this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2024
251 points (96.0% liked)

Linux

53485 readers
1657 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

Related Communities

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

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml
nooter692@lemmy.ml
MarcellusDrum@lemmy.ml
cypherpunks@lemmy.ml
cyclohexane@lemmy.ml
d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz
251
Why does nobody here ever recommend Fedora to noobs? (lemy.lol)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by flork@lemy.lol to c/linux@lemmy.ml
286 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I have tried Linux as a DD on and off for years but about a year ago I decided to commit to it no matter the cost. First with Mint, then Ubuntu and a few others sprinkled in briefly. Both are "mainstream" "beginner friendly" distros, right? I don't want anything too advanced, right?

Well, ubuntu recently updated and it broke my second monitor (Ubuntu detected it but the monitor had "no signal"). After trying to fix it for a week, I decided to wipe it and reinstall. No luck. I tried a few other distros that had the same issue and I started to wonder if it was a hardware issue but I tried a Windows PC and the monitor worked no problem.

Finally, just to see what would happen I tried a distro very very different than what I'm used to: Fedora (Kinode). And not only did everything "just work" flawlessly, but it's so much faster and more polished than I ever knew Linux to be!

Credit where it's due, a lot of the polish is due to KDE plasma. I'd never strayed from Gnome because I'm not an expert and people recommend GNOME to Linux newbies because it's "simple" and "customizable" but WOW is KDE SO MUCH SIMPLER AND STILL CUSTOMIZEABLE. Gnome is only "simple" in that it doesn't allow you to do much via the GUI. With Fedora Kinode I think I needed to use the terminal maybe once during setup? With other distros I was constantly needed to use the terminal (yes its helped me learn Linux but that curve is STEEP).

The atomic updates are fantastic too. I have not crashed once in the two weeks of setup whereas before I would have a crash maybe 1-2 times per week.

I am FULLY prepared for the responses demanding to know what I did to make it crash and telling me how I was using it wrong blah blah blah but let me tell you, if you are experienced with Windows but want to learn Linux and getting frustrated by all the "beginner" distros that get recommended, do yourself a favor and try Fedora Kinode!

edit: i am DYING at the number of "you're using it wrong" comments here. never change people.

(page 3) 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] I_Miss_Daniel@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Because it can't hibernate? (But then, not sure which distros can.)

[–] zaphodb2002@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I run Bazzite, which is Fedora Atomic, that hibernates just fine. In fact, so far it's the only one that does. Arch and Mint both would never come back from sleep.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] jjlinux@lemmy.ml 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That has not been the case anymore for months. We have 3 different Fedora Workstation 40 computers/laptops and 1 Nobara laptop, and they all sleep and hibernate just fine, and wake up just as well.

[–] I_Miss_Daniel@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Ok.

It's not an option out if the box for me on Fedora 40 but maybe it's because I started on 39 and upgraded later.

[–] jrgd@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

On my Fedora KDE install on 40, hibernate is now an available power option. The install has been in upgrade cycles since 35 at this point. I would imagine that barring different DEs showing different power options being a possibility, it is more on detecting hardware compatibility for functional hibernation.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I didn't have any problem using Arch Linux which many say is much more newbie unfriendly but I had several problems using Fedora most related to Intel video drivers and I couldn't solve them in any way. The fan of my Intel Nuc started to run on maximum when I opened the browser lol. All drivers were correctly installed

[–] eveninghere@beehaw.org 3 points 10 months ago

Kinoite shows the future of noob Linux I think, but it's still new and has some rough edges. I installed it on an ARM and couldn't make it wake up from sleep.

[–] DarkMetatron@feddit.org 3 points 10 months ago

I quite often recommend the atomic flavors of Fedora to people and have it set up for a few people (my mother for example). I think atomic distributions are perfect for tech unsavory people, because they can't really damage anything and it mimics/reproduces lots of the things they are already used from their phones.

[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 10 months ago

I generally do mention that I like my Fedora KDE, but I'm a little worried about SELinux. I have had two or three run-ins with it, and I think that would be hard to diagnose for a noob.

[–] Procapra@hexbear.net 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

  • Updates inevitably lead to things breaking sometimes. If you want to avoid things breaking as often, using something stable (like Debian) would help.

  • The benefits you are describing are probably because of KDE vs Gnome and not a distro thing.

  • Fedora does things differently than Ubuntu/Debian (mainly package management, but there are other small things). Because of this, noobs & intermediate users alike will get frustrated at things "not being how they are supposed to be"

All that said, if Fedora works for you, keep on using it. I daily drove it for about a year before switching to other things.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Mango@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Because SE Linux drove me bonkers once and I am petty.

[–] Crafted_104@lemmy.ml 3 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Fedora isn't a beginner distribution

[–] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I dunno if I'd say any distro of Linux is really beginner friendly.

It takes quite a bit of learning the ins and outs of operating systems before Linux makes sense in any capacity.

If you're just looking to run a few basic apps like discord/slack/teams/zoom, and run a browser, then sure, just about every distro can do that without trouble, and can be configured to be as "friendly" as Windows, with a few exceptions.

But anybody who wants to do intermediate/advanced stuff with little to no prior Linux knowledge? I'm not sure any distro is much easier than others. Again, with a few exceptions.

The exceptions are distros that are almost intentionally difficult to use, or that require a high level of competency with Linux before you can attempt to use it.

There's always a learning curve, that learning curve is pretty much always pretty steep.

I've been using Linux for dedicated servers for a while and I don't use Linux as a desktop environment, in no small part because despite having a fairly high level of competency with Linux, I don't feel like I know enough to make Linux work for me instead of the other way around.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 10 months ago

I do recommend Fedora. It's what I started on (besides tails) and after a couple years I've moved to FedoraKDE.

[–] Kualk@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago

KDE was far less stable for me compared to Gnome. In the end, my patience with KDE lasted for 1 week.

KDE is more exiting and familiar, but it had no tangible advantage in the end for me.

[–] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago

I'm generally more of a Debian user, when I use Linux at least, so anything red hat based doesn't even occur to me to recommend. I generally don't get involved in distro discussions though.

My main interaction with Linux is Ubuntu server, and that's where my knowledge generally is. I can't really fix issues in redhat, so if someone is using it, I'm mostly lost on how to fix it.

There's enough difference in how redhat works compared to Debian distributions that I would need to do a lot of work to understand what's happening and fix any problems.

[–] ulkesh@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago

The installer is garbage in my opinion. But aside from that, the distro is probably fine.

[–] Arfman@aussie.zone 2 points 10 months ago

When I started learning Linux years ago when I studied IT I was actually taught UNIX but the first Linux distro I was exposed to was Red Hat back in school around 2000. Fedora was derived from that and for a while I was more familiar with that. However with the popularity of Debian and Ubuntu, it seems most of the instructions out there are geared around that so I'm now pretty much just sticking with Debian.

load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›