ITT: 100 people naming their favourite distro and making that fit whatever OP needs.
this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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That's numerous threads every day in every Linux-related forum. A lot of people cannot seem to distinguish a sincere recommendation based on stated needs frombjust the opportunity to proclaim their allegiance to their favorite.
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Thanks for the input ya nerds. Much love from the geek side of lemmy. I'll be taking the advice of poking around with multiple distros before committing to one, because it sounds a whole lot less painful than I was imagining.
Quick question though, what the hell is a gnome? Or a KDE for that matter?
In windows, we get the entire os as a single product, and we don't have a choice in anything. On linux, it's the contrary. The os if formed by several software distributed separately and joined together like lego pieces. Each linux distro is a compilation of software, a particular combination of lego pieces created and maintained by some group.
So, even the system graphical interface is a lego piece like any other, and each distro comes with one by default. Kde and gnome are some of the most popular interfaces. You can also replace almost any lego piece from the system by another of your choice, unlike on windows.
I hope I helped you understand linux a bit better. It all will become much more simple to you with a little more time. Be welcome to the community.
About Gnome and KDE, they are simply different Desktop Enviroments (DE).On Linux, DE's are a software category, much like how browsers are a category with many different alternatives (Firefox, Chrome, Opera, ...) on Linux we got DE's such as: Gnome (a more tablet-like DE. You either love it or hate it) KDE Plasma (by default it's windows-like, but it is very customizeable but can be kinda overwhelming to some) Cinnamon (the one that comes with Mint, very simple, very light, very user friendly and has a familiar layout for Windows users) And many more, Cosmic, Pantheon, XFCE, Sway and so on...
Stop recommending Ventoy! It’s a huge security risk and the author has not responded in 8 months.
Just looked a bit into the issue, and it's surely weird.. Thanks for informing! Already edited my original comment
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GNOME and KDE are different desktop environments. Basically they are the software that provides you a graphical user interface. Gnome is more simple, but KDE is more customizable and windows-like. There are more options to choose from than these 2
These are "desktop environments". They are essentially the graphical elements you interface with the operating system. icons, windows, buttons, those sort of things.
The two most common are KDE and GNOME. KDE has a very Windows-like appearance and functionality. GNOME is the same but for MacOS.
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Generally I agree with everyone else, Linux Mint is great.
However, if you really want to not worry at all, you could just buy a laptop from e.g. Tuxedo or System76. They come with Linux preinstalled (I think in the case of Tuxedo at least, you even have a choice of which Linux Distro?), and are guaranteed to have no hardware "difficulties" with Linux, i.e. even if you put another distro on it, you won't encounter driver issues.
(Those have become very rare anyways, but do put a damper on the "Firsttime Linux Experience" if you do encounter them...)
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I always recommend to beginners ElementaryOS. The name being coincidental. It is a relatively simple looking but very very elegant and polished interface. Give it a try.
Personally I would recommend Fedora, most distros people have recommended here works.
I had less issues installing Fedora on a new laptop than I did with the win11 and win10 attempts, I'm never switching back to windows
Fedora KDE. It's easy to setup, modern, customizable and fast. Second would be Mint, it's only flaws is that it ships an older kernel (might be a pain) and uses X11 (insecure).
The process for installation is more or less the same for all of them.
Linux Mint and PopOS are the "go to" suggestions. I really don't like the way either of them look. I'm partial to GNOME for aesthetics and ease of use.
Bazzite comes with most of the stuff you will want pre-loaded, and also the cool Steam Deck Gamescope interface. It's the only one I've used with seamless background updates like you might be accustomed to on Android or iOS. That's my recommendation.
Currently using Bazzite as my main OS on my laptop, and it works pretty good, the ostree setup has prevented me from manually installing several things though :/
That is the fun part about Linux is installing anything that's not a Flatpak 😵💫
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Mint or Zorin
I'm going to go out on a limb and say fedora silverblue or bazzite
Basic user? Use flat packs and enjoy easy graphics support, as well as all of the windows compatibility for gaming
Advanced user? Learn to do things in pods/containers or distrobox, it's easy even if the quick start docs aren't great (I can find my cheat sheets if anyone is going down that road)
Pro: most stuff just works, and it's harder to config yourself into a corner you have to research your way out of
Cons: normal Linux install guides need to be modified a bit, it's not hard but you do have to learn how to do it
Pop!_OS is neat. I've been running it on my desktop and laptop for over a year now. I like that it doesn't look like Windows and has enough difference to it to not be a macOS clone either. Plus I think System76 is doing some great things with hardware design.
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I found the main issue with many non-rolling release distributions are the upgrade instructions from one stable release to the next, and not the difficulty of installing them.
I'm myself a Archlinux guy, but that does sometimes require some carefulness and regularly (at least weekly) applying updates and does not have stable automatic updates, so I started installing Fedora atomic desktop distributions (Fedora Silverblue/Kinolite/etc.) for people that just want to use their device for basic stuff.
The reason for that is long term maintainability without an expert at hand.
I had so many bad experiences updating distributions from one stable version to the next, be it Debian and Ubuntu-based, or Fedora-based distributions.
And with those atomic desktop distributions the amount of moving parts is much lower, so hopefully upgrading them to newer releases is much more stable.
So I would suggest giving Fedora Silverblue (Gnome desktop), Kinolite (KDE) or Budgie Edition a try.
I think Mint is good enough. People will dunk on anything popular.
I really like Fedora. Swapped to it a few months ago, my first time using Linux, and I've since only been using the Linux machine. With the KDE Plasma spin, it really is a near 1:1 UI to Windows.
I'll drop this: https://www.techradar.com/best/best-linux-distros It's written by an actual journo and not a bunch of nerds in nerdville!
Getting into Linux is a bit like Windows back in the day - interesting and a lot of fun ... and rather nerdy. My first Windows version was 1.0 and my last was 7. Mind you I do run a MS Silver Partner and worry about a lot of Windows servers and desktops but my daily driver is Linux.
Mint is a great choice, even though it isn't mentioned in the article I linked because you get a great community, which is pretty important. Its basically Ubuntu and therefore Debian too, so a lot of howtos will work.
I personally rock Kubuntu but I have a requirement for enterprisey stuff - ESET and Veeam and AD integration and all that. I also get Secure Boot out of the box and not all Linux distros work with that.
Your smart new laptop will have Secure Boot enabled so you will have to deal with that if you deploy a distro that doesn't. So with say Arch, you will need to turn it off or learn how to sign your kernels etc and that is not a beginner topic! I suggest you turn off Secure Boot if your chosen distro doesn't support it, rather than insisting on it. Its a nice to have but not the most important security feature ever.
You might want to show a bit of ankle and try out a few to start with. Most distros have a live CD that you can boot and try out first. I suggest trying out Mint, Ubuntu and Kubuntu. That gets you three modern interfaces to play with.
If you are into gaming then it kooks like Pop!OS would be a good place to start instead.
There is no real best option - it's what suits you and you have choice.
I'm very impressed by the work by the Elementary OS team. Linux is a beast to figure out, and while I've used Linux for 30 years, I remember how frustrating getting started was. I use Pop!_OS on my desktop machines today and Debian or Ubuntu for other machines and I've used dozens of desktops, but Elementary really does just work (and also also happens to be Debian / Ubuntu based).
It has the easiest install process, trouble free device support, and it starts you with guardrails that keep from breaking things, but can be turned off as you figure it out. Very Mac inspired experience, so not completely intuitive from Windows, but the reality of Linux is that you are going to change distros over time, or even use multiple as each do a better job at dealing with niche requirements. Certaintly not the one size that fits no one that is the current Windows 11 debacle.
Edit: Wine math last night, it was summer of 1994 so 30 years, not 35 😅. It was on my new AMD 486DX4/100 with VLB and getting X to work was no picnic. A friend gave me the CD ROMs so at least I wasn't using dialup to download it.
It will be 35 years way too soon. I can't remember the last time I compiled a kernel let alone what exactly I was doing with a computer in the early 90s.
Its weird that most of the world runs on Linux outside of desktop and we still have these discussions. I didn't know what a distro was in the beginning. It was a Linux kernel and gnu user space someone had compiled to get people started. If the disk sets had a name I didn't know or care.
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