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@itsfoss The existence of Desktop Environments. Would have saved me from distro hopping from one flavor to the next. If I would have known better, I'd have stuck with Linux Mint and just installed it with the XFCE Desktop Environment. Oh well. Now I know better and try to inform new users of them before trying other flavors.
@mrgrumpymonkey This would indeed save people a lot of time when they are out looking for distros...
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@itsfoss that the terminal is your friend and window managers are way better than desktop environments.
@gibbyspooks lovely
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@itsfoss that people who know more about Linux will joke about disastrous commands you can use, but not tell you they are disastrous commands.
@solderandchaos The naughty ones.
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@itsfoss Teaching yourself how to install and use Linux in the early 90's was very difficult, and there were few resources available to get answers. Today, many distros are practically a forehead install (smack keyboard with forehead and distro installed).
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These tips would not be relevant to me when I was a beginner, rolling my own Gnu/Linux OS in the early 90s. Yet, these are the best tips to give a new user today.
1) There is no best distro (distribution) or best DE (Desktop Environment). There is only the one that is best for you. You will not find it if you do not try them out. It costs nothing to download Live distros and try them out. Do not take someone else's word for it, you choose what it right for you.
2) On a modern distro that would be appropriate for a beginner, one that has a simple installer such as Debian & Fedora flavors you do not have to use the CLI. That is right, it is entirely optional. There is nothing a beginner with basic computer needs requires from the CLI. Modern DE are complete and can manage anything a basic user requires.
with that said yes the CLI can be an awesome tool. I have a terminal opened 99.99% of the time. I am not a beginner or a basic user. The things I do via the CLI are not anything a beginner or basic user would ever need to do. If 90% of your time on your computer is spent playing games, office software, or social media & the web you do not need the CLI. It is a shame that all to many users insist you must learn the CLI and that scares away a lot of users that believe that nonsense. I really wish they would stop.
Have a great day!
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R relay@relay.mycrowd.ca shared this topic
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@itsfoss don't delete home directory 🫠🫠
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@itsfoss That there are ways to run EVERYTHING you need and not use Windows as your primary desktop OS. I finally made the switch over to Linux both for work and at-home use several years ago.
For work, there are a few programs that only exist for Windows - for that I run QEMU/KVM and run Windows in a virtual machine. So I guess technically I still have to use Windows, but for 99% of my working day, I am using Linux. For home life? 100% Linux!
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@itsfoss You can take your SSD or HD put it in another computer and it will just work*. (Windows won't and will likely notify you you're using unlicensed software).
*unless radically different eg, different processor type
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@itsfoss That there are ways to run EVERYTHING you need and not use Windows as your primary desktop OS. I finally made the switch over to Linux both for work and at-home use several years ago.
For work, there are a few programs that only exist for Windows - for that I run QEMU/KVM and run Windows in a virtual machine. So I guess technically I still have to use Windows, but for 99% of my working day, I am using Linux. For home life? 100% Linux!
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@itsfoss
In 2026 ist mit necessary to use the shell as a normal User
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@itsfoss That there are ways to run EVERYTHING you need and not use Windows as your primary desktop OS. I finally made the switch over to Linux both for work and at-home use several years ago.
For work, there are a few programs that only exist for Windows - for that I run QEMU/KVM and run Windows in a virtual machine. So I guess technically I still have to use Windows, but for 99% of my working day, I am using Linux. For home life? 100% Linux!
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@itsfoss you don't need to use the terminal, but it's nice if you now how to
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@itsfoss The Terminal is always a better choice than using a GUI.
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@mrgrumpymonkey This would indeed save people a lot of time when they are out looking for distros...
@itsfoss @mrgrumpymonkey
For beginners, I understand that the issue of whether it’s possible to install other desktop environments is important, provided it’s made clear that, as a rule, the distro’s default desktop environment is fine-tuned in a way that’s often difficult to achieve with desktop environments installed by the user. -
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@itsfoss Two things. The man pages are actually good. My experience with GNU/Linux improved tremendously when I learned to integrate man pages into my day to day.
Second, related to the first and generally good "tool" advice. Don't fight Linux. GNU/Linux wants you to use the shell and text centric workflows so lean into it.
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@itsfoss That there are ways to run EVERYTHING you need and not use Windows as your primary desktop OS. I finally made the switch over to Linux both for work and at-home use several years ago.
For work, there are a few programs that only exist for Windows - for that I run QEMU/KVM and run Windows in a virtual machine. So I guess technically I still have to use Windows, but for 99% of my working day, I am using Linux. For home life? 100% Linux!
I understand there are some applications that were designed only for Windows. I have one like that and use Wine to run it in Linux.
http://john1126.com/589I am thankful to be running everything (100%) on four different machines (not including servers) using Linux.
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don't listen to a friend that tells you to log in and type:
> chmod u-rx .
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@itsfoss Use a distro with BTRFS and snapper making automatic snapshots so you can boot into a snapshot and rollback in case something goes wrong. Saved me so much trouble and time.
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In a terminal shell, if you want to do a recursive operation on dotfiles only, don't do `.*` -- do `.[^.]*` for example, and test with a non-destructive command like `echo` beforehand. Reason: `.*` includes `..`
