Advice for a middle-age, moderately pc knowledgeable person to finally switch to or become proficient with Linux?

This is my third attempt. Partly to rage quit Windows, and partly to gain utility and control with some professional AV software.

I have converted an old Asus netbook to Ubuntu netbook remix and used it for a while. I was impressed with how much better that tiny thing ran with Linux than Windows. But in the end it still had less power than a TI-84. So I stopped using it, and never really learned Linux proper.

I dual boot my Chromebook, so I can use gimp for photos on vacation, but everything I do with the Linux partition is cut and paste from articles by people who know what they’re doing. (I was motivated to post here by a meme about that.)

I’m thinking of dual booting my main desktop, because I need Windows for some fairly processor intense A/V software I use for work. So what would be a good distro to look into for a novice and where should I look for a tutorial? I would ultimately like to see if I can use Linux to run my AV software in emulation and add drivers for some professional audio interfaces. I’m fed up with windows and trying to see how far I can get without it. Your help is appreciated in advance, and if this is inappropriate for this topic, let me know and I’ll delete it.

Sneptaur,
@Sneptaur@pawb.social avatar

Consider reading the content on Linuxjourney.com

Barbarian,
@Barbarian@sh.itjust.works avatar

Second this, really great site.

tabular, (edited )
@tabular@lemmy.world avatar

Being able to easily switch back to Windows hindered my attempt to learn Linux. When I wasn’t in the mood to learn a new concept, or failed to get something working after a few tries, then I’d just boot right back into Windows. I was able to push on when I deleted Windows in a rage and now the alternative to getting over the Linux hill was going back down and doing the “no, no, no, no, fuck off” dance that is the Windows install process.

Websites recommending Ubuntu to noobs didn’t help me much. The panel being stuck of the left size of the monitor after my friend boasted about customization on Linux really grinds my gears. Linux Mint was much better coming from Windows, and I’m still on it years later.

RassilonianLegate,
@RassilonianLegate@mstdn.social avatar

@tabular
@Andonyx
Agreed on all points, I didn't end up finally switching to linux until I got so fed up with the auto update caused issue I was having that I just got rid of windows entirely

And while I at first switched to Ubuntu, I wouldn't be happy until a few months later when I landed on fedora with KDE

BlahajEnjoyer,

This may not work for everyone, but the only way to truly embrace Linux was to wipe the windows partition and start using Linux. That’s it, you no longer have to option to run back to your dual booted Windows if shit doesnt work. You sit down and figure it out.

alfredalpaca,

Before I could fully leave windows, I spent a lot of time being lost in Linux distrohopping and ricing without even fully understanding what I was doing. Without a solid setup to live in, Linux had a weird experimental feel and it got frustrating when I wanted stuff done.

Coming to your case, there are 2 different priorities here: daily driving and Linux proficiency. You’re tied into windows for the daily driving bit for now so your main focus should be learning, and that probably won’t need a dual boot right away.

First up is understanding why there are so many distributions. Linux is the kernel, the common skeleton that you can’t use on its own. There are other modular bits that go on top to make a full fledged OS, and the choices of what those are is what makes a distribution. Learn more about the options available for the modular bits - the ones that you should concern yourself with for now are:

  • package managers: the program responsible for installing and managing software. This is one of the main differences between the major popular variants of Linux(Debian, Arch, fedora etc). For example, on Debian and distros based on it, you’d use apt. That’s why you would’ve probably used apt on Ubuntu, it’s based on Debian.
  • desktop environment: all the programs involved with the user interface - the main UI itself. This is a subjective thing and people use different desktop environments based on their workflow.

Once you get this modularity based perspective, distributions wont be overwhelming and vague. You’ll understand why people are recommending mint or popOS:

  • it’s Ubuntu based and there are many popular Debian and Ubuntu based distros out there. You’ll be able to get software easily and if there’s some problem you need to debug, there’s a relevant question and answer out there
  • mint’s desktop environment is cinnamon, which is simple, clean and not too jarring for people coming from windows

You’ll also know, you can choose whatever you want as long as it’s Ubuntu based for your learning phase. Only at that point I think it will make sense to dual boot. You can boot in for particular reasons instead of a vague “let me understand Linux”. The reasons will be finding alternative software to daily drive, learning how to use the terminal or just getting comfortable with Linux in general. From there, you can find your own way or reach out to the community with questions specific for your use cases.

UnfortunateShort,

Distrohopping is the only real answer here. It’s the only way you can experience all the stuff Linux has to offer and it can be a lot of fun.

rawfox,
@rawfox@lemmy.ml avatar

My advice is, learning new things can be a pleasure, so try to improve your learning skills. Everything is possible then.

neytjs,

I’m a middle-aged truck driver. I’ve been using Linux Mint (Cinnamon) now for about seven years as my only operating system (without dual booting) since Windows XP Pro became totally obsolete. Granted, I’m a hobbyist programmer and lifelong computer enthusiast. However, there are definitely some easy to install and use distros out there these days.

pascal,

I also endorse Linux mint as a Windows replacement distribution.

CrypticCoffee,

I would suggest Linux Mint Cinnamon. It’s very Windows like, and just works. It’s a great distro to get started. I started on it, and many others have. Non-techy relatives really took to it also.

ryannathans,

Start with something like Pop!_OS and learn by working out how you do all your daily tasks. Once you are competent with that, try tweaking a few things to run how you want, or try new technology. Enabling wayland for example. Then before you know it you’ll have a large beard and preach the benefits of free software

And every time you need to run a command, work out what it does. Use the built in manual (man command)

K0W4LSK1,

I just made the full time switch to pop os and I’ve been happy so far

Ticktok,

I personally finally made the fulltime switch in November 2021 after years of on again off again attempts. The one I was finally able to stick with was Endeavour OS with KDE desktop. It’s basically just an arch distro with a good installer and som QoL apps. Easy to maintain and a good community if you need assistance.

And with the creation of Bottles running windows software has been surprisingly easy. I do some home studio recording and just got EZdrummer setup as a vst in Ardour, and it just works.

DAC_Protogen,

This on and off again, multiple attempt path seems to be the norm. Learning something new sometimes requires developing a taste or skills, or slowly growing in confidence with each attempt, as your experiences grow. Sometimes, the comfort zone of the things you already know is too big, too tempting. Even if you want to get away from something like Windows. Really making the final jump to leave seems to be a multi-phased process of discovery and easing into something new. My journey to become fully free of Windows took many years and multiple attempts, too. Mostly because I am a gamer and musician, and both these areas simply weren’t well enough supported in Linux until recent years.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

My advice is to restart with Arch (I use Arch btw). Not Manjaro, I’m talking Arch.

I think using/installing Arch as well as its barebones nature FORCES you to understand how Linux works differently than Windows with concepts like root, bootloader, terminal emulation, and disk partitioning, just to give you some examples. At the same time, Arch has excellent documentation, a great package manager in pacman, and rolling release model that greatly simplifies maintainance during daily use so you can tune it to exactly how you want it.

I believe doing it the hard way at first will make it easier for you in the long run if you really want to understand Linux, and Arch is just the right amount of difficult to make you learn Linux, whereas Gentoo would be too hard and you don’t learn enough from using Ubuntu/Debian/Mint.

But yeah, if you just want to use something that works well out of the box, then Ubuntu is great, there’s nothing wrong with using the more user friendly distros.

inverimus,

I didn’t stick with Linux as a daily driver until I tried Manjaro. Learned enough to be comfortable installing Arch and ran that for a while, but after installing it a few times I was looking something a little bit simpler to setup. I now prefer EndeavourOS which is basically Arch with a nice installer and a few QoL apps.

pineapple,

Arch is amazing for all of these reasons, and I agree that by design it’ll give you a lot of insight in to what’s under the hood that most other distos tuck away.

I’ve used it in the past and ended up moving away from it because it requires quite a bit more effort to maintain, which got tiresome.

Arch has an active and dedicated community, so obviously there’s a whole lot of people out there who feel it’s worth the effort. Maybe OP will too. But it’s not a distro to take on lightly.

Vlyn,

I tried that after already having about 2 years experience with Ubuntu desktop and an Ubuntu server (but still mostly a Windows user). I’m also a software developer.

And I failed to install Arch on a laptop the last time I tried it out. Ubuntu ran flawlessly, trying to go step by step through the Arch installation I hit a random error (at a step that was very straight forward and easy in the documentation) and got stuck. Messed around with it and at some point gave up.

I mean that’s years ago, it probably works a lot better nowadays and especially on more modern hardware, but even so for someone new to Linux I’d never tell them to go with a do-it-yourself install. Slap Ubuntu on that bad boy, let them install a few packages, do a handful of terminal commands and they’ll get much farther. Instead of giving up three hours in because a random command (that they still don’t understand) is broken.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

If you look at the original post, his goal is to learn and understand Linux and he is on his third attempt after already trying Ubuntu remix, which is why I made this suggestion.

Again, if he just wanted to use Linux on his computer, then there is nothing wrong with using a more user friendly distro at all. But for his particular needs he described, then Arch is a better distro for learning how Linux actually works.

Vlyn,

But as OP said, they already failed several times. That’s like telling someone who nearly drowned in the shallow end of a pool to go jump into the ocean.

See here:

So what would be a good distro to look into for a novice and where should I look for a tutorial?

For me it feels like they do want to learn, but aren’t comfortable yet as a day to day user. They want to use Linux, but struggle with commands and how to use it. Having a stable and easy to use system you can use each day without trouble would probably be a better start than telling them to fiddle with Arch. Give them an easy distro and when they want to learn more they can use the crappy old laptop and try to install Arch on there (while leaving their daily driver alone).

I think I learned the most when using Ubuntu for school, 90% of it was easy and straight forward. 10% of it was hell, like back in the day getting HDMI or audio to work. But because the 90% were there I just dug in and spent a dozen hours to troubleshoot the rest.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Well, I think “drowning” could be a bit much. Don’t want to make Linux sound that scary now.

I think there is a reason why “Learning Python the Hard Way” is so popular, because although it’s harder, it leads to learning better fundamentals which makes things easier in the long run.

So, I think OP should still give Arch a try, maybe he (they?) will be more receptive to this method, and there’s no harm in trying.

PeterPoopshit,

I’m a long time Linux user but I’m really lazy. I recently installed Arch to try it out again as last time I did it was maybe 2012. Personally, manually setting up the hard drive partitions on initial install is just annoying enough to be too much work (I have a lot of drives) but luckily there’s an installer that does that part for you. Everything else you have to do is sensible and easy and actually ends up being less work in the long run. The wiki is also extremely informative, helpful and correct.

Arch probably can be a beginner distro just because if you have a problem it’s so much easier to find out how to fix it on the internet thanks to the wiki and the forums. Something as mundane as installing nvidia drivers in Debian can be a massive ordeal and the minimum required skill level to fix it yourself if it doesn’t work on the first attempt is very high.

Cybersteel,

Yea took me a while to understand that I need some drivers to install if I wanted to turn on hardware acceleration to watch videos on my computer.

Zedd_Prophecy,

Ubuntu my dude. I started fiddling with it years ago and it’s my go to when I need a good desktop / gaming system. Any distro is gonna be a steep learning curve and a great way to go about it is to get a crapola system and start banging Linux on it. You’ll be frustrated and then search and find that there is a massive amount of community support for most distros. I use a Raspberry PI 4 running Ubuntu 64 for all my AV needs… Drives the projector and stereo and also serves as a retro gaming over the projector deal. We’re all fed up with windows.

GustavoM,
@GustavoM@lemmy.world avatar

Eh, just use a super really easy linux distro like ZorinOS or Mint and stick with it.

t. Currently 39 years old and been using Linux since around 10 years ago.

pineapple,

I have an arguably bad piece of advice, but one I hadn’t seen in skimming the replies.

You could always install Windows in a VM. Libvirt and virt-manager offer a pleasant GUI experience so it’s easy to do. If you give the VM a heavy resource allotment (while leaving a reasonable amount for the host) it should still perform well. The VM video driver is the only place you take a not insignificant performance hit, but for A/V manipulation I don’t think it’ll matter. Unless you use GPU based video encoding. In which case it’ll be CPU bound now so slower. You can potentially do PCI pass through to your GPU but that adds complexity.

A big downside here is that as far as Windows is concerned, this is different “hardware” so it won’t activate based on your physical device. As I recall, it only allows the use of one core while unactivated which is pretty much unusable. So a pretty hefty expense relative to a personal VM, I think. But it is an option.

Tippon,

“A big downside here is that as far as Windows is concerned, this is different “hardware” so it won’t activate based on your physical device.”

You can transfer a Windows licence from another installation, so in OP’s situation, from the original installation. During Windows setup, select the ‘I don’t have a license key’ option, then once Windows is installed, go into settings, click the Windows isn’t activated option, and go through the activation troubleshooter.

I can’t remember exactly where, but somewhere in there is the option to transfer the license from another installation. It has to be the same version of Windows.

nan,

The license transfer also depends what edition was being used. OEM may be stuck with the hardware, traditionally you could take a retail license to a new install.

Tippon,

That’s a good point. It’s been so long since I had to buy a new copy that I can’t remember what version I have.

Pulptastic,

As a 40 something who’s used Linux exclusively a few times before but always came back to windows for one reason or another, I now use a MacBook as my primary. I hate the ads served in windows and the poor handling of focus.

MacOS to me has been like a more polished Linux with broader support for applications.

pineapple,

I dislike anything that comes out of the Apple ecosystem. Keep that in mind when I say that I agree here insofar as MacOS being a better user option than Windows at this point.

That being said, I would encourage OP in their pursuit to see if Linux can fit their needs. Anecdotally, I’ve been using Linux (Fedora, KDE) as my daily driver for years now. I find it quite polished and have no issues with finding applications that fit my needs.

Realistically though, application support can be problematic. If a specific proprietary piece of software is required or important to you and it’s not available in Linux, that could certainly be a non-starter. You could fuss about with wine and try getting that stuff working, but no guarantee it’ll stay working so I wouldn’t rely on that. I know OP is interested in A/V stuff. That’s not an ecosystem I’m very familiar with. I know it exists, but I don’t know how good it is. No harm in trying though, all it costs is time.

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