Hello, I got almost for free a Lenovo laptop: CPU Intel i3 8130, 4Gb RAM. I would like to use It to learn Linux. I saw some people using Arch to learn the inside out of Linux, but I’m afraid It could be to challenging. What do you suggest? What Is the best way to learn? Thank you. Edit: First of all I thank you all for your suggestions, I think that this is what makes this community special. I installed Fedora Xfce for now and I worked all evening to male it work and customize it. I’m learning a lot already. I’ll move to Arch as soon I’ll feel comfortable with Fedora. Thank you all again.
Arch is NOT for beginners. Immutable distros are NOT for beginners. Do not let anyone suggest otherwise.
Go with Fedora for the smoothest and least polluted experience of any beginner distro and work from there.
The best way to learn is just by getting started 👍
as a recent linux “convert” running fedora workstation, it works fantastic :D
I’d second this, but also add that you probably want to use something like XFCE for your desktop environment due to the amount of RAM you have: https://fedoraproject.org/spins
Thanks I will download It right now.
I never suggest this for brand new beginners because of the smaller user base and less “vanilla” docs when searching for stuff. The available customization can also be a bit overwhelming for some people that aren’t expecting it, though yes, the memory footprint will be lower as you mentioned.
You do make some good points here about available docs. I just had trouble running GNOME on a 4GB laptop.
I really agree with you about immutables. Not only are they awkward to use as far as managing and installing software, I feel like they prevent people from learning how a traditional Linux system works by keeping them in the padded cell of read only root.
As far as arch, it only really took me a year of fiddling and learning on Fedora and mint before I managed to get arch running. Yes there were hurdles and growing pain, but it made me a better user.
What do you mean by “least polluted”?
I’m not baiting you, I don’t grok what you mean.
Meaning as vanilla/neutral as you can get from the stock packages and configurations.
And so on.
If OP just wants to get on board at a base level without a HUGE amount of edge-cases or one-off customizations, Fedora is the way to go.
I get your meaning, but there are other “unpolluted” distros where the theming and arbitrary package selection is kept at a minimum. Debian comes to mind.
In fact, Fedora does take liberties with non-free drivers and configs for the sake of a sane and usable quality of life.
I’m not trying to start a pissing contest here, just highlighting that there’s a Linux for everyone, and that is the great thing about Linux.
Debian is intentionally built for LTS, so a bit behind on modern Desktop updates and such.
Great for a stable server/dev system, but not great if you’re expecting modern DE features.
Fair enough.
Their choice of distro is the PUREST bro, swear to god bro, TOTALLY PURE UNCUT. Just trust me bro, lots of people are saying bro.
Hi, so what version of Fedora, if there is more than one, you suggest? Thank you for you reply.
Also, what is the model of this laptop if you don’t mind sharing?
The different spins are just different default desktop environments with the same underlying system otherwise.
Gnome or KDE are the two most popular desktop environments. Gnome is more like MacOS (simplified, smooth, and minimal), while KDE is a bit more like Windows (verbose, menus laid out how you’d expect).
You choose whichever and just run it. You can just run a LiveUSB of whatever to try out for a few days and get a feel for both, or just dive in and install something. If you find you don’t like something, just switch to a different distro spin. Either way works.
Why wouldn’t an atomic distro not be for beginners?
There’s no reason why a beginner wouldn’t be able to use one. Maybe i’s overwhelming for a power user that doesn’t know linux well but for a beginner who doesn’t use too much functionality it’s perfect. You just use flatpak which you should also do on non atomic distros.
OP wants to LEARN Linux. Immutable distros are not lock and stock built to learn Linux at all. They are built to operate one specific way that is confusing for beginners. Some really basic reasons it’s not for newcomers:
Just because YOU like something, doesn’t mean everyone needs to subscribe to your idea of it.
You said arch is not for beginners, OP is asking for a distro to learn. I asked why atomic is not for beginners, not for someone to learn. Op also didn’t say what she wants to learn about linux. Maybe she is no software dev and doesn’t want to learn how to package software. But even then, distrobox is only a few clicks away. Learning how to tweak the system before learning about firewall and other stuff is beyond beginner level in my opinion.
They said they want to “learn Linux”. Immutable distros are not how Linux runs in its native form, but a utilitarian way of running it for a specific purpose. You must understand the thing before you speak on the thing.
None of that describes why a beginner would not want to use a immutable distro. It only describes why it is not a good idea if you want to learn how traditional linux distros work. Not all beginners want to learn or care about how linux works under the hood and immutable distros can be a good fit for them. They might not be right for OP, but you have not describe any reason why any beginner should avoid them.
It absolutely does. Don’t know how you don’t see that.