Tips for first time Linux User

[Johnmakuta]

I am planning to switch to Linux for the free software, the fact that it's free, running VM's of Windows, and I want to become smarter by using Linux. I have progressed through about a third of the Command Line course on codecadamy and am going to start Python after I finish Java. Are ther any tips you would like to pass down onto new Linux users? What Linux flavor should I run (I was planning on Ubuntu but I also want to get into hacking with Kali; I also heard Arch was pretty badass)?

 

Which VM software is best for running games?

Besides Libre what office programs would you suggest I use? I need a spreadsheet software.

 

[Coaxialgamer]

28 minutes ago, Johnmakuta said:

-snip-

 

I use ubuntu 15.10 ( but i think 16.04 is out now ), mainly because it has the largest software support and has the largest community . But mint ( which i've also used ) is also prettty good . 

 

I wouldn't use a VM to run games ( performance is poor ) . Your best bet is to dual boot ( like i did , because i couldn't mine ethereum on windows ) in order to play games .

 

I personally don't use a ton of spreadsheets , so libre office  worked fine for me . Somebody else probably can help you with that.

 

This is a pretty basic tip , but if you find yourself having problems when using the comand line , restart terminal ( make sure you are root ) and use sudo in your command ( this helped me many times )

[WilliamDB]

If you want a hard core crash course into how Linux works build an Arch Linux box in a VM. I did that some time last year after having minimal experience with installing and running applications in OPENsuse, CentOS, Mint and Ubuntu. It opened my mind to a whole new level of understanding.

 

For an easier time if you're looking to just dip your toes into what Linux is like, and what it can be, try any of the flavors I listed above. Mint with the XFCE desktop is my favorite flavor.

P.S. It took me 2 attempts just to get an Arch Linux box working, and 5 attempts before I got it working the way I wanted. I never gave up and put over 30 hours into it, and I feel like it was completely worth it just for the experience.

[mrgooglegeek]

dont be afraid of terminal. It is your best friend. Sudo apt-get install                    

ubuntu forums are great, and don't freak out when you have no idea how to do something or what you just did. Ubuntu is great. So is mint. A good way to learn about APT is to pick out a new desktop (gnome or kde or something) and figure out how to install it. DM me if you have any questions, and have fun

[Cruorzy]

Afraid to break something while exploring your OS?

Use Docker :D, it may take some time to learn the right way to set containers up..

But you love will love it for programming, and you dont have to be afraid to to wait $x amount of minutes when you did something horribly wrong.

[Burusutazu]

Look at any of the Ubuntu flavors 16.04 releases Thursday. Personally I recommend just plain Ubuntu or Ubuntu Gnome. Want something other than a Ubuntu spin? Debian, Fedora, Korora (Fedora Distro),  or OpenSUSE.  Only do Arch if you're not in a hurry to be productive because there is a lot to learn. Don't be afraid to dual boot for games. 

[FullTank1337]

I recommend using Lubuntu, or any other Debian-offshoot with the LXDE desktop environment. XFCE is awesome too, being even more lightweirght, but it's a little short on features. 

The default Ubuntu desktop, Unity, is terrible, heavyweight, slow, and falls apart, like Windows XP. I really support LXDE, weather you like Ubuntu, Mint, or vanilla Debian, but if you don't know where to start, I strongly recommend Lubuntu. It's fast, powerful, fairly reliable, and idles at <200MB of RAM.

 

As for gaming, you're better off dual-booting than messing around with VMs. It's annoying having to reboot your PC for gaming, but Windows (and Linux) runs better and uses fewer resources on the bare metal. 

Personally, I use Lubuntu for most general-use stuff, and power my gaming-rig with regular Ubuntu with LXDE installed separately (sudo apt-get install lxde)

 

P.S. if you have a dinosaur PC gathering dust in your basement, you might want to look into Damn Small Linux. It's extremely stripped down, and missing tons of features, but it runs on as little as 16MB of RAM and an i486 CPU. Really good for breathing new life into clunkers.

[mrgooglegeek]

4 hours ago, FullTank1337 said:

I recommend using Lubuntu, or any other Debian-offshoot with the LXDE desktop environment. XFCE is awesome too, being even more lightweirght, but it's a little short on features. 

The default Ubuntu desktop, Unity, is terrible, heavyweight, slow, and falls apart, like Windows XP. I really support LXDE, weather you like Ubuntu, Mint, or vanilla Debian, but if you don't know where to start, I strongly recommend Lubuntu. It's fast, powerful, fairly reliable, and idles at <200MB of RAM.

 

As for gaming, you're better off dual-booting than messing around with VMs. It's annoying having to reboot your PC for gaming, but Windows (and Linux) runs better and uses fewer resources on the bare metal. 

Personally, I use Lubuntu for most general-use stuff, and power my gaming-rig with regular Ubuntu with LXDE installed separately (sudo apt-get install lxde)

 

P.S. if you have a dinosaur PC gathering dust in your basement, you might want to look into Damn Small Linux. It's extremely stripped down, and missing tons of features, but it runs on as little as 16MB of RAM and an i486 CPU. Really good for breathing new life into clunkers.

Another pretty well designed window manager is cinnamon, but it is sadly losing support, so im not sure you will still be able to find a working copy for recent ubuntu versions