Finally making the transition from Windows to a Linux. I’m pretty sure it’s been asked several times but which Linux OS would you recommend a beginner to use? I’ve seen Ubuntu and Mint as a good start. Not looking to do much. Game here and there (not too worried about Linux compatibility), streaming, editing videos. If I break any rules. I’m sorry.

  • hperrin ( hperrin@lemmy.ca ) English
    38·
    11 个月前

    Mint or Fedora. You’ll get tons of responses, and none of them are wrong, because no one can tell you what’s best for you, but those are the most popular choices among newbies, and they are very user friendly and approachable.

    The best advice I can give you is try a bunch of different ones and see which one you like best. They’re free and easy to reinstall if you end up liking one over another.

    Best of luck and I hope you find one that you truly love. :)

  • Ooops ( Ooops@feddit.org ) 
    18·
    11 个月前

    Linux is linux. In the end it’s more your personal taste with just a little sprinkle of use case that decides.

    The main differences are:

    • Update speed: How quickly are the repositories getting updates. That’s a spectrum between getting cutting edge version in days or weeks or having things unchaged for up to several years. Or in other worlds you will see more bugs in freshly released software, but also bugfixes often within days. Compared to getting new feature only after years, but rarely any bugs (the very few ones that slip through… well, you will get the fix in a few years). That’s also where use case plays a bigger role. If you use very new hardware and want software that uses their newest features, a rather stale slow updating distro might not be the right fit for you.

    • Update scheme: Fixed vs. continues release. Continues releases are slowly but constantly changing over time but once installed they can basically used forever. While fixed releases are mostly just shipping critical bugfixes and security patches and doing everything else in big release steps (think in terms of Windows upgrades here: You mostly have the same thing for years but at a certain point there is a newer version that might bring changes in defaults, new pre-installed software, UI changes etc. and after a couple of years you lose support if you don’t do that step).

    Also more depending on your personal taste and habits:

    • How much are you willing or interested in tinkering? Basically all distros give you access to all software. But what is pre-installed changes, both in what is provided by default and also how much software is there already. For example do you want stuff for video editing set up already or don’t you care as you will test out all the options available anyway?

    • The same is true the basic desktop environment. Gnome and KDE are the two big ones (with some more oftens based or forked from those two). And it mostly a difference of “here is our environment exactly as we think it’s best with very little customisation” (Gnome - also the one with most forks, by people who did not agree with the Gnome devs vision) and “have fun customising” (KDE). Is customising stuff to your liking your thing? Or do don’t care and also prefer something as close to what you are used to on Windows? Again: Distros have all the options available. But some have one environment or the other pre-installed. Or they come in different flavors from the beginning. If customisation isn’t your cup of tea the decision on a certain distro matters much more.

    Other considerations:

    • Immutable distros are more on the newer end of things. They are basically designed more like for example Android. There is a base system that rarely changes and allows basically a “reset ot factory settings”, with updates and additionally installed software provided as incremental changes and/or highly containerised. That has benefits (you can revert screw ups easily) but also drawbacks (decades of available linux instructions are now worthless until you really understand where that regular config file you can’t edit anymore is now located in some separate container only used by one specific piece of software - and most people that google for such solutions don’t). Again this is mostly decided by habits. Are you expecting to tinker with your system or do you just want something that works on its own that neither you or an upgrade cannot possibly break. In the latter case an immutable distro can be the thing for you. And as always… you have all the options and you can also setup most other distros with extensive systems of “save points” to revert problematic changes anyway.

    Things to not consider:

    • ignore the answers speaking about “it provides WINE for running windows stuff” or “it comes with NVIDIA drivers” because they basically all do (minus the already mentioned combination of running cutting edge hardware with very slow updating distros - that’s not a good idea). At the worst it usually requires clicking some “Yes, I don’t insist on open source stuff exclusively but will also to use proprietary drivers if available” checkbox in the installer.
  • thingsiplay ( thingsiplay@beehaw.org ) 
    17·
    11 个月前

    This question is probably as old as Linux itself. While many (me included) do not like Ubuntu anymore, I still think its a good operating system for newcomers to Linux. Not at last because of the community it has. Ubuntu is only by those dislike who are long enough in this game. There are also different variants with different user interfaces and such (like Kubuntu).

  • salacious_coaster ( salacious_coaster@infosec.pub ) English
    17·
    11 个月前

    Mint is popular for beginners. I went with Debian KDE because I wanted something a little more minimalistic and boring. Fedora and OpenSUSE are also good options.

    If you want to stick with a Windows-like desktop, pick a KDE distro over GNOME.

    • who ( who@feddit.org ) English
      5·
      11 个月前

      If you want to stick with a Windows-like desktop, pick a KDE distro over GNOME.

      I like KDE Plasma, too. Thankfully, most desktop distros have it in their repositories, so even if they use GNOME or some other desktop by default, you can install and switch to KDE after the initial OS install. I’m pretty sure this includes Linux Mint.

      • imecth ( imecth@fedia.io ) 
        7·
        11 个月前

        Switching desktop environments can be tricky, it’s better to do a clean install - especially for dotfiles which can cause bugs, and get the distro spin that you want from the get-go.

        • who ( who@feddit.org ) English
          1·
          11 个月前

          I’ve never had logging in with a different desktop environment cause problems. (And I wouldn’t expect to. The desktop session selector on the login screen is there for a reason, after all.) Your comment makes me wonder what desktops you tried that stepped on each other, and what bugs you’re referring to.

          In any case, if I had an experience like what you describe, I would simply re-create my user account and its home directory. Going through a whole OS install as you suggest would burn a lot more time with no advantage, which doesn’t seem “better” to me. To each their own, I guess.

          Remember as well that your “distro spin” approach is only possible if such a spin exists. Example: If someone wants Linux Mint for its beginner-friendly community support, but also wants to try KDE Plasma, they can. But they’re going to have to install Plasma after the base OS, and switch.

          • imecth ( imecth@fedia.io ) 
            1·
            11 个月前

            https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=297558. this is just the first thing that came up, i’m sure there are hundreds of similar bugs. bottom line is when you install two things next to each other that aren’t being actively tested together, you’re bound to run into issues.

            My recommendation is that if there are no spin with your favorite DE, you simply do not use that distribution as it’s not being tested against.

            • who ( who@feddit.org ) English
              1·
              11 个月前

              Sorry you had bad luck there.

              My recommendation is that if there are no spin with your favorite DE, you simply do not use that distribution

              I guess that’s one way to be sure, but to me it seems excessively limiting. I have switched desktops on Debian-based distros, and the only tidying up I remember being needed was removal of the old desktop’s packages (to de-clutter my application menus) and a reboot (to launch the new display manager).

              My recommendation to a new user would be to try whatever distro/desktop combo is appealing, and if it doesn’t work out, either do some troubleshooting or just move on to another one. It might not be a path as well tread as the distro’s default, but it might work fine. You’ll never know if you don’t try.

              as it’s not being tested against.

              That’s untrue in at least some cases. Of course, different distros have different policies and people maintaining their desktop packages, so YMMV.

              • imecth ( imecth@fedia.io ) 
                1·
                11 个月前

                Downstream distros are a bit of a special case, as they don’t really test these packages so much as inherit them from upstream, so what you’re actually getting is ubuntu’s and debian’s version of GNOME in Mint for example. If you’re going to do that, I’d just cut out the middleman and go upstream here as Mint isn’t bringing anything of value, worse it’s just another vector for untested bugs.

    • Tja ( Tja@programming.dev ) 
      4·
      11 个月前

      What is there to learn about Linux filesystems? How is it different from a Windows filesystem, from the perspective of an average user?

      Lesson one: files Lesson two: folders Here’s your diploma.

      • HelloRoot ( HelloRoot@lemy.lol ) English
        4·
        11 个月前

        Linux filesystems exam time:

        section A basics

        1. what does CoW stand for?

        2. evaluate through pros and cons which you personally would pick: Btrfs, ZFS, F2FS, bcachefs, OverlayFS, aufs, Nilfs2, JFFS2, UBIFS

        section B btefs

        1. what exactly happens when running this command, including how qgroups, compression, and recursion interact?
        btrfs balance start -dusage=5 -musage=20 -c zstd \
    --bg /srv/vms && \
btrfs qgroup limit 50G /srv/vms/guests/win10
        1. explain the effect of the following command on device allocation, RAID reshaping, and metadsta distribution:
        btrfs device add -f /dev/nvme2n1 /home && \
btrfs balance start -mconvert=raid1 -dconvert=raid1 -sconvert=dup /home
        1. describe what this snapshotting pipeline does, including send stream structure, parent selection, and how receive-side overwrites are handled:
        btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /opt/app /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) && \
btrfs send -c -p /opt/.snaps/last-full \
    /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) \
    | ssh backup 'btrfs receive -f /backup/opt/incoming'
        1. what actions occur on the filesystem when this defrag call is executed, especially regarding extent sharing and how compression interacts?
        btrfs filesystem defrag -r -v -czstd:15 \
    /var/lib/docker/overlay2
        1. analyze subvolume management sequence, including how default-subvolume selection influences mount behavior:
        btrfs subvolume delete /mnt/root/@old && \
btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /mnt/root/@clean /mnt/root/@ && \
btrfs subvolume set-default 256 /mnt/root

        section C zfs

        […]

        /s

        • Damage ( Damage@feddit.it ) 
          11·
          11 个月前

          That’s for sysadmins.

          These days I don’t even care what fs I use, I just let the distro choose its default, I simply make sure encryption is enabled.

        • Tja ( Tja@programming.dev ) 
          2·
          11 个月前

          Answer for all questions: the average user doesn’t care, won’t run any of those, won’t know what fs is on their system because they will choose the default what the installer suggests. Same as they have no idea about all the ntfs or exfat details of their windows system.

  • ludrol ( ludrol@programming.dev ) 
    14·
    11 个月前

    editing videos

    What program will you use?

    I have heard that DaVinci resolve is very hard to set up. as for Kdenlive, I have used it few times, and it felt very clunky.

    I would go with mint if you have older hardware and bazzite if you have new hardware (especially nvidia graphics card). If you really want windows-like layout check zorin OS.

    for actuall advice: I would try a bunch of them and stick with one where video editing works.

  • ExtremeUnicorn ( ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org ) 
    10·
    11 个月前

    As someone who’s been in this for a while, go with Mint.

    It’s not a “beginner distro”. You can start there, you can stay there as long as you don’t develop any super niche prerequisites. Even then, Mint can probably do it.

    The developers are sane and it’s a popular system that has been in development for years with many tweaks and improvements. There’s a big community around it if you need help/guides.

    You just can’t go wrong with it.

    • absGeekNZ ( absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz ) English
      3·
      11 个月前

      Long time Mint enjoyer, the ONLY caveat I would put on that is I doesn’t yet have stable for support Wayland.

      For a beginner, having the ability to run android apps via waydroid could be a real draw card.

      Wayland support is coming, but it isn’t here yet.

      • ExtremeUnicorn ( ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org ) 
        1·
        11 个月前

        I would actually rate that as a plus.

        While it’s nice to have the ability to run android apps, I don’t think many newcomers expect that.

        However, it’s much more likely to find an Nvidia GPU in there somewhere, which works notoriously badly with Wayland.

        Also Wayland has scaling issues with lower resolution fullscreen apps and settings.

        I’d rather have those things working by default.

      • Nyadia ( Nyadia@lemmy.blahaj.zone ) English
        1·
        11 个月前

        If I read OP correctly, they plan to livestream games. Screen capture isn’t as smooth of an experience on Wayland as it is on X11. Which isn’t to say one can’t do screen capture on Wayland, but that it might be a point of frustration for a Linux newbie trying to stream or record their gameplay.

    • da_cow (she/her) ( cows_are_underrated@feddit.org ) 
      1·
      11 个月前

      It’s not a “beginner distro”.

      I would hardly disagree, that it isnt a beginner Distros. However, this does not mean that Mint is bad. It is a rock solid Distros that is focused on accessibility and being user friendly. It gives everyone who wants the ability to learn Linux/CLI while still giving GUIs as Backup if something is to complex in the command line. However not everyone wants to learn Linux/CLI and this is totally fine. For these People Mint is perfect.

      • ExtremeUnicorn ( ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org ) 
        2·
        11 个月前

        That highly depends on what you consider a “beginner distro” to be.

        I don’t like the term, because to me, it implies that you have to emigrate from Mint to something else at some point, which is not the case.

        It’s not a distro that is supposed to teach you how to do X on Linux systems. It’s just a solid OS with a lot of features that are easily accessible, which does make it suited for starters, yes.

        I don’t think you have to or should touch the terminal at any time as a regular user and Mint allows you to not do that, as you pointed out as well.

  • Cyborganism ( cyborganism@lemmy.ca ) 
    9·
    11 个月前

    Mint is the OS of choice for beginners. It’s hassle free and it just works. Ubuntu is good, but its snap package got a bad rap when it was launched. It’s not that bad. But it gets confusing since you end up with 3 different software packaging systems. (Apt with .deb files, Flatpak and Snap)

    Personally I use Kubuntu, the KDE Plasma desktop version because it’s so much more like Windows and has many more features. I don’t mind the Snap packages, but I avoid them if I can if I can use Flatpak instead. Snap and Flatpak are essentially the same thing: it installs and runs software in a sandboxed environment which makes it safer to use.

  • Atherel ( Atherel@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) 
    6·
    11 个月前

    OpenSUSE, Fedora, maybe Ubuntu. I’d avoid immutable style distros like bazzite. They make things easier at the beginning but have other downsides where “normal” solutions need additional steps.