New to Linux? Ubuntu Isn’t Your Only Option

mactan , 4 months ago

I think DE is more important than distro to new folks

BmeBenji , 4 months ago

“New to Linux? Where the most daunting thing about switching to it is how many choices you have in configuration? Well, good news! You have more choices than you think!”

scratchandgame , 4 months ago

Linux is flawed. everything use systemd.

The only clean living is BSD, in my opinion OpenBSD is the easiest. NetBSD prior to 10.x does not have SSL certificates preinstalled. FreeBSD needs you to manually install X. Both FreeBSD and NetBSD have a menu based installation, while OpenBSD is question-based, and their disklabel tool have automatic partitioning.

isVeryLoud , 4 months ago

Nice meme

scratchandgame , 4 months ago

Anyone used BSD?

M500 , 4 months ago

To any Linux curious users,

I consider myself to be an intermediate Linux user. I have hosted applications and services on Linux servers in the cloud and use it as my primary operating system. I recommend Linux Mint. If you have an nvidia GPU, then I recommend PopOS as they have a version that has nvidia drivers pre-installed.

When I first started with Linux, I thought that Mint was less capable than other distros as it was the most user friendly. But I learned that you can do anything you want with any Linux distro. It is just that Mint is the least likely to give you trouble with random things.

With that all being said, you will have far fewer issues with Linux than you will with Windows.

Additionally, you can get legit troubleshooting steps for linux that actually work. With Windows it seems that there are 100 ways to possibly fix an issue and they feel like patching a sinking boat.

sibachian , 4 months ago

i’ve been pushing mint for years because it truly is just that good. everything just works. easy to learn. lots of easy customization available by default for even beginner tinkering. there is no headache or issues with drivers, patches, or software, ever.

but unfortunately (most recent versions) have become more prone to heavy slow downs and the new store in the latest update is utter trash.

bbuez , 4 months ago

First year of Linux for me was Mint, loved it, have since switched to popOS which I will admit has been less stable than mint with the DE very infrequently locking up, it does self recover. Only REISUB’d Mint twice and I don’t actually think I’ve had to on Pop yet, some recent nvidia driver made it angry but rolled back without issue

panned_cakes , 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago)

I think that’s something that people should emphasize to Windows & MacOS/iOS users more, the problems are impossible for you to truly resolve, and the next update could make your program that fixes said problems obsolete, or makes it impossible to control what network traffic your computer sends entirely in order to torrent Windows Updates to other users. Linux has presented me with problems which can be solved in a variety of ways and really helpful troubleshooting resources that have a side benefit of introducing you to cute online groups of people who tend towards anti-corporate politics/incoherent left libertarian at a minimum

tsonfeir , 4 months ago

alpine is great if you don’t plan to use a gui and just want to set up command line stuff. not all new linux users are looking for a desktop replacement. some just want a server for file sharing or running plex, etc.

scratchandgame , 4 months ago

I use OpenBSD, and Alpine is the only Linux distro I can recommend :)

It is somewhat like FreeBSD (not having X by default), and they are both not friendly to newbies when compare to OpenBSD.

People should start with a free and sane default and gather knowledge, not start with a beautiful desktop environment (integrated graphical environment) and use browser and libreoffice and proprietary software on their device.

DennisMFaucher , 4 months ago

Pop!_OS is lovely and the people behind it helpful. Works so well on my System76 laptop (obviously).

NaoPb , 4 months ago

I wish howtogeek would change back to their old ms paint logo.

https://eviltoast.org/pictrs/image/47627db8-5a4c-4984-bea1-e3e175edf426.png

FrostKing , 4 months ago

As a noobie to Linux I have a question: I decided to try ubuntu (haven’t yet) because of what I think is called the Gnome Desktop Environment, which from what I understand is what gives it all of those sleek animations and tab switcher and stuff. Am I correct about this? Or do all distros have this? I care a lot about aesthetics and stuff like that—the main reason I’m interested in Linux, other than learning about something new, is the idea of being able to fully customize the look and feel

anamethatisnt , 4 months ago

You will be able to get GNOME as the default desktop environment in many distributions and then install what extensions you want to change both appearance and function: extensions.gnome.org

You can use a bunch of extensions to get the taskbar + app menu that Windows and KDE use:
extensions.gnome.org/extension/…/dash-to-panel/ , extensions.gnome.org/extension/3628/arcmenu/ and extensions.gnome.org/…/appindicator-support/

Or make GNOME look more like macOS if thats your thing:
extensions.gnome.org/extension/…/dash2dock-lite/

Many users swear by GNOME’s default work flow though, so might wanna give it a shot before changing it.

anamethatisnt , 4 months ago

Installation of Debian 12, Desktop Environment choices https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/065236b5-f1f6-4fe8-a3d9-5f6524a5a76b.png

FrostKing , 4 months ago

Thanks a lot

ILikeBoobies , 4 months ago

Most distros will have it, you could install it on any distro with effort

Example of effort itsfoss.com/install-gnome-linux-mint/

www.gnome.org/getting-gnome/ Other distros with it

I use Endeavour and on install I just chose Gnome

You can stick with Ubuntu, it’s not really a big deal. Everyone will say what they use is best because eventually you will find what is best for you

FrostKing , 4 months ago

Thanks! Mint was my other choice, so knowing I can use that on either frees me up a little bit

jaschen , 4 months ago

Not the first time trying Linux, but the first time in the last 10 years since I tried it and I’m digging Mint. Still has problems with my Logitech steering wheel and Logitech mouse, but overall not bad.

downhomechunk , 4 months ago

I just had a flashback to 1999 and compiling a custom kernel to get my damn Logitech mouse to work.

Ganbat , 4 months ago

Recommending Pop_OS! to newbies

That might just be the quickest way to make someone hate Linux forever. The glitchiest, most troublesome install I’ve ever tried to do. In the end, after two days of work just to get the damn live image to boot, the only reason I kept going was probably sunken cost falacy.

sekhat , 4 months ago

Funny. The one time I installed it, I just stuck it on a usb, booted from it, started the installer, next, next, done.

I really didn’t have much of a different experience between installing pop os Vs Ubuntu.

I guess some weird hardware thing that Pop OS doesn’t provide for?

Ganbat , 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago)

Yeah, maybe. My experience has been a multitude of hangs and flash drive rewrites. At first, I thought my flash drive might be bad, so I tried another and quickly determined that the other one was actually bad before going back to the first. Eventually, I ended up just unplugging everything out of desperation and for some reason that worked.

I’m actually still working on this as I type this, currently waiting on partition changes because, while I read that 500MiB is recommended for Pop’s boot partition, the installer has told me that it’s too small…

Since I’m still dealing with this, and given the issues I had booting the live disk, there’s a good chance this won’t even be useable in the end. I’ve used Ubuntu before, and it boots fine, but fuck if I want to deal with snap.

Edit: Went up to 750MB (yeah, MB not MiB here, easier to think about later). Still says it’s too small. Sure wish I had some detailed documentation to work with here, instead of just “use Clean Install” in the official docs and a single Reddit comment saying “500MiB is good.” That would the bee’s damned knees.

Edit 2: Works fine once installed. The live disk just would not boot with anything else plugged in for some reason.

dingus , 4 months ago

I think it requires 1GB and it’s an incredibly recent requirement that that does not show up well in most search results. I had the same issue on a recent install and I had to go searching around the internet to figure out the actual size like you did lol.

sekhat , 4 months ago

Well glad you got it sorted.

BaumGeist , 4 months ago

Y’all seriously overestimate thr average user:

Debian. It’s simple, stable, minimal upkeep, rarely if ever has breaking changes, and all this out of the box.

Someone new doesn’t need to be thrown in the deep end for their first foray into linux, they want an experience like windows or mac: simple interface, stable system, some potential for getting their hands dirty but not too much to worry about breaking

Harbinger01173430 , 4 months ago

Normal users want that potential for getting their hands dirty to be zero at best

FoxBJK , 4 months ago

Exactly this. To normal people the computer in their house is merely a tool; just another appliance that needs to work every time without any fuss.

Specal , 4 months ago

To add to that, there’s so much “support” out there for Debian and by proxy Ubuntu. You can Google any error and you’ll find the fix. That’s what draws new people to them. Even my self even though I’m not new to the Linux ecosystem. Ubuntu makes a perfectly good and stable server operating system.

TBi , 4 months ago

Debian? First time i installed it wanted to use CD for packages instead of online. Don’t know why. Second time it didn’t have wireless drivers as these were non free.

It’s a great distro but not for newbies.

Fedora all the way!

kkremitzki , 4 months ago

Non-free-firmware is now handled automatically during installation as of the most recent Debian release, just FYI. For reference, see the note at the top of this wiki page: wiki.debian.org/Firmware

TBi , 4 months ago

That’s a recent development. I also though you had to get a specific build, not the normal one.

M500 , 4 months ago

I think they only started doing this in the past year or so. It is decently new, but I think it is a good move.

kkremitzki , 3 months ago

Yep, fairly recent indeed, June of 2023, but it should work with any of the official installation media.

pathief , 4 months ago

I had this problem a week or two ago when I tried to install Debian 12 on my old MacBook pro. Ended up installing something else.

kkremitzki , 3 months ago

Interesting, that’s kind of surprising. Do you mind sharing which model of MacBook Pro it was? I had been considering getting one for cheap for testing purposes. Also, it may not be useful to you at this point, but I figured I’d drop a link to the Debian Wiki which has a page for MBP-specific info, in case anyone reading might benefit: wiki.debian.org/MacBookPro

pathief , 3 months ago

I have a late 2011 MacBook pro with a broadcom wireless card.

I’ve used this laptop to distrohop a bit and the wireless driver is always an issue. You have to install the broadcom DKMS driver or wi-fi will randomly disconnect after a random amount of time.

JubilantJaguar , 4 months ago

One time the installer got stuck on my hardware. Never again. Debian deserves a lot of credit but personally I will not go near an OS unless I am certain in advance that the initial installation will go without a hitch.

bionicjoey , 4 months ago

Debian is in many ways the “deep end”. A big part of its development philosophy is prioritizing their weirdly rigid definition of Free Software and making it hard to install anything that doesn’t fit that. I’m not saying it’s not a good distro, but IDK if it’s beginner friendly.

ulterno , 4 months ago

Debian is in many ways the “deep end”.

The first time I tried Debian was when I was new to Linux, on a laptop with both the Ethernet and Wi-Fi unsupported. On top of which, it had an nVidia GPU. It was hard.

Now I know much more about Linux and checked the Motherboard for Linux support before buying it. Debian works pretty well.

So, it’s beginner friendly as long as someone helps you out with the installation after checking up on all the stuff you will need to run.

bionicjoey , 4 months ago

So, it’s beginner friendly as long as someone helps you out with the installation after checking up on all the stuff you will need to run.

In other words, it’s not beginner-friendly

laverabe , 4 months ago

I’ve only recently switched to Debian after a couple decades with Ubuntu (because snaps) and I had a few issues during installation.

The net install failed to configure my wifi so I had to download the DVD/CD install. That worked but then I had to manually nano several config files to fix about 5 broken things for some reason.

I installed it recently on a different system, and went with the Live option (gnome) and it installed 10x easier and smoother than Ubuntu. It installed in about 4 minutes (on a new/fast computer).

So I would say Debian Live is VERY beginner friendly, but the other install methods are all messed up for some reason. Ubuntu’s default option is the Live option so I think that if Debian just kinda hid the other options on their website it would be 100% beginner friendly…

TheAnonymouseJoker , 4 months ago

The easiest hack I have encountered is to install netinstall Debian, and then on top of it, again install same Debian, without configuring or touching anything. When Debian is installed for the first time, it writes those cdrom folder files, which Debian detects upon a reinstallation. As weird as this sounds, it works reliably, both on my SSD/HDD laptop and ancient desktop with single HDD.

Last month I dualbooted my old Windows 7 desktop with Debian 12 GNOME, works smoothly until I open 10+ Firefox tabs, a Spotify stream and a video in MPV, as it has 4 GB RAM.

BaumGeist , 4 months ago

I would reckon your original hardware also played a big part if it worked swimmingly this time around. I’ve installed half a dozen Debian- and Arch-based OSes on 3 different PCs and four different hypervisors at different times, and run a few more live CDs to boot, and my experience is that there is simply some hardware/emulated hardware that Linux in general refuses to play nicely with.

Debian does make it harder if there are no free drivers, but my non-free wifi cards (an intel and a broadcom) don’t play nicely with any of the OSes’ defaults

laverabe , 4 months ago

The two PCs were identical hardware btw, so in my case Live just worked 10x better.

BaumGeist , 4 months ago

I’m just gonna copy from my other reply to ulterno

Once again overestimating beginners. Any OS installation is inherently not beginner friendly, and requires helping them, regardless of Debian/Arch/Nix/windows/Big Sierra Lion Yosemite III, Esq. Jr. MD or whatever Apple’s calling it nowadays.

I find Debians defaults during installation very beginner friendly, set and forget type stuff. It won’t use the hardware to full potential, but that’s up to advanced users to decided after they’re comfortable with the training wheels.

h3mlocke , 4 months ago

🤣

grubders , 4 months ago

the first distro i used is debian when i was getting on linux and im still using it

BaumGeist , 4 months ago

on a laptop with both the Ethernet and Wi-Fi unsupported

You’re right, it didn’t use to be beginner friendly. The installer has definitely gotten a lot better, and now they’re offering non-free-firmware in it; that avoids that whole issue…

On top of which, it had an nVidia GPU

Nouveau comes packaged. Most people that ditch nouveau do so because it doesn’t give them high performance metrics they expected out of their GPU, or it didn’t support multimonitor, or played poorly with RDP or any other issue which goes outside of my “watch youtube on my laptop” use case. That is, once again, deviating outside of “average user” territory. If you had problems getting any display or DE to work, that’s different, but you may find it sucks less now.

So, it’s beginner friendly as long as someone helps you out with the installation after checking up on all the stuff you will need to run.

Once again overestimating beginners. Any OS installation is inherently not beginner friendly, and requires helping them, regardless of Debian/Arch/Nix/windows/Big Sierra Lion Yosemite III, Esq. Jr. MD or whatever Apple’s calling it nowadays.

I find Debians defaults during installation very beginner friendly, set and forget type stuff. It won’t use the hardware to full potential, but that’s up to advanced users to decided after they’re comfortable with the training wheels.

BaumGeist , 4 months ago

The average user needs a web browser and maybe some office apps

maness300 , 4 months ago

Debian is good until you need to install a PPA :\

KLISHDFSDF , 4 months ago

out of the loop since I’ve moved to debian and been using flatpak for the last few years, what software are you installing via PPA that isn’t generally available via flatpak?

soulsource , 4 months ago

“PPA” is Ubuntu’s branding for third party repositories. So, of course you will have a hard time adding a Ubuntu-specific third-party repository to anything that isn’t the Ubuntu version it’s made for…

Debian of course supports third party repos, just like Ubuntu. On Debian they just aren’t called “PPA”.

---

For more information on how to add third party repos to Debian (or Ubuntu, if you don’t use Canonical’s weird tooling), check out the Debian Wiki page on UseThirdParty or SourcesList. There’s also an (incomplete) list of third party repositories on the wiki: Unofficial. And just like with PPAs, anyone can host a Debian repo.

nifty , 4 months ago

Fedora is also apparently newbie friendly. IME, RHEL is not, but their free developer license is good if you want to learn working with it. Some employers use RHEL exclusively, so it’s not a complete waste.

BaumGeist , 4 months ago

I might give Fedora a try then, finally see what’s so yummy to all the users. Originally stayed away because I heard it was based of RHEL and didn’t want an office-grade OS to do tinkering on.

Also, how about that “freedom,” Red Hat?? what happened to FOSS???

devilish666 , 4 months ago

Well many search engine results recommended ubuntu for newbie.
I remembered the first time i used linux (15 years ago), i choose ubuntu because google recommended it & it has very nice UI compared to other linux that time

erwan , 4 months ago

Ubuntu was the first distribution trying to release a consistent OS, rather than throwing every Linux software possible and letting the user choose.

Also they provided graphical tools for everything, in a user friendly way and consistent with the rest of the Desktop.

But nowadays most mainstream distributions propose that anyway.

soulsource , 4 months ago

Ubuntu was pretty good, until 2010 or so. People who still recommend it probably haven’t used it in the last 10 years.

TronNerd82 , 4 months ago

My personal recommendations for beginner distros:

-OpenSUSE

-Fedora

-EndeavourOS

-KDE Neon

-ElementaryOS

-Zorin OS

-Linux Mint

Or you could just install ordinary Debian, since it’s stable and well-supported. Kind of a GOAT among distros, alongside Slackware.

DarkDarkHouse , 4 months ago

I don’t use it personally, but I think there’s a good case for Linux Mint (Debian Edition)

witx , 4 months ago

imho Debian is far from beginner friendly. They will end up with a laptop without WiFi.

YIj54yALOJxEsY20eU , 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago)

I don’t think this is still true, Debian 12 will install non free drivers if you choose by default. I had that issue on 11 though. I’m not sure how a graphical install works as of late but configuring sudo on a headless box is always tedious and would not be easy for a beginner to figure out.

witx , 4 months ago

If you choose

That’s the key. A beginner will know very few things about that and giving him options will confuse them

YIj54yALOJxEsY20eU , 4 months ago

Nonfree firmware is default in the Debian 12 installer.

Falcon , 4 months ago

So Ubuntu, Ubuntu and unstable arch… here let me have a go:

1. Fedora
2. Tumbleweed
3. Endeavour OS

• easy install arch with extra repos, zfs and and dracut

4. Bonus for the curious

• void
• Redcore Gentoo

StoicLime , 4 months ago

I agree with the Fedora recommendation. Just a all round great experience.

StorageB , 4 months ago

Why isn’t KDE Neon ever recommended? It seems like it would be a solid option.

menemen , 4 months ago

Rolling release and beginner is normally not a recommended combination afaik.

maness300 , 4 months ago

It should be, considering all the problems with a rolling release are also going to appear when the user changes major versions.

menemen , 4 months ago

Yeah, but in most cases the beginner will have a few years before he is forced to do that