Honestly, at this point I’m so done with window’s bullshit. Their operating system is damn near unusable. All the convenient stuff is hidden in weird places. The constant whining about having to buy their crap. Or worse trying to get me to use the horrible software that comes with the new versions.
My excuse used to be, but I can’t play games on it. This is no longer the case for the games I love. So Windows can suck it. At this point I’m switching away from a lot of stuff I used to use. (x-box became Steam-deck, twitter became blue-sky and reddit is becoming Lemmy) As a kind of computer illiterate person, this has been a worth while transition but a difficult one. Let’s just say I had to learn a lot of new stuff.
So I’m a total Linux newbie but thanks to my Steam deck I’ve become somewhat used to using it. Not like an expert, but I have run wine to create separate environments for running pokémon fangames. And have taken a look around the Linux environment. I like it and think I’ll be able to get used to it with practice. It reminds me weirdly of windows XP in how easily I can get everything to work the way I want. It takes a bit of doing and some research, but it works. Which is all I want in an operating system.
I am looking for tips as to where to start searching, because I am converting my windows computer to Linux. I just don’t know what version.
Any user experience is welcome, I have no idea where to begin. I mostly use the computer I’m installing this on as a glorified typewriter, that I play movies, music and retro-games on.
A user friendly version is preferred, I find it hard to parse out from the various versions I have seen so far how easy they actually are to use. Extra points if a large amount of the information has easy to find tutorials on the internet. I don’t always know where to start looking and as I learned while getting wine to work, some of the names/terms are completely different. (And kind of a lot at once if you are just getting started).
Any resources you might think are useful for a newbie are also highly appreciated.
tl;dr: I (a Linux noob) am looking for a recommendation for what version of Linux to use for my needs. And any tips tricks or other info that I might need to know before I switch. Because windows sucks.
I’m sorry if this has already been asked and answered. I did try to find an answer through searching, but as I already mentioned. My lack of terms and knowledge is holding me back.
Absolutely go with bazzite, I have 15 years of experience and am willing to do unlimited troubleshooting for free if you message me on matrix.
as for why bazzite? it’s immutable, which means there’s a core set of stuff that is read only and can’t be broken, which is massively beneficial for new people and is very up to date, and has the fixes for certain patent related stuff built in (fedora doesn’t as do any other american based distros) that make twitch and some other websites work properly out of the box
Here’s a nice pic that make you feel less “lost” about how some popular distributions relate to each other:
A bit more useful, puts the different parent distros to scale:
High-res source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions?wprov=sfla1
This picture definitely explains why I was so confused about all of the different versions. Dang, also fascinating to see that so many people put so much work into this operating system, making their own versions for their own needs. Thank you, this one also goes on the research pile.
Yeah, just a note, basically these Linux distros are the same at their “core”, but what differs among them is mostly about the software they have and the way they’re managed.
So you have distros that offer only open source software in their repository, some include proprietary drivers. Some distro families will have some differences in the path of certain folders, different families use different formats of their packages (which include the actual binary of the software together with the metadata about how to install them in the system), although a purely Linux binary should be executed in any Linux distro. Some offer more guidance during installation and setup, some offer a more “raw” experience that force you to chose every little detail, and so on.
Another difference is in their philosophy of how the packages and dependencies are made available. Distributions such Arch Linux and its derivatives always offer the latest versions of each package, reason why they’re called “rolling release”. Distributions such as Debian offer a specific version that’s “frozen” and tested thoroughly until a new version of Debian is released with more updated software.
Some say a rolling release distro is better for gamers because you always get the latest features and performance improvements, but they’re naturally less reliable than a stable distro.
So I’d say the important thing is to understand the trade-offs so that you can choose the best thing for you. And also there’s no downside of experimenting different distros in a virtual machine, for example.
Can you name some distros which are FOSS only and would whine if I were to attempt non-FOSS software installs? Debian now bundles non-free software by default (it’s an opt-out now instead of opt-in)
This is the best I could find: https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.en.html
Thank you, this is going to make organising my research in preparation a lot easier. It also answered some questions I got by reading other peoples comments.
Reguarding apps, you said typewriter, movies, music, games. Office suite look at LibreOffice. Movies and music if it is online just Firefox or any other browser you choose. Firefox is good at working with PDFs too. Any distro should come with a document viewer, photoviewer, video player, and music player. You can choose from tons of other or more advanced tools. Debian for example comes with over 60K packges and Ubuntu and Mint are similar. There are also 3rd party sources too. Flathub or Snapcraft for example if you want something not in the repos.
If you go with a Debian based distro with a lot of apps in the repos, you probably my not need these other app souces, but some people like smaller distros, something special just not in the repos, or a newer or different version of app. For example I use Joplin which is a notes app that is not in the Debian repos.
For apps finding an app name and starting links https://alternativeto.net/ is your friend. For distros, https://distrowatch.com/ is your friend. Strongly favor a distro in the top 10 on distro watch unless you have some special need.
Edit: You will notice that the top 10 are all Debian, Arch, Fedora, or SUSE based in that general order of more to less popularity. Linux distros tend to be based on these base distributions. For example Mint is based on Debian and so is Ubuntu.
Arch and Mint are the two most-used distros (Arch with double the Mint users) behind SteamOS(Steamdeck).
Installing Arch from the install medium is daunting for people so I’d recommend EndeavourOS. It’s Arch but using a graphical installer and sane defaults for a desktop PC.
It seems intimidating because there’s a lot of new terms and workflows seem to always involve the terminal. Learn to love the power of the terminal, don’t be one of those “I use Linux but am scared of terminal commands” people.
If you’ve figured how to use wine then you’re capable of searching your way to any solution I’m Arch (it’s probably on the Wiki).
I love working in the terminal, I usually have a window open for it any time I’m working on a Linux machine. The only thing I don’t like about it is people who tell you commands to run for troubleshooting and refuse to elaborate on what those commands actually do. That and
sed… That shit is black fucking magic.
I recommend dual booting Windows and Linux until you’re comfortable switching entirely. Sometimes you need to go back for just one task.
Always back up your files before installing a new OS. Data loss is always possible during installation, and more likely if you don’t know what you’re doing.
The Grub boot manager (included and installed by default with Linux Mint and some other distros) makes it easy to pick which OS to boot each time when turning the computer on.
Check out Lutris for non-Steam Windows games. It uses Wine, but is a lot more user friendly to set up and use.
If their computer can handle running a windows vm on virtualbox, I’d recommend that over dual boot. Windows update will almost certainly cause issues on boot…eventually.
Jump into Linux with both feet. Use the vm as a crutch or a bridge to windows only software.
Follow the advice below… backup everything. If you have a 2nd hd, this makes it easier to keep files and is separated.
If you’re prepared to reinstall, it’s easy to nuke it and try again. It’s part of learning and sometimes easier to troubleshoot.
Until a new windows update breaks the Linux installation. I would recommend go for Linux 100%.
I like it and think I’ll be able to get used to it with practice. It reminds me weirdly of windows XP in how easily I can get everything to work the way I want.
xubuntu may be easier to switch for an xp user. Xfce is more malleable than all other desktop environments + ubuntu communities are active and less snobbish.
fedora also was surprisingly easy.
now i’m on arch and i asked myself countless times : Why are you doing this to yourself?
Why the pain of Arch? You probably fell in love with the rolling release, wiki, and the AUR.
yes 🙈
make it as easy for yourself to reinstall as possible
I personally prefer Debian based distros just because of the number of apps in the software repo. Probably consider Ubuntu or Mint in your case. My wife and I have used Linux pretty exclusively for over 20 years. Ease of use is not that much of an issue once your setup. My wife and her dad are not technical and they have few issues.
Installing, and fixing issues is more technical but it is for Windows too especially if you do not get it preinstalled. You presumably have some stratagy for Windows support. Linux same, have a stratgey for it.
windows’ is the correct way to form that since windows ends with an s
And you might say “don’t be a dick” but to that I say: you want to use Linux. You need to learn how to type things correctly and accurately or your computer will not work. The rules of most command line programs are far more restrictive than the ’ rule in English.
Either windows’ or windows’s is correct, actually. The reason is because of exactly words like “Windows”, if you use the former, it sounds like it’s a possessive of more than one window, but it’s a possessive of a proper noun, Windows. The latter is more correct in this case because of that. (it’s also pronounced that way!)
Linux Mint. Easy to set up, reasonably easy to use, and used by enough people that a quick internet search should probably turn up results of people who have run into similar issues if you ever have a problem.
Also has an interface that clicks easier with people used to Windows.
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The best advice I can give you is to switch to Linux is don’t right away. Switch the applications you use to open source or Linux compatible alternatives that also run on windows. Then after you get used to those on windows then make the switch.
I would also recommend not dual booting at first since it’s too easy to jump ship at the slightest issue vs sticking with it to figure out the issue just like you would with a problem on windows. It’s a real thing I have experienced it in reverse as a long time Linux user that tried Windows 11 i kept jumping back to Linux every time I ran into issues that caused frustration.
This is some very solid advise.
I dual booted and I rarely ever used windows when i was starting, mostly because windows takes a while to reboot.
Agreed, switch the applications first. I like using https://alternativeto.net/ to find replacements.
Since you are already familiar with the Steam Deck, I would go with a distro (that’s Linux-speak for version) that uses KDE Plasma, as that’s the desktop environment used by Steam OS. My recommendation therefore is Bazzite or Aurora. Both OSs are developed by the same team using the same core technology. Bazzite is more “gamer focused” (a.k.a. they are pre-installing steam) while Aurora targets more of a developer audience. But I would argue that the differences are, at the end of the day, mainly cosmetic. Aurora is still pretty noob friendly and you could still develop on Bazzite.
Both systems are “Atomic” which basically means that a system update can’t screw up your system. And if you screw something up, then you can “rebase” the system which reinstalls the OS but keeps all your data and installed apps*. It uses flatpak with flathub as its appstore so you have the same apps available as on the Steam Deck.
Now for the downsides: Some apps are a bit harder to install. Mainly apps that need deeper system access such as vpn apps can take a couple more steps to install here than on other distros. There is also no live system. Many distros have a “live mode” where you can test the system before installing. This allows you to check if your hardware is supported. Aurora and bazzite don’t have that.
Lastly the userbase is growing, but other disros such as Mint are still more popular. You therefore might find less specific documentation and tutorials on the internet for it than with other options.
*Technically it’s more complicated than that, there are edgecases of apps that don’t survive a rebase, but don’t worry about that.
Second your Bazzite recommendation.
This user’s use case seems almost perfect for Bazzite.
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Probably Linux Mint. If you have a hardware support issue on Mint, Fedora.
A few people have been recommending Mint. I wasn’t aware it could possibly have hardware support issues, I’ll be sure to look into that beforehand. Thank you for the alternative recommendation. I’ll look into that as well.
You can always try the live USB without/before installing. It’s a great way to start getting comfortable or try out several different distros with minimal effort and risk.
I second Linux mint. It’s my daily driver and I love it. I first switched my laptop which wasn’t much daily driver to mint and when I got used to it I switched my main desktop.
Sounds like Linux Mint would be a good start for you
