I just hope asahi Linux takes of because the M3 looks sick but I’ll be fucked if I get sucked into the apple ecosystem. I’d rather be forced to use Windows on arm.
How old is your PC? Do you game via Steam?
If it is younger than 10 years, any desktop oriented distro will work equally well.
In that case, I’d recommend Mint, just because it is the best beginner distro overall.
If you have less than 4GB of RAM, Debian with Xfce would run faster.
If it’s older, then there’s a (small, but getting larger with age) chance it is limited to 32bit architecture or 32bit UEFI.
Then your choice of distros becomes slim, but MX Linux would be a good choice.
Absolutely, this thing has been sitting around for ages because it was barely powerful enough for WindowsXP when it first came out. Now has a new purpose!
(great ceo choice, she has experience in communication, which is the main thing a ceo has to do for gnome. She doesn’t need to do or participate deeply in development.
I don’t use it myself, but it’s been my main recommendation for newbies for years for that reason. No complaints yet, even from the less tech-literate.
For near-guaranteed compatibility, there are dedicated manufacturers like System76 and Tuxedo. Framework also claims Linux compatibility but for set tested distros (Ubuntu and Fedora).
Generally, anything with Intel/AMD graphics and Intel Wifi is pretty much guaranteed to work in my experience. For laptops, high-DPI displays can be problematic but the fixes are on Wayland which is getting higher priority now.
Good for Fedora for being a trendsetter regarding Wayland, though I’m sure others are right in suggesting that this is probably not being done with KDE’s express approval lol.
Plasma 6 seems to be fixing a lot of the issues I currently have with Plasma - bugs, inconsistency, general jank. Looking forward to its release so I can give it another go
Very cool writeup! I also love the rollercoaster that is your blog categories. We’ve got everything from free software, gun violence, deadbeat dads, and … spaghetti.
For real though, great stuff! I’m always happy to come across legit oldschool-style blogs without a commercial agenda.
All these people saying “Just use LibreOffice” are missing the point: if they ask about a program, then that means they have a usecase for said program.
This isn’t StackExchange; let’s not repeat that cycle.
I admire the respect you have for those who ask questions like this, but I think I disagree.
If there is something egregiously wrong with the premise of what a person is seeking to do, and there are no qualifying statements in their query about why they do in fact need to do this specifiic thing in this specific way, chances are high that they are uneducated about why the premise of what they’re trying to do is flawed, and they are best served by being course corrected. Giving them the answer they’re looking for to continue the bad thing while hiding your suggestion of what they should be doing instead in a footnote is just enabling them to double down on the short term path of least resistance that will probably come back to bite them again later.
If they really did know what they were doing with regards to doing an otherwise unsafe and/or unsupported thing, or if the restrictions tied their hands from using the obvious replacement solution, it either should have appeared in their question prompt, or it should be in the first replies to the first round of answers.
I say, withhold outdated advice unless the context of the conversation makes it explicitly clear that the old advice is genuinely required and not substitutable with current advice. But also don’t be smug, rude, dismissive, or standoffish about it. Don’t argue with someone who says they really do need a specific solution.
That said, this only applies in really cut and dry cases like this one, where there very clearly is an indisputable thing you shouldn’t be doing, and a drop-in replacement you should be using. The ones I hate are moreso those you may see on StackOverflow where the question is like, “how do I do <X> in JavaScript?” and five of the seven responses including the accepted answer offer a solution in some big dumb framework or lib that they apparently expect you to just incorporate into your project.
If there is something egregiously wrong with the premise of what a person is seeking to do, and there are no qualifying statements in their query about why they do in fact need to do this specifiic thing in this specific way, chances are high that they are uneducated about why the premise of what they’re trying to do is flawed …
You are probably right about this. Still, as I said to another user, I just feel it’s a bit of a slippery slope from a stance of concern to full-blown-StackOverflow-ignoring-the-question.
If they really did know what they were doing with regards to doing an otherwise unsafe and/or unsupported thing, or if the restrictions tied their hands from using the obvious replacement solution, it either should have appeared in their question prompt, or it should be in the first replies to the first round of answers.
I can agree with this.
That said, this only applies in really cut and dry cases like this one, where there very clearly is an indisputable thing you shouldn’t be doing, and a drop-in replacement you should be using. The ones I hate are moreso those you may see on StackOverflow where the question is like, “how do I do in JavaScript?” and five of the seven responses including the accepted answer offer a solution in some big dumb framework or lib that they apparently expect you to just incorporate into your project.
Fair enough.
Truth be told, I work in customer service, and have very little tolerance for bullshit, so I’m genuinely surprised to find myself as patient and giving-the-benefit-of-the-doubt as I am being. I guess this thread just reminded me a bit too much of the days of 2015. Lol.
Edit: Shit. Forgot to add the > at the quote at the top. My bad.
You’re not wrong, and I’m upvoting everything you say because I hate the smug SO people who ask why instead of actually trying to help.
But in this specific case, there’s literally no reason to use OpenOffice, it’s discontinued. People shouldn’t have to explain how to use a defunct software with an addendum.
It’s not an obscure programming language with an edge case, it’s a word processor.
You’re not wrong, and I’m upvoting everything you say because I hate the smug SO people who ask why instead of actually trying to help.
Yeah, I hate those people too. I appreciate the support.
But in this specific case, there’s literally no reason to use OpenOffice, it’s discontinued. People shouldn’t have to explain how to use a defunct software with an addendum.
It’s not an obscure programming language with an edge case, it’s a word processor.
I can see where you’re coming from. Still, I personally try to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume until demonstrated otherwise that they have considered alternatives and decided their current program is best for their particular usecase.
Is it naïve? Possibly. I fully admit that possibility.
Eh, I can see where you’re coming from, certainly, but I feel it’s a slippery slope from this stance to full-blown StackOverflow levels of ignoring-the-question.
First time trying Linux I went with an arch install because I Googled “best version of Linux” and went with arch. Followed a guide to the point of drive formatting and I decided to go with a setup with drive encryption. I didn’t understand what I was doing, ended up locking myself out of my hard drives and couldn’t get windows to reinstall on them. I used a MacBook for a week until I installed Ubuntu and managed to wipe and reset my drives and reinstalled. Needless to say I am going to read up a little more before I try that again.
Archinstall python script is your friend 😄😉 I tried install arch manually, but as I learned that not even sudo is included in the Linux essential packages, I stopped the process and went back to aromatic script install, lol, got no time for that S*** 😂
Always nice to read so great posts. Welcome to a brand new world of possibilities. I promise your journey will be long but full of self accomplishments, learnings, satisfaction. You will probably run into one or two times when you’ll have to search for a solution but in these situations the Linux community will always be there for you and you’ll feel so proud to have learn something along the way.
You realize how much Linux is different to other OS only when you live with it. There’s a real philosophy, it’s not just some branding wording. If you feel adventurous enough you’ll certainly see your mindset and way of thinking evolving as time goes. You have so much possibilities to discover, I’m jealous of this sentiment of new user you’ll experience. I’ve personaly used to tweak Windows back in the days and its limitations (amongst other things) is one of the main reasons why I switched to Linux. Twenty years later I’m wondering how I didn’t know earlier that another world existed.
Beyond the fact that Linux has improved my workflow drastically compared to my Windows/MacOS colleagues, it also helped me grow intellectually. The best part is that it never ends because there’s always a new tool, app, distro to experiment, play with, and learn from.
Working with a system and not adapting to it or fighting against it is a huge difference. Linux has so many options that you can litterally build the system that fits your specific needs and liking to perfection (and even better than you can think now). It’s just a matter of few efforts. We’re not used to make efforts nowadays and prefer opting for the laziness of being the slaves of a system/brand but I can guarantee you will be rewarded for these efforts beyond your expectations.
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