this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2023
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Linux
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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 usually recommend new users try out a few distros from distrowatch on a USB stick with Ventoy making sure to pick a few different desktop environments to try (XFCE, KDE Plasma, Gnome, Budgie, Cinnamon...) There are hundreds and I would argue they have as much of an impact on how your computer works and feels as your distro.
What distro you pick matters less from a user standpoint than you might think. You're going to get a lot of recommendations for Ubuntu and its derivatives Pop_OS! and Mint. They're great for beginners IMO except for one small sticking point, which is that they've been shipping most software in snap packages and flatpaks which have their own quirks to learn. It's kind of like a little container or sandbox. You hear a lot of new users saying that they're having issues with a program not being able to see a file on their computer and it's usually because the program is a snap or a flatpak.
i think mint still ships without snapd--have to install it yourself if you actually want it.
Same for Pop if I'm remembering correctly
mint and neon banish snap to the shadow realm