capable of doing at least one of the two. And there is no official tech support to help you out if you need it. When I simply wanted to create 1 bug report, I had to create 4 different accounts on different bug report websites and they all got closed, because "it's not my department" or - I shit you not - "it's a serious problem and bug, but I don't have time to fix it".

I tried Linux Mint Cinnamon. The installer was so fucking shit, that it didn't recogneize the hard drive and therefore - without warning or telling me where it would install - tried to install itself on the very same USB-stick the install files (.iso) were on, erasing the install files in the process and crashing the entire install, while temporarily bricking the fucking system. The promise of "games are working now on Steam/linux due to Proton compatibility overlay" are greatly exaggerated. I tried starting about 15 games and of those only 2 would even start up. If you would post on the discussion forums, other (linux?) users would just respond with "but it works for me". Well, gosh, thanks you piece of shit, but that doesn't help me identify or fix the problem. And trying to run Word or Excel? "Oh man, you need a virtual machine just to run that, bro! You can't run it natively, because xhgaoohofa. Who even needs that, bro? Use LibreOffice, bro! It's enough, bro!" It's fucking shit. Get it running, I need to work. And your 500 shitty fonts in LibreOffice won't convince anyone that you're a professional. I want fucking Times New Roman and Calibri out of the box, because that's the standard for my office work, sorry.

Using Waterfox was a shit show. It's faster than regular Firefox, but then it proceeded to delete all of my passwords by default every time I closed it, without asking whether I wanted to do that or not beforehand. Then I had to find the fucking hidden option to disable that. I did. But this piece of shit software has a bug. So it ignores that I selected that "hidden" option and continues to delete all my account data and passwords. And linux bros will be like: "Oh, that's your fault, bro! Our linux programs have no bugs, bro [despite it being listed as an official bug on the fucking GitHub page - but they don't read that]! You have to use an external password manager, bro! It's totally safe to insert all your account data into a program from an unknown software developer without back-ups, bro!"

I can't even change the fucking window closing button design in linux mint without changing the theme of the entire fucking system. The buttons on there are MacOS-inspired and fucking tiny. I want easy to click big boxes like on Windows.

I still got that linux laptop, but I rarely use it, because everything is a fucking chore or doesn't work out of the box. The update manager - now that thing is GOOD! But I just want to set it to do update shit automatically and I can't. So every time I use this fucking system, I have to spend my time on authorizing those fucking update installs with my password manually.

Then there is the forking issue. There are 100000000 distros, because the developers are autistic, antisocial shitheads who don't understand that 1 distro with more integrated customization options would be sufficient and more efficient. So they all want their own distro and create a confusing mess where nobody understands what's happening anymore except for a few IT guys who can troubleshoot the shit they're fabricating on a regular intervall. What if I want to work AND game on the same system? I don't want to choose between linux mint and fucking bazzite. I want the functionality of both in one system. That's what Windows has managed to do for over 30 years now. Get your shit together. Same for the support. When I have a problem with the Linux Mint install launcher, I have to be redirected from Linux Mint support to fucking Ubuntu support, because the launcher is actually fucking Ubuntu and then Ubuntu redirects me to a special Ubuntu launcher support site where I have to file another report and then the developers/maintainers there redirect me to their personal GitHub page to file another report with another entirely different bug report form there only to tell me afterwards that s/he has no time to fix it, even though the bug is legit and then CLOSES the bug report. Excuse me, but get 1 (!) support website please and redirect reports INTERNALLY. I will NEVER file a bug report for a linux system again, that I can tell you. Go FUCK yourselves, linux mint developers!

And I don't understand the fucking hype of all these idiots around Steam. Steam is not open-source, it's not free (you have to buy the games with a big fee % for Valve). It's a multi-billion dollar for-profit, closed-system, privately owned company that has said "fuck you" to everyone who wanted Half Life 3 or the next Left 4 Dead for years. Despite having BILLIONS of USD at their disposal to make it happen. Don't get me started on fucking kid gambling with loot boxes and microtransactions in Counter Strike etc. Fuck these idiots! The dominant gaming market and launcher should be free, open source, non-profit and owned by everyone. I don't want to finance another yacht for Gaben. I want to finance more games, compatibility updates, optimized hardware drivers, remasters of retro games and so on.

To be honest, I hate a lot of todays technology industry and I have good fucking reasons for it. Computers were made to make our lives easier, but all they have managed to do is to make many people more socially isolated and working on them more of a chore than the original fucking paper work. Prove of that? You're currently reading a piece of fucking text of a person who you don't know instead of talking to a friend in person. Probably in a darkened room cave so that the light doesn't interfere with the screen brightness.

EDIT: If you downvote my comment, at least have the balls to comment why.

You say Mac or windows unless you have a death wish to be their eternal tech support

Depends on what they need it for.

Gaming, rendering, anything that needs lots of power and driver support - Windows

Music production, video editing, graphic design - MacOS

Programming, or people who want full control over their system - Linux

Don't listen to Apple fanboys. You absolutely do not need to spend $1000 to take notes and browse the internet.