Linux

48315 readers

680 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

nooter692@lemmy.ml

AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml

MarcellusDrum@lemmy.ml

cypherpunks@lemmy.ml

cyclohexane@lemmy.ml

d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz

Any advice for a long-time Linux user, first-time Linux desktop user? (feddit.uk)

submitted 5 months ago by smeg@feddit.uk to c/linux@lemmy.ml

55 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm a regular user of Linux systems but apart from a couple of test Ubuntu installs many years ago they've always been containers or VMs with no DE which I can throw away when I break them. The Steam Deck showcasing how far Wine/Proton has come combined with Windows being Windows has given me the push; I've made a Mint live USB and it's running beautifully on my desktop. I come to you, the masters, with questions before I hit install:

What do you recommend I do about disk partitions? I'm keeping a Windows install for the few things that demand it, does Windows still occasionally destroy Linux partitions? Do I need separate partitions for data and OS? Is it straightforward to add additional distros as new partitions or is that asking for trouble?
Is disk encryption straightforward? And is that likely to upset the Windows partition?
Is cloud storage sync straightforward? It's my off-site backup solution on Android and Windows (using Cryptomator with Dropbox, Google Drive, etc) but I don't think that many providers have Linux clients. Is something like rclone recommended?
Should I just use apt to install software? I know there's some kind of graphical package manager (synaptic?), does that use apt under the covers or is it separate? Is it recommended to install something like Flathub too?
Any other pearls of wisdom? How do I keep everything tidy? Any warnings about what not to do? Should I use a particular terminal emulator or Firefox fork?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] huggingstars@programming.dev 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Use a separate bootloader partition for every OS. Windows is known for destroying non-windows bootloaders. It rarely, if ever, touches anything else. Many distros have a /boot partition with initramfs since grub might not support booting from the root partition's filesystem. Integrity is ensured with secure boot, /boot encryption is optional.
LUKS is straightforward, and most non-DIY distros have encrypted root support built-in.
Gnome has Google drive support in the file manager itself, although it's not exposed to CLI yet.
If you're not short on storage, I personally highly recommend Flatpaks as they are containerised whilst also come with a sandbox solution. Avoid non-default frontends when using system packages.
Check out immutable/image-based distros like Fedora Silverblue. They are proved to be extremely reliable and need little to no manual maintenance since all changes are atomic and generate a brand new OS.
Avoid Nvidia GPUs. Their proprietary drivers are compatibility nightmares.

[–] smeg@feddit.uk 1 points 5 months ago

Cheers!