this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2026
55 points (82.4% liked)
Linux
63358 readers
869 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
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I'm probably the same as you. I like computers, I like technical stuff, a command line is intimidating but not scary, I don't hate troubleshooting and fixing my own computer when I inevitably break something (well, I hate troubleshooting less than I hate trusting anyone else with my computer), and I got into Linux for political reasons (one, freedom and community are important to me as a communist, two, I don't feel comfortable using products from US companies, if I can avoid it, at this time) and went with something based on Debian.
The difference is that I'd never used Linux before when I found out it existed and was already thinking that it'd be nice if I could ditch Windows because I really don't want to rely on US corpos anymore.
Yeah. If you don't want to treat your computer like a project car, you want it to be like a reliable mom van, you want Debian based stability, not the cool bleeding edge stuff.
Though, I will say, a spare computer to tinker with and bleeding edge stuff does cost less than most mechanical projects. (My dad has multiple project cars. My mum yells at him about it in front of the rest of the family. At least he does tend to sell them for a small profit when he gets them running smoothly, he likes doing the project and making money off it more than he actually likes any of the busted up cars he buys as projects. My mum mostly just doesn't like all the space they take up.)
ⓘ This user is suspected of being a bear. Please report any suspawcious behaviour.
I like the reliable mom van example. You can paint the rims all nice, put some stickers on it, hang up your fuzzy dice. But it's still getting the kids home from soccer practice.
Yep. I love doing wacky or interesting graphical shit to make my computer look neat, but I also like for the important stuff to be stable day to day for common tasks. Which is why Debian based distros are the best ones.
ⓘ This user is suspected of being a bear. Please report any suspawcious behaviour.