LInux

do any of you recommend a Linux distro? I'm considering changing to Linux since w10 support is ending. i mainly use my computer for gaming and the occasional research and work stuff, as well as learning to code.

Do you want to use your computer as a space heater? Gentoo Do you want something that just works, with gui, sound, etc working out of the box? Debian or a derivative Are you a hipster? Arch, NixOS or another overhyped distribution of the year Are you a darknet hipster? OpenBSD

>>88846 great options! i'm going to see Debian. might try it on a VM first

>>88843 Ubuntu or Linux Mint and if you don't know anything about linux Debian if you have some know ledge and don't want to bother with a rolling release distro Arch if you know what you are doing Other distro are memes or not meant for your usage >>88846 >OpenBSD that's not linux and you can't play games on this (no bsdgames are not what op wants fuarrrk you)

>>88843 I would recommend starting with Linux Mint because it's stable and a lot like Windows out of the box. If you feel experimental enough and learned enough about Linux from Linux Mint, then you could move onto Debian afterwards and make your own desktop setup from scratch without the preinstalled Mint stuff you might not care about. I will say that if you want to play vidya, then Arch or something based on Arch will probably be a better choice for you since that's the distribution that seems to have the most support from Valve. I tried playing Halo MCC on Debian through Proton and it refused to start after my first time playing it, but I haven't had that issue on Arch at all.

Just use Linux Mint. There is no hidden gem of a Linux distribution that you'll find by asking what thousands of people have already asked. There is a reason why everyone recommends Mint and it's because it's the best distribution for a beginner. Even if there were a distro suited better for the purpose of getting Windows users used to Linux, it still would have less overall support, solved issues, and less software support.

>>88850 Made my day tho i use Arch btw.

>>88843 I'd say Debian, Ubuntu and Mint are the ones you can't go wrong with.

To react to the Mint recommendations. If your hardware is recent, Mint might be missing drivers. If that's the case, try Debian unstable. It might not "just werk" and even sometimes break, but it will work at least. I don't get the recommendation though. What does Mint offer that Debian doesn't? The Debian installer even proposes installing Cinnamon.

>>88852 MY DAY IS RUINED AFTER SEEING SOMETHING VERY BAD.

Linux Mint if you want something that just werks (so I've heard). Arch if you have the time and desire to experiment and fail. The reputation of Arch as a le difficult l33t hipster meme distro is overblown. You can get it up and running smoothly pretty easily but that can be a trap in itself because you learn most from the bumps and if you only run into difficulties later on you might be in for more than you bargained for. Better to fail early and learn fast. You could always install it or some other distro with a minimal base install (debian, void, gentoo, etc.) in a VM running on Linux Mint and fumble around to learn more. That would be my general suggestion to Windows refugees broadly. Whatever you do, don't distrohop! I'll be waiting to see you in *BSD-land in a couple of years...

>>88853 You can easily go wrong with them. You can fuarrrk up while installing custom realtime kernel needed for any real gaming or work. You can install packages that conflict with other packages or ever straight up brick your system. Especially if you need something not present in store and have to enable extra apt repos. Another way to go wrong with them is trying to use them mainly for gaming without having what it takes to wrap your head around Proton versions, specialized gaming controllers software and config workarounds. Overall this thread looks like it's from twenty years ago. Those distros are still there ofc, but what's usually recommended nowadays as starter distro with everything included is Bazzite, Nobara, CachyOS, etc. I'm increasingly annoyed by Bazzite lately, but I doubt any of those ancient general purpose distros that don't do anything at all to fix everyday gaming problems are better in any way.

Years ago I would have agreed with the standard "start with Mint, then move on to Debian" advice. But over the years the Mint irc support, which used to be great, has really deteriorated. There are psychos doing Mint support who will hack you. Last time I checked Distrowatch, MX Linux was the most popular distro. You could start with that or just start with Debian. Ubuntu is easy, but I wouldn't trust them not to sell you out if there's a buck to be made off your usage data.

>>88848 >Ubuntu Actually suggesting bloatware >Other distros are memes Not using systemd is now a meme?

I see a lot of people suggesting to dip toes in the water and find a 'safe' distro that just works which comes with bloatware inside of a VM. If OP is communicating on this imageboard chances are he's not a complete computer illiterate. I would suggest going all in , not fuarrrking around with VM's. Backup all your photos and important documents on a external drive and completely just wipe your OS. Try using something like Arch , Artix , Void or Debian and learn how to use the terminal from the get go. There is plenty of youtube videos that will walk you through everything step by step. My reason being is that you can't be scared of a terminal if you're coming from windows chances are that you are. You will learn more about your system if you're not just dipping your toes into things and you won't get complacent with boontoobloat for the next 3 years. If you really really want to play it safe I can only suggest OpenSUSE

Ubuntu is on a collision course with an iceberg at this point with Canonical's intention to drop 32-bit libraries, and so is every other distro that's based on it. This is especially bad for Windows migrants because 32-bit libraries are integral for Wine. That's why I no longer recommend a *buntu or anything based on it, you're just preparing someone for a future headache. The many curated PPAs are the one nice convenience I still count in *buntu's favor but I just can't justify the recommendation otherwise.

>>88900 >Actually suggesting bloatware Oh no! Le bloatware! How can OP knows what's bloatware when they never used Linux ? They should start with an all included distro and remove things when they are learning about what they like or not. >Not using systemd is now a meme? No systemd ? Sounds like a /g/ meme to me. Good job you fell for it! (also "or not meant for your usage")

Try fedora or mint anon. If feel adventurous you can try any server distro and spend few hours or days to setting this up. Best way to learn Linux. However I suggest to have USB with windows in advance when you fuarrrked

>>88904 Not that anon but >They should start with an all included distro and remove things Wouldn't this process be much easier the other way around? Get a skeleton system and then as you hit a wall and realise youre missing something add more of what you need. It seems harder on paper but is actually less overwhelming once you actually try it. Kind of like how if youre trying to downsize a huge collection of, lets say for example, books, it is psychologically easier to first put them all under the "throw it away" category and then choose and pick which ones you want to keep and not vice versa.

The distro/package manager does not matter as much as the desktop environment (DE) since it's what you actually interact with. I like gnome because it makes my craptop feel like a macbook air but research the DE first. On top, I just use debian backports and instead of flatpaks I manage everything with dpkg or throw misc packages in /opt/ works well. idgaf about systemd suck it

>>88911 >Get a skeleton system and then as you hit a wall and realise youre missing something add more of what you need. That sounds good on paper, but how can you do this with Linux without spending hours with a broken computer? >Kind of like how if youre trying to downsize a huge collection of, lets say for example, books I agree with your analogy, but how does one know what to throw away if they don't know what they want/like? I think you should experience it first to get that knowledge and act accordingly to it.

>>88914 >spending hours with a broken computer That is why you play around in a VM at first for a while. Install, bork, reinstall, accidentally rm -rf * inside your home directory even though you know better already and feel ashamed yet relieved at the same time because you made that mistake in a VM (totally not speaking from experience here), and then finally install on real hardware. >>88901 said to not dip toes in VMs and instead jump head first in the deep end but isn't that exactly what a VM is good for? You can dive in head first multiple times without worrying about drowning. Or don't if you don't want to. Swimming is pretty much the same whether it happens in the kiddy pool or the ocean. >but how does one know what to throw away if they don't know what they want/like? That was my point exactly? They won't know what to throw away which is why they should throw everything away and pick out pieces they think they might like one by one to test them out on a clean table to get a better understanding if they actually do want/like them. But if it borks? Answered above. Here my book analogy breaks down because nothing is actually thrown away. It sits in the repos waiting to be installed. I've got nothing against just werks distros that pack in everything and the kitchen sink but your approach to them seems backwards. Personally when I switched from Win10 to Linux back in 2019 I tried the approach you're suggesting but grew tired and frustrated in a couple of days because everything was exactly the same as on Windows: opaque and abstracted away behind a glossy surface. Even if I wanted to I didn't know where to begin throwing things away because the amount of things was too damn high! To solve the problem I said fuarrrk it and installed Arch. As I am writing this it has occured to me that perhaps I am out of touch.

Absolutely do NOT use the latest version of Kubuntu. NOTHING works on it, especially AppImages (I should've known someone would sooner or later try to destroy the only sensible distribution format in existence). I had to spent literal MONTHS trying to find workarounds to use programs that worked perfectly in previous versions, and sometimes I still failed so I had to settle for non-AppImage version. Sometimes that also didn't work, so I had to settle for different programs entirely. RiseupVPN doesn't work anymore. Updooting does not solve the problem, neither does upgrooding. I don't know whose fault it is, if it is Kubuntu's, if it is Plasma's or if it is Wayland's. Whatever the case, Kubuntu is dead. P.S.:If you got into Loonix because you would lured by the promises such as "my system, my choice" you were lied to. Does that mean you should go back to Windows? Hell no; at least Linux is not a blatant spyware and doesn't require an antivirus (review: more spyware) in order to survive. But those 2 are literally the only remaining advantages of using Linux over Windows.

>>88925 >NOTHING works on it P.S.: forgot to add: the few programs that actually seem to work might randomly incur in random bugs, or stop working altogether for no reason at all. ex.: mpv suddenly becoming unable to run .mp4

>>88926 When did that happen? I know there was a regression of the Windows version of VLC that made certain mp4 files unplayable, the solution was to install an old version. Maybe it's the same bug? >>88925 >P.S.:If you got into Loonix because you would lured by the promises such as "my system, my choice" you were lied to. The more control you have over your system, the more work you are taking on which is neatly hidden from you in operating systems like Windows or Ubuntu. This is unavoidable, I think gentoo is about as optimal as you can get in terms of freedom / effort.

>>88843 weird how nobody recommended a gaming distro like cachy or nobara, but also i have like no experience with either of those but mint does just werk anyways so why bother

>>88925 >at least Linux is not a blatant spyware Sir Poettering sends you an air kiss (through dbus).

>>88927 >The more control you have over your system But I don't. If I constantly need to chase developers' arbitrary decisions in order for my system to be usable, it means THEY are in control, not me. I escaped from Windows in order to avoid soykaf like: - constant updootes - being forced to use landlord-approved programs - stuff randomly breaking up for no apparent reason And what I found on Linux? The same exact soykaf.

>>88898 >Bazzite, Nobara, CachyOS, etc. STAY AWAY FROM THE fuarrrkING GAMING DISTROS they break a thousand times more soykaf than they fix just stick with linux mint >>88901 don't listen to this fat glitterboy, terminal is for expert programmer nerds only avoid it like a plague unless you want to break your soykaf and waste a soykafton of time

>>88843 hello, sorry for not being active much, i usually don't frequent these sites. i decided to start simple with mint, and with time, ill get to see if i change to something more adequate. >>88901 yeah, i have my level of skill when it comes to linux systems.

>>88932 >terminal is for expert programmer nerds only terminal is for sysadmins, and that includes bored amateurs. if you have time to read and think and at least average iq you're not gonna break anything.

>>88930 >But I don't Because you haven't decided to DIY. There is always this tradeoff, with everything. Are you mad about the "illusion of choice" when you are following someone else's recipe? >- constant updootes use slackware >- being forced to use landlord-approved programs compile your own, it isn't hard >- stuff randomly breaking up for no apparent reason get good

>>88938 can you please clarify how exactly using slackware resolves any of the problems?

>>88937 This right here. You will also come to realize that terminal based programs are much more intuitive and simple to use once you get used to them.

so, it turns out, i need my drivers for my wifi adapter. which i need to compile (i didn't know) and i know have Debian on my main PC, but its a base system install... also, couldn't get dhcp to work... and.. well. fuarrk ill be installing an OS later... so im going back to windows for the moment.

>>88939 You're sad that you have to update constantly? Use a distro that barely updates. I'm sorry that freedom comes with responsibility, that is just how it is.

>>88942 If you're a new Debian user, you can make the experience much easier by editing your /etc/apt/sources.list file and adding non-free, non-free-firmware, and backports software repos. It will give you access to a ton of drivers and newer software packages. Debian support can give you details on how to do this, and it's pretty simple. Then do "apt update" to enable the new sources.list.

>>88942 >wifi adapter yeah i'm always forgetting to warn new users that wifi isn't going to work most likely, at least not without spending a few days experiencing pain. a lot of realtek cards don't have working drivers at all.

>>88957 yeah, i know what exists. point being, that without internet i cant install drivers or firmware anyway after a bunch of time on my second PC, i finally manged to get a working boot USB with woeusb, which got stuck when trying to install the GRUB for legacy booting. it still worked anyway.

>>88959 Is that still an issue? I haven't had issues with getting wifi to work on debian for a few years. I've had issues with sound and microphones though. Pipewire shat itself no later than yesterday in fact.

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC will be supported until January 13, 2032. But I would still recommend trying out Linux. Try the major distros, it's all a bit of the same but different at the same time. So it really depends on what vibes with you the most.

>>88932 My advice comes from personal experience when switching from windows years ago. I dove head first into using Arch and it was hard to wrap my head around. A month later it became normal

>>88961 older realtek and broadcom cards are still painful but my problems got resolved at some point. Thankfully a lot of laptops are starting to use intel wifi cards, which have great support.

>>88899 >There are psychos doing Mint support who will hack you. Wait, what? What has lead you to this conclusion?

>>88932 It can seem intimidating because it is a foreign concept to many, but really the terminal is for everybody. Or more accurately the shell, the command interpreter, is an interface that can be learned by everybody, just like a graphical interface. At some point you didn't know how to use a GUI either. And I'm not saying you have to live in the terminal and never use GUI apps but you're railing against something out of ignorance here and I don't believe it's because you're too dumb to grasp it, you're just too stubborn to give it a try. You don't need to be able to write programs--you simply run them. That's all it is. Just take applications and utilities made by others and tell them what to do. Don't know how? Check the manual right there on the command-line. Need a program to do something that is out of its scope? Send its output to another program and glue the outputs of multiple programs together to create a chain of commands that will get the job done. The Unix Pipeline is such a simple and elegant idea that can be very powerful even in the hands of Alice from accounting. It's just a different way of doing things than the average contemporary computer user is used to, which is a shame, because power is a liberating force for nerds and non-technical users alike. I'm not here to convert anybody. Live and let live. Let's just enjoy computers and try to lift each other up. Here's a cool documentary about UNIX from '82 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc4ROCJYbm0

>>88984 Honestly same, I went full arch for a while as my first distro before switching to opensuse, fedora, and debian later. Haven't actively used windows in years.

>>88992 >Lets just enjoy computers and try to life eachother up Honestly this , everyone has their own tastes and preferences our brains all work differently. Some people might work better on a GUI and some work better using terminal. But someone will have no idea if they are better on a terminal unless they're not scared to try it and I think that's just what we want people to try and give a go instead of outright claiming its too hard, so that anybody who uses it is a >glitterboy Good image to send along as well makes a lot of sense. >>88995 Yeah I did something similar , I went from Arch to openSUSE with a DE then to Artix

>>88898 >stuff mint is literally plug and play. if you need to play windows games, just use lutris, it is also literally plug and play. even buggy ass stalker games run on it just fine. even modded buggy ass stalker games on a budget POS laptop run on it just fine.

if you want stability, simplicity and control, slackware remove simplicity, gentoo or calculate linux if you want ease of use and don't have raging computer autism linux mint or arch if you want a big community and the easiest experience from access to information

idk, in the end i dint know how to get my realtek adapter working so there's that.

Hi OP, I was in the same position a few months ago. Never used Linux before and got on the ideological anti windows hype train. I ended up choosing debian. It's pretty intuitive and I have had no issues.

>>89043 >in the end i dint know how to get my realtek adapter working at least what's your adapter

Why hasn't this thread been moved to SQTDDTOT?