Picking a Distro

Choice paralysis is one of the biggest hurdles for prospective Linux users. Since Linux isn't one singular thing but a whole constellation of related operating systems, it's easy to get turned around and confused. Seasoned Linux users can also be tribalistic about their preferred OS, and denigrate all the others. This can result in asking for advice and getting flooded with contradictory information that makes it even harder to pick one.

I do not recommend looking for anything weird and obscure. Until you have the knowledge and experience to handle it, small and niche projects will be rough.

For general-purpose computing (web browsing, writing, watching videos, and other light tasks,) Linux Mint is, far and away the easiest to start on. The Mint team has spent over a decade building their OS to be approachable and easy to use. Virtually everything can be done through a graphical menu, so you are less likely to need to dive into a the terminal. It also features a driver manager, which makes it far easier to get Nvidia graphics cards working well. Mint's user community is also welcoming to new users and more willing to help new users who don't know what they don't know yet.

For gamers, Nobara and Bazzite are both good options. The former is developed by a team who develops a lot of utilities that make gaming on Linux easier, while the latter is purpose-built to make gaming as straight-forward as possible, without requiring users to mess with any system files. Both are based on Fedora, and have a lot of community support.

Other mainstream distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora are good options too. They support a wide range of desktop environments and can cater to both the most powerful gaming rigs and the most anemic little netbooks. They also have large developer and user communities. If you run into some unusual issues, you are likely to find guidance online. Someone else has probably already ran into your issue, or will be interested in trying to solve yours if it's truly unique.

Okay, hold on, what's a desktop environment?

Ome unique thing about linux is its modularity, meaning that it's built out of a bunch of parts that interlock together. Don't like one way of doing things? You can probably find more than one replacement that you'll like better.

This includes the whole desktop setup! A desktop environment is a bundle of software odds and ends that make up the taskbars, windows, menus, and other elements that comprise your computer's look and feel.

On Windows and Mac, you just get the desktop setup that you get. On Linux, you get a say in the matter.

There are two mainstream ones called KDE and GNOME. KDE is a more traditional desktop, with a taskbar at the bottom, time and system tray on the right side, and a Start menu and pinned programs to the left. Windows has been set up the same way since, like, 1995. This will feel comfortable and familiar for anyone used to Windows 10. KDE also comes standard with a wide range of customization options that allow you to tweak your system to look exactly how you want.

GNOME, meanwhile, is a whole different animal. It emulates the clean desktop space and top panel typical of Mac computers, with the goal of being sleek and visually appealing. Its defaults feel very strange for newcomers though, and a lot of basic features are stripped away. Things like font choices, an app menu button, a dock for showing pinned and active programs, and even a minimize and maximize button, are not available by default, and you have to go out of your way to add or change them. I don't recommend this for new Linux users, though I appreciate its look and feel when it's set up to my liking.

Linux Mint uses its own desktop, called Cinnamon. It was created shortly after GNOME turned into its current form over a decade ago, and the Mint team sought to undo the changes they didn't like. Now, it's become its own thing and is really nicely implemented! As a comparatively small project with fewer developers and more conservative goals, it can be a little old-fashioned. But it's simple, easy to use, and gets out of your way! If you feel like computers peaked with Windows 7, Cinnamon will feel like home.

One up-and-coming desktop is COSMIC, which is basically the other side of the coin from Cinnamon. It's very forward-facing and modern. It combines the sleek look and feel of GNOME with the customization features of KDE, but does it its own way. It also has a really convenient tiling window feature, where your screen real estate gets automatically split into sections as you open new windows. It's on its very first version right now and rough around the edges, but it's promising!

For folks with limited computer hardware, there are some lightweight desktops. Xfce is the most popular. It's highly customizable and works well, and is built on similar fondations to GNOME. LXQT, likewise, is like a lightweight version of KDE. There are a few other options, but they are relatively niche and I'll leave them be.

All that to say, you've got options! For Mint, I recommend using their flagship Cinnamon desktop as you learn linux. For folks using other distros, I recommend KDE as the most flexible, fully featured desktop with tons of customization options and sane defaults.

Next: Set up your USB & Prep your PC