Basically the forced shift to the enshittified Windows 11 in october has me eyeing the fence a lot. But all I know about Linux is 1: it’s a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that’s apparently not true any more? Making the change has slowly become a more real possibility for me, though I’m pretty much a fairly casual PC-user, I don’t do much more than play games. So I wrote down some questions I had about Linux.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

And also, what distro might be best for me?

  • chaoticnumber@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 hours ago

    I wont reply point by point because others have already done a fantastic job at that.

    Install virtualbox, get some linux images from mint, bazzite or what ever other distro you might want or was recomended and install them as VMs in windows.

    Set up a list of things in 3 tiers:

    • must have functionalities/workflows (crucial functionality)
    • nice to have (important to have)
    • optional (can live without)

    Then in the installed VMs, test out this list, something like “can I change the volume per app, can I change the audio device per app” or what ever is important to you, according to your list.

    This way you can test out if its for you or not, you wouldn’t even have to leave windows for it.

    One thing regarding gaming, as I game quite a bit too - games with intrusive anticheats dont work, most of everything else works with steam proton. Check potondb.com for your games, you will see what works and what not.

  • Nibodhika@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

    Depends on what you play. As a general rule I would say that unless you like competitive multiplayer games you’re probably going to be fine. That being said the vast majority of games don’t support Linux natively so you need to use workarounds. Steam has a workaround built-in, so if most of your gaming is through Steam it should be an almost seamless transition (all you need to do is enable a checkbook in the settings). But like I said, it depends on what you play, I recommend you check out https://www.protondb.com/ and look for the games you play to see how they run on Linux.

    Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

    Same answer as before, if the game runs okay then modding it would also work okay, but if not it might worsen an already bad situation. Also be very careful here, because when you run Windows games on Steam they’re sort of sandboxed, i.e. they’re running isolated from other stuff, so installing mods is not as straightforward as it would be on windows where binaries are installed globally. It’s not a big deal, but just the other day someone was complaining that they installed a launcher needed for a game and the game wasn’t finding it and this was the reason.

    If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

    As a general rune there’s a workaround, it’s called WINE (which is an acronym for WINE Is Not an Emulator) which is an “emulator” for Windows (except it’s not really an Emulator as the name implies). Then there are some apps built on top of that like Proton (which is what Steam has embebed) that include other libraries and fixes to help. It’s not perfect, but unless the program is actively trying to detect it or uses very obscure features on Windows it should work.

    Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

    Yes, you can use WINE like mentioned above to run Windows binaries that use .NET, but also .NET core is available for Linux.

    How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

    Oh boy, this is the big one, this is the Major difference for m Windows to Linux. Linux has a thing called a package manager, ideally everything you install gets installed via that package manager. This means that everything gets updated together. And here’s the thing, we’re not talking OS only stuff, new version of the kernel (Linux)? New version of the drivers? New version of Firefox? New version of Spotify? All gets updated together when you update your system. This is crucial to the way Linux works, since it allows Linux to have only one copy of each library. For example, if you have 5 different programs that use the same library, in Windows you’ll have 5 copies of that same library, because each program needs their own in the specific version, but in Linux since they will all update together it’s easier to have just one library that gets updated together with the programs. This makes maintaining Linux a piece of pie in comparison, just one command or one click of a button and you’re all up to date with everything you have installed.

    How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

    As a general rule open source programs are more secure than their counterparts. Closed source programs always remind me of Burns going through several security measures, that sort of thing is imposible in open source because if everyone can see all of the security measures, so someone would notice the gaping hole in the back, whereas in closed source only attackers might have found it. Like cyber security experts say: Security by obscurity is not security. As for Antivirus you don’t need to worry, Linux is inherently more secure than Windows, and also has a small enough user base (most of whom are security experts) so the number of virus written for Linux is extremely small. Also because you should install stuff through a package manager it’s very difficult to get someone to download a bad binary since there’s lots of security in the package manager to prevent this sort of thing. In short almost every antivirus program for Linux checks your computer for Windows viruses to avoid being used to store or transmit viruses to Windows computers, so it’s completely pointless in your home machine (it’s used for example in email servers).

    Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

    Yes… But actually no. It depends, if you have a relatively modern AMD GPU (as in last 10 years) the answer is a resounding YES, AMD currently has wonderful Linux support and their cards work excellently with drivers being fully open source and integrated into the Linux Kernel. For Nvidia the story is unfortunately not as nice. Essentially there are 2 drivers available, nouveau (open source driver written by the community and purposefully hampered by Nvidia) and nvidia (closed source driver written by Nvidia that has gaping incompatibilities with Linux). Since you game your only option is nvidia, while nouveau is great for several reasons it can’t match the performance of the nvidia driver. For 99% of stuff the nvidia driver should work fine, but I haven’t had good luck with getting Wayland to run on it, which means you’re probably stuck in X11 (I know this doesn’t mean much to you, but in short it means that you’re somewhat limited in your choice for graphical interface and have to use stuff that people are trying to deprecate but can’t because of Nvidia)

    Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

    Technically yes, so can Windows by that matter. But realistically no, unless you’re writing your own kernel drivers you won’t be in any position to cause hardware damage.

    And also, what distro might be best for me?

    I would probably go with Mint, it’s beginner friendly and I’ve been recommending it for decades. One thing to bear in mind is that in your knowledge level the distro you choose won’t make that big of a difference, try to pick something beginner friendly and you should be fine, no need to overthink this.

    PS: some extra notes that you didn’t asked but I think are good to know:

    • Any Linux can look like any other, it’s just a matter of installing the right packages
    • You should keep your / and /home in separate partitions, this makes it possible for you to reinstall (or even change distros entirely) without losing your files and configuration. This is due to how Linux manages partitions, which in short is not like on Windows where you have a C and D drives but instead any folder can be a different partition or disk.
    • You can dual boot, i.e. have 2 OS and choose which one to use every time you turn on your computer.
    • You should probably install Linux on a virtual machine first to check it out safely. And do a backup before installing it on your computer just in case you make a mistake.
  • Übercomplicated@lemmy.ml
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    5 hours ago

    In regard to question one: it depends. Pretty much everything without a shitty, Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat (my autocorrect corrected to antichrist — for good reason!) will run either by default on steam or with something known as Proton. But you still may run into occasional difficulties.

    For example, if you play Counter Strike 2: up until January this year, playing on Linux meant ≈20% less performance (CS2 is unoptimized for Linux and Vulkan unfortunately); this number has changed since the last few updates and since the new Nvidia driver, so I need to re-run the benchmarks. Your going to occasionally experience things like that, where performance isn’t on par. In the case of CS2, the devs love Linux, so they will optimize for it in the future. It’s just going to take a while.

    Another example: I had to use Proton on a game that supposedly was native to Linux. Native implementations may sometimes suck; the good news though, is that you can easily use Proton, both inside and outside of steam. Seriously, I freaking love Valve for Proton, it’s a fantastic tool.

    This is all to say, that while gaming is absolutely possible nowadays, you will occasionally need add some flag, or familiarize yourself with proton, etc.

    The exception, of course, being Kernel antichrists. Goddamn them. I can’t play LoL anymore because of it. Well, I hate Riot so much now anyway, I’m not sure I’d want to anymore.

  • Abnorc@lemm.ee
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    3 hours ago

    The nice thing about distro choice is that you don’t really need to commit to one with them (mostly) being totally free. As long as you back up your files, I’d recommend trying a few until you feel comfortable. If you go with Ubuntu or Linux Mint I think you’ll have the easiest time. I’d tentatively recommend dual-booting to give a new distro a try without fully committing, but that brings its own difficulties and troubleshooting with it. Having a second machine to test with is also great, but it’s not a good option for everyone.

  • Susurrus@lemm.ee
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    But all I know about Linux is 1: it’s a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that’s apparently not true any more?

    It is indeed not true anymore. In the year 2025 Linux is easier to use than Windows, and even not too tech savvy 60-year-olds manage just fine. Though you should know ‘Linux’ is not an operating system. When saying ‘Linux’, people most often refer to it as a family of operating systems. Many of which are incredibly user friendly and ready out of the box. And many of which aren’t.

    Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

    Short answer: no.

    Long answer: only for a handful of online games, e.g. League. If using Steam, there’s virtually nothing you have to do. Epic and GOG are easy to use, but theough third party launchers. Other storefronts/launchers are harder to set up, but all of them work. It should be noted Steam is the only platform with official Linux support. Here is a database of Steam games with info on Linux and Steam Deck compatibility.

    Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

    Depends on the game. Overall definitely not ‘as freely and as easily’ as on Windows. For Steam Workshop games, it works just as it does on Windows. For the rest sometimes you need to do a little work, sometimes a lot. Bethesda titles seem to be the most problematic on Linux when it comes to modding.

    If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

    Most of the time it is fairly straightforward and works nicely. Some are particularly difficult to get working on Linux, e.g. MS Office, so you might as well forget that.

    Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

    Yes. There is software specifically for compatibility with Windows’ libraries. While .NET framework you can simply install like you would on Windows. This is in fact needed in order to mod some games.

    How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

    As mentioned at the start, Linux isn’t a single OS, so it highly depends on the specific distribution (OS from the Linux family, in simple terms). Usually you just go to your app store and click on updates. Of course, there are other ways of updating the system and the choice is yours.

    How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

    Linux is extremely more secure than Windows. The whole ‘open source leads to vulnerability’ is a myth. There are antiviruses for Linux, but nobody uses them. There is barely any malware targetting Linux, and when you encounter it, most of the time you’ll have to mess up and run it yourself giving it permissions. There are also more security-focused Linux distributions.

    Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

    Nvidia: not really.

    AMD and Intel: yes, incredibly reliable.

    For AMD and Intel you don’t need any additional drivers, other than the generic drivers that come with the OS. They work perfectly and you can play games right away. For Nvidia you would have to go through the not-so-pleasant process of installing their drivers.

    Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

    No. This sounds like something somebody who’s never used Linux would say on Reddit. While technically it is possible, just as it is possible on Windows, this is not something you will likely encounter at any point.

    And also, what distro might be best for me?

    Personally I’d go with Fedora. It’s very easy to use. It looks nice too, kind of like MacOS. By default, that is, since you always have complete freedom to customize how your system looks. My gf, who doesn’t know what a Shift key is, is able to use Fedora just fine. For both gaming and web browsing. This is how simple Linux has gotten in the last years.

    Most people will probably recommend Linux Mint. Another great choice for beginners. The UI/UX is very similar to that of Windows. Personally it’s not my favorite, but it’s up to user preference. You definitely can’t go wrong with it.

    There is also Pop!_OS, which is similar to Fedora. However, it does include an ISO for systems with Nvidia GPUs, so you don’t have to go through the trouble of installing the drivers.

    I’d highly recommend trying one of these. If you like any of them, then just stick to it, and you’ll have a great experience.

  • zygo_histo_morpheus@programming.dev
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    4 hours ago

    Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

    It depends a lot on the game, but in my experience not always. Running games straight from steam works really well with a small number of exceptions, but a lot of the sometimes weird tools for patching exe:s and so on that some games use can sometimes be a pain to get running. Not necessarily impossible but yeah this is a reason for why I still keep around my windows installation for dual booting.

  • kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    8 hours ago

    I have used Windows all my life, and I have some questions

    This is a great place to ask

    But all I know about Linux is 1: it’s a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that’s apparently not true any more?

    Yes and no, the primary skill that you will be tested when using Linux is the ability to learn new things and adapt to changes. People misinterpret this as being complicated when in many cases its simpler but different.

    I’m pretty much a fairly casual PC-user, I don’t do much more than play games. So I wrote down some questions I had about Linux.Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

    Depends, if you mostly play single player games then most likley not. If you play online games than maybe not also maybe not.

    Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

    Depends on the game, for something like Minecraft or Doom youll be fine but games with less support may not have good Linux support.

    Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

    Yes, Wine has alternative frameworks and libraries

    How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

    OS updates can either be done through the package manager or your distributions GUI software center

    How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

    On the surface it may seem so because more CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exploits) are found on Linux but they’re also patched faster than Windows and mostly before they find their way into the wild. In addition Linux is designed more securely such as, using repos (so software can be verified as legitimate), not allowing user mode software to run in kernel mode (so no anticheat), and having more eyes on the code.

    Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

    Not really and nobody uses it, it’s like MacOS in that regard

    Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

    For the most part yes but keep in mind there are new drivers that arent ready to be used, as long as you stay on stable drivers you’ll be fine. Also hardware damage will most likley only occur if you do heavy overclocking and. Ignore temps.

    And also, what distro might be best for me? Pop_OS

  • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
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    12 hours ago

    Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

    It depends on how often you play games with aggressive anti cheat, or games on non-steam platforms. Games like Valorant and Fortnite probably won’t work at all. But I do a ton of non-competative multiplayer (and single player) gaming that is not inhibited at all.

    Heroic launcher is your best bet for non-steam platforms (GoG, Epic, Amazon), and lutris/bottles should probably be your 3rd option (I’ve used both for battle.net). But steam games running through proton should “just work”.

    Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

    The actual modding should be arguably more accessible. You technically have control over the entire kernel, so nothing is going to stop you from doing whatever you want. The only problem you may run into is if you’re dependent on modding tools that were only made for windows. Some of those tools are basically spyware anyway (ex. Curse), and often times the open source community has made its own alternative you should be using instead.

    If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

    YMMV. Valve has done a lot of heavy lifting to get proton to be a one-stop-shop for running windows games on Linux but you can add a program as a non-steam game, launch it through steam, and it often just works.

    Wine is your other option. Sometimes the community has gotten windows apps running reliably in wine or proton, other times no one has ever tried it or it’s too much of a headache to get working. protondb.com has user reports for how various games run.

    Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

    The short version is yes. The long version is the same as the previous answer.

    How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

    Most distros come with some form of package manager that works similarly to an app store on your phone (an app store is basically a package manager with purchases). Ideally, everything you want to run can be installed through the distro’s package manager, and then you use the package manager to update everything. But sometimes the software doesn’t exist in the package manager, and you have to download, run, update, and sometimes even build from source, your own programs. Those programs usually have a guide on the best way to run it on popular distros.

    How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

    It is actually more secure due to being open source. Source code can be audited by anyone rather than relying on “security by obscurity”. There are antivirus programs, but I don’t know much about them. Generally, don’t run programs from shady sources, don’t expose your machine to the open internet, and don’t run everything as root and you should be fine.

    Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

    Yes, though historically AMD has better support for the newer features asked for by Linux compositors (namely Wayland). Nvidia’s drivers are still not fully open source, but otherwise work fine. Driver bugs are rare in my experience.

    Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

    To the same extent that windows can, yes. But if your concern is YOU misconfiguring something to cause Linux to do that, you shouldn’t have to worry about it. It is unlikely you will be interfacing directly with the kernel at all. Most distros configure the kernel in some specific way they want and you never worry about it. And still, a proper kernel-level driver should ensure that it will never send commands that could damage something, even if the config vars are incorrect.

    And also, what distro might be best for me?

    First off, install Ventoy to a USB drive. Then take advantage of Linux’s ability to “live boot” by downloading several .iso’s for several different distros onto the USB. Then boot off the USB, and you should be presented with a handy menu of ISOs to pick from. This will make trying out a bunch of different options really easy, without actually installing anything to your hard drive.

    I’d say try grabbing mint, fedora, Pop!Os, and opensuse to start. Maybe also try Zorin. These are all geared toward new Linux users.

  • HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml
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    8 hours ago

    Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

    Isn’t .NET open source and cross platform now? Isn’t there an official Linux runtime? Or is it just the most basic subset of .NET without any of the GUI libraries or other things Windows .NET apps routinely depend on?

    • mdk_@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      There are differences. Most modern apps use .NET Core, which in itself is cross platform. Most of the time, they use a UI framework that is be cross platform as well (AvaloniaUI).

      Of course newer apps and older apps made with .Net-Framework that may use Windows specific libraries (eg. System.Windows.Forms, System.Drawing) and lose their cross platform compatibility. They might work with Wine.

  • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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    12 hours ago

    First off, welcome to the light side.

    Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

    It will be affected, but not significantly. Almost every Windows game works well on Linux. The notable exceptions are games that use anticheat software. They can detect that they are running in Linux and generally disallow it.

    Many games perform better in Linux. A few perform worse. The vast majority perform exactly the same.

    If you run games through Steam, everything should just work. You might need to enable the option “Enable Steam Play for all titles” in the settings. Honestly, if a game has a Linux version, I usually set the compatibility option in Steam to use Proton instead, because it just works, really well.

    If you run other games, I recommend using Heroic Launcher for the game stores it supports, and Lutris for anything else. (Oh, and Prism Launcher if you play Minecraft.)

    Something to note is that Windows games run through a compatibility layer called Proton, which is based on Wine. You can kind of use the terms Proton and Wine interchangeably, because Proton is just Wine + some enhancements for games. To the game’s perspective, it’s just running in Windows and making Windows system calls. Proton translates those calls to Linux system calls. It doesn’t emulate anything though, it just provides a Windows compatible API.

    Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

    Maybe. Probably. If it’s running in Proton, then mods should work fine. You may need to add some launch parameters in Steam to load the mods first. You’ll also need to figure out the “Wine prefix” of the game to install the mod. The prefix is just the directory that Proton presents to the game as the C: drive, so it’s like having a specific drive for each game.

    If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

    This depends. Most programs will run through Wine. You can use Lutris to install them. I do this to run WinSCP on Linux. Some programs (notably, Adobe Creative Suite) don’t work with Wine. It’s usually better to find a Linux native alternative instead, but this isn’t always an option, so it’s nice to have some Wine once in a while. ;)

    Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

    Yes. Steam, Heroic, and Lutris will automatically install them for you.

    How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

    OS upgrades are a lot easier in Linux. There’s one program that updates all your system software and apps at once. On Gnome, it’s Gnome Software, and on KDE, it’s Discover. This is also where you go to install apps. Don’t ever download anything from a website to install it (with the exception of Windows installers that you will be installing with Wine), just find it in these apps. It’s safer.

    System software is installed through the package manager. Apps can be installed through Flatpak to make it easier.

    How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

    Security is generally better than Windows. Most Linux users don’t bother with antivirus for two reasons, viruses are really uncommon in Linux, and software isn’t installed from random websites, but package managers instead. A lot of things in Linux, like Flatpaks, are run in a sandbox too, so access controls are granular and permission based.

    That being said, if you’re installing Windows software with Wine, then you’re at risk of installing a Windows virus on your Linux machine. Just like most Windows programs work well in Linux through Wine, most Windows viruses work well in Linux through Wine.

    Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

    Very. If you’re using an Nvidia GPU, install the Nvidia driver through your package manager. If you’re using anything else, they’re already installed.

    Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

    Probably not. Technically, yes, but it’s extremely unlikely and isn’t something you should worry about. Windows can too, btw.

    And also, what distro might be best for me?

    Fedora, Mint, or Pop OS should be your starting points. Steer clear of Ubuntu. Ubuntu used to be very user friendly, but lately it’s been atrocious. Fedora has always been awesome, and it’s very user friendly. Same with Mint.

    More importantly, what desktop environment should you use. Fedora Workstation offers both Gnome and KDE, the two big ones. Either one will work great for you, but KDE is more similar to a Windows layout by default. Mint uses Cinnamon, which is very user friendly and similar to a Windows layout. Pop OS uses Cosmic, which is new, and in development. It’s promising though.

    Some final thoughts I want to share with you:

    Linux uses a Unix like file structure, so you don’t have drive letters. Instead, you have a root file system, and other file systems are mounted within it. Your root file system is just a slash /. It’s like your C: drive. Directories are separated by forward slashes, not backslashes. Not something you should worry about, just something to know.

    Linux is a diverse field of operating systems, and some work very differently than others. They range from super easy and approachable, to wildly difficult to learn. Some are specialized for gaming, like Bazzite, while others are general purpose, like the ones I mentioned above. Technically, “Linux” is just the kernel, like “NT” on Windows, but most people mean a complete operating system when they say Linux.

    You should learn about the difference between Wayland and X11. Just some basic overview of them. You don’t really need to know, but it might be worth it. Basically, Wayland is new and more secure, X11 is old and less secure. Wayland can run X11 apps just fine, so it really shouldn’t matter to you. Wayland is also the default nowadays.

    You probably won’t need to use the terminal, but if you do, don’t be scared of it. It’s just a way to launch programs that generally don’t have a UI.

    Lastly, Linux is free and easy to install, so don’t be afraid to try out a bunch of different distros and desktop environments and see which works best for you. Once you find one you like, you can always switch to something else in the future if it stops working for what you need. Also, backup early and often. I use Pika Backup. It’ll help if you forget to grab something before you reformat your drive.

  • Communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz
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    10 hours ago

    Note here, a lot of people are going to recommend you mint, I honestly think mint is an outdated suggestion for beginners, I think immutability is extremely important for someone who is just starting out, as well as starting on KDE since it’s by far the most developed DE that isn’t gnome and their… design decisions are unfortunate for people coming from windows.

    I don’t think we should be recommending mint to beginners anymore, if mint makes an immutable, up to date KDE distro, that’ll change, but until then, I think bazzite is objectively a better starting place for beginners.

    The mere fact that bazzite and other immutables generate a new system for you on update and let you switch between and rollback automatically is enough for me to say it’s better, but it also has more up to date software, and tons of guides (fedora is one of the most popular distros, and bazzite is essentially identical except with some QoL upgrades).

    How common is the story of “I was new to linux and completely broke it”? that’s not a good user experience for someone who’s just starting, it’s intimidating, scary, and I just don’t think it’s the best in the modern era. There’s something to be said about learning from these mistakes, but bazzite essentially makes these mistakes impossible.

    Furthermore because of the way bazzite works, package management is completely graphical and requires essentially no intervention on the users part, flathub and immutability pair excellently for this reason.

    Cinnamon (the default mint environment) doesn’t and won’t support HDR, the security/performance improvements from wayland, mixed refresh rate displays, mixed DPI displays, fractional scaling, and many other things for a very very long time if at all. I don’t understand the usecase for cinnamon tbh, xfce is great if you need performance but don’t want to make major sacrifices, lmde is great if you need A LOT of performance, cinnamon isn’t particularly performant and just a strictly worse version of kde in my eyes from the perspective of a beginner, anyway.

    I have 15 years of linux experience and am willing to infinitely troubleshoot if you add me on matrix.

    • GoodEye8@lemm.ee
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      9 hours ago

      I disagree. Obviously the most ideal solution would be the have immutable Mint, but beginners need stability more than they do immutability. I’ve used mint and my only issue with Mint was that I didn’t like how it looked. I’m currently on Bazzite and these are the issues I’ve ran into:

      Every time I start Firefox it asks to be made into the default browser. Even if I click yes it will still ask again next time I start Firefox.

      When using the default audio sometimes the audio signal to my monitor cuts off which means I no audio comes from the speakers. If I tell the system to send the audio to my other monitor and back to the one I have hooked on the speakers then it instantly works again. It’s almost like the system forgets it has to send out audio. I don’t remember what I did to fix it but it definitely wasn’t beginner friendly.

      Sometimes one of the monitors freezes and only one. The second monitor keeps working just fine. So far haven’t found a permanent solution for this issue.

      There have also been some minor artifacting that I personally don’t consider an issue but someone else might.

      Overall I can put up with the issues because I’ve pretty much conceded that I’m going to have issues. But I don’t think new users should be using a system where they’re going to run into problems they’re most likely not equipped to fix. That why I recommend Mint to newcomers because all the fancy bells and whistles don’t matter if the system doesn’t work. Mint doesn’t have bells and whistles, but it just works.

      • Communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz
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        8 hours ago

        Here’s the problem: what you just did can be done with literally any distro. There are anecdotal stories of every single distro on earth being broken. Even non-linux distros, windows and macos have such stories.

        Do you have any actual statistical evidence that fedora works less often than mint?

        I’ve given it to quite a few people and nobody has had any issues. There are anecdotal stories of literally every single distro failing for somebody, them going to another distro and it just working.

        here’s a counter example: https://lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz/post/53716147/18213941

        “UPDATE 2: Ok, Fedora seems waaaay more stable than Ubuntu (and Mint). No strangeness like before…”

        And their problems were MUCH worse than yours.

        I have cancelled out your one claim with this, we can’t make progress until there’s proper statistics, no amount of anecdotal stories will make fedora less stable or more stable than mint.

        less up to date software is a double edged sword, if you don’t have statistics I don’t think you can really make the claim that mint just works when fedora/bazzite don’t.

        Then there’s the things that are objectively broken in mint for everyone until cinnamon properly supports wayland:

        1. Every single app can read your keyboard input without asking
        2. Every single app can see what every single other app is doing without asking
        3. Apps can fullscreen themselves and go over everything else, because they can control their own window placement to any degree they want, again, without asking.
        4. HDR
        5. mixed refresh rate and dpi display configurations.
        • GoodEye8@lemm.ee
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          7 hours ago

          We’ve already established that a lot of people will recommend Mint. What do you think, why do a lot of people recommend Mint?

      • pineapple@lemmy.ml
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        8 hours ago

        I agree I honestly don’t like immutable distro’s at all because you can’t install packages the way everyone else does: via package managers. You either have to use the gui software center and if that doesn’t have to app your looking for you have to use distrobox or box buddy which still doesn’t work half the time. That’s just been my experience with bazzite as a person fairly knew to linux.

        • Communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz
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          8 hours ago

          I agree I honestly don’t like immutable distro’s at all because you can’t install packages the way everyone else does: via package managers.

          this is false, rpm-ostree exists and works for this exactly. There’s nothing you can’t do on bazzite that you can do on a non-immutable distro.

          Even if that wasn’t true… package management is just done through flatpak, there’s no real fundamental difference, it’s just an abstraction layer, I don’t see why that would be important to you at all, and comes with numerous benefits:

          1. You cannot break your system with these, ever.
          2. Significantly less burden on package maintainers
          3. You can have many versions of software installed
          4. These applications are sandboxed and thus more secure.
          5. This enables complete graphical management of software, no longer requiring the terminal.

          It not having packages you may need applies to any package management solution, other distros do not package everything either. In fact, the distro with the most packages is an immutable one, nixos.

      • Communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz
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        8 hours ago

        It runs x11, the wayland port is going insanely slow, x11 has the following problems every time:

        1. Every single app can read all of your keyboard input without asking
        2. Every single app can see what every single other app is doing without asking
        3. Apps can fullscreen themselves and go over everything else, because they can control their own window placement to any degree they want, again, without asking.
        4. HDR https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/-/issues/1037#note_521100 (if you need a source)
        5. mixed refresh rate and dpi display configurations.

        It may support these someday, maybe. But progress is absurdly slow. Considering cinnamon has fewer changes as a whole than just the KDE text editor alone, kde is a significantly better choice if you want a well-supported, bug-free and feature rich experience.

        • Fatur_New@lemmy.ml
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          5 hours ago

          x11 has the following problems every time:

          And Wayland isn’t very well tested yet. We should only give a very well tested display server to very new users. They must not get a bad impression

          • Communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz
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            4 hours ago

            That would’ve been true 5 years ago. Wayland is plenty tested these days, give me some data indicating the rate of issues is significantly higher and I’ll agree, elsewise I think the most secure well supported option is the best one. X11 is being deprecated left and right for a reason.

            gnome is wayland by default, kde is wayland by default, even XFCE is transitioning to wayland at this point… that’s just not a valid argument in the modern era.

  • rapchee@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    just get an extra ssd, install mint or pop (or both on separate partitions) and try

    there is a learning curve, and there’s always new stuff, more depth, but imo the above two are fairly easy to understand. pop is more osx-like both in looks but also, it’s somewhat locked down, which can feel limiting but it keeps things simple. i’ve been using it in the last few years daily. i was using mint before that, i started daily driving linux with it, but i managed to mess it up enough that every game was struggling to run lol, but i played hl:alyx on there without an issue for example

    nvidia doesn’t make the best linux drivers, but some think they are completely unusable but actually it just means that there are some games that are glitchy or slow, for instance forza horizon runs better on my steam deck than my rtx 2080. although recently it went from 20-30 fps to 30-40, so it will get better at some point
    edit: actually, the above was last week, there were some updates and it’s a sputtery 60 fps now

    next build will have an amd card for sure, but nvidia is mostly usable too. the “anti-cheat” blockade is more frustrating imo

  • heythatsprettygood@feddit.uk
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    16 hours ago

    On the gaming side, it depends a lot what games you play. Generally the rule is (at least for single player) that it will work through Proton or a native version, unless otherwise specified. Personally, pretty much all of my Steam library works perfectly on Linux, even some games on launch day (Persona 3 Reload was flawless day 1). For modding your mileage may vary but if the game runs there’s a very high chance the associated modding tool will work too, although it might require some more tweaking than you are used to in order to get it to work properly as quite a few tools will assume you are running Windows. Multi player games are where there can be some trouble - for example Fortnite is a notorious example of a game that refuses to run on Linux because Epic Games does not allow its anti cheat to work on Linux. ProtonDB and a good old fashioned go on your favourite search engine should be able to tell you if what you play works, doesn’t work, or needs tweaks to get working.

    Running non-Linux apps is a mixed bag. Some things (most notably games through Proton) can work through compatibility layers perfectly fine, even if they need you to install .NET or some other dependencies. Others will be totally unusable, at least for now. Make sure you check all the applications you need to work on a regular basis work before jumping in, so search up their compatibility with tools like WINE (translation layer to let Windows apps run on Linux, also what Proton is based on).

    For updates, you’ll love it far more than Windows. Since almost every app you could ever need is installed through either a package manager or Flatpak (closest analogy I can give is like a phone app store, but allowing you to install pretty much anything, including system stuff), your updates will all come in one place. For example, on my Fedora KDE install, all I need to do for updates is go into the Discover app (KDE’s package management software) and into its update section, download, and install. This not only updates system software (desktop, kernel, drivers, so on) but also your applications. This means updating your system and apps is a breeze that’ll take far less time than the usual pain that is Windows Update.

    For security, you’ll have a lot less to worry about than Windows, and I have to admit part of it is because Linux has a fairly small user base. Few malware writers are going to care about a few Linux desktops compared to plenty of unpatched Windows systems out in the wild. However, the open source aspect also helps a lot - rather than showing vulnerabilities to hackers, it’s been valuable more to show these vulnerabilities to people who can fix them since the software is on public display. There’s more eyes on the code, and more people who can fix problems before they become major vulnerabilities. For most regular desktop users, you will not need any antivirus. If you’re really worried about viruses, I have heard ClamAV can scan for some things, but I haven’t tried it myself as it really isn’t necessary for desktop use.

    GPU drivers can be a bit complicated. AMD and Intel are incredibly simple, since (at least for anything made within the last 10 or 15 years, if not older) the drivers are built right in and need zero configuration (it just works!). NVIDIA cards can be a bit more of a challenge. On a lot of distros, you can install the NVIDIA drivers usually during or right after install fairly easily, but they will be separate from the rest of the built in drivers. You can have a good experience with NVIDIA on Linux, but just expect there to be anywhere from a bit to a lot more effort needed to get some things working compared to AMD and Intel GPUs due to this separation. Of course, this will depend on your exact set up.

    There’s no real risk of damaging your hardware installing Linux, the only real danger is deleting files already on your main boot drive during installation, so make sure to double check your installer to see if it’s doing what you want it to. Make sure you have a back up of your important stuff too, just in case. The only thing I can think of maybe is extreme overclocking through LACT or something maybe causing damage, but that’s part of what you sign up for with overclocking even on Windows anyway.

    Distros are a very debated topic, and there’s no real “best” one, just one that fits your needs. If you’re new to Linux, my personal recommendation is to go with something boring and well supported like some variant of Fedora or Ubuntu. There will be plenty of documentation for both to help you with things, and they both are fairly solid distros with good track records. However, one thing to keep in mind is what kind of desktop you want. Linux has multiple desktop environments (DEs) that can provide differing experiences (different way of launching applications, arranging icons, file managers, that sort of thing). If you’re used to Windows, KDE definitely has the smallest learning curve, as a lot of things will be as you are used to, so it may be best to go for either the KDE variant of Fedora or Kubuntu. The main difference between Fedora and Ubuntu you will notice is that Fedora has a far faster update cycle, which means you get new features quicker, but you will have to restart for updates more often. In addition, I have heard that the NVIDIA drivers can be easier to handle on Ubuntu, so if you have an NVIDIA card it might be more optimal to go for an Ubuntu variant.

  • zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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    15 hours ago

    How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

    Package managers. Linux had this before Windows. Granted, Linux needed package managers, because of the myriad and complex dependency trees that software can have. I prefer to install software through a package manager because it not only takes care of dependencies for me, it will take care of updates, too. I will only install something downloaded from a website as an absolute last resort. (And then, of course, making sure it’s a trustworthy source.)

    How does digital security work on Linux?

    It’s rather complex, but you probably won’t have to deal with it unless you have to do some kind of systems administration. On a day-to-day basis, the OS might ask you to enter your password to install software or make an update, and that’s the extent of it.

    Basically, every file has 3 categories of permissions: user, group, and others, and each category has 3 permissions: read, write, and execute. This is transparently handled by the system for you, though, and I can’t even remember the last time I had to change permissions on a file. It’s a good thing to be aware of if you have to do troubleshooting, though.

    Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

    Just the opposite. Vulnerabilities get spotted sooner because there’s more eyes on the code, and they’re often patched quicker because anybody can submit a patch to an open-source project.

    Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

    I’ve never heard of any distro shipping with antivirus software, but I’ve also never heard of a Linux virus. Of course, I’m sure they exist, but I’ve just never heard of one. I’ve been using Linux for over two decades, and I’ve never used an antivirus or gotten a virus in all that time, and I’ve never even heard of a Linux user getting a virus. Part of that is due to Linux being more secure and part of that is due to Linux being less popular. If you’re writing a virus, you aren’t going to try to jump through the insane hoops of Linux security when you could target Windows which is A) less secure and B) has a fuckton more users.

    Obviously, use common sense, don’t install from untrusted sources, etc. etc., but viruses aren’t the omnipresent threat on Linux like they are on Windows.