Linux Linux for a noob

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icysmoke

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As mentioned by another user in a previous thread, windows has gone to the dogs and has become incredibly resource intensive. Random unnecessary background processes can slow the system to a crawl.

Really want to use Linux but am largely tech handicapped. A question to pro users- How much is the daily level effort required to run a Linux system (ubuntu)

Will all usual softwares like ms office, anaconda, firefox etc work normally or would i need to learn a new setup each time. Will ubuntu have automatic updates?

All in all, would you recommended installing Linux for a user who cant code. I simply want to move away from windows for two things- improving system efficiency and removing malware possibilities. I have a Realme laptop - i5 11 gen, 8gb non expandable ram.
 
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whatever u expect is in LINUX? Go for Ubuntu especially LTS, and this year APR 2022 is a LINUX new version gets released that will be 22.04 and will be a stable release supported until 5 years .... i.e. until Mar 2027, Windows is still a good platform too!! having 2 OS is fun, Linux will work bit faster than windows, IMHO. but to get used to the environment will take few weeks, not a worry, coz u will begin to like it the moment it gets installed.
 
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icysmoke said:
As mentioned by another user in a previous thread, windows has gone to the dogs and has become incredibly resource intensive. Random unnecessary background processes can slow the system to a crawl.

Really want to use Linux but am largely tech handicapped. A question to pro users- How much is the daily level effort required to run a Linux system (ubuntu)

Will all usual softwares like ms office, anaconda, firefox etc work normally or would i need to learn a new setup each time. Will ubuntu have automatic updates?

All in all, would you recommended installing Linux for a user who cant code. I simply want to move away from windows for two things- improving system efficiency and removing malware possibilities. I have a Realme laptop - i5 11 gen, 8gb non expandable ram.
Click to expand...
Ubuntu is probably the most straightforward transition from Windows for anyone. installation is pretty straightforward, it has a package manager, and you don't really need to access the command line unless you really want to.

Coding really has nothing to do with using linux, unless you really want get into it and do some hardcore customization etc. even if you want to use the terminal/command line, it's pretty simple to find full tutorials for whatever you want to accomplish.
 
Use Zorin OS if you're totally new and coming from Windows.
Download "Core" edition. It's based on Ubuntu LTS so same tenure of support/updates.


Also, you don't need to know how to code to use linux, as for terminal use... it's something you'll come to know when you google for stuff and with ubuntu based OS there's a large community support out there. You shouldn't find yourself lost.
 
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I would recommend Ubuntu and linux mint for beginners transitioning from windows.
Very large communities and will easily find you answers with google(inevitable, will have to some googling for troubleshooting).

I use websites like alternative to, to find various linux (and open source) alternatives for windows apps.


See if your currently used apps have linux alternatives.

Another special mention is Zorin os. Aims to keep experience close to windows like.
 
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You can also try various linux distributions and desktop environment in a VM like virtualbox.org.

This is called distro hopping lol

It will be a bit easier for you as a beginner to try out various choices and get familiar with linux usage and configuration and troubleshooting etc.

My top 2 choices are KDE neon user edition from neon.kde.org which is based on ubuntu LTS but gives you the latest KDE desktop which is kind of windows look and feel and is very configurable.

My other favourite is elementary OS from elementary.io and note you can enter zero price in custom option for the payment info to get free download link.

After you spend time exploring these distros in VM you can actually install on your laptop while still keeping your windows also in dual boot mode. Also mostly all distros have what is called Live boot session where you can boot the os from pen drive and use trial mode to actually use it without touching your laptop existing disk and os.

There is the other major desktop environment called gnome and for that I suggest Fedora workstation latest release but it's a bit cutting edge and the installer is a little less easy to get used to but it's fine to try in a VM.

When you are actually ready to install on your laptop you must first backup all your important files to other storage like external disk or cloud just by chance if you make a mistake while resize partition and format etc.

Enjoy and welcome to the world of Linux !!!
 
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Like others said. Stick to ubuntu to get your hands on. Ubuntu is stable and has a lot of community support when you google. Even though other distros are good they don’t have as much support as ubuntu.
 
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Would you be replacing Windows altogether or installing Linux side by side with it ? As you are new to Linux it is better to have both for a while and when you are comfortable with Linux, remove Windows. One important difference in Linux is the way the filesystem works, it doesnt have c: drive, d: drive etc. Reading a bit on this will save you lots of trouble

When you install Linux along with existing Windows, you will need to make space for Linux install. Atleast 50 GB is required for a typical Linux install with mainstream applications. As you have a relatively new hardware, I assume your Windows install would have created a EFI partition and the Linux installer would install the required files there to boot Linux. By default the Linux boot manager "grub" will be installed and from the grub menu you will be able to boot to Windows also

Install any of the mainline distributions available, the main difference is in software management.

Happy Linux'ng !!
 
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I would recommend stick to Ubuntu LTS , if you need windows like feel taskbar & things, try Linux mint cinnamon, both are extremely stable easy user interface. Choose in top distro. As per app availability plenty of open source & main stream apps available.
Useful website to watch out for distros.
 
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If anyone wants Windows liked theme and user-friendlyness ZorinOS is still what I'd recommend just because it's meant for people who know nothing about linux and coming from Windows.
Just see recent Youtube videos to make up your mind.

If they've tried linux before then can't go wrong with ubuntu and linux mint. All of these are Ubuntu based which is essentially debian based.
 
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Thanks a lot everyone. Didnt expect to receive so much detailed help from the community. Went through the videos of zorin, ubuntu and linux mint cinnamon. Realized that i would be more comfortable with Zorin Core. Have installed it in dual boot. Will adapt gradually to it and then hope to shift completely. 8gb soldered ram isnt great for windows 11. Hopefully Linux will be much smoother.
 
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Well tbh 8GB is still OK if you know your limitations. I have 2 old laptops in the house with 3rd gen i3 and 5th gen i3 both have 8GB RAM and a basic 120GB DRAMless SSD for normal daily usage like browsing, document editing and videos etc. It's fine for that. Of course you can't keep 10+ tabs open but basic multi-tasking is fine.

Good luck with your linux experience.
 
I think 8 GB should is more than enough for Windows 10 and the CPU is okay. You can go ahead and remove bloatware from Windows 10, and disable few services which are resource hungry. superfetch is one service on top of my mind, it used to spike CPU and disk usage most of the time.
I am running Widows 10 on laptop with PQC and 4GB of RAM, it runs okay although not as fast as my Macbook.
 
As a professional switcher to Linux and back to Windows for over 15 years now, I am suprised I missed this post! Each year, I make at least two attempts to switch back to Linux only to be dragged by software and conveniece of windows (yes, I know all the arguments. I make them myself to myself), but the ease of shortcuts, powertoys, CorelDraw, MS Office Integration, Bluetooth- Wifi- Printer issues, and such like, I keep switching back to Windows.

But as for the recommendations, I found POP OS to be the best there is in terms of convenience. This is again a personal opinion and not to diss anyone. I also loved Zorin as mentioned by @enthusiast29 but do give POPOS a spin too!

Pop!_OS by System76

Imagine an OS for the software developer, maker and computer science professional who uses their computer as a tool to discover and create. Welcome to Pop!_OS.
pop.system76.com pop.system76.com
 
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enthusiast29 said:
@soulweaver pop is good no doubt, personally used it since few years. Just recommended Zorin since the guy probably will be seeing Linux UI for the first time and some may get overwhelmed by the difference.
Click to expand...
I will take your word for it, and I guess so should he. Like I said, I am a linux deserter for most part than an evangelist. :D
 
I know I'm replying late, but wanted to know @icysmoke 's experience so far.

I have a slightly different opinion to other users. I know lots of people have switched from Windows to Linux, but for some, it may be incredibly difficult. My experience has been similar to @soulweaver in that I have tried to make the switch many times only to go running back to Windows after a month or so. I am a power user of windows and do little customizations here and there to make it easier to use. No matter how much I try, I am not able to replicate all those customizations on Linux. While many people like to disagree, out of the box, Windows Ux is miles ahead of both Linux and Mac OS. They are not even in the same league as Windows.

In my latest attempt (3 months ago), I installed KDE and spent hours customizing it to my liking. I almost got everything running as well with the only exception that I could not replicate the middle click features of https://ramensoftware.com/7-taskbar-tweaker. However, this time I was determined to make the switch, so I decided to get used to the new shortcuts which KDE did have, some which were better than Windows as well. I thought over time I'll learn to do things the new way.

Then came a monitor change. I got a 4k monitor. This monitor worked fine with my work laptop but kept blanking out with my NUC (on which I was using Linux). I thought it was a hardware issue, then I noticed the screen would blank out when a movie was running but not when it was paused. At which point I realised it was a software issue. Booted into Windows and it worked perfectly fine. Spent hours searching for a solution to no avail and had to finally switch back to Windows.

My latest endeavour is to switch to Mac. I have been using my new Mac Mini for over a month now. And while the performance is incredible, especially for the price, the Ux is absolute shit compared to Windows. I am in the Finder app and enter button doesn't enter into a folder, delete button doesn't delete a folder. Ctrl+Tab refuses to work half the time for no apparent reason, there's no shortcut to put the computer to sleep, there's no software volume control, monitor brightness control works on my Windows PC but not on the Mac, the menu bar being on top is incredibly inconvenient when you're trying to work with multiple windows in the bottom half of your screen, the default photo preview app doesn't have something as basic as next/previous, my game controller simply refuses to work, and so on. I can go on listing things which just work on Windows and are an absolute nightmare on the Mac.

Windows has its problems, but it just works out of the box. Linux doesn't. It needs a lot of customization. And don't even get me started on Mac. There are a plethora of apps which simply replicate the built-in functionality of Windows and cost anywhere between ₹1,000 to ₹10,000. It's unusable for a power user of Windows.
 
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