this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2025
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Alright fine I admit it, I want to learn Linux (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) by TimewornTraveler@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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I'm just so sick of Microsoft and Google. But there's two things holding me back:

  1. I wanna play Steam games on my PC

  2. I am just an amateur hobbyist, not a tech wizard

Is there any hope for me?

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[–] cRazi_man@europe.pub 14 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (18 children)

I was you 18 months ago. It's certainly achievable, even with a crazy busy schedule. Highly recommended that you go for it.

Here are the unpopular opinions that attract downvotes:

  • adopting Linux is painful. Stuff breaks. Stuff doesnt work. You will be battling uphill, but hopefully you'll find it worthwhile in the end.
  • moving to Linux permanently wouldn't have been possible for me without AI. Now you can ask AI and it will almost always solve the problem for you. In the old days, you'd just have forum posts saying "just compile the driver and do a 10 step process with terminal that you need to figure out from the wiki....noob". But now, these previously system breaking problems are now easily solvable without spending the whole weekend on a single issue.
  • don't let go of Windows to start with. Put Linux on a secondary machine. Do not dual boot, you will break your installation and won't be able to troubleshoot it and will have to do a full wipe (along with the time and data loss that comes with that).
  • Don't get caught up in the distro wars. Pick Linux Mint, or a similar very beginner friendly distro. I prefer KDE desktop so I would recommend something else..... But don't go for anything with even moderate difficulty.
  • Check protondB.com for the games you play. Some don't work on Linux (e.g. Apex Legends).
[–] TimewornTraveler@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

whelp, I've got a laptop and a desktop. the desktop is old as hell, maybe it's time for a new start. I could set up a new machine to run with Linux

[–] cRazi_man@europe.pub 9 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Linux is perfect for hardware that is old as hell.

[–] everett@lemmy.ml 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, this. In fact, going with hardware that's too-too new can lead to a different problem on Linux.

OP, if you're buying hardware, it's worth web searching to make sure people have tried it on Linux and are having good experiences with it. Since most manufacturers only care if their stuff works on Windows, it can take a little while for Linux devs to write drivers and get them shipped in Linux distros.

[–] TimewornTraveler@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 hours ago

I see! if it can take a while, I see why old machines would be friendlier to linux. more time for drivers to get updates.

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