this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2023
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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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I got quite a few friends wanting to avoid Windows 11 and taking a serious look at Linux.
Sadly less than half who've tried it out have wanted to stick with it, Due to technical problems or some neche software not being available/having a suitable alternative.
I'm in the same boat. I'd like to leave Windows but since installing POP!_OS I've had issues with ending up with two versions of Firefox installed (yes snap and yes I've fixed that now). My Yubikey can't be detected until I found a post by another user with a fix. I am still yet to find a way to get VRR working.
There's no doubt that a lot of issues are user related but honestly I don't have this much trouble with Windows. This isn't the first time I've tried Linux and each and every time I find issues that I normally just give up on and revert back to Windows. I am trying though, I even purchased a second SSD dedicated for Linux.
I gotta say though Valve's proton software is amazing and without it I probably wouldn't be trying so hard to leave Windows as my primary game doesn't have native Linux support.
Pop!_OS was also the first distro I tried and I had a lot of problems with it, I dunno why people keep recommending it.
I've been fulltime on EndeavourOS for over a month no with no issues, but I also don't have any peripherals that require software to work correctly which makes me a rare case these days.
I'll give EndeavourOS a try then. Thanks.
I tried Pop as it seemed highly recommended.
Mint and ubuntu are solid places to start linux. You can run them all pretty easy in a virtual machine btw, windows will even auto install ubuntu with the hyper v program. https://imgur.com/a/CFCSUvh Uncheck the secure boot for iso.
This may be a bit counterintuitive, but I tried Mint and it was ugly and also 21 => 21.1 upgrade tool botched my drive mounting points.
Fedora was absolutely smooth af and Debian has been absolutely lovely too.
In case either of those seem more up your alley.
I tried Endeavor for a bit before switching to Mint. May have just my me being to new to be jumping into Endeavor but I struggled and switch to mint within a couple days. was a beautiful distro though. Will probably jump back at some point since I'm running Linux on a spare PC right next to my main windows PC.
I read you post and thought that it could be something i would say, too.
My Dad has a cheap laptop he uses just for banking, and he asked me to put Linux on it so he wouldn't have to upgrade to Windows 10. It's not much - for my Dad, or for the greater Linux market share - but it's something!
Like what, exactly? I can only imagine drivers and even drivers aren't a really huge deal anymore
Again like what? Most softwares either have perfectly fine alternatives or if not, may even run transparently in Linux. A lot of times it's just "slightly different" and requires a person to just stick with it for a while.
Also, try KDE desktop. It's more a windows look and feel whilst being plain better and prettier and won't scare people off so easily
Edit: why the downvotes? I'm sincerely curious to what the problems are
I'm a fairly technically savvy person. And yet, since the drivers do not support the fingerprint sensor and the windows hello camera on my laptop. I am trucking along without.
But, not everyone is going to have the same leniency for tech they bought. Also the bluetooth is ridiculously flaky. Sure I could change the driver/software and all from CLI but the layperson is not going to be adept at that.
Most complaints I got from people were over gaming mice/keyboards or audio equipment that need additional software to fully function.
I do think it's pretty stupid that some hardware requires extra crap in order to work right but I ain't gonna convince my friends to throw out their sometimes $100+ peripherals because the manufactures a jackass.
I will totally agree KDE is probably the best DE out their for desktops and already way better out of the box than Win10/11, I've been using it for over a month now and not missing Windows at all.
There is a windows theme in the Mint themer that looks like it is spot on to look just like windows. I love the look of linux over windows though so didn't try it.
Yeah, even that is possible ( though other non windows themes look better, personally)
I guess that's the point. Linux is all about possibilities. You can do anything you want.