This is my third attempt. Partly to rage quit Windows, and partly to gain utility and control with some professional AV software.

I have converted an old Asus netbook to Ubuntu netbook remix and used it for a while. I was impressed with how much better that tiny thing ran with Linux than Windows. But in the end it still had less power than a TI-84. So I stopped using it, and never really learned Linux proper.

I dual boot my Chromebook, so I can use gimp for photos on vacation, but everything I do with the Linux partition is cut and paste from articles by people who know what they’re doing. (I was motivated to post here by a meme about that.)

I’m thinking of dual booting my main desktop, because I need Windows for some fairly processor intense A/V software I use for work. So what would be a good distro to look into for a novice and where should I look for a tutorial? I would ultimately like to see if I can use Linux to run my AV software in emulation and add drivers for some professional audio interfaces. I’m fed up with windows and trying to see how far I can get without it. Your help is appreciated in advance, and if this is inappropriate for this topic, let me know and I’ll delete it.

    • Phil@lemmy.world
      3·
      2 years ago

      Epic post, really good advice, MInt is the way to go IMO as well, the Xfce version is perfect for my needs and really stable, indeed having dabbled with linux for years this is the only version I have used for more than a year, actually just checked and I have been on mint now since 2020 with just the one upgraded installation. I actually duel boot but never actually boot into window for anything other than occasional work needs.

  • odium@programming.dev
    202·
    2 years ago

    Pop OS is a good beginner friendly Linux distro. Like Ubuntu, it is also debian based. This would make it easier to get used to for you since you have some experience with Ubuntu.

    • coldredlight@beehaw.org
      2·
      2 years ago

      I’ve been really happy with Pop on my laptop. Tiling was a lot more useful than I expected, it’s nice being able to flip it on and off as needed.

  • Lvxferre@lemmy.ml
    14·
    2 years ago

    General tips:

    • Don’t look for Linux versions of the Windows software you use. Instead look for software that fulfils the same purpose.
    • If you’re cutting-and-pasting a lot of stuff from those articles, give yourself a check on what those things actually do. See it as a small investment of time to economise time later on, as you’ll rely less and less on those articles.
    • Stick to popular distros. And for the desktop environment (DE), use whatever works for you.
    • Keep it easy. It’s fine if you need to log into Windows once in a while, but over time you’ll notice yourself doing it less and less.
    • Barbarian@sh.itjust.works
      3·
      2 years ago

      give yourself a check for what those things do

      To add, don’t kick yourself for forgetting and needing to double-check something. For example, even as a Linux vet, I still sometimes need to double-check whether it’s -r or -R for recursive on whatever command I’m using sometimes.

      • SymbolicLink@lemmy.ca
        3·
        2 years ago

        Also it’s good to get into the habit of using man or - -help instead of or in combination with searching on the internet. Makes you less reliant on searches and also ensures that your are using commands that correspond to the version of the software you are using

        IE: man rm | grep recursive

  • SymbolicLink@lemmy.ca
    11·
    2 years ago

    I would go from the bottom up instead of top down.

    Make a list of software and tools you use, and search for functional Linux native equivalents. Then find the distro that supports up to date versions of that software (through flatpak or the package manager).

    You can honestly do 100% of this without even touching the command line if you choose something user friendly like Mint, Pop OS, Ubuntu, or Fedora. Don’t fall into the rabbit hole of finding the perfect distro. Go from what you need to what supports it.

    keep the windows partition around for a while until you are 100% confident you can fully make the switch.

  • neytjs@lemmy.ml
    10·
    2 years ago

    I’m a middle-aged truck driver. I’ve been using Linux Mint (Cinnamon) now for about seven years as my only operating system (without dual booting) since Windows XP Pro became totally obsolete. Granted, I’m a hobbyist programmer and lifelong computer enthusiast. However, there are definitely some easy to install and use distros out there these days.

      • §ɦṛɛɗɗịɛ ßịⱺ𝔩ⱺɠịᵴŧ@lemmy.ml
        4·
        2 years ago

        There’s a wide user base in mind with each, so rarely does anyone use all of the included packages. This could be defined as bloatware, plus proficiency in linux to me means anything can be done via terminal or GUI. The base distro’s have some task which require the terminal, while mint and kubuntu are managed via GUI.

  • girlfreddy@sh.itjust.works
    9·
    2 years ago

    Not a pro take here … but when I was playing with various distros back in early 2001-03 I favoured Ubuntu, simply because it was the most user friendly (still have an old laptop duel-booted with it).

    distrowatch.com is a good place to look around and check out what’s new and true to your needs.

    The old-style web page is the same as it was in 2001; brings back good memories. :)

    • Andonyx@lemmy.mlOP
      8·
      2 years ago

      I really appreciate all the answers here so far. But I wanted to thank you for that resource specifically. Maybe my googling isn’t so great either, but I haven’t come across that before. Much obliged.

      • Marxine@lemmy.ml
        4·
        2 years ago

        Just be aware of distrowatch rankings, they’re sorted by visits to the site, impressions and etc, and don’t necessarily reflect how much a distro is really widely used.

        As others have said, if your device doesn’t have a Nvidia card, go with Linux Mint. If you do have a Nvidia card Fedora (maybe not the default GNOME version, as GNOME’s workflow required some time to get used to) or openSUSE might be better options.

        If you’re okay with a distro installer asking a few more questions than the basic ones, and you don’t need super updated stuff, you can also try Debian.

      • Balder@lemmy.world
        2·
        2 years ago

        It’s not your fault, Google has become almost useless when it comes to things that aren’t commercial SEO optimized stuff. The course of popularity, I guess.

  • Yuutzyu@lemmy.world
    61·
    2 years ago

    I dual boot Fedora and Windows on my PC, have had a good experience so far. I would say Fedora is beginner friendly and is a good choice for a distro, everything just works.

    • slimsalm@programming.dev
      1·
      2 years ago

      I guess if you have a new laptop, I can imagine that with newer kernels than what is debian based, that said before debian 12 recently came out. I’m personally a bit worried of recommending “corporate funded” distros, help me if I’m wrong, but what heppened with RHEL, I can’t stop thinking it will happen with fedora… It is just my opinion/fear

  • mvirts@lemmy.world
    5·
    2 years ago

    Only one thing: never give up. You’ll get things fixed by copy and paste until one day youll have a broken system and think wait I actually know how to fix this because I’ve been through it five times before.

  • NerdyOldGeek@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    2 years ago

    If you can, find another old computer that still works, maybe replace the mechanical hard drive with a solid state drive and install Linux Mint or even the new Debian 12. I have Debian running on an old computer with an Intel i5-2500k processor and it is rock solid. As far as learning linux, I recommend https://www.learnlinux.tv/ as a starting point. Jay is very good at explaining.

  • CodeBlooded@programming.dev
    61·
    2 years ago

    First thing: Ubuntu is the right choice. As far as I’m aware, having run Linux as my main desktop OS for almost a decade and playing with several flavors (…which includes Arch btw 😎), it’s the most polished out of the box desktop experience for someone completely new. It will also likely be the OS with the most Q&A existing on the web for problems you won’t be the first to have encountered.

    Secondly, and maybe this should be first, and it sounds like you’ve already got this part down: you have to want to do this. Linux is just not mainstream for the majority of desktop computer users. If you’re not really wanting to do this, you’ll be frustrated when this isn’t the same experience as Windows. (but it sounds like you’re sick of the Windows experience. That’s what started me into Linux years ago.)

    Lastly, as far as my quick Lemmy comment goes: Embrace the terminal! You can get around for a while as a Linux n00b on Ubuntu without opening that terminal, but at the end of the day, the *nix shell commands are what make working with Linux great.

    The switch will take time. You’ll occasionally need to look up how to do stuff that may have felt simple in Windows… and that will usually be installing and running software that targets Windows only. However, the support for that sort of stuff gets better and better with time. Wine🍷 has come a long way.

    It’s worth the journey IMO. For me, I was a PC gamer and I jumped straight into Linux with 0 experience. I learned a lot, spending a lot of time trying to make my Windows games run on Linux. Friends at LAN parties would joke about how I’d spend half the LAN party trying to get my games to run right.

    The jokes were a good laugh, but my career shifted since then and my Linux experience carried right over into software development. Everything I deploy is on Linux servers or in Docker containers. All those years fooling around and tinkering with Linux as a PC gamer were loading me with experience that people would pay me for one day.

    Good luck! 🐧

  • alfredalpaca@lemmy.world
    5·
    2 years ago

    Before I could fully leave windows, I spent a lot of time being lost in Linux distrohopping and ricing without even fully understanding what I was doing. Without a solid setup to live in, Linux had a weird experimental feel and it got frustrating when I wanted stuff done.

    Coming to your case, there are 2 different priorities here: daily driving and Linux proficiency. You’re tied into windows for the daily driving bit for now so your main focus should be learning, and that probably won’t need a dual boot right away.

    First up is understanding why there are so many distributions. Linux is the kernel, the common skeleton that you can’t use on its own. There are other modular bits that go on top to make a full fledged OS, and the choices of what those are is what makes a distribution. Learn more about the options available for the modular bits - the ones that you should concern yourself with for now are:

    • package managers: the program responsible for installing and managing software. This is one of the main differences between the major popular variants of Linux(Debian, Arch, fedora etc). For example, on Debian and distros based on it, you’d use apt. That’s why you would’ve probably used apt on Ubuntu, it’s based on Debian.
    • desktop environment: all the programs involved with the user interface - the main UI itself. This is a subjective thing and people use different desktop environments based on their workflow.

    Once you get this modularity based perspective, distributions wont be overwhelming and vague. You’ll understand why people are recommending mint or popOS:

    • it’s Ubuntu based and there are many popular Debian and Ubuntu based distros out there. You’ll be able to get software easily and if there’s some problem you need to debug, there’s a relevant question and answer out there
    • mint’s desktop environment is cinnamon, which is simple, clean and not too jarring for people coming from windows

    You’ll also know, you can choose whatever you want as long as it’s Ubuntu based for your learning phase. Only at that point I think it will make sense to dual boot. You can boot in for particular reasons instead of a vague “let me understand Linux”. The reasons will be finding alternative software to daily drive, learning how to use the terminal or just getting comfortable with Linux in general. From there, you can find your own way or reach out to the community with questions specific for your use cases.

    • UnfortunateShort@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 years ago

      Distrohopping is the only real answer here. It’s the only way you can experience all the stuff Linux has to offer and it can be a lot of fun.

  • slimsalm@programming.dev
    5·
    2 years ago

    Would start off with linux mint cinnamon edition, imo it is the easiest way to transition to linux, and dont be afraid to play around with linux. Go make mistakes, it is the best way to learn from