Thread 106251080

So with how bad security is getting and how invasive windows is becoming, I'm considering switching the OS on my laptop to one of the linux distros. I'm in my late 30s and never been a linux user before, and yesterday started looking at "linux journey" to start learning a little bit. Considering either Mint or Ubuntu since those are reportedly the most beginner friendly, but how complex is the GUI for first time users? I'm looking for a windows-like experience, though the last windows version I was actually happy with was Windows 7.
Can anyone point me towards some other resources and beginner friendly guides or make some suggestions? Thank you kindly in advance.

>>106251080 (OP)
>windows-like experience
>the last windows version I was actually happy with was Windows 7
Definitely Mint. It's like if Windows 7 and Windows XP had a child.
It's very easy to install and use, mostly everything makes sense, mostly everything is where you would expect it to be.
The only frustrating part about Mint is that it is Linux so you will need WINE to run Windows software and most won't work at all.

>>106251080 (OP)
>How ?
Switch to winfows.

>>106251080 (OP)
Its not so much complex as is it a case of you not knowing where to find something you want to do, and you're not going to know what anything is called which can sometimes make looking stuff up difficult. A lot of tutuorials use the command line because copying and pasting text is easy and text takes up little space on a web server and reads the same to anyone, and they don't know what GUI you're using. But you should try to get used to that, it's very helpful once you do. If you use KDE, your GUI will be about as complex from your point of view as Windows.

>>106251080 (OP)
There's no easy way about this, you kind of just have to jump in.
Just know that, in doing so, you can't approach this with the attitude of Linux just being a Windows alternative, if that makes sense. If you you use Linux expecting the same experience you get on Windows, there's a strong likelihood you're going to get disillusioned at some point because, at the end of the day, Linux isn't really trying to be a Windows alternative. It's its own thing.
You have to want to learn Linux for its own sake, accept it on its own terms, and not expect it to work like what you're leaving. If you do that, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how well it works and be willing to put in the legwork to figure out what doesn't work right out of the box.
Attitude is key.

>>106251542
What really draws me to linux is that you can program in stuff that you want and avoid a lot of the bloatware that comes with modern windows and apple OS. When I was happiest with my setup I was using Windows 7 but avoiding the taskbar and using a bunch of cobbled together rainmeter elements to access programs.
My programming knowledge is a bit out of date but from what I keep hearing I can probably find a linux tutorial of some kind for any odd idea I might have in my head for what I actually want my OS to do, and that sounds ideal to me. I do think I'm going to end up going with mint and installing it on my laptop this weekend, and just diving in to learn after installing some of the basics... Web browser of choice, a couple of desktop wallpapers, steam, my antivirus of choice, etc.

>>106251640
You might want to run it on a VM first, get a feel for things before putting it on the metal.
As for programming stuff you want... I mean, theoretically, yes, you can do that, but practically no one does. The big difference between Windows and Linux is that, with Linux, the license gives you full ownership over the code so you're free to examine and modify it as you please so long as, if you distribute your modifications, you have to make the code available to others. Rather than try to modify your installation directly, it's probably better to hop on board with an existing project involved with what you want and make contributions there (I mean, I've never done it but you can).
Also, antiviruses aren't super common in the Linux world and your antivirus of choice probably doesn't have a Linux version. Linux desktops really aren't a huge target for those types of attacks so, while antiviruses exist, it's not really a market that antivirus software goes after much. But Linux is also a lot more secure and doesn't really need the extra protection so long as you're smart about things.

>>106251271
This didn't even affect anything except the dev/unstable version of Debian before it was caught, in the other distros it did get make it into like Fedora the backdoor didn't even work because of how the installation was implemented.

>>106251080 (OP)
If you don't want to tinker, install
>Mint
>Debian
>Fedora
>whatever other just werks distro
If you want to tinker a bit, like a child, install
>Arch
>Artix
>EndeavourOS
>whatever other Arch-based distros there are
If you want to tinker like a man, install Gentoo.

>>106251080 (OP)
Fuck starting with Linux, do what I did.
Install FreeBSD, on a space computer if possible, VM if you've only got one.
It's not Linux, but it's got a handbook to hold your hand through everything.
https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/

After you feel comfortable with that, then look into Linux. Linux is a bit different in some ways but you'll know enough to know what to look up to address those differences and will have handled things on a deeper level than most Linux users ever will.