So like it says in the title. I’m looking to make a change. The only coding I ever did was like, some very light HTML on stuff like LiveJournal 20 years ago (because I’m ancient in internet years, haha) and even that I barely remember.
I’ve seen people talk about LinuxMint in other comment sections and how that one might be closest to something like Windows (in that a layman like myself can use it out of the box like buying a new laptop from Best Buy or whatever store). Is that actually a good one or is there something better for somebody like me?
I’ve seen enough people go ‘NO UBUNTU!!!’ to steer me away from that one, but otherwise I have no clue what would actually be good for somebody in my shoes.
I have a laptop that still technically runs Windows 8 that I just use for downloads so I’d be trying it on there so that if something goes wonky I’m not fucked. After looking at the LinuxMint website, the specs on that laptop meet the requirements for it.
Thanks so much!
ETA: Because it’s come up a few times and after the first time I didn’t want to reply the same thing a over and over, I associate Linux with coding because everybody I’ve personally known that uses Linux is a programmer by trade, by hobby, or at least has a CompSci degree and understands this stuff on a level a million times higher than I do (even if they didn’t end up in the field). Clearly I misunderstood something about what they were doing with Linux somewhere along the way. It looked like coding to a layperson at any rate so that’s what stuck in my mind.
Mint is good. It might be worth trying a few different desktop environments to see what you like - you can probably run all of the major ones from a LiveBoot device.
BUT, and this is VERY important, ypu do not need to do any programming or coding on a Linux desktop. Ever.
If you’re not a programmer then you are never forced to peel that onion. You can do EVERYTHING from a GUI if you want.
You’ll lose the ability to run some games and software, but between alternatives and emulation, that list is getting smaller.
You can do EVERYTHING from a GUI if you want.
Until you run into any sort of problem and all the solutions you can find are “do this command that i won’t explain and that and paste this cryptic series of letters here and this there and chant this unspeakable spell to summon dread cthulhu and then run this command with these arguments. it’s very human design.”
Commands are usually just easier ways of doing the thing, so that is usually what is told to people with problems.
Like you can browse through 5 menus and find the thing or paste the command and be done. If you don’t want to paste the command, then just look through settings/menus.
Cool, I’m not against that. It’s just the opposite of beginner-friendly.
Like you can browse through 5 menus and find the thing
I sure would’ve appreciated a guide on how to do that for, I don’t know, something so exotic und unusual like installing my tablet driver, just to get the thing working. So that next time I can find things on my own, learn the structure of the system by exploring stuff and see what else there is, instead of just mindlessly copy pasting some command. Efficiency in doing things can come later, after I’m settled in.
The “mindlessly copypaste this command” culture is dangerous anyway. It’s easy to insert some malicious commands there. You can be simply devious and make the user delete all their files. Or, they can make you do something that installs a backdoor for criminals to use for remotely using your computer. Then the Russia or somebody else does a cyber attack against some power plant that gets severely damaged and people die, and the police come to your home suspecting you of manslaughter because your computer had been used for the attack…
Linux mint is a good compatible baseline yes.
Mint is a good option, yeah. Should feel familiar if you’re coming from windows.
Note that coding experience isn’t really relevant. Only the most advanced users ever really need to write code for their system. 99% of linux users, including the experienced and power users, don’t have to regularly code, per se. Note that I’m referring to actually writing programs, not terminal use. Using a terminal isn’t coding but that may be what you were thinking of, it’s similar but imo not the same. If you wanna do more advances stuff, you’ll definitely want to learn the terminal, but for most stuff you’ll get by just fine with GUIs like you’re probably used to. Mint is particularly good at keeping stuff to GUIs.
Something to note: coming from windows, you’ll be used to getting programs by finding downloads on the internet. On linux, that’s generally best avoided - you should always look on your distro’s package manager first. On mint is believe it’s called something like “software center” or “software manager,” can’t remember off the top of my head but it will be preinstalled for you.
Why would it be an issue to download a program if it’s not for Windows or Mac? So long as there’s a Linux-based option that works with your version, that is. There is one program I use multiple times a week that I doubt would be on any basic install package and the only place to find it is online. (Not an issue for the computer I’ll be trying it out on as it’s not my main, but if I find a version of Linux I like a put it on my main then it’s something I’d have to consider.)
It’s not necessarily a problem, it just shouldn’t be the first thing you try. On windows people are used to always downloading the program directly from the internet first thing, but on linux you’ll have a better time if you check the package manager and/or flathub first for programs. Then, if it’s not there, then yeah download direct from the internet.
You don’t need to know how to code to use Linux. It helps to know how to use the terminal, but you don’t even really need to know that anymore either.
Mint is a great choice. Fedora is another great choice, and it’s what I use. IMHO, Cinnamon (Mint) and KDE are easier to use coming from Windows than Gnome (Fedora). So yeah, I’d agree with the sentiments you’ve read and cited in your post. You can also use Cinnamon or KDE on Fedora if you like though.
Agree with everything you’re saying. I’m using Mint for a year now and never had to open the terminal. It’s a great distro.
I haven’t once in fifteen years needed to do any coding whatsoever to use my Linux computers day-to-day.
First and foremost, you don’t have to stay on the distro you start with. You can try a few, spend a week running it, and then reinstall with something else. Distro hopping is the process if changing distro frequently and is in my opinion a very useful start for learning Linux.
Second, Ubuntu is a perfectly fine distro. I don’t like or use it, but I also don’t really like chocolate but love licorice, it really is a matter of preference. If you never try it you will never know if it is good for you.
I think the best path would be to either use virtual machines on your main system or try a few distros out on your Windows 8 machine. I would recommend trying a few of the most popular distros including Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, EndeavourOS, elementary, and maybe Pop!OS. That should cover most of the different desktop environments, packaging systems, and overall design methodologies and give you a really rounded sense of what is out there. It should also give you opportunities to have things break a little and for you to try to solve those problems. I find that different distros present failures a little differently and their solutions also work differently, so finding one that works well for you is key.
I personally ended up switching from a vanilla Arch install to EndeavourOS a year or two ago because it had great sane defaults, good packaging, and fantastic performance. The clarity of the logs was better in my mind than what was available in Ubuntu based distros and while I love Arch it was a bit too demanding of my time to figure out each and every choice of package. EndeavourOS gave me good solid defaults and reduced my work load.
Just remember, your choice of distro is like your choice of underwear. You have to wear it, make it comfortable for you and your junk, not for someone else’s.
The sound of virtual machines on my main doesn’t sit well with me. If I do something and brick my main laptop I’m fucked and I can’t replace it and some of the programs I use won’t run at all/run well on my old Windows 8 machine because it doesn’t have the processing power. (I got a gaming laptop so I could have the video processing I needed for video editors to not take a day to render a 15min video on Windows 10, never mind and older Windows 8 laptop. sigh) Experimentation and tech FAFO’ing will happen on the Windows 8! lol
I’ve seen Pop!OS come up in a few comments here, so if I don’t end up liking Mint maybe I’ll try that one out next. :)
I would ask how many times you have bricked your Windows machines in the past? That said, if you did stop it from booting it would be the same as it not booting a native Linux install.
That said, I would recommend installing first on the older machine. New life for that machine will feel good and it is very low risk. Once you have done a few installs and not botched anything too badly you could give it a go on your new machine. I find the performance boost from using Linux over Window is enough to out weight significant hardware differences most of the time.
A Windows computer I had got massively fucked once like, 15ish years ago. No idea what happened. No new downloads or installs, I hadn’t done anything different from any computer I’ve had before or since, just one day it stopped and it wasn’t even that old, two years tops. Not a custom build, straight outta the box from Best Buy (maybe even Future Shop it was so long ago). My friend couldn’t tell me what happened when they figured out how to get it at least booting up again. Only time it’s happened. It was weeeeeeeiiiiird.
Glad to know about the performance boost. :)
Yeah, I’ve had bad random things happen with tech, only with systems that are closed though. When they are more open you can get logs, see what is happening, and eventually modify things until they work again. I had a phone that just wouldn’t stay online for more than 5 minutes if the screen turned off. Screen on, internet working just fine. Screen off for 4 minutes, perfectly happy most of the time. Then suddenly around 5 minutes it would just die. It was running Android so I could see some stuff but I simply couldn’t get the information I needed to figure it out. Linux is much more forgiving with logs and such giving actual error messages which with a simple copy paste can get you to a reasonable next step.
Linux Mint is a solid place to start I’d say.
Ubuntu/Canonical has…issues to say the least.
- A primary concern being the ever eternal cursed Snap packages.
- Second being the replacement of existing tools with Rust alternatives without the proper FOSS licenses, so Ubuntu becomes less reciprocal over time and more proprietary over time.
anyways, choosing Linux Mint is a great place to start🤗👍 and I say this as someone that’s tried:
- Ubuntu Server
- Raspberry Pi OS
- Linux Mint
- Arch Linux
- NixOS
- Kali Linux
Does it even matter that it’s Mint in particular? I’ve never used mint, but isn’t the DE (or WM if you abhor DEs) more important? They all come with a package manager. And it’s pretty much all the same from there.
Except maybe Nix, from what I’ve heard
Does it even matter that it’s Mint in particular?
Yes somewhat because the devs of Linux Mint has created a reputable high quality First User’s Experience to Linux setup.
I’ve never used mint, but isn’t the DE (or WM if you abhor DEs) more important?
Somewhat yes but it’s mostly the combination of all the ingredients that can make or break the lasagna dish.
If we’re comparing the DEs with each other than Plasma would win hands down over Cinnamon but for introductory users looking to switch from Windows or Macs to Linux than DEs are less likely to be an immediate concern.
They all come with a package manager.
Linux Mint would use the APT package manager which is good for beginners as you’d be able to use the same troubleshooting steps as Ubuntu or Debian.
Except maybe Nix, from what I’ve heard
NixOS is complicated to say the least, in which I’ve previously discussed here
but isn’t the DE (or WM if you abhor DEs) more important?
Yes, the most important thing is actually the DE/WM, most mainstream distros are exactly the same in how they are structured/configured, and the variations if you ignore the DE/WM come mostly from package manager, same packages with different names, and different default apps/configuration installed by default.
Well, that’s true in my case. Years of using Ubuntu, and finally I decided to move to Mint when they FORCED firefox to run via snap. I followed some guides to download firefox with apt and disable the snap version, and somehow Ubuntu ended up using snap again without my authorization. Also snap was not able to read/write /tmp folder, which I used a lot. Flatpak doesn’t have that problem.
So, yes, I recommend mint, for me it has the best of Ubuntu and fixes exactly what I didn’t like.
The Ubuntu user base is huge and helpful, and almost all of that applies directly to Mint.
I don’t understand coding either and I’ve installed different Linux distributions before! You can do it! Are you perhaps confusing coding with running commands in the command line? Because even running commands may not be necessary for a graphical installations like the aforementioned Linux Mint, Pop OS or similar.
I will say the nice thing about picking a popular distribution like Ubuntu, Mint, or Pop! OS, is that it’s easier to find solutions to problems, because it’s more likely that someone has posted about it online and found a solution
The only coding I ever did was like, some very light HTML on stuff like LiveJournal 20 years ago (because I’m ancient in internet years, haha) and even that I barely remember.
Hi,
Fear not: I switched to Mint when I was already in my 50s… and before that I had been a lifelong Apple user (got my first Apple computer back in the early 80s).
I tried a few distro before settling on Mint and the only reason I picked it up was because, back then at least, it was the only one that would let me use my… Airpods, seriously. Fast forward a few years, to this very day, and you can be assured I would not want to go back to Apple. And I still am using Mint, as I never had any issue with it, not a single one (beside me doing stupid things, but hey that’s how one learns :p). It works perfectly well for me.
Not saying that as way to push you to use Mint. I mean, like others have already suggested there are plenty excellent GNU/Linux available and Mint is just one of them, but to let you know there is no need to be an expert in order to use it.
BTW, Mint is based upon Ubuntu (which is based upon Debian), the hate towards Ubuntu is because they force certain tools/choice onto their users which, unlike with Apple or Microsoft, is not something a lot of people in the Free Software world will agree with (I certainly don’t, as that’s the main reason I quit using Apple ;). Ubuntu is still an excellent distribution, just their policy doesn’t sit well with the freedom & choice Linux is supposed to be promoting.
I don’t like how certain things are being forced onto us through almost every goddamn tech thing so yeah…I get that sentiment. Good to know that about Ubuntu.
Pop! OS is also a good beginner distro.
I found the software manager to be much nicer in Mint than Pop, so if someone is looking for GUI preference, I could understand the lean towards Mint
I think the Ubuntu haters are overly enthusiastic. It’s perfectly fine. Actually pretty good.
Mint is extremely popular as a recommendation for good reasons as well.
Both have excellent support communities, which is important. Linux in general has become a lot more “plug and play” in recent years, meaning that it will do more of what you want right out of the box. In all likelihood, you will want to do something with it that requires help, so having a robust community makes a big difference.
I’ll go against the grain here and suggest Kubuntu. It’s an official variant of Ubuntu which swaps out the GNOME desktop environment for KDE Plasma. KDE feels much more Windows-like than GNOME, so it’s a great migration option for Windows users.
KDE also really focuses on creating a cohesive desktop environment, much more than other DEs. There are over 200 applications built specifically for KDE (https://apps.kde.org/) which try to maintain a common look and feel. You can of course run any Linux application on KDE, but there’s something quite nice about having applications built specifically with the DE in mind.
I got the chance to install Mint recently for a couple of people who were totally new to Linux. It went pretty smoothly, seems to work for them so far.
I have several older laptops that would not perform well on windows 11 running Linux mint, Debian, Ubuntu with no problem. If you stick with distributions that let you try the os from a bootable usb first, this should increase your comfort level and help you feel better about your decision.
One note, depending on your laptop BIOS, you may have trouble booting a live USB. I experienced this with Ubuntu and Pop-os, but the issue is solved by creating the bootable USB with a GPT partition instead of the default MBR. The only reliable way I have found to do this is using Rufus on Windows, so keep in mind you may need a Windows machine around for this purpose.
Good luck and have fun!
This worked for me when I was first setting up Proxmox.
dd bs=1M conv=fdatasync if=./proxmox-ve_*.iso of=/dev/XYZOk, I’m assuming that a ‘live boot’ is something you plug in anytime you want to use it rather than the installed OS that automatically boots? Yes?
Yes, exactly. You would choose your Linux distribution that has a “live boot” option, download the appropriate .iso file, and then make a bootable usb drive using that file, via software like Rufus. When that’s all complete, you would plug in the usb drive and reboot. (You may need to press a key or access your system’s BIOS settings to ensure your system boots from the usb as well - sometimes this is not automatic.)
The chosen OS will load directly from the USB and give you a chance to try it out. You may not have access to the data from your existing system in this mode, but you may not need that if you’re just kicking the tires.
This exercise also helps focus you more on what you actually need/want your system to be able to do. Most of my personal use is web browsing, media consumption, and basic documents and Linux is more than capable of delivering on all of that right out of the box.
If you get stuck on a step, there are probably hundreds of posts out there where someone had the same problem, so you should be able to find solutions to any problems that occur with some patience.
I have found the journey to be very freeing and rewarding, and hope you find the same.
Some great responses here. One thing I’d add is while Mint is considered “beginner friendly”, it’s still a Linux based os. If you decide you want to get into more advanced topics in the future (programming, networking, etc.) you can absolutely do those things with Mint if it’s the distro your comfortable with. You wouldn’t be stuck with an os with limited functionality in that regard.
