this is a topic i’ve been heavily involved with because i still consider myself to be someone who prefers using technology at a very beginner friendly level, plus it’s very good when a linux operating system makes you feel right at home when it has a modern desktop environment. this is why i really like gnome, its simplicity and usability is something available for everyone, for beginners and for a lot of other people, but if you had to, say, rearrange xfce or kde for someone who was an elderly person or an absolute beginner so that they wouldn’t have any trouble using linux, how would you do it? (screenshot is my current linux mint desktop, very simple and extremely user friendly!!!)
I think linux mint is already there.
I don’t even know how could it be simplified more. It’s really basic.
The only obstacle there is the previous familiarity with other operative systems that could make change bard. But I’m pretty sure that if you put anyone truly novice in tech in front of linux mint and windows 11, they’ll have an easier time on linux mint.