this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2025
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Makes some good points, mint is the closest experience you can get to windows. And one thing I think people who are getting uppity about the idea of that don't get is, if you want more mainstream adaptation of Linux, YOU. NEED. THAT.

I remember the story of a man trying to get his mom onto Linux and she broke down crying at one point because learning all the new things was stressful for her, completely turned her off of Linux.

Mint isn't for the sweaty arch-bros of the world, it's a valuable onboarding tool for the rest of us who didn't spend our childhood scripting shell commands to do random shit on our PC's in grade school. IMHO, Adapt to accessibility or get the hell out of the way.

[–] mrcleanup@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

I dunno, I use Garuda and it's an Arch distro. It's been super user friendly and I've only had to learn console stuff when I wanted to mess with stuff most casual users wouldn't be bothered with.

And maybe you would say, "well that's not really representative of a normal Arch install" but isn't that the point of different distros? That anyone can build on functionality to do something like make Arch more user friendly?

[–] CannonGoBoom@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

An update black screened his system and corrupted his time shift backups. So he gave Linux Mint a shot and has been using it for several weeks.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 14 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Could very well happen on Mint as well. Should switch to atomic, if that's his main concern.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Mint is a good choice because it has an easy timeshift option, so a problem in an update is just a rollback/recover. Same as Snapper Rollback on distros like OpenSUSE, it means a non savvy Linux user can reboot and have it fixed. That is appealing for a lot of users that don't want to bother with finding the fix

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 5 points 1 week ago

According to the previous comment, he had Time Shift but the files were corrupted.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Does ubuntu have this? Or does one need to install something to set this up

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

You can install time shift on Ubuntu, with Mint it is part of the install process iirc, and default snapshotting with OpenSUSE install

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It could happen with anything, but since Mint 17.3 (2015) the only serious corruption I've experienced is during a major OS upgrade. I had far more problems with Windows.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Won't happen with atomic. If the update fails, it just automatically rolls back.

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Had a backup so it was not a big deal. Only one major issue in a decade is more than reliable enough IMO.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago

Right, I was speaking to the situation in the OP, not yours.

[–] Eyedust@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago

I agree here. Taking the time to learn how to use a distro with atomic updates is a nice skill to have anyway. I spent a couple months learning Nixlang on NixOS and it was damn near unbreakable.

But I'd like to add: Did he not have an external drive for his irreplaceable data? Any Linux user worth their salt knows that anything could happen at any time and frequent external backups is the number one way to avoid disaster in any distro. Pair that with a repository keeping your dotfiles updated and its smooth sailing. If you lose your data at that point the world has deemed you unworthy of having it.

I know I praise Timeshift on some of my other comments, but it should be common sense that backing up your system on your system is not the greatest backup plan. Its only the first line of defense.