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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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

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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?

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[–] JeremyHuntQW12@lemmy.world 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You mean opaque.

And you will definitely find out about libraries if you attempt to install anything.

Some packages will install in your home directory, others, for no apparent reason will spread themselves around the system in the area only available in administration mode. Good luck finding where it all went. The only way I can find is to look at the path in Synaptic, most package managers won't record it.

[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

This...I don't understand what this is.

No distro managed by a package manager would be dropping files all over the place as you're suggesting, not would it require you to interact with or even know which libraries you have installed because it's all automatically handled by said package manager.

If you're installing out of band packages, you're talking about a different thing, and that's the package maintainer's fault, not the distro and their maintainers.