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deciding what linux stuff to get

2024-11-06

originally i used to have a laptop and it was… not the best. i was rocking an intel core i3 (i forgot which generation) with integrated graphics. :’) eventually i just stuck with it, knowing it would probably be the only computer i would have for now. it had windows 10 installed already, and i stuck with it. but oh my god it was STILL slow. then i thought it would be wise to upgrade to windows 11. i am so smart.

iirc, everytime i tried to run tetr.io, it quite literally got very hot and the fans were running at full speed. you can probably see why it was bad.

eventually, i got sick of windows, and looked into linux. i knew linux as the more complex operation system, one that only nerds would use, and probably what no sane person would use. the only reason i got linux was to make my laptop run faster LOL

i got Zorin OS, mainly because i thought it looked really cool, and it wasn’t as complicated as i thought. this was my main. eventually, i had to deal with the fact that some apps i use daily on windows, did not support linux. so, i just switched back.

this continued on and on, me switching back to windows but then realizing how terrible windows is.

and that was when i got a new computer!

• AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Six-Core Processor 3.40 GHz
• GTX 1660
• 16 GB RAM installed
• Better everything

now this was my new main. yay!!! now i just have to decide which operating system to use.

i just chose windows, since i basically knew how linux worked for my laptop because of that integrated graphics thing. but now that i have an actual gpu, i didn’t want to look into drivers and stuff for linux so i just used windows. the difference in speed was CRAZY.

• i could run my games!
• i could run cool stuff better!
• my pc didn’t go to shit when i ran tetris!

that was from months ago, and i am still using this pc to this day. that is when i realized microsoft SUcks and i need to find a new operating system to use. i looked to linux. (i could’ve done like hackintosh but i am NOT wasting my time on that)

hey, aiden, what even is a linux anyway?

linux is a kernel. that’s it. i know i kind of described linux being an operating system but it’s actually just a kernel. the operating system that i used to use, Zorin OS, is called a linux distribution, or linux distro, or distro i really do not know

linux distros ship with linux as the kernel. the operating system part is just, whatever i guess. (I did not put in that much research so please correct me if i’m wrong)

what linux do i get yo

there are a lot of options out there, and that’s kind of the joy of using linux. there’s probably a linux distro for everyone. now, i just have to find one that suits me. this will be what i kind of want

• customization. heavily. (changing fonts, changing what windows look like, etc)
• lightweight
• simple for my dumbass to use
• a good os to use as daily

i do not know if that is even possible, but let’s see anyway!!

linux distributions

let’s look at linux distributions first. this is probably important for speed!!

Ubuntu

this one is a very popular option out there. most beginners use this distro mainly because it’s simple enough that you can change from windows to linux. however uh ubuntu is not free to use in some places. i think you have to get a “ubuntu pro” thing to get all the features. i need everything to be free ty very much /lh

Arch

“erm, i use Arch Linux!!”

oh man this is a nerdy one

this one is FAMOUS for being probably one of the most complicated to set up. i saw like a one hour tutorial on youtube for how to set up arch and i just dipped bro, i’m not doing that :sob:

there is another distro though that is arch..

EndeavourOS

endeavouros is basically arch. except when you set up the operating system, it has a ui that actually makes it simple to set up! i might consider this one, because it allows you to pick your own desktop enviornment (if you don’t know what that is do NOT worry i will explain later!).

Void Linux

i saw someone use this and they said it was a lot faster,, even with their shit specs. may try it out! (keyword may)

HoloISO

i honestly do not know if HoloISO would work with my specs. i do have an amd cpu but i don’t know about gpu,, i have nvidia. i’ll see if it, works.

Zorin OS (again)

this was my main linux distro. i personally thought it looked really cool when i got it. nice and modern,,,, i love it,,,, but i now want to make everything comic sans and very colorful and i forgot if you could do that in Zorin OS

desktop enviornments

a desktop enviornment is, i guess, the ui of the linux distro?

the linux distro is just, code ig. without a desktop enviornment, you’re left with a command line to do things. a desktop enviornment adds ui and stuff to make it more easy for the user to do stuff.

heehee

KDE Plasma

this desktop environment is pretty popular. this is the same desktop enviornment they use for the steam deck,, so that’s cool!

i heard you can customize it a lot.

GNOME

this one is REally popular. most distros i listed either come with gnome, or just have it as an option to be installed. probably the only reason i would get this is for those jelly windows LOL

Xfce

this one is very lightweight, and also very customizable. just searching on google i hear you can use CSS TO CUSTOMIZE IT?? never seen that before. (maybe i just didn’t do enough research but oh well -w-”)

you can make it look old, you can make it look modern.

if you can do that i am basically set B)

what now ?!??!?!??!??!??!?!?!?

now i will decide.

i don’t know whether i will actually make the switch, but windows is becoming pretty terrible so i might.

this post was kinda, rushed. i just wanted to get my thoughts out atp

but uhhh yeah we’ll see if i make the switch! (and maybe ACTUALLY use nvim instead of being a bum and sticking with vscode :pensive:)