A couple of days ago, on the mailing list of Linux Adictos, they asked us about resources to get started in Linux. Surely on the net there must be many and very good articles on the subject, but, we could not resist the temptation to make our contribution.
First, we must determine whether cOn getting started in Linux we mean superficial curiosity or using it as a replacement for Windows. The second thing to determine is if we talk about desktop or servers.
It is very common that in this type of articles the friendliest solutions are recommended. It seems to me an absurd generalization. It is true that most may want to start with something familiar and uncomplicated. But, there are also those who prefer to learn to swim by parachuting in the middle of the sea. Let's not rule out Gentoo or Linux From Scratch as an alternative
However, we are getting ahead of ourselves. Better to start from the beginning.
What is Linux?
To understand what Linux is, let's start with an analogy.
Suppose we want to buy land to build a house. The first thing we do is set some limits. These can be the price, the neighborhood, or the dimensions. Once we have the land we build the house, connect it to public services, decorate it and buy furniture.
When we talk about Linux we mean a kernel or kernel. The nucleus is the one in charge of mediate between hardware, user and programs. Going back to the house analogy. Both the hardware and the terrain set limitations. If we live in a mountainous area, we do not have the same range of public services as in the city center. If we have limited hardware, we will not be able to do the same as with a powerful one, even if the same kernel is used.
Using certain tools (most of the time, those developed by the GNU project), various communities of programmers or companies add new functionalities to the Linux kernel such as the ability to display windows, icons, manage files, and install and uninstall programs. The set of the kernel, the window managers, files and packages added to a set of applications for various uses constitute a Linux distribution.
Unlike what happens with Windows or Mac OS, a Linux distribution is not a homogeneous conglomerate, it is made up of tools of various origins. For example, we have several distributions that use the same graphic desktop but different programs to install or uninstall applications.
Which Linux distribution to choose
A topic that often confuses newbies ands the huge number of distributions. Linux users tend to complicate things by giving opinions more for personal sympathies than for technical reasons. In general we can divide the distributions using the following criteria
- Destination: There are distributions for old and modern equipment
- Purpose: We have distributions for general use and others for specific purposes such as multimedia production or scientific research
- Difficulty: Some distributions require the user to be actively involved in the installation process, while others have wizards who take care of most of the procedure.
General purpose distributions
What follows is a purely subjective list. Surely the comment form will be filled with others armed by readers.
To do the same as with Windows in the shortest possible time.
Ubuntu
If you are looking for how to do something in Linux, you will surely find how to do it in Ubuntu. If you are looking for a program that does something on Linux, it most likely has a version for Ubuntu. This Linux distribution has a very easy installation wizard and excellent hardware support.
Linux Mint
This distribution It is based on Ubuntu, although it uses a different desktop and has very interesting own development tools. It is ideal if you want to have your computer fully operational as soon as the installation is finished
Manjaro
If you would like to install once and don't worry. Without a doubt Manjaro is your option. Both Ubuntu and Linux Mint release regular releases. Manjaro opts for a continual upgrade scheme. The installation wizard is much better than the Ubuntu / Mint one and allows you to select which programs to install.
If you want to learn everything about Linux from the beginning
Arch Linux
This distribution has no users, it has parishioners. A real legion of fans (in the best sense of the word) who promote it at the slightest opportunity. It is highly configurable, but the user has to actively participate in the installation process. It has a very complete documentation so when you finish installing it you will be a Linux ninja.
Gentoo
If Arch Linux isn't enough of a challenge, you can jump into the sea with Gentoo. Install Gentoo is comOr go to the agency and have the parts of the car and the tools delivered to you so that you can put it together. Its advantage is the Very high configurability and the availability of the most current versions of the programs. The other side is the attention you must give it.
If you are interested in Linux distributions for professionals systems, you can check out the track we made a while ago.
In the next article we will see the ways to test a Linux distribution.
I'd keep an eye out for Arch's rolling releases and derivatives for a beginner… there's a learning curve that can be frustrating and demotivating at times.
There are masochistic beginners.
And the learning curve for Manjaro is not that steep.
Thanks for comment.
Learning curve ?, Really ?, hahaha, it will be because by installing arch or gentoo you learn a hole. You don't learn a damn thing, to install arch or gentoo, you follow a manual and dedicate yourself to copy and paste and point ball and for that reason especially those who are presuming to use arch, they already think they know Linux and they know an egg . They don't know anything, take the Internet away from them so they can't search and see if they install arch. Well no, the one who knows Linux, is the one who studies and gets the three corresponding titles of systems administrator, period. You let them copy and paste commands and that's why they already think they know, hahaha, how sad, I copy and paste Linux as I call them.
You don't need three titles. In google you get an infinity of PDFs to learn seriously, for a deep conceptual understanding. And if you know a little English, through P2P networks there are complete books to go to infinity and beyond;)
Knowledge is something that requires time and patience (decades in this case) and you don't have to get angry with those who copy and paste, ... you start with something, and maybe after a couple of years they get to read a whole book on Linux. We all have our childhood and adolescence on Linux, and if we overcome 'distrohopping' and 'versionitis', we could even reach adulthood.
Very good answer ... you really learn when you put aside the change of distro and you focus on the programs of our great GNU, also on configuring your own kernel by reading the help of each option that the makemenuconfig gives, you have to know how to read and understand English, otherwise it is impossible.
I have been using gentoo since 2008, without pauses and without penalties, the first year the changes kept getting stuck, but after more than a decade ... there are no more secrets
Drawing from the sources gives power over one of the fundamental freedoms of the GPL
choose the ./configure options of each package, more well known in gentoo as uses, to break absurd dependencies that are not wanted.
The binary distros have this problem, the maintainers of each package enable all the options that become dependencies, because that binary will be used by all the users of that distro and you have to conform to all of them, then it is compiled with everything enabled ... that is Compiling from sources brings independence from the package maintainers, since in this way it is total flexibility on the user side.
A question that has always haunted my head is how compatible are the distributions with each other?
Apart from the OS installation manager, the way to install the programs and the different desktops / programs that they include,… Are there more differences?
In other words. I have Debian. But could you install and modify things "by hand" to end up saying "Now I have Arch, or Ubuntu, or Mint, ...?
Distributions use a dependency system, meaning that the programs use other components of the operating system. This makes it difficult to convert one distribution to another.
Even in the case of Ubuntu, a distro derived from Debian, the conversion is not possible, because even if they use the same components in the same format, the difference is important enough in the base that the attempt ends in disaster.
Yes, there are tools that allow you to convert a program created for one into a program that can be installed on the other.
You were talking about distributions for older equipment, but you didn't mention which one. Can you install versions that run well on these computers?
Hey.
I plan to post a detailed list at the end of the series. But i give you some
Zorin OS Lite https://zorinos.com/download/15/lite/
Peppermint https://peppermintos.com/
Linux Lite https://www.linuxliteos.com/
No matter how much you install Arch, Gentoo, Slackware or any other GNU / Linux distribution, the most you are going to learn is how to ... install Arch, Gentoo or Slackware. To use the GNU / Linux system or any other is learned over time. Successes, mistakes, frustrations, to learn by asking questions, consulting manuals, resorting to San Google ... Over the years you will have acquired knowledge to use the system with relative ease, or so you will think ... Unless your name is Linus Torvalds or Richard Stallman there will be days you'll curse the damn penguin… Learning to use GNU / Linux is like learning to play the flute. There are those who have musical ability, desire to learn and determination and after a while they play happy melodies that hypnotize the goats. Then there are others who, no matter how much blowing to the maximum that they get to use a flute, is for…. Anyway…
I loved this article, I think it put me in vogue, I'm going to try Arch Linux and then Gentoo.
At the moment I am using Linux Mint 20 Ulyana, I am a newbie in Linux, I have a lot to learn and I love learning, I am 74 years old and I get tired of windows, I build my computers and load them with the OS, but Linux caught me, I'm going to stick your head deep inside Linux.
Thank you for this article and sorry for the inconvenience it may cause in the future.
I loved your comment.
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