Linux

57393 readers

360 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 6 years ago

MODERATORS

AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml

nooter692@lemmy.ml

MarcellusDrum@lemmy.ml

cypherpunks@lemmy.ml

cyclohexane@lemmy.ml

d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz

Are distros really different or is it more about preference? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 4 days ago by Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca to c/linux@lemmy.ml

72 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've been working and testing to switch my main PC (used for work like audio recording, music, and general multimedia) and have been playing with Ubuntu Studio on my laptop. Loving it so far but I keep seeing people talk about CachyOS, Bazzite, or the new Debian Trixie.

I'm having trouble finding what's really different about all these distros aside from how they look or slight changes in how they do things (I know Ubuntu Studio has a low latency kernel which seems important for what I need to do). Is there a big difference? Like, if I go with Ubuntu Studio am I gonna end up wiping everything and installing CachyOS or Bazzite or something in a month because it's better? Or are all these distros basically the same thing with a different look and feel and as long as I choose one that gets regular updates, it doesn't matter fundamentally?

I'm trying to grasp the Linux concept but being a Windows user my whole life I'm struggling to 'get it'. Instead of trying to understand in the contex of Windows or Mac, is a better comparison Apple/Android? Like iPhones would be similar to both Mac and Windows (you don't get to choose much) and Android would be Linux (I know it's built on it haha) and it's really just a bunch of different options to do the same thing?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] cRazi_man@europe.pub 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Noob opinion: they're all the same, you're just choosing from the minor differences in the quirks one has over another and it would be easy enough to work around those if you were motivated to.

The real difference is the DE, how quickly updates are pushed, good GUI on a package manager and if it is immutable or not.

For noobs like me it also helps if it has a lot of users so I can find forum posts about my specific problem. Vetrans keep saying that online documentation is enough, but I wouldn't even know where to start with applying generic instructions to my installation (e.g. how is a wiki going to be able to tell me that my low framerates in Street Fighter 6 are because of split lock protections on my CPU). How would I diagnose the problem to know where to look? This is the major appeal of Debian based systems.