vernonmiddleton
New Member
I'm a beginner and I don't know much about Linux although I'm a programmer. What distro/desktop environment/window manager should I use?
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What Linux distro should I use as a beginner?
- Thread starter vernonmiddleton
- Start date
ubuntu (EDIT: as @wizardfromoz stated below, this is just my humble opinion). Do you know how to create a bootable usb stick? if not we can help.
Right now you are on OSX or windows?
You want to install ubuntu with all the defaults the installer recommends you, and then get familiar with that, and then later (in one or two month) you want to explore other window managers.
First step is to install, and then to get "everything working", as in setup your browser, copy your files, make emails work. and what ever else you got. So you can just use it as a computer.
Programmer for?
Right now you are on OSX or windows?
You want to install ubuntu with all the defaults the installer recommends you, and then get familiar with that, and then later (in one or two month) you want to explore other window managers.
First step is to install, and then to get "everything working", as in setup your browser, copy your files, make emails work. and what ever else you got. So you can just use it as a computer.
Programmer for?
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charlie.corder
Well-Known Member
Welcome Vernon!
My advice is to get Linux Mint 21.3 MATE.
If this 89 year old Geezer found it the easiest, I think you will too.
Old Geezer
Tango Charlie
Hello @vernonmiddleton
Welcome to the Linux.org forum.
That question gets asked alot. Only you can choose the correct Distro for your needs. my advice is to try several live Distros and choose the one that best meets your needs, Our own KGIII has written a blog about choosing found here:
Good Luck and enjoy the journey!
Welcome to the Linux.org forum.
That question gets asked alot. Only you can choose the correct Distro for your needs. my advice is to try several live Distros and choose the one that best meets your needs, Our own KGIII has written a blog about choosing found here:
And this page may be of help also.
You searched for Best distro • Linux Tips
linux-tips.us
Most of the major Distros have live usb versions you can try out. They run a little slower than installed but the give good Idea what they are all about and if they will work with your hardware.Home | Linux Journey
linuxjourney.com
Good Luck and enjoy the journey!
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truckerDave
Well-Known Member
I have my 74 year old mother running Linux Mint. Of course, she only uses it to view pictures of her grand/great grand children on FaceBook. Oh! And Amazon. Let's not forget Amazon.
I. also, run MInt on my main PC. And I have 1 running Ubuntu Server. Another running Debian as a server for my security cameras. And 1 running a pfSense firewall which uses FreeBSD.
I'm an old fart (not as old as some of these other farts though) and have used Linux for only the last 7 or 8 months. Mint has been, for me, the easiest of those I listed.
EDIT:
If memory serves me correctly, I do believe Mint was the easiest to install as well. Fast too. But that could be partly the machines I put it on being newer and more powerful. Debian took forever compared to the others. But it runs faster on the older machine it's on.
mrcrossroads
Well-Known Member
Linux Mint Cinnamon
I'll add my 2c.
There are pros and cons with every decision, but when it comes to DE/WM or distro I don't think it really matters.
Me I'm a GNU/Linux user, and would be happy with almost any.
If you make a wrong decision anyway; it's usually pretty easy to switch from one to another.. and I'm talking here about no need for data restores & having apps I added to the system auto re-install too..
eg. a recent QA test(s) I did involved the following
Sure all my examples here are Ubuntu... but I'm involved with the Ubuntu project, which is why I perform QA there... but many systems allow for this beyond just Ubuntu.
The system I'm using now is Ubuntu, and I'm running currently with a Lubuntu/LXQt session, but my last [logged in] session was a Xubuntu/Xfce session, before that Ubuntu-Destkop/GNOME.. ie. this install is a multi-desktop installs, though my QA example only had a single installed in any one time. ie. we're not even limited to a single DE/WM choice either.
FYI: If interested in the install method I use as example I wrote about it here, if you read my comments you'll also note Ubuntu ISOs using the
ubuntu-desktop-installer for 24.04 will likely have that install type disabled as what I described above wasn't perfect.. Yep all data & apps were exactly as I mention, but an issue appeared... discovering issues being what QA is intended for (and insufficient time exists between issue discovery & our release time.. so it'll get fixed post-release).
That is just an opinion.
You could try any one of a dozen or more GNU/Linux distros, with any number of desktop environments and any number of window managers and find nearly perfect satisfaction.
No one person and no one distro will answer that for you.
Burn different disto isos to a USB stick and try them Live, to see one that might suit you.
Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
Brickwizard
Well-Known Member
welcome to the forums
the choice of desktop is yours, take some time and look around at what's available, As with all things Linux you have plenty of choice, the following article will give you some insight [if you find a distribution you like but you are not keen on the DE it comes with, you can change it with minimal fuss.]
the choice of desktop is yours, take some time and look around at what's available, As with all things Linux you have plenty of choice, the following article will give you some insight [if you find a distribution you like but you are not keen on the DE it comes with, you can change it with minimal fuss.]
Top 10 Linux Desktop Environments of 2024 – TecAdmin
Linux desktop environment contains a bundle of applications created in a manner to work with one another and give a consistent User Experience(UX). A tremendous sum of Linux clients inclines toward working on the OS through the terminal of the command line, but you will also be able to use the...
tecadmin.net
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@wizardfromoz
Yes, of course. My point with recommending "just ubuntu" to new users is that they usually see "there are 50k linux distros out there". Which one is for me? So they embark on a journey to play with linux distros and think they are different because they have different window managers. It takes a bit of Linux knowledge to understand a) what a distro actually is and b) how they differ from each other. That knowledge isn't learned yet with newcomers.
When newcomers ask me I usually recommend Ubuntu becuase it IS the distro with the largest end user support base / forums / IRC or Matrix chats / the largest amount of documentatation. Thats very vital for newcomers.
Testing Linux distros as a newcomer doesn't make sense (in my humble opinion!!) as you are wasting time trying to spot differences in something you know nothing about yet, while you could already be learning about doing your daily things (browsing, email, what not) with a linux distro (instead of windows or OSX).
And from a techy point of view. I kinda don't see the difference either. Ubuntu vs Mint.. Big deal. Different WM by default. Firefox version slightly different.
I use Debian because I like apt over dnf and what not. But at the end of the day I kinda dont care if I run redhat or debian or ubuntu on my laptop. Its all the same thing in green. Its a linux kernel with a pre-installed bunch of software on top.
Firefox is Firefox in Ubuntu, Mint, RedHat, Kali, whatever.
I think the question most endusers actually (want to) ask is which distro makes it the most easy for me to get help fast when I don't understand something, and that just is Ubuntu as it has the best doc and what not (imho).
Ubuntu just gets the job done and gives the most easy way to start, because googling "how do I do foobar in Ubuntu" gives more results than "how do I do foobar in Mint". And newcomers might not understand that the Ubuntu results most likely also apply to Mint, which adds to confusion.
As said, that is just my opinion
Its a good thing that the newcomers get more than one opinion of course
Yes, of course. My point with recommending "just ubuntu" to new users is that they usually see "there are 50k linux distros out there". Which one is for me? So they embark on a journey to play with linux distros and think they are different because they have different window managers. It takes a bit of Linux knowledge to understand a) what a distro actually is and b) how they differ from each other. That knowledge isn't learned yet with newcomers.
When newcomers ask me I usually recommend Ubuntu becuase it IS the distro with the largest end user support base / forums / IRC or Matrix chats / the largest amount of documentatation. Thats very vital for newcomers.
Testing Linux distros as a newcomer doesn't make sense (in my humble opinion!!) as you are wasting time trying to spot differences in something you know nothing about yet, while you could already be learning about doing your daily things (browsing, email, what not) with a linux distro (instead of windows or OSX).
And from a techy point of view. I kinda don't see the difference either. Ubuntu vs Mint.. Big deal. Different WM by default. Firefox version slightly different.
I use Debian because I like apt over dnf and what not. But at the end of the day I kinda dont care if I run redhat or debian or ubuntu on my laptop. Its all the same thing in green. Its a linux kernel with a pre-installed bunch of software on top.
Firefox is Firefox in Ubuntu, Mint, RedHat, Kali, whatever.
I think the question most endusers actually (want to) ask is which distro makes it the most easy for me to get help fast when I don't understand something, and that just is Ubuntu as it has the best doc and what not (imho).
Ubuntu just gets the job done and gives the most easy way to start, because googling "how do I do foobar in Ubuntu" gives more results than "how do I do foobar in Mint". And newcomers might not understand that the Ubuntu results most likely also apply to Mint, which adds to confusion.
As said, that is just my opinion
Its a good thing that the newcomers get more than one opinion of course 
Cite your sources. I have disagreed with this at least two times so far where you have said that, listing examples of Linux Mint, MX-Linux and Linux Lite.
Brickwizard
Well-Known Member
I have a principle of not recommending any one distribution over another, but will make suggestions based on what information the questioner gives.
So given the perennial question without knowledge of the kit or if something specialised is required, I would normally suggest.
Mint LMDE
Mint [Ubuntu based]
Any Ubuntu family
Parrot Home edition
MX-linux [especially AHS version for latest kit]
Linux-Lite
Pop [ but it can be a pig to install on non system 97 kit]
So given the perennial question without knowledge of the kit or if something specialised is required, I would normally suggest.
Mint LMDE
Mint [Ubuntu based]
Any Ubuntu family
Parrot Home edition
MX-linux [especially AHS version for latest kit]
Linux-Lite
Pop [ but it can be a pig to install on non system 97 kit]
There have been a number of these over the last 10 years or so, again, they may be regarded as rather subjective, and you may not get a definitive answer.
The latest I have seen is at
https://distrochooser.de/
(my keywords in search were which linux questionnaire?)
I entered pretty newbie choices, and ultimately was "rewarded" with about 20 choices, a couple of which I would totally argue against.
Try it if you like.
Wiz
I think the more knowledgable people have already given their suggestions, so I will only say what I know from my limited experience:
- I started with Pi OS, which is Debian for the Raspberry Pi. I like it, but probably one reason is that I know it by now, more or less.
- On my eeePC (an old mini laptop, with an Intel Atom CPU, very limited specs) I run lUbuntu, which is a light version of Ubuntu. It works, but I just like it less than Pi OS. No real reason, it can do all Pi OS and MacOS (my third operational *nix system) can do as far as my use goes, but the look and feel just doesn't really stick with me.
- I have played around with Kali for a while. Interesting, looking nice, and in the end just too much for what I do.
So what I would recommend is: don't start with Kali. Just don't. You may love it later on, but don't start with it.
I prefer the CLI or terminal emulator (yes, newdos/80 and ms-dos fanboy here) and in my humble opinion the difference between Debian and lUbuntu, and even MacOS is a lot less felt there. I only use the GUI if and when I have to because some program just is only available in the GUI.
What I would do, or rather what I did and do, just start somewhere, use the system, learn by doing, and start changing your system as you move along. For instance, the standard shell of Pi OS and lUbuntu was BASH, MacOS uses ZSH. After some trying what I liked most, now all three systems use ZSH. Why? Because I like it.
Linux is no different from Windows or MacOS in that you can change it to your liking, as long as you are not afraid to try. The biggest two differences in my opinion: Linux gives you a lot more easy possibilities to change whatever you like, however you like and the user community has a bit different respons when you ask for help.
- I want my system to do XYZ, is that even possible?
Win: No. But if you really want to do XYZ you will have to search in the least obvious places for a box to tick, do something totally unrelated and then maybe something will happen that isn't XYZ but close enough for you. But only computer-gods know this. Now go away.
Mac: No. You think you want XYZ, but that is not the Apple-way. You can do ABC and you must unlearn XYZ. Learn ABC. We don't care you want XYZ, this is not about what you want, it is about what Apple knows you want. Now go away.
Linux: You want to do XYZ? You can do it in twelve different ways, we will show you them all, and if you fail we will help you. And now that we are talking, did you know you could also do ABC, DEF, GHI and JKL? Oh and totally unrelated but if you are interested, there is also MNO you could do, would be great. If you are up to it, you could take a screwdriver, open your computer and see something very interesting there about XYZ. Don't you just love what we are doing? Stick around, there is more! Don't be shy to ask, we love to help.
(To be honest, I don't exaggerate )
I am also a developer, I use Fedora.
You will hear people give you what they like but as a beginner in Linux I would suggest any of the following...
Mint
Fedora
Ubuntu
All are great setups and easy to install and use. However if you are a programmer I would look more towards Fedora or Ubuntu. I would also mention there is a Visual Basic like IDE called GAMBAS and it is very easy to use. Will work on any of the Linux distros.
Many beginners ask this question and many Distros to choose from...remember Linux isn't windoze and doesn't run like it either.
Linux Mint Cinnamon 21.3 and Linux Lite are two that are user friendly...stable and not hard to learn...enjoy the freedom.
Linux Mint Cinnamon 21.3 and Linux Lite are two that are user friendly...stable and not hard to learn...enjoy the freedom.
