There's been a really cool increase of interest in switching to #Linux over the last year.
But, almost certainly, the first problem you run into after deciding you'd like to try it is "holy shit...wait, what's a distro? And how many of them are there? Oh god...I just hate Windows/MacOS and would like something that I can use....what do I pick??"
And, let's say you make it through that problem, the very next one is a bunch of well-meaning people on the internet saying "You should pick Mint!" and "Nah, fuck Mint...you should use Kubuntu!" and "You're both slathering idiots. They should choose Arch obviously!" and then they all start fighting with each other, and now you just need to go outside and get some fresh air.
If this looks familiar, I would like to help you out friend.
After enjoying the sunshine, close your Reddit tab, take a deep breath, and let's start over.
You have two distros to pick from:
- Fedora
- Debian
That's it.
And, it really doesn't matter which. Flip a coin. They both work great, and there's a ton of help online. There's no wrong choice.
When you see:
- #Debian
- #PopOS
- #Ubuntu
- #Mint
- #Kubuntu
- #ElementaryOS
- etc.
Just pretend like those are all just "Debian." Don't worry about it too much. Any of those are fine.
And when you see:
- #Fedora
- #Bazzite
- #Aurora
- #UniversalBlue
- #Nobara
- #Alma
- #Rocky
Just pretend like those are all "Fedora." It doesn't matter. Any of those are fine.
Make sense so far?
Ok, so you flipped your coin. You picked Debian or Fedora.
- Don't worry, you picked correctly.
- No, you're not missing out on some cool feature in the other one.
Now, the thing about Linux is that your Desktop GUI is actually interchangeable....without having to switch to a different distro!
Pretend like you were on Windows, but you could actually just make it *look* like MacOS, but still be Windows. That would be pretty cool right? (Or, maybe not, since you want to switch in the first place. But you get my point.)
Well, that's exactly how Linux actually works. So you picked Fedora or Debian, right? Good choice!
So, now, here are your *actual* choices that actually impact your day to day Linux experience. Take a look at these:
- #GNOME https://www.gnome.org/
- #KDE Plasma https://kde.org/plasma-desktop/
- #Cinnamon https://projects.linuxmint.com/cinnamon/
- #COSMIC https://system76.com/cosmic
- #Budgie https://buddiesofbudgie.org/
Found the one you like best? Sweet! Good choice! Don't worry, you made the right call. No, you're not missing out by skipping the other ones.
All you have to do now is search for "<my distro choice> <my desktop choice>". (e.g. "Ubuntu Cinnamon" or "Fedora Budgie") and install it.
Congrats! You've successfully switched to Linux!
After enjoying your brand new, free desktop, and the fact that you made the right choice...go back outside and enjoy the fresh air again.
(And honestly, why not keep that Reddit tab closed a little while longer. Treat yourself.)