I did one of these threads several months ago, when the site was new, and thought now was a good time to do another.

Message me if you

  • Want to try installing Linux for the first time
  • Want to try Linux but don't want to install it
  • Have some Linux-related problem you want another pair of eyeballs on
  • Want to learn a programming language
  • Want to build a computer
  • Want tutoring in any of the above
  • Need help with any old technical problem

(also play Arma with me)

  • Bloodshot [he/him,any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I've worked with Linux professionally for years, and here's a secret: distro doesn't matter all that much, especially if you're just a desktop user. Since they're packaging mostly the same software differently, you can just pick which one you'd like.

    • Debian is a community distribution with actual democracy behind it
    • Red Hat distros have corporate support
    • Arch Linux is very rolling release
    • Ubuntu is Ubuntu
    • Gentoo compiles stuff from source, which appeals to some people

    etc.

    As for dual booting, if you want to keep using Windows or whatever for anything, there's no real reason you ever have to stop dual booting. You can keep it there if you need it. Some people remove it because they truly don't need it, some people remove it because they like to commit and if they don't they'll never learn Linux, and a lot of people just have Windows there indefinitely.

    A note on Debian since that's what I use: Debian, when you install it, is entirely free software. If you want to download non-free things (like NVIDIA drivers, wifi drivers) you have to enable that and then install them. If Debian runs slow but Ubuntu is fast, it's probably the graphics drivers, as Ubuntu gets most of its packages from Debian.