• Shirasho@lemmings.world
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    10 months ago

    Not a hot take at all. Asking someone to go from a GUI heavy operating system to a command line heavy one and be just as productive is lunacy. Like all major changes it is important to ween off the old thing.

    My biggest hurdle with the switch has been permission related issues, and you can’t deal with those cleanly with a UI, and every help thread under the sun throws out a bunch of command line commands giving a solution without explaining why those changes are needed. It may seem like Unix 101 to experienced Linux users, but it is really cryptic to newcomers coming from operating systems that are…cough more lenient with their permissions.

    There is also a mentality that UIs are much more idiot proof than command line. UIs are written by people who actually know the OS so we can’t accidentally delete our home folder because of a typo. It is a very legitimate concern.

    • Yesterday morning i installed Mint xfce on an old laptop.

      I wanted to install synaptics drivers for the touchpad because i use the trackball as mouse but need the touchpad for clicking. Something that isnt configureable in the default driver.

      When i copied an example config file and added my line, i rebooted the computer.

      The GUI broke because in the example config file, there were “…” To indicate writing further options, but xorg couldnt interpret or ignore it, so i had to figure out how to edit textfiles in the command line.

      No fun times, and definetely a risk for new users.

    • Holzkohlen@feddit.de
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      10 months ago

      I agree, BUT that is only because the average windows user never even had to bother with permission. I find permissions on Linux A LOT easier to handle than on Windows. Basically the way Windows does permissions is garbage, so they made it so that people can just do whatever so they won’t complain about permissions. That is… one way of doing things, I guess.

      • SatyrSack@lemmy.one
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        10 months ago

        Do any of those actually match this one? I looked through the first few pages, and there was nothing related to Linux.

    • Hellfire103@sopuli.xyz
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      10 months ago

      Ha! Yeah, I remember that phase. I was planning to install LXDE as my first distro, simply because I thought the wallpaper looked cool.

    • Mikina@programming.dev
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      10 months ago

      I agree - was switching to Fedora about month and a half ago, and only learned about KDE vs Gnome like a week ago, when I was reinstaling to Nobara to fix some NVIDIA issues.

      I did hear terms like KDE or Gnome thrown around, but never really realized that it’s actually and important choice. And once you add X11 vs Wayland to the mix, it’s suddenly so confusing I just subconsciously choose to ignore that choice and went with whatever the OS installed for me. I though that DE chouse is similar to X11 vs Wayland choice, i.e something tha is more about back-end than front-end, and didn’t realize that’s literally how your OS UI looks and controls, instead of how it works in the background (which I now know is what X11 vs Wayland is actually about)

      Turned out I really don’t like Gnome (Which was default for Fedora), but love KDE, which was thankfully a default for Nobara.

      So, if you’re ever recommending Linux to someone, be it in a comment or somwhere else, or someone is asking for a recommended distro, please include a short paragraph about the importance of choosing the correct DE, and explanation of what it is and that you can change it!

      • uranibaba@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        PopOS is great! I have used a few other (but never strayed far from APT), and I also did some light reading when doing my final decision . PopOS was the best fit for and easy-to-use OS without Snaps. Linux is great and all with how much control you have, but I want as little maintenance as possible for my daily driver.

        • citrusface@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Yeah that’s all I need - I’m super into everyone else hyper customizing what they use, I love seeing everything that can be done, but I just need something that works and pop_os is it, and as I’ve said before, my games run better on pip_os than they ever did on win 10/11

  • jaschen@lemmynsfw.com
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    10 months ago

    Just installed Mint to try it out because it looks similar to Windows. Don’t judge me.

    • Deceptichum@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      Oh I’ve judged you! And I find you guilty of making an acceptable decision that suites your preferences.

    • Octopus1348@lemy.lol
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      10 months ago

      I installed Mint for the sake of trying it and I quite liked Cinnamon, but after that I did some distro and desktop hopping, I will not go back until it has proper Wayland support.

    • Whitebrow@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Installed it on a thin client instead of win10 iot for the same reason, basic functionality all there, being used as a media streaming browser machine, no regrets.

      Had previous experience with fedora and others many years prior, definitely can tell how far it all progressed since

    • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
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      10 months ago

      I’ve been using Linux in different capacities since the late 90s. I use Mint with Cinnamon because it’s stable, does all I need and I don’t need to fuss with it. You’re more than fine.

  • fosforus@sopuli.xyz
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    10 months ago

    A smart distro allows you to change DEs without changing the distro, though.

    • CosmicTurtle@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Is it just me or is every new distro just a base with a different DE? I started to notice this a few years back but not sure if it was my imagination or something developers starting doing because it was easier to ship the DE as “the OS” than it was to instruct users on how to switch to their DE.

      • fosforus@sopuli.xyz
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        10 months ago

        Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Distros used to be about experimenting with different packaging systems and system managers, but now seems like the packaging systems are mostly the three: Arch, Debian, Red Hat. And the system manager is almost always systemd.

        So the only thing to do (beyond better quality control, which takes a lot of constant work) is to make the DE somehow unique.

        • dustyData@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Repositories and package versioning are also extremely important in ways newbies don’t realize yet. There’s a significant variety between using Debian, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS or Kali. They are all Debian based using apt but they are all decidedly entirely different systems with completely different purposes and uses.

    • poinck@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      I think the default setting matters, if there is any. Looking at Gentoo.

      Fun aside, I think Fedora might be a good choice, because Gnome is easy and polished!

      • maryjayjay@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Fedora also comes with a dozen different DEs prepackaged and installable with a single, simple command. Each user just can select and change their own desktop with a menu selection on the login screen

      • jj4211@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        My problem with Gnome is if it were my desktop, I might as well run Windows, since Gnome shell/mutter is slightly less capable than Windows. Extensions exist, but are very much a second class citizen and get broken by shell versions frequently, and the author of an extension may be gone when it comes time to rework it for a new version.

        Plasma/kwin have pretty much everything I want in desktop/window management baked in.

        • Aasikki@sopuli.xyz
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          10 months ago

          I love gnome overall and it’s my favorite de, but the missing features and extensions being almost mandatory for basic functions definitely are a pain.

          Extensions are cool but the basics should be built in.

          • jj4211@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            I do fedora with KDE/plasma.

            Nowadays fedora is a decent “boring” distribution, that finally settled into blatantly prompting to add the non free repositories you will probably want.

            Ubuntu was annoying with it’s little adventures in “not invented here” with mir, unity, and nowadays snap. So nice to have a modern, boring distribution.

    • hj01bg@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      Are there (sizeable) distros that does not allow you to install multiple DE’s and change between them?

      • Da_Boom@iusearchlinux.fyi
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        10 months ago

        That’s not usually the problem. Usually you can generally do this on any distro, even ones that have a higher level of integration with their DE.

        The problem is more likely to be issues caused by overlapping configurations and base libraries that can cause weird issues if they aren’t swapped out or kept default. If they aren’t default and are managed by the package manager, usually the package manager will mark it as modified and often won’t touch it unless you purge the configurations. Some will ask and some will straight up nuke em.

      • edinbruh@feddit.it
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        10 months ago

        To me the problem is actually removing the old one. You can easily uninstall gnome, but it will leave behind config files and various data. It’s less clean.

        Also, there’s an overlap in the libraries required by DEs, so you should use the “replace” option in you package manager (if it has one) to let o t figure out the best way to uninstall one and install the other.

      • Mikina@programming.dev
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        10 months ago

        AFAIK Fedora comes with Gnome and KDE, both in Wayland and X11 version, out of the box, and you can just select one when logging in.

      • fosforus@sopuli.xyz
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        10 months ago

        I’m sure they all allow it, but some make it awkward enough that a reinstall might be a better option.

  • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
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    10 months ago

    Great take. But you know the real sneaky one that trips you up? File system.

    I wouldn’t call myself a beginner, but every time I install a Linux system seriously I see those filesystem choices and have to dig through volumes of turbo-nerd debates on super fine intricacies between them, usually debating their merits in super high-risk critical contexts.

    I still don’t come away with knowing which one will be best for me long-term in a practical sense.

    As well as tons of “It ruined my whole system” or “Wrote my SSD to death” FUD that is usually outdated but nevertheless persists.

    Honestly nowadays I just happily throw BTRFS on there because it’s included on the install and allows snapshots and rollbacks. EZPZ.

    For everything else, EXT4, and for OS-shared storage, NTFS.

    But it took AGES to arrive to this conclusion. Beginners will have their heads spun at this choice, guaranteed. It’s frustrating.

    • Liz@midwest.social
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      10 months ago

      I did NTFS because both windows and Linux can read it. Do I know literally any other fact about formatting systems? Nope. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to, I’m normie-adjacent. I just want my system to work so I can use the internet, play games, and do word processing.

      • phanto@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        I once tried to install my Steam Library in Linux to an NTFS partition so I wouldn’t have to install things twice on a dual boot system. Protip: don’t do that.

        • PopMyCop@iusearchlinux.fyi
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          10 months ago

          chkdsk -f (or r or whatever the third option is), reboot twice, but do it multiple times because steam on linux asks you to reinstall the games in the exact same spot and you accidentally do it because you’re not paying close attention due to the mild panic windows threw at you?

    • mdurell@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Ext4 is the safe bet for a beginner. The real question is with or without LVM. Generally I would say with but that abstraction layer between the filesystem and disk can really be confusing if you’ve never dealt with it before. A total beginner should probably go ext4 without LVM and then play around in a VM with the various options to become informed enough to do something less vanilla.

      • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
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        10 months ago

        and then play around in a VM with the various options to become informed enough to do something less vanilla.

        This part is skippable, right? Any reason a user should ever care about this?

        (note: never heard of LVM before this thread)

        • stratosfear@lemmy.sdf.org
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          10 months ago

          It makes adding space easier down the road, either by linking disks or if you clone your root drive to a larger drive, which tends to not be something most “end users” (I try not to use that description but you said it heh) would do. Yes, using LVM is optional.

      • Pantherina@feddit.de
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        10 months ago

        Can you explain LVM in practice to me? I used ext4 and now Fedora Kinoite with BTRFS, the filsystem never makes any problems and some fancy features just work.

    • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
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      10 months ago

      Lending my voice to this as well for most, my thought is EXT4, without LVM, deferring to the preferred FS for the distro. It is a mature, stable, and reliable choice and logical volumes complicate things too much for beginners.

      If dual-booting, yeah, definitely an NTFS partition for shared storage (just be aware that Windows can be weird with file permissions and ownership).

    • uranibaba@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      If I read lsblk correctly, I am using ext4 for my whole drive. I have used linux for some years now, but I never bothered to learn more than “next next next done” when installing my OS.

      Does BTRFS popOS allow BTRFS? Should I bother for a daily driver?

      • linearchaos@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Unraid turned me on to BTRFS, but in the end, you have to want to use the features to make it matter.

      • Pantherina@feddit.de
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        10 months ago

        In practice BTRFS is a bit faster and on a Distro like Fedora or Opensuse they already integrate it to do system backups while running (copy on write).

        In practice it just works and you dont use all the fancy possibilities, because a majority of the Linux world still sticks with ext4 for whatever reason, so Filemanagers and backup tools wouldnt reach everyone.

        Its a perfect example of Linux slowing down itself by desperately refusing to change

        • Xorg
        • old Desktops
        • old software, system packages, damn appimages
        • no automatic updates
        • ext4 instead of something modern

        Ext4 is from 2008. BTRFS is even older from 2007, but was only declared stable in 2013. More innovation, more testing time, more “dont use it yet, it is unstable”. Ext4 probably never was as they didnt try that much.

    • banneryear1868@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Makes sense to go simplest as possible on a home pc and even home sever. More important with raid and production capacity planning or enterprise stuff.

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    10 months ago

    someone who switches away from the distro’s default desktop environment is not a new user.

    • Black616Angel@feddit.de
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      10 months ago

      Yes, but a lot of them have multiple DEs (Ubuntu/Lubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu…) and sometimes the DE is specific to the distros (Mint).

      • tubaruco@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        only distro ive tried that had that was debian (and arch if you count a tty as an installer), which one do you use?

    • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      Endeavour OS offers these on install

      But the post is more about recommending a DE to start with/them picking one they like since it’s visual. And then you recommend a distro where that is default

  • HolyDuckTurtle@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    I started with Ubuntu and slowly tried getting used to Gnome over the course of a few months (mainly using windows, every now and then hopping into Ubuntu when not gaming). I learned of KDE, tried it in Kubuntu, and it all instantly clicked for me. I switched over in about a week and haven’t had much reason to boot Windows since.

    It turned out that front-facing experience was incredibly important to me.

    • at_an_angle@lemmy.one
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      10 months ago

      Got Ubuntu because all I wanted was to play/mod games and watch videos… and Windows 10 totally shit the bed. Constantly on the green loading screens.

      I’m so lost with installing, directories, hidden directories, learning how to uninstall things I can’t find in directories I can’t find. It’s a massive headache and steep learning curve.

      Still haven’t really played a game yet that can’t run on Ubuntu natively, and it’s still better than Windows 10.

  • Gakomi@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    For windows users that go to Linux I always recommend KDE as it looks like windows and it’s easy for them to understand and use it!

        • Rikudou_Sage@lemmings.world
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          10 months ago

          It’s really similar to Windows in how you use it. Switching between Windows 11 and Cinnamon is as seamless as it can be.

          There’s almost no configuration or anything necessary, you just install it and it’s great.

        • tubaruco@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          cinnamon is lighter and simpler and looks more like the best version of windows (7)

          • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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            10 months ago

            I can’t see how looking like a 14 year old version of Windows (as opposed to a newer version) is an advantage for people coming from Windows.

            • tubaruco@lemm.ee
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              10 months ago

              windows 7 was simpler and lighter, and as far as i know, everyone i know prefers it over 10 or 11

              7 just worked better, had a lot less bloat, so people who liked it will be happy and nostalgic when they see something theyre used to

            • owen@lemmy.ca
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              10 months ago

              Yeah np. For example my dad got bogged down by all the options and features in KDE, but cinnamon was great cause it just launches apps and shows the time lol

              • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
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                10 months ago

                Got it! I tend to forget that not everyone can deal with tons of options. I am this person in certain config files like synapse and telegraf. The config files are just impossibly long and getting an overview of them is impossible in my mind.

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        10 months ago

        As a power user of windows I’ve lost faith in Ubuntu, though. Their DNS implementation alone is a disaster. So I’ve switched to Debian and KDE, but then I saw there is a Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) so that’s probably what I would recommend if anyone asked me. I personally haven’t used it yet tho as I’m enjoying KDE.

  • Mango@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Well sure. My approach for looking for a distro was usually “which ones have KDE and pacman” and after that I start comparing.

  • denast@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    Not a hot take, I keep saying the same thing in different threads. I was not able to switch to Linux for years before I understood that I have problems with Gnome not with Linux itself, tried KDE and given I was migrating from Windows it clicked immediately.

    After you gain some experience, DE becomes mostly irrelevant, but it is crucial for starting off in an unfamiliar environment.

    • tubaruco@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      the DE is very important unless you have A LOT of free time and REALLY WANT to see something different from what youre used to.

      my first distro (other than ubuntu in school computers, but we dont talk about those) was fedora server minimal install, where i installed dwm and had fun using it. i had just switched from windows and was happy to have so many options, even though i had (almost) no linux experience before. after trying most of the big DEs and distros, i ended up on arch with xfce, which i have been using for more than a year now.

      most people really should go slower and try things step by step, as what i did would be really weird for anyone that tried it …probably

    • urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      10 months ago

      I switched back to Linux about a year ago after taking about a 10 year break, and I installed gnome without even considering another option (because it’s good enough right?)

      It’s completely different than what I remember and I hate it. I want to switch to something else but that is now a “someday” project.

      I remember when it had a cute footprint where the “start button” used to be. It’s so different. I should have went with xfce or something. Maybe I should try cinnamon.

      • dustyData@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Cinnamon is the most Windows like DE, even more so than default KDE Plasma. Specially since the Mint team went the extra mile to make the OS settings and configuration 100% UI based in a Windows-lite way. It’s currently the perfect Linux noobie distro.

  • CashewNut 🏴󠁢󠁥󠁧󠁿@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    There’s Two Main Choices:

    Packages…

    1. Pacman-based - Arch, Arco, Endeavour
    2. RPM-based - Fedora, SuSE
    3. Aptitude-based - Ubuntu, Debian

    Choose Pacman for rolling release, bleeding edge. Pick aptitude for servers and pick RPM if you want something that ‘just works’.

    Desktop…

    1. Full DE - Gnome, KDE
    2. Window Manager - Awesome, i3

    High end machines with lots of fancy features and ease of use pick a full DE. WM is good for speed and low-end hardware but harder to use.

    • FalseDiamond@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      Disagree on picking RPM distros for an absolute beginner (this is what the image is about at least). SUSE maybe but you don’t want a newbie having to deal with US patent bullshit and especially SELinux. Similarly, no newbie will ever pic a barebones WM as a first time user.

      • Daniel F.@aussie.zone
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        10 months ago

        I have used Fedora for nearly all the time I’ve daily driven Linux, and haven’t encountered any problem that a newbie would encounter and couldn’t overcome, excluding distro-agnostic stuff. Yeah, the h264 shit sucks, but if you use flatpaks you shouldn’t have to worry about it. And if you ever have to face SELinux, then you’re probably doing something that’s beyond beginner level.

      • Fox@pawb.social
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        10 months ago

        I dunno, I picked RedHat 5.2 as a complete beginner along with fvwm95 and afterstep, and that worked out okay. Of course, that was 25 years ago.

        • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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          10 months ago

          Same. I remember getting interested in Linux in like 1997 or so, and it seemed like RedHat was preferred for newbies.

          Of course, what were the alternatives then? It was basically Slackware (or Suse), Debian, and RedHat (or Caldera). There was no RHEL or Canonical or SElinux back then. It was a different time.

          Hell one of the language packs for installing RedHat was “Redneck”. It was a gimmick to demonstrate localization options.

      • CashewNut 🏴󠁢󠁥󠁧󠁿@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It’s a very rough guide I threw together. There’s all sorts of wedge cases you could use to argue against it. E.g. you could use RPMs on slack Linux. Not exactly user friendly.

        Bit on the whole fedora or Suse do the job.

        Also desktops are better for newbies. I thought I’d mentioned that but yeah I agree deffo better for newbies while WM managers more for tinkerers/power users.

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        10 months ago

        I started on CentOS and don’t remember any issues but that was a long time ago. I flirted with Suse, Ubuntu, and Arch when RH started being a super dick. I finally settled on Rocky, rpm is the devil I know.

    • uranibaba@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Started using Debian because I only used it for servers to begin with. Learned APT and never dared to learn anything else. So now I just stick with any distro using APT and a DE I like.

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      10 months ago

      Apt, not Aptitude. Aptitude is just one of many front ends for Apt. I usually go for Synaptic.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      So for gaming… Pacman? I thought mint and kubuntu use aptitude, and was under the impression those are two of the better gaming distros.

      I hate windows, but am sick of trying Linux every 5-6 years and finding out that I cannot get half the games I play to work. Admittedly, with you guys I might not be going it alone this time…

      • The Menemen!@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I’d say, just use Ubuntu if gaming is your main concern.

        Imo the main problem for games are 1. hardware drivers (afaik only if you have brand new hardware), 2. game launchers (fuck those fucking game launchers, fuck; except steam) and 3. anti- cheat software.

        Otherwise gaming is really good under Linux nowadays.

      • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Debian-based systems (including Ubuntu and its forks such as Mint) uses dpkg and APT (APT does all the communicating with repositories, dependency managment etc, dpkg actually installs and removes packages.) Aptitude is a TUI front-end for APT that gives you a menu-based system in the terminal. Synaptic (not to be confused with the trackpad driver) is a GUI front-end for APT.

        I game on Linux Mint. Now it might be my tendency to play single player and/or cooperative multiplayer (think Stardew Valley or Unrailed!) games often made by smaller studios and indie developers as most of the AAA space has otherwise offended me, but…I don’t really have a problem. The vast majority of things just install and run from Steam.

      • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
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        10 months ago

        The package manager is usually tied to the distro, but the point above is to let the package manager inform your distro choice.

        You’ll notice a running theme in my lecture here is “choice.” You can switch Desktop Environment and other stuff on just about any distro and make it feel like yours. Switching package managers isn’t recommended though! 😅

        So for instance, Arch (btw lol), or Manjaro, or Endeavour use Pacman.

        I’ve switched to Endeavour recently which is essentially “User-friendly Arch-based” with an installer and stuff, and it’s absolutely lovely for games. My old 960M laptop runs plenty of stuff great. :D

        On my main rig I’ve used OpenSUSE Tumbleweed for years, which is also a rolling release (constantly updated) distro that technically uses RPMs, but uses its own package manager called Zypper, which I find mostly user friendly. Packages are also a bit more thoroughly tested.

        Both use KDE Plasma desktop environment and it’s gorgeous.

        Alternatively, especially for laptops with hybrid Nvidia graphics, POP!_OS is alright if you’re okay with GNOME desktop environment. (You can always change, but it’s geared toward GNOME). It used Aptitude, and the updates trail behind a bit, but generally that’s supposed to make a more stable system.

        (Note that when I say “lags behind”, latest security fixes tend to be backported, but you won’t see fancy new shiny features as fast.)

        For gaming specifically though:

        Win10 is gonna be my last Windows. 11 is invasive and opinionated, and 12 is gonna have a forced Ai fetish. Gross.

        Good news: Steam games work wonderfully. Thanks to advances with Proton and all their support for the SteamDeck (which runs Linux btw!)

        For other platforms, look into Heroic Launcher, which takes a lot of the headache out of managing stuff like GOG games. :)

        With rolling releases you usually want to update cautiously and check news updates and stuff, because newer versions aren’t as thoroughly tested and some stuff might break…but you get new features faster so that’s fun.

        That being said: If you’re willing to learn a little as you go, OpenSUSE Tumbleweed is a big win in my book for getting the latest fun stuff while still being stable! It’s also thoroughly security-minded.

        And by default, it includes “Snapper” set up for you, so you can just roll the system back to a working version in the rare case something goes wrong. You can install snapper on any distro, but it comes pre-configured and ready to go, as long as you use the default “BTRFS” file system.

        I won’t get into filesystems because hoo boi…but TL;DR: BTRFS allows “snapshots” and rollbacks that don’t require literally doubling your disk space for rolling back, so it’s a great safety net.

        That being said: ALWAYS have more than one backup, in multiple locations, of anything you find important!

        Good luck and have fun. I will say, Endeavour, OpenSUSE, and Pop_OS all have great communities that are eager to help if you’re eager to learn! :)

    • Ghostbanjo1949A
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      10 months ago

      Most new Linux users if not all, are unable to make an educated decision on package management. The UI that they think they will like better would be more important.

    • umbrella@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      i would recommend it to gamers but they still dont support it officially outside the steam deck…

      • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        10 months ago

        I don’t think they will officially support it outside of the deck IMO, having used one in the flesh they have hardware optimization down to a tee - which to me really rounds off the deck experience.

        The rapid sleep/wake and some options in the quick access menu would likely need some ironing out on other hardware configs, not sure how nvidia card support would work too…

  • Mikina@programming.dev
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    10 months ago

    I 100% agree! Am a pretty new user of Nobara as a daily driver, switched like a month ago (I did have extensive CLI experience with Linux servers, along with Kali VM for work), and I’ve only realized what DE actually is only a week ago, because no one mentioned how important choice it is - it was usually just a note, that wasn’t given enough importance.

    So please, if you’re ever recommending any linux distro to somenone who’s asking, please include a short paragraph about what DE is and how importnant choice it actually is, and that they should not ignore it. I hated Gnome, and KDE feels so much better (only found about it when reinstalling broken first Fedora install to Nobara), but I didn’t know I can switch or that there was that choice in the first place - I though KDE vs Gome is a back-end thing, similar to X11 vs Wayland. It’s not, but people don’t usually explain it when recommending distributions.