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this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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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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Linux users can't even agree on what distro is actually beginner friendly, so how am I supposed to pick one with any confidence?
Easy. You make a post like the OP, count the positive mentions of distros in the comments, and bam, you have your distro of choice. It's called the Linux newbie roulette and works kind of like the magic hat in Harry Potter that sorts you into your house.
@Default_Defect @Magnolia_ The best Distro for beginners is the one, a friend or family member can give support.
I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in my circle who even knows what Linux is.
You are on the path to be that family member or friend for someone else. Welcome.
You are on the path to be that family member or friend for someone else.
I know its one of the strengths of Linux, but I can't help but laugh that the response to "you can't agree on one, how can I?" is for several people to suggest several distros.
what do you think about:. "you don't need to choose one" and "you don't need other people to choose for you" and "distro isn't that important in many cases"
I can agree 100% on what distros I use for what types of computer. And I can agree 100% on what I'd have used now, if i were a beginner again.
But all i can recommend to a stranger is, backup all your stuff properly,
try a few out (v.m. or liveCD/Ventoy) and be prepared to change.
make sure to check application versions in the base software repository - for any programs where that matters to you. and ease of updating - if that matters to you. and check out some flatpak if you think that might be a useful way to get extra applications or in some cases up to date.
if in doubt, choose gentoo /s
The solution is to not be cconfident and remain open minded. You can switch any time
The thing is, I don't care to distrohop and experiment with this or that. I just want to use my computer. Until I see a distro that can convince me that switching will be actually painless (not 'long time linux user painless', but 'casual new user that does more than just web browse' painless) I'll just use windows.
What would you need for convincing?
Specifically? I don't know. It would likely help if the conversation around new user distros was a bit less of an argument or if the number of suggested distros was a bit less. It would help with the decision paralysis aspect of it at least. I see enough threads of experienced users troubleshooting more than I really want to deal with, I stopped maintaining my modded skyrim installation because I was fixing when I could be playing and I don't like the idea of my whole computer being like that because I chose the wrong hardware (I have nvidia)
The simple way is to dual boot or even simpler, set up a Linux distro in a Windows VM.
Let's you play/see if the distro works for you.
TBH, I've got 1 machine where Windows is more problematic than the Ubuntu that is setup to dual boot... Can't bring myself to do a fresh install of Windows lol...
Thank you for the reply!
Fair. Though, I suppose we shouldn't ignore that the promoted distros are mostly the distros people use for themselves. And, while some have been on a distrohopping spree to arrive at their home. Others, instead, just got a recommendation, tried it and have been using it ever since. Yet others knew what they sought and/or needed. Hence, in their case, it was more a search to find a distro that satisfied their specific needs. Finally, it's perhaps worth mentioning that the popular distros mentioned in these discussions are overall good picks.
Absolutely fair. Unfortunately, we've got over 300 distros that are currently maintained and 50 would argue they're newbie friendly 😅. It's a hard one for sure. But, I believe you can definitely narrow down the list if you know what you want. For example, in my case, there's literally only one distro that answers my needs. So, I just use that one 😅.
Brings back memories. This process took me about two weeks.
On the other hand, people that don't ever experience any issues, don't feel the need to post about that 😅. But, I can understand why it could make you anxious. Thankfully, distro choice does play an important factor in this. So, it makes sense for you to use a distro that's designed to (somehow) avoid this and thus limits the amounts of troubleshooting you'd have to resort to.
Absolutely fair. Nvidia on Linux can definitely be a mess. The more popular and modern models should work on most distros. However, if your specific model is more obscure, then this can definitely cause more trouble than it's worth.
Linux is a niche. Picking any distro that isn't the most popular is going one step deeper into a niche. A niche, within a niche.
Just use the most popular distro... Ubuntu
Problem solved.
Ubuntu isn't the most popular and hasn't been for a while. It actually has a lot of issues new users are likely to run into, including lots of spurious error messages. Apparently the top 5 according to distro watch is: MX Linux, Mint, EndeavorOS, Debian, and Manjaro.
So essentially debian, arch and ubuntu derivatives.
I'm sorry, I can't believe that MX Linux and EndeavorOS are popular or recommended. I've never heard of those or seen any recommendations for that.
I've seen Mint recommended.
People pushing arch on newbies? Wtf?
If you haven't heard of EndeavorOS that's because you are out of the loop. Entirely your issue. It's a much better alternative to Manjaro essentially.
Also that's general popularity according to page hits, nothing to do with newbies. Newbies aren't the majority of Linux users.
Not that there is anything wrong with recommending EndeavorOS to Newbies. The whole point of arch derivatives like that is to make installing arch simpler and easier for the user. Arch is actually a better base distro imo than say Ubuntu for this. It has packages for pretty much anything in the AUR, no digging up PPAs for everything. Likewise it's all up-to-date too.
I don't remember MX Linux ever being that popular before, but maybe I am out of the loop.
I fucking hate Ubuntu. Mostly because you're right.
That's really depending on your use cases, for example if I want to install distro for my grandma use Mint, for a graphic guy (as in this example) use Arch or Fedora (or even OpenSUSE), etc.