Suggest Linux resources for a newbie....

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I have wanted to get my feet wet with Linux, if not switch over completely, for many years now; I am very, very, very tired of Windows. This summer is the time!

I am trying to educate myself on the topic. I think I will try it out (likely Mint Cinnamon) on a flash drive on an old laptop for starters. I understand that there are issues/potential issues with learning curve, drivers, battery life, gaming (which I’m not into), software compatibility, the need for at least some knowledge of command line, etc., etc.

Anyway, there are tons of YouTube channels, books, online communities/forums, and the like. Too many choices–it is a bit bewildering. I am running into contradictory info and it has become confusing at this point. I have been watching this one from freecodecamp.org: https://youtu.be/sWbUDq4S6Y8 and it is pretty, pretty good. I think I will continue with this one for now. I am actually finding it quite interesting.

Anyway, I wanted to ask folks here on Pixls–What are the best books, videos, forums, other resources for a Linux beginner? Many of the books I see are quite old, with publication dates in the early 2000s or even before. I am looking for something recent. Thanks.

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Figure out what application you want to use and how new of versions you want them to be. Linux Mint will have older packages, something like Fedora will have relatively new, SuSe tumbleweed will have the newest. Pick one of those and install it. If you can install windows you can certainly install Linux.

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Hi, the best way to learn is to play around, try things out, make mistakes, fix them, and finally enjoy it when everything is right.
Linux Mint or Fedora with KDE Plasma are very user-friendly options for beginners. My recommendation would be to try to replicate the workspace you have in Windows on the distro you choose and, from there, resolve any contradictions, new or different things, lack of drivers (especially if your hardware is Nvidia or very new), but generally everything is usually easy to install. I also recommend that you don’t mix different desktops, at least until you know a little better how they work (e.g., Linux Mint with Plasma). Linux Mint has a subreddit and its own forum where many questions are answered. I switched from Windows to Mint a few months ago, and the only software I really missed was Photoshop (Camera Raw), but over time I’ve realized that although it’s complicated at first, in the end I find darktable as user-friendly as when I finished learning about adobe. It’s a matter of time and dedication, nothing more.

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If you go with Mint, their forums will be helpful for problem solving issues. Make sure to back up your data so nothing is lost if things go wrong. Also create system snapshots with Timeshift (like ‘system restore’ on windows) to revert back to a working state.

I spent a bit of time watching videos, (Switched To Linux being one) to help pick a distro, but don’t refer to them as much now. Generally just search on issues as they come up, which is not terribly often, and typically self inflicted. Mint has been very reliable.

You can find themes at Gnome Look

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I started in 2007 with kubuntu my Linux experience. First it was just playing around on an old Laptop. Some things didn’t work out of the box and I was not shure, if this really should be my weapon of choice. So even so I used this Laptop from time to time, it wasn’t love on the first sight and it always felt a bit alien to me.

Anyway I always liked the idea Linux and there were more and more things on WIndows which annoyed me. So in 2010 I decidedto Install Linux on my main system, trying to switch to it completely. I installed kubuntu next to my Windows7 as a multiboot option. And used it there, as it should be my main system I was forced to eliminate all problems on it and it worked out. Even so I had to buy a new scanner, because for my old one there were simply no drivers.

I kept windows as a multiboot instance for two years. When WIndows 8 came on the market, I decided to eliminate the multiboot option. But because I recognized that no matter how hard I tried, there were still some things where I needed windows. For example, updating my car navigation system. It sits there in a Virtualbox since then.

What was always helpful were the brilliant forums around. I used ubuntuusers.de (German) a lot. Later on when I switched distros. I used as well Manjaro and arch forums. Nowadays, I’m on siduction and I find the siduction forum as well very helpful. Anyway I still use the forums from other distros from time to time to search, when there are some hiccups.

And I underline @Soupy’s statement with timeshift. It can save you a lot of time and nerves.

I think the most important thing at the beginning is to decide which DE it shall be. For me KDE Plasma is by far the best and even so I switched distros, I never switched the DE even so I tried them all. Only on a Raspberry Pi and on a very old Laptop I have other DEs running.

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I think this is key. You don’t actually run an OS, you use it to support the tasks that you want to do.

Look at the things you do on your Windows machine, and then check for equivalents on Linux, bearing in mind that the equivalences may not be exact. (Aside: we get either bored or irritated by reviewers whose put-down of DT is that it isn’t Lightroom)

Personally, I am a long time user of OpenSUSE Tumbleweed with KDE Plasma as the GUI. I haven’t looked at anything else for a long while, since it is both feature full and stable.

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With the more friendly distros such as Mint, there is barely any need to go near a terminal window and the command line. As and when you need to edit some configuration file, the instructions you are reading will tell you how. And the more you do this, the more you will pick it up.

If you are a person who uses the terminal in Windows, then, sure, you will have to learn the equivalent in Linux. list, create directories; list, copy, move delete files; the first steps of any command line stuff — you’ll have got it in an hour or two. You’ll be creating “links” by the end of the week, and knowing the difference between a link and a symbolic link, :slight_smile: . Equally, you might actually never need to know.

For all those commands, ls, cp, rm, etc etc etc, and the rest, do remember the man command. Use it to see all the options available. You’ll find even the simplest commands can often do more than you expect. That’s the power of Linux.

If you are a writer of .BAT stuff in Microsoft, you will need to translate to “shell.” You’ll probably find that change very worthwhile. As well as being what gives you your $ prompt, it is a sophisticated and powerful programming language/structure with which to string together the rest that Linux offers. I have not even looked at a dos BAT file in half a lifetime, but I’d be willing to be a year’s subscription to darktable ( :wink: ) that it still hasn’t approached Unix/Linux shell.

It used to be how I earned my living, and I cannot imagine not using the command line and scripting. But many days can go by without me even opening a terminal window (Oh, apart from for my batch resize and other photo stuff) so you may or may not need, or want, to use it.

And you’ll love not having that C:, D:, drive stuff. Just one file system tree.

Bottom line. It is bottomless as a package like darktable. But one can begin simply. Keep it simple, or go as deep as you want to.

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You could also spin up a VM with virtualbox. I wet my feet this way in the waters of the little penguin.

General I’d say jump right in and the Google “how to do x” in Linux and you’ll get up to speed quickly enough.

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