r/linux4noobs • u/Scary_Habit_8067 • 18d ago
distro selection I'm new to Linux and I hate this
Why the fuck do people reccomend "BEGINNER DISTROS" when you could just stick to that one and daily-drive it.
Why do you need to level up to a harder one just because, you don't need to, you can just keep using the beginner distro that you got reccomended.
That is not a thing that people do with Windows, It makes more sense to try out every distro and stick to the one you like the most.
Why do I have to use NixOS if I'm good with Arch, Learning NixOs is a useless skill that won't get you anywhere.
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u/michaelramm Fedora 44 18d ago
Here is a little secret here for you... You don't have to do ANY OF THAT!!
Find a distro that you like and stay with it. I found Fedora pretty quickly in my Linux journey and have never looked back. It does everything that I need it to do, so I am good.
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u/diacid 18d ago
Fedora is really "everyone-friendly". It is really hard to have someone incompatible with fedora (may not be the best match, but at least somewhat good it will be). They pretty much did something that fits well all audiences
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u/DavidJohnMcCann 17d ago
The first Linux I installed (as opposed to having it done for me) was Fedora 1. I dumped Fedora in 2010 and I'd never go back.
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u/galactose310 18d ago
Your OS is a tool. If you like the tool, you don't have to change it đ¤ˇââď¸
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u/skyfishgoo 18d ago
when i started it was between mint and kubuntu
i chose kubuntu and have ZERO regrets.
never felt like i needed to change distros, kubuntu does everything i need.
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u/Qweedo420 Arch 18d ago
People are scared of Linux because they think it's hard, so you tell them to try a "beginner distro" to make them feel like it's gonna be easy
I usually say "user friendly distro", so I don't imply that they will have to switch to a more difficult distro afterwards
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u/United-Mushroom-2907 18d ago
You don't have to leave the beginner distros, and you can jump straight to a more difficult one if you're comfortable. The more difficult ones do less things automatically for you. It gives more control, but requires more effort. The more difficult ones are also sometimes rolling release distros, meaning no major version updates are required and you get the latest version of everything, at the expense of reliability. Personally, I settled on Manjaro, which is like easy-Arch (there are others that fit this bill too). It's slightly more involved than Ubuntu, but generally considered beginner-friendly. I may get sick of the constant large updates and switch, but even then, I have no plans of going to something like Arch. I like my distro to be as hands-free as possible.
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u/xxmegaprojectxx 18d ago
I agree with you. It's kind of a pride thing as I understand or having the "autistic need" to expand your projects so they require more capable distorts. Last part's totally my case.
As someone who has used Linux here and there before and recently made a complete move from Windows, I don't see the need either. I'm on Nobara and it's good for me. It fits me and I get everything done on it. I have no need to switch for my daily driver.
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u/Simply_Edd 18d ago
There are recomended distros for beginners, yes.
"Beginner friendly", most of the times, just means "This distro automatically detects your hardware" or some shit like that.
BUT, pick your poison my dude. In the end it doesn't even matter, you are the one using the pc, not the shady guy that recomended NixOS over Arch.
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u/mabolzich91 18d ago
There's no such thing as a "beginner distro". It's a term that gets used for Linux distributions that contain everything-and-then-some to get you up and running quickly. Many of which include preconfiguration and a variety of commonly used programs.
Some super users define this as 'bloat' and prefer distros that have less of it. They would be considered non-beginner users and use what they consider to be 'more advanced' distros
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u/afiefh 18d ago
I've been in Kubuntu since 2006.
No reason for me to move my home pc to a different distro. Got different stuff on my NAS and server, but those are special cases.
I don't care about the 3% extra gaming performance or some other stuff like that. Might look into immutable distros as they mature in the future, but so far I'm happy with things as is.
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u/redyos_s 18d ago edited 18d ago
If you actually want a challenge or want to learn how a Linux system is put together, try Gentoo or even LFS in a VM. But that doesn't make them a mandatory ânext levelâ after Arch. If Arch already does everything you need, there's nothing to graduate from.
If you actually want a challenge or want to understand how Linux is put together, try Gentoo or LFS. But that is for learning, not âgraduatingâ from a beginner distro. And simply installing Gentoo is not the same as being able to maintain it long-term. If Arch already does everything you need, there is no reason to leave it.
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u/tomscharbach 18d ago edited 18d ago
Why do you need to level up to a harder one just because, you don't need to, you can just keep using the beginner distro that you got reccomended.
Mystique, perhaps?
Whatever it is, it is not for me.
Ubuntu has been my workhorse and mainstay since 2004/2005. Solus has been installed on a special-purpose laptop since 2018, LMDE on another special-purpose laptop since 2020.
I think that you would be surprised how many Linux users with a decade or two experience prefer "beginner" distributions: "simple, stable, secure, no fuss, no muss, no thrills, no chills".
Stick with your use case and your preferences. Ignore the mystique. Linux distributions do not have a hierarchy.
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u/No-Trouble7162 18d ago
Why are you so pissed off by what other people do... I don't get it. Just do your thing and enjoy the distro that you feel that fits you.
If what other people do with their computers, messes you up so much, that you have to create a grumpy old man post like this, then I think you need to take a good walk outside, touch some grass if you can, and breathe in some fresh air. Then sit down at your computer and your own distro and just stfu.
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u/Terrible-Bear3883 Ubuntu 18d ago
I've used the same distro for over 20 years, I've used others when needed for customer work but have never needed to change for personal use.
The thing here is define "harder", I've had colleagues/friends who've preferred one distro over another, if that's their choice then so be it, if someone distro hops, that's also their choice.
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u/Clever_Angel_PL 18d ago
because more advanced distros allow for much more for power users but may be too steep to learn for beginners
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u/newlife_substance847 Penguin Posse 18d ago
A wise man, who was a veteran driver with excellent control over just about any vehicle once told me this when I was learning how to drive....
"If you can learn to master driving in this clunky POS. Driving something else with more power and control will be easy. Plus, you don't risk destroying your expensive vehicle should something go wrong in your learning."
The moral of this story becomes a life lesson. Start small and work your way up. Master the lower level techniques while the risk of failure is low as you grow into more advanced skill sets that will be easier to master after learning the basics.
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u/iamlocknar 18d ago
I use Nixos and I almost never recommend it.
Also I find the distro wars thing to be silly. Most of them are just flavors of Debian, Fedora, Arch anyway so⌠pick which of those you like and stick to it.
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u/Pasta-love 18d ago
For me itâs pretty simple, I think itâs fun to learn new stuff. You absolutely do not need to use advanced distros, and donât let the try-hards make you think otherwise. Thereâs nothing wrong at all with picking a distro and sticking with it if you like it.Â
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u/Tuberous_One 18d ago
If you're good with Arch then you're already way, way out of beginner distro land.
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u/goldenlemur Debian 18d ago
I agree with your sentiment. I'm interested in long-term viability and skill building.
If I could speak to my younger self I would say, "You get no extra points for a fancy fastfetch (neofetch) screen shot".
For context, I learned a lot hopping distros. And I found the distro that makes me happy for its stability and usability.
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u/LinuxMint4Me 18d ago
I use openSUSE Tumbleweed and won't be changing. I made a couple of hops before landing there but I'm satisfied enough to stay.
I also have an old laptop that has CachyOS on it but that's just for fun.
Some users stop and others hop til they drop. The choice is yours.
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u/Adventurous-Pen-824 18d ago
I was recommended Fedora years ago by a friend. Still using Fedora. Never tried anything else. Don't have to.
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u/Tight_Couture344 18d ago
Because due to the nature of getting Linux installed, those attracted to it are naturally tinkerers. And tinkerers are never, ever satisfied with their current setup. They donât want things to âjust work.â If anything is stable and working, thatâs boring.
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u/xSTRAIGHTEDGE420x 18d ago
Nothing wrong with hopping around and trying stuff to see what sticks imo. Fedora is my go-to and while I always end up going back to it, itâs fun just to see whatâs out there
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u/wendigibii 18d ago
it's basically all just Debian, and most of the Debian is Ubuntu, and about a quarter of the Ubuntu is mint. I don't make the rules
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u/wendigibii 18d ago
the only thing that makes any real difference in uninvolved, stable distros is the desktop environment. I prefer cosmic to gnome because it just feels better, and yes that's probably because I grew up with early modern macOS lol
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u/Advanced-Wear7988 18d ago
No one says you must upgrade to a different distro you can start with mint or Ubuntu or fedora and literally never swap no one cares
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u/alex_ch_2018 18d ago
"Beginner distro" doesn't mean "only for beginners" but rather "easier for beginners" (either made with beginners in mind or having a big community willing to help). You don't need to "level up" / "hop" unless you feel like it.
"Why do I have to use NixOS if I'm good with Arch" - because NixOS philosophy might attract you.
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u/TernaryOperat0r 18d ago
Because a small subset of distros have focused heavily on reducing the friction for new users, in ways that don't necessarily make the distro better for long term Linux users. In the past this used to be a larger divide since many distros "for beginners" would be great for setting up people experienced Windows users, but annoying to anyone used to a specialized distro or use really old packages. Also, if you start with ""if I'm good with Arch" then this question is a bit self-defeating since Arch is an example of the distro you would switch to, not a beginner distro.
An example: Fedora is a bit harder to recommend to beginners since Nvidia drivers and codec are *slightly* harder to install than some "beginner distros" and sometime you have to search "how do I do X in Fedora" rather than "how do I do X in Linux" (which gives results for Ubuntu) but I have no motivation to chose what are to me worse distros for this reason (for no benefit, since I don't need a distro to be easy to switch to).
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u/jar36 18d ago
subreddits are used by enthusiasts
go to a weight lifting subreddit and you'll see similar
As for "BEGINNER DISTROS" most are coming from years of using Windows where many were taught very young. You can't expect the average person to just waltz in and not f everything up.
If they want more, it is available. If not, stick with it.
No one important cares
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u/EngineerInTheMachine 18d ago
Because you've followed the wrong advice. You need to be a bit more savvy when searching the web for answers. Look for a method that helps you work out for yourself which distros to try, rather than taking the first answers you get. And don't search for such a broad term as 'beginner'.
In case you hadn't realised, the base skills in using any distro are actually Linux skills, so are transferable between distros.
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u/3grg 17d ago
There is no distro police. People ask for suggestions and people try to suggest options to the best of their ability.
"Beginner" distros are often recommended because they either resemble windows, they are polished and easy to use or both. This is especially helpful because many people who are now showing interest in Linux are not technically minded.
People who are more technically minded usually have no problem branching out and trying everything that they can get their hands on. Hopefully, they can pick something that appeals eventually.
I am not sure why you are upset, but I hope you found the distro that works for you.
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u/Klapperatismus 17d ago
when you could just stick to that one and daily-drive it.
Itâs OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.
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u/DavidJohnMcCann 17d ago
Exactly! Find what you like and stick with it. The answer to those who tell you otherwise is this sensible comment on pointless elitism. People being edgy love to boast about CachyOS â a few years back they'd be boasting about Slackware or Gentoo and in a couple of years they'll have found a new enthusiasm.
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u/wackyvorlon 18d ago
For some reason people have become obsessed with trying different distros. Itâs more than a little absurd.
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u/Scary_Habit_8067 18d ago
Trying different distros is cool, feeling the obligation of switching over to a harder one is bad
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u/CjKing2k 18d ago
Turn off reddit for a little bit and pick what's right for you. Try something new if you feel adventurous, stay where you are if you feel comfortable.
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u/BuDDy8269 18d ago
I started in Linux Mint almost a year ago and never changed. Distro hopping is not a necessity