this post was submitted on 22 Nov 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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submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

stolen from linux memes at Deltachat

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[–] [email protected] 257 points 11 months ago (9 children)

Arch user here.

My recommendation to noobies is always Linux Mint even though I don't use it.

I use Arch, btw.

[–] [email protected] 89 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I think Arch is fine, but I'd never recommend it to a new Linux user.

[–] [email protected] 68 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Most Arch users (myself included) don't recommend Arch to n00bs or even light seasoned Linux users if they already are happy with their setup.

But the meme is the meme and I like bullying Arch elitists.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Even I wasn't cruel enough to banish my mother to arch. She uses fedora on her desktop (because she liked gnome) and Linux mint on her laptop because I wanted her to make sure she still wanted to switch after trying it for about a month.

She wanted to jump head first but it would have been a pain to go through four installs if she didn't like it.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Indeed, besides most linux distributions are fairly equally lightweight and can be customized. I tried 4-5 distros this past January (Arch being one) when I got my new gaming laptop and they all booted in ~9.5 sec for example, and perform equally well in general, they had fairly similar RAM load with the same desktop environment.

Arch is about managing the system as a hobby, which is fine.

One problem here is that new users install Endeavour/Garuda but don't know how to manage updates safely about pacnew/pacsave/etc. So the system might slowly "rot" without them knowing about it because new components use old configs, etc..

I also recommend Mint to new users. I don't use Mint, nor do I use Arch.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Arch is about managing the system as a hobby

You're thinking of Gentoo.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (2 children)

As a Gentoo user currently vacationing in Arch-land I'm not sure whether to feel insulted or affirmed. Imean, it is but some might say that to disparage it or its users 😅

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

No disparaging intended, it just isn't my thing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

For me: Gentoo is a meta distro, you are the distro maintainer then the power user of that specific distro you created for yourself which can definitely be fun. Arch is more like: let's give you one instance of a Gentoo distro when you are tired of being the distro maintainer.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Tbf I don't think many people know about pacdiff. The way I found out about it was by looking up a warning about pacnew/pacsave during an upgrade, because I was bored. Very random.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Arch is about managing the system as a hobby, which is fine.

Only the installation takes more time, maintenance is no longer than the noob friendly ones.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Hey, you're on the wrong Lemmy instance. :P

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

I so want to join that one :D Brilliant name.

... Then go back to Gentoo and stay anyway >:P

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

I use both, but Mint is strictly better if you want a no-fuss system that just works and will continue to do so

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

As a seasoned distrohopper, can confirm. When I try something new, I always ask myself: Would a noob be ok with the fact that in this distro you have to do things this way. In Fedora, Debian, Manjaro and so many other I always end up saying “no” more than a few times. With Mint, you just don’t bump into these situations very often. IMO, Mint is the best starter distro for most users. If you know your friend is very technical, you can recommend something else.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I finally tried out Linux Mint this year at work (we use Fedora for some of our different tasks). It arms like such a nice experience out of the box, and I’d put it on a family computer in a second.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Yep. LM or Ubuntu is my recommendation to newbies

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Mint was my first used, was straightforward and easy to get going. Still use mint.

I've always read it doesn't really matter what distro you choose, just to pick one you like. That's confusing to a noob because they don't know why they should or shouldn't like a specific one.

Mint is very simple to setup and works very much like a windows PC by default. Can even set it up to work like a Mac if you want to.