It's one of the things that I like the most about lemmy over reddit. The reddit linux community was toxic, insular and gatekeepy, even as a moderately experienced linux user I had difficulty getting help.
"Learn how to Google noob!"
Fuck sakes, I just spent several hours deep diving forums and Web search results looking for an answer to my question, and the only thing I could find that was exactly my problem was concluded by OP editing their post to say "Ah, never mind, figured it out." And not including the solution.....
probably because lemmy's pretty small compared to places like reddit and because everyone sees the same content with the same sorting, places like reddit make a few "help" requests visible and make them feel unimportant
I have Fedora KDE Plasma 40 on a laptop with a nVidia chipset, (I need to have it defaulted to Nouveau and the base Intel chipset). Maybe by the middle of next month they MIGHT have something cobbled together to get a decently working experience for the majority of users. Otherwise, don't be surprised if your screen flickers, has missing parts of your display, or just a black and blank screen.
Wayland and nVidia - two piles of stupid that are meant for each other.
I just use Debian, KDE is an option during install and I use it. However, my brain lacks wrinkles so I'm sure it could be "better" on a more purpose built gaming distro. Over the decades of on and off Linux use, I always end up on Debian because it feels like solid ground to me
Technically not a distro, but give Bazzite a try. It's probably the most hands-off gaming experience on Linux. Valve employees also make contributions to it.
Pretty much. It's what makes all those Linux Experts so Expert! Besides, ain't no one got time to memorize and understand what all that stuff does.......
Depends on your use case. Arch is a DIY distro but is well maintained and has the latest packages on their repo. Its user centric, unlike many distributions that are user friendly. You could read the archwiki to find out if its for you
I used Ubuntu for about a decade and I still use a Linux system via SSH to run code, so I'd like the challenge. I just wanted to know if it's worth the work or just a meme, thanks!
It's a really good, slightly bare bones initially but completely modular/customizable. If it's your first foray into Linux something like Debian, Mint or PopOS would be a slightly more comfortable starting point
It is genuinely amazing, there's a reason us Arch users never shut up about it. The setup/configuration in the beginning will seem daunting but once you have everything the way you want it is a smooth and enjoyable experience.
If that's the case it should be a much easier transition. I also came from Ubuntu originally.
You will notice the difference right away. Everything is always up to date so you're not waiting half a year for updates and there's no big upgrade transitions between major versions. And pacman is a lot faster than apt in general.
Plus with the AUR you'll never touch another PPA again. Almost anything you could possibly want is in there, even some of the most obscure/specific things.
I do recommend doing everything from scratch if you have the time, but if not EndeavourOS is literally just preconfigured Arch (and I do mean literally, it uses the same repos) so that's also a solid option.
Use something easier to get started with like Ubuntu or Debian. Arch isn't that great. I've installed it a few times as a VM but to me it brings nothing new to the mix. I kinda view Arch fanatics like apple fan bois or beer snobs. Kinda fun to laugh at for being so pretentious. After a while though you wish they would quit hot boxing their own hubris.
It brings nothing new to the mix until you want something that's up to date or something that's not in the main repos and now you have to track down a PPA or manually install a deb file and keep it updated yourself instead of being able to use the package manager.
I'm using Ubuntu derivatives since many years. I've looked at Arch in virtual machines and was very much lost. Even with Manjaro I didn't get along. I'm still testing EndeavourOS, which looks promising.
So to me, Arch is too much hands on for my lazy ass. However, if you like to nerd yourself into it, it's awesome (I think).
Arch is great, but not very beginner friendly. It might be better to start with somethin debian-based like linux mint, and install arch once you get used to using the commandline and know where to find answers to your questions etc.
You can start with Endeavor OS KDE.. it's an arch system with Endeavor OS package managment added on top. So the Arch experience is the same.. without the pain of installation.
Ah yes, a perfectly normal thing to do after I've previously spent thousands on my NVIDIA GPU and am just getting into Linux.
Love this comment when it comes up.
This is complicated. Firstly outside of Wayland Nvidia works pretty great and has worked great for me 21 years on the other hand the amount spent is kinda irrelevant using different hardware is often actually the correct advice. Often though the logical move is use Windows on your effectively Windows only laptop and if you want to run Linux buy something compatible next go round.
Some hardware just isn't supported and given hostile to indifferent oems it will always be so
I agree, and it's been a fine experience with nvidia on Xorg. "Buy new hardware" is not what someone getting into Linux should hear though if we want to increase the number of Linux users.
If your hardware isn't supported what are people supposed to say? Gosh I'm sorry volunteers didn't donate more free work to make that shitty laptop work let me now assemble a strike force of expert programs to crack that problem by next week? Labor is a finite resource especially free labor.
I mean, you wouldn't buy a sports car and then a month later post to a forum asking questions about how to tow a 40 foot camper with it, would you? You would research this stuff beforehand, or deal with the fact that it's not compatible for that job. We can't put Nvidias thumbs into a thumbscrew and force them to offer more Linux support, so that's what we're stuck with.
The problem is that a lot of users aren't building a new machine for Linux, but converting an existing Windows laptop or desktop. In my case, I'd already bought an Nvidia card about a year before I decided to switch to Linux for gaming. Not ideal, of course, but it work a good 95% of the time and I can't really afford to get a different card right now. I'll definitely keep it in mind for my next pc upgrade, though.
Dude I had a bunch of people tell me to install mint OS on an older intel MacBook Pro and no one told me that out the box your Wi-Fi doesn’t work, the keyboard doesn’t light up, the touch bar doesn’t work, etc. lol
I don’t even like the Touch Bar but I need F keys so…
Then when I asked what to do they all said “well that’s your fault for using a Mac.” Most unhelpful shit ever. One guy said “well use an external keyboard and Ethernet chord then. I’m on a tower what’s the issue here?”
It’s a laptop. Sometimes I move around with it. I travel a fair bit too.
Idk honestly it’s not just a Linux thing. Any technical community you’ll often find a lot of people who hand wave away very reasonable issues instead of either suggesting a solution or, I don’t know, just not saying anything? Like they have to chime in and call you a whiner.
Not with mint no. I think I’m going to try and boot pop or mint on my wife’s old X1 carbon. Specs aren’t remotely as good but it’ll be sufficient for a Jellyfin server
I don't know, but I would try a distro that is also recommended for gaming, because you will likely need an up to date version of WINE or something similar.
So maybe endeavour or Pop!_OS?
From my personal (very noobish) experience, it might be necessary to run a virtual machine with Windows. However, this experience is from before the Steam Deck and Proton, which improved the whole software biotope by a lot.
Ew, no. I will never do that. I was completely joking about Adobe and expecting links to the GIMP repo lol.
LOL, I was thinking you were serious and I started finding more guides and script to install Photoshop on Linux after replying to you. I was ready for your reply like "Can you give me more info about script? Or I want to install a *arrr version?".
Oh I won't dispute that. I have a close friend in the graphics and video field where Adobe CC is indispensable.
But that's not what I do. For anything I need to edit, GIMP and Pixlr are more than sufficient.
My joke was that in the old days of tech forums, I feel like there was almost a kneejerk reaction among the GNU/Linux diehards to ditch closed source at any cost, and if you didn't you weren't worth their time or compassion (like the sharks in the comic here).
Also, I'm not sure the comparison is entirely fair because I kinda doubt the budget and manpower behind GIMP are even in the same galaxy as Photoshop.
Yeah, I really wanted to like GIMP. I'm a huge Debian / Ubuntu fan and love OSX as well. Like for dev work, Linux is amazing, best tool for that job hands down.
I might try DaVinci resolve, cause running Premiere in a VM, I don't think will work well.
And yeah, the Linux community can be super elitist unfortunately, nerds that gatekeep their niche...
Like, when did a operating system become a core personality trait? Folks treat it like a sports team. 🤔
I installed Linux on my gfs (now wife) old laptop years ago when the beginner distros was way less user friendly. When I asked on a forum for help it was just the sound of crickets. When she made her first post starting with "my boyfriend installed Linux and I don't understand how to..." They fucking fell out trees to answer her questions
If you don't notice anything else different between x11 and Wayland in your daily workflow and have no need for what Wayland offers, then yes your problem is solved and you can ignore the implications.
For me it doesn't really "fix" anything that I can notice. All my games and software work fine in x11, video works fine. It may be a giant convoluted beast from the 1980s, but damn if they didn't do a good job of keeping it running well on modern machines.
One way or another I'm moving to Linux for my next PC. but damn I finally think I understand enough to decide Debian would be a good 'it just works' distro and then Linux users out the woodwork telling me its actually a pain in the ass and to use XYZ (all disagreeing) distros instead. I'm like 90% sure its going to be Debian, Ubuntu or Mint but beyond that its more uncertain than the inside of a black hole.
I know exactly what you mean. I'd also prefer Debian, Mint or Fedora. Each has its weaknesses, but you got to start somewhere. Go for it, then decide for yourself. It's not that hard to switch again.
Best advise I can give after 20+ years of distro hopping is to be ready to try a few different ones to see which one might resonate the best with you. Because not all of them will feel right. But you will find one that fits you best. It might be Debian or Ubuntu or Fedora or Suse or Mint or even Arch. (I don't run Arch BTW)
In the long run, it don't matter which distro you use - they are all Linux under their petticoats anyway. Just choose the one that works for you and makes YOU happy. And if you decide to change your distro of choice at any point for something different, that's all good too.
Very good choice going with Debian. It is simple, clean, can be as minimal or as "bloated" as you wish, and once you've worked out the kinks it will happily run for years without maintenance (except updates of course).
There's a steep learning curve because as a user you're expected to configure stuff yourself (although defaults are most of the time very sensible), but if you're willing and able to truly learn Linux and the terminal and you're familiar with your hardware, it's one of the best platforms out there.
Been using debian for more than a decade and "it just works" has become truer every year. It's a good distro, if you have no principle objections against systemd (which I do, but am too lazy to do anything about).
The one thing I am not happy about: Audio drivers on a Desktop computer
works out of the box, but then messes up when selecting input devices from:
line in
headphones in
USB camera microphone
Audio in "sinks" - I believe those are channels allowing for active noise cancelling / preventing Audio feedback loops
I had a whole lot of trouble with pulseaudio selecting the correct source when trying to use my mic in the browser.
On a Laptop, I've never experienced such issues, as all devices are integrated (apart from the headphones jack, I guess).
Just when I got familiar enough with pulseaudio, they replaced it with "pipewire", which fucked up output devices:
works on boot
when I plug in headphones: it messes up the Audio output to HDMI and I have to manually re-select (on desktop environment) the headphones
when I then touch the volume control (GUI), the output goes silent again and I have to select the "Port" headphones for the "Built-in Audio Analog Stereo" under "Output Devices"
drives me crazy since the last update - but it's only an issue when using headphones, so for now I am living with it.
I mainly use the external hardware as a workaround for unwanted noise from the pc. It bothers me to no end to hear the mouse cursor scream into my headphone/speakers.
Im on openSuse Leap 15.5 and I moved to Pipewire back when I had 15.3 I believe. I had that issue where all output devices/input devices got smashed together. I stuck with it for couple of months and I believe the later versions fixed that. Now I am painfree and never bother with audio ever again. I used to have frequent pulseaudio crashes which is why I switched over to pipewire.
Debian does just work and is a good choice. I think people typically have good experiences on Mint also. Ubuntu is becoming like the Windows of Linux distros, I used to use it on everything but I won't be installing it on another machine because of Snaps.
If you plan on using Linux to do gaming you might want a more up-to-date distro tho.
The only way to truly make a determination if a distro works for you is to actually try it out and use it. I've never listened to those people because they all have a favorite distro they will push on you for various reasons. I actually find Debian a breeze to use, and the vast majority of stuff meant for Ubuntu or Mint will work on fine on Debian, since it's the base of both those distros.
I know this is just adding to your problem, but I wanna add to the majority and say go with Mint. It's based on Ubuntu, which in turn is based on Debian, so most anything you can do on Debian, you can do on Mint. This is handy to know whenever you see a ".deb" file.
One of the things that makes it an easier transition from windows is that it's a lot less strict about including proprietary drivers and codecs (though apparently Debian now includes a few by default). It also includes a few more GUI tools by default, like the package update manager.
I also have found Mint's Cinnamon desktop environment to be the easiest transition from a Windows environment. KDE is also a good choice in that regard and it's what I use now, but its plethora of options can be overwhelming for new users.
The distro wars can be pretty overwhelming, but I'd say pick whatever appeals most and go with it. If you get to a point where you can't do something that you want to do, you can always come back and ask for advice and maybe switch up a different OS.
i know what you are going through, i am going to install linux on my current pc (when i worked up enough bravery... well at least i already created the boot media). I have already experience selfhosting services with Debian (in the time before Docker), but since gaming is what this PC is built for and i have a NVidia card that´s a pretty poor choice from what i gathered here.
Over the last few months i was thinking about going with Pop_OS ("i really really didn't like Gnome the last time i had to deal with it"), then Arch ("Do i really want to shoot myself in the foot? There's archinstall, but i really don't want to tinker too much on this machine..."), and now i settled for Nobara (the "gaming" Fedora so to speak, using KDE per default).
I'm now 99% sure that it should be the right one for me, but the thought of doing it makes me quite nervous.
i'm still looking for alternatives for a few windows programs; the main one i will miss dearly is Playnite. There seems to be nothing that offers the integration of all my libraries, my ROMs and emulators, automatic downloading of metadata and boxart, achievements, start scripts for games ... i could go on forever :-(
