More specifically GNOME.
Now before I begin let me say that this isn't about which Linux distribution or desktop environment is 'better' than another.
Different
More people are becoming aware of Linux everyday. Many of these people seriously consider giving it a try. As it happens, they are often helped along by experienced Linux users they know like you and me. We are ambassadors of sorts for the Linux community. While there are plenty of great 'selling points' to Linux, it is very important that new users coming from the Windows world understand that Linux is different from the ubiquitous OS. It is this fact that got me thinking recently while helping a new Linux user get started.
Perceptions
I recently helped a friend install a Linux distribution. I set him up with a nice looking KDE desktop which he proceeded to dive into. I gave him a brief crash course and left him to explore his new OS. I returned the next day to find my friend rather frustrated. As he started to tell me about his problems his first words were "Well, this is like Windows in some ways but...". The comparisons to Windows continued from there.
After explaining to him that Linux was different from Windows I offered to help him Install GNOME. He decided to try it and I commenced installing it.
After installing GNOME I had my friend restart. Once the GNOME desktop was up and running the first words I heard from my friend were "Wow! This is different". That's when it clicked in my mind. "This is different". That's the point he failed to grasp and I failed to impart when he started his Linux experience with KDE.
Perceptions matter. My friend saw the initial similarities between KDE and Windows and his perception was not of an alternative operating system but of a Windows clone. Because GNOME looks quite different from the standard Windows UI my friend perceived his new Linux OS to be something new and different. The Windows comparisons from my friend stopped and the questions now centered around "How do I...".
The point here is not that GNOME is better for new users than KDE. The point is to make certain that new Linux users understand that their new operating is different from what they've been using. I have to wonder what part this issue of perceptions has played in the success of Ubuntu.
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Agreed Tim.
Perception is reality--everyone approaches things differently according to their own reality and life experiences.
As for myself, I deal with the potholes in the road of life and take them in stride in large part because I am a glutton for punishment. ;)
New users approaching Linux bring their own 'baggage' or expectations, if you will. A lot of Windows knowledge is not wasted on Linux, but making the assumption that it 'looks like Windows' so it must work like Windows is understandable but might lead to frustration.
Getting users to understand that being 'different' isn't bad is crucial because as familiarity builds and realization that everything is easy once you know how will hopefully help keep the frustration level at a minimum and the learning level up.
So, as you have pointed out, there may be some advantage for the user recognizing from visual cues that they are dealing with something 'different', at the outset, so as to not set up a false expectation. In that sense, I personally find GNOME is an excellent starting point for new users of Linux.
Great insights Tim!
--Dietrich