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.
Honestly, whatever you go with, you should make sure it has KDE plasma, it has a graphical interface that more closely resembles Windows and can function as training wheels until you better familiarize yourseld with the terminal. If you’re looking at Ubuntu, just be aware that you will likely find it irritating once you start understanding how the system works as it forces its own package manager, snap, which introduces a slew of difficulties in acclamaiting to the Linux ecosystem. However, snap does make installation easier for newcomers who may not understand how to identify dependencies for a given package they wish to install. With all of this in mind, Kubuntu is a really good option for first-timers as its a flavour of Ubuntu that comes with KDE Plasma out of the box.
As long as you don’t pick Ubuntu, you’re good to go!
(p.s. not to scare you lol, if you pick ubuntu you’d be fine, just some of their decisions on where they are taking their os have been bad imo)
Everyone has their own preferences, many of the loudest pretend Linux is sport betting, it’s not.
What you care about is:
- how well does it support your hardware
- how well does it support your use case
- how open is the community around the distro to new users
The core OS’s have pretty good support and open minded communities.
Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint
Then you have distros that try to cater more to specific needs, like Bazzite focuses on steam and video drivers staying 100% ready out of the box. That’s not to say that current Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu and Mint can’t install and just work, but it’s not their primary focus.
Debian was old and rigid about non-free software Ubuntu forked and allowed free, and their community blossomed. Ubuntu made marketing decisions with Amazon and some other stuff that wierded people out Mint formed the community started heading over there. Ubuntu tried to start doing snap package manager which people hated, so Mint got stronger. Debian finally said ohh fine you can have non-free software, no mint and Debian are both strong and well liked with pretty good support and communities. Fedora is from the old Redhat lineage and is a strong contender with an ancient community and lots of support. Mint, Debian, Fedora and Ubuntu still all have strong communities and lots of support. They’re a great place to start. Bazzite is a Fedora port that focuses on Gaming and Video driver support.
There is some stink in the air about Fedora dropping 32 bit support, if that happens Both Fedora and Bazzite will have a very hard time supporting games. As long as Fedora keeps 32 bit support, Bazzite is the best for getting your games running out of the box.Video editing can be challenging. Divinci Resolve is pretty good, but the free version has harsh limits. KDEnlive is free and ok, but it really lacks authoring features.
Watching streams is easy
Streaming live video is messier. OBS still works a treat, but you don’t have Nvidia background removal, and most of the other removal options in Linux are anemic.
Don’t use Mint or Ubuntu, use Bazzite. It actually is “just works” with the added benefit of “you can’t break it”. It’s perfect for both beginners and experienced users who are looking to do work rather than tinker with their OS.
And if you have a graphics card (which you probably do since you mentioned gaming), Bazzite comes with Nvidia or AMD drivers preinstalled, so you don’t have to do anything extra to get it to work.
But if you really want to follow the YT influencer Linux memes, at least go with Ubuntu instead of Mint. Mint is just Ubuntu with a different default desktop, but
worse in every other wayless reliable (edit: toned down the exaggeration)Mint is just Ubuntu with a different default desktop, but way less reliable
I have never heard this, why?
The default desktop is better so why not use it. Especially for beginners, the default being a better option, that’s a good thing.
Mint is a more polished ubuntu as far as i’m aware.
As someone who’s been using Linux for around 12 years now, I just came back to Mint a while ago and it’s a good choice for close to everyone I reckon.
I used pretty much all the major distros and some niche ones as well, but in the end I want a PC that does PC things without having to fuck around all the time. Mint does exactly that, it just works.
That being said, feel free to mess around with live USBs, try some distros on an old laptop etc, it’s good fun and you might find something you really like.
Check out the YT videos from Explaining Conputers for some more comparisons of distros for starting out.
Mint is best but if that don’t work try Fedora KDE.
I also recommend watching The Linux Experiment’s videos
options:
- i just want my shit to work: mint
- i just don’t want to deal with all of windows’ nonsense changes: zorin
- i just want my shit to work and i have ideological problems with microsoft: linux mint debian edition
- i want an ideologically pure os (mostly): debian
- i want a truly ideologically pure os: pureos
- i just want my shit to work and i have an old-ish computer: mx linux
- i just want my shit to work and i have a considerably old computer: antix
I just want to game: bazzite
I want to question life: bohi linux
I thought that would be Arch 😆
TempleOS
Mint is fine. I went with pop!_os because at the time mint didn’t play well with my hardware.
Make sure you test things from the install live disk before you commit. Internet access, displays, audio should all work.
mint
Btw you can load them to a USB and try out without installing if picking one is kinda hard tho remember performance will depend on USB quality.
It’s been asked a million times, and it’ll be answered every time, and the answers will mostly be “Mint, Fedora, FedoraKDE, and if you wanna game Bazzite.”
The real advice that gets posted less, regardless of distro:
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Back up your important files to an external drive, often. It’s entirely possible you’ll fuck up an install beyond repair (or beyond what you know how to do at the time) and you end up reinstalling. If you can just put your important files back and be up and running, nothing of value is lost.
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Don’t be scared of the terminal, it’s incredibly useful. Look up a few YT vids like “bash basics” or “linux terminal for beginners” or something and follow along like it’s a class, you’ll soon be comfortable enough to use it when you need it, and you will, and you may come to love it. It’s not as bad as windows cmd! Be careful when using sudo or su, that’s when you could really screw up the system (but mostly it’ll be fine just be careful.
And most importantly, have fun!
Here’s an absolute classic unix koan about the terminal:
One evening, Master Foo and Nubi attended a gathering of programmers who had met to learn from each other. One of the programmers asked Nubi to what school he and his master belonged. Upon being told they were followers of the Great Way of Unix, the programmer grew scornful.
“The command-line tools of Unix are crude and backward,” he scoffed. “Modern, properly designed operating systems do everything through a graphical user interface.”
Master Foo said nothing, but pointed at the moon. A nearby dog began to bark at the master’s hand.
“I don’t understand you!” said the programmer.
Master Foo remained silent, and pointed at an image of the Buddha. Then he pointed at a window.
“What are you trying to tell me?” asked the programmer.
Master Foo pointed at the programmer’s head. Then he pointed at a rock.
“Why can’t you make yourself clear?” demanded the programmer.
Master Foo frowned thoughtfully, tapped the programmer twice on the nose, and dropped him in a nearby trashcan.
As the programmer was attempting to extricate himself from the garbage, the dog wandered over and piddled on him.
At that moment, the programmer achieved enlightenment
Source: https://catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/gui-programmer.html
I need Peter Griffin to explain this one
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Bazzite for a first try. If you never hit a wall needing to make system tweaks, stick to it in the long term. Otherwise, I’m really liking Fedora. KDE/Gnome is personal choice.
Fedora.
I’d recommend either OpenSuSE or Fedora, both with KDE. They’re big, well supported distros, which should install without issue and provide a slick modern experience. I use OpenSuSE, as I find the YaST system tools convenient and user friendly.
I’d avoid Ubuntu, multiple issues. Mint is a good distro but I think any big mainstream distro “just works” now, so I’d go for something that uses a slicker desktop. I prefer KDE, which is available on Mint but just isn’t as tightly integrated as their own Cinnamon desktop.
