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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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Questions about switching to Linux (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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My objective is to ditch windows & utilize my triple monitor desktop as a cockpit style dashboard for my homeserver & lan devices along with always open widgets like music, calculator, etc.

There was another post yesterday about this and the community recommended Mint & Pop OS the most. However, I am not looking for windows-like. I want a new & fresh experience like using a smartphone for the first time or switching from ios to android.

Distrochooser.de recommended kubuntu to me.

So I have some questions:

What are the building blocks of a distro? Things that separate distros from each other. Like I know 2 - Desktop Env & Package Managers. Are there others, what are they or where do I find a list? I would like to compare these blocks and make it a shopping experience and then pick the distro that matches my list. Is this approach even valid?
How do I find and compare whats missing from which distro? For eg. if I install mint, what would I be potentially missing out that may be a feature on another distro? How do I go about finding these things?
What are some programs/ widgets/ others that are must haves for you? For eg. some particular task manager
What are the first steps after installing linux? For eg. In Windows, its drivers, then debloat and then install programs like vlc, rar, etc.
I read on some post, a user was saying that they want to avoid installing qt libraries. Why would someone potentially want that? I have never thought of my computer in such terms. I have always installed whatever whenever. The comment stuck with me. Is this something I should be concerned about?
Should I not worry about all of the above and just pick from mint, pop and kubuntu?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Good questions.

Absolutely valid, but also kind of misleading. For a new user the biggest issue is probably picking the DE. Package managers are important, but they all pretty much do the same thing with some syntax differences. There are some edge cases though. If you really want to go through picking your distro piece by piece, look up installing Gentoo. I don't really recommend it, but there it is.
You're not going to be really missing anything by installing Mint, I don't think. Distros do have different packages in their repositories, but with Flatpaks, Snaps, AppImages, etc. it's rare to not have something available. And you can always just compile what you need yourself.
Librewolf and Strawberry can get me pretty far.
Drivers come with the kernel. You can uninstall and install programs according to your needs. Be careful though, always make sure you're not removing something that's an important dependency for other programs. Might lose your whole DE that way.
Not really something you should be concerned with, honestly. I personally use KDE Plasma and favor QT based programs because I don't want to pull in GTK libraries, but that's honestly kind of silly. Some people just like to keep their number of installed packages low.
Just pick one, really. With experience, you can start to personalize your system. You can try different distros/DEs by booting from a flash drive in to a live environment. No changes will be made to your system and you can see if you like the DE.