this post was submitted on 12 May 2024
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One of the most important things to recognise before I start: Don't try to make something permanent right now. None of this needs to be written in stone. Choose what's going to be best for you right now and know that in a few weeks or months you might want to change it. With that in mind:
What do you want out of Linux right now? A development system? Are you looking to see what it would be like to move away from Windows? Something else?
Let's start with the development system. Let's say you're comfortable on Windows and just want to do a few things that are easier or more convenient on Linux. In that case, you probably want Windows Subsystem for Linux. This will get you a bunch of things, including the ability to quickly and easily try out a bunch of distributions. Of course, this is going to be primarily a command line experience. You're not going to get the "full experience" with a desktop environment, etc. But if you just "need Linux for a couple of things," this is a great intro.
Next, let's say you want to try Linux out, see what the desktop is like, etc. This is a great opportunity to try a virtual machine. You'll have limitations (less hardware access, maybe not as smooth a desktop as if it were on the hardware directly), but it's a great way to play with distributions, especially if you want to explore multiple distros. (I'll get to distros below)
Got a distro you want and want to try it as your "main environment" for a while? Other folks have mentioned how to dual boot. Here, the most critical part in my opinion is to put your important data onto a third partition that's easily accessible to both. On Linux, I'd suggest bind mounting directories from that partition in your home directory. If you want to wipe an OS later it'll be a bit rough, but you can do it. You'll just need to boot from a live USB to do it, and of course be very careful about what partitions you delete.
Now, for distros:
Everyone is going to recommend their pet distro, and to that end I recommend [REDACTED]. But! Here's my actual guide for selecting a distro:
If internet randoms tell you "X is garbage, don't use it," feel free to disregard them. Most Linux distros are great. They all have smart, dedicated people working on them, and they each have their own vision of how they want it done. These ideas conflict sometimes, but that's okay.
And one final thing... Don't fight against your distro's way of doing something. At least not now. Most people telling you to do something that works against the distro are doing so for ideological, not practical, reasons. You don't need to get involved in ideological wars - enjoy Linux for its positives.!
Those are wise words.
Remember that in the end, all the distributions end up doing and installing pretty much the same thing (from the user's pov). It doesn't matter all that much what you use. Most of the major ones work just fine.
This comment is good, but it's very much the "scared of change" comment. It recommends the smallest amount of change possible, which might be good for some people but just diving in will probably be a better introduction.
You don't learn how to swim by sitting in a bath tub. You have to get into the water. Maybe wear some safety gear (dual boot or other options), but if you're reasonably confident and/or competent you'll be fine getting into Linux as long as you're using one of the major distros.
I assume almost everyone who has made it to Lemmy is competent enough with a computer to handle the transition to Linux. It really isn't all that hard if you know how to use a search engine.