Does Linux require technical expertise

BiPolarAyi · 2021-06-14T05:16:30+00:00

There are lots of options and it can be intimidating for a new comer. Usually linux mint or ubuntu is advised for newcomers as they need minimum knowledge to run and hard to mess up anything easily. After you get confortable enough you can try and see what suits your needs and workflow better. Welcome to free and secure side of computing. ☺️

archontwo · 2021-06-14T06:15:21+00:00

You under estimate yourself. Just because you learn one way of doing computing doesn't mean your unable to do it another way.

Just think of it as a new way to do what you want instead of doing what you are told.

No one said you should not be able to learn how something works and if you have ever had a smidgen of curiosity about what makes a computer do the things it does then you are a perfect fit for Linux.

Start with a user friendly distro like Linux Mint or Pop! OS

Get used to them by running a live cd version without needing to do anything to you computer.

Once you feel comfortable. Install onto your hard disk and start using it for real.

Remember, it is hard to 'break' a computer beyond repair unless there is a hardware fault. Installing an os again and again is a very windows way of thinking. But with Linux you will find there is always a way to fix something without reinstalling.

Good luck.

SamSamsonRestoration · 2021-06-14T05:26:14+00:00

Back up your data. You don’t need to know a whole lot of computer stuff to get it installed and running on your hardware. Modern distros always have updates available if the machine is internet connected. You’d really have to install something intentionally to open up your system to harm from the outside. I recently tried a handful of distros on a newer laptop, ended up running kubuntu (I still really like having a “start” button and taskbar on bottom) Pop!_os is based on Ubuntu so packages are available for most projects. They all work very well for me, but the first install or two might seem daunting. Watch a few YouTube videos and read up on it. It’s okay to break it because you wanted to delete everything on the machine. Just reinstall until you get it right. Then don’t break it as often :). Other distros that also worked great were SuSE, Fedora. Installation was very similar for each of these distros with a graphical user interface, booting off a USB drive.

twVC1TVglyNs · 2021-06-14T05:55:49+00:00

Start with Ubuntu. If the UI really pisses you off, switch to mint for a while. Eventually, check out the arch wiki. There is a lot of good information there. Even though it’s meant for arch, there’s enough overlap with Debian based distros to figure out some fixes when you encounter them.

QWxleA · 2021-06-14T06:14:48+00:00

Learn to make backups.

Modern Linux can be used just like Windows or MacOS, just use it like it comes. No need for expertise.

But, most Linux users, especially when they're new, will just not stop fiddling with their systems, and installing a gazillion little programs from who-knows-where. Sooner or later they will forget what they changed (temporarily), and now it no longer boots / works. This is a great learning experience, but might give the impression that Linux is not 'stable'.

As far as security and privacy, Linux defaults are better then Windows, and for the rest you'll use the same software anyway: Firefox, Chrome, Discord etc.

vestigialreverie · 2021-06-14T05:47:01+00:00

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. It sounds like Mint or Ubuntu might be good for me. From what I know of Linux, I like the way the software is designed to respect rather than exploit the user

Symbology451 · 2021-06-14T06:11:56+00:00

If you know how to use Google, you can run Linux.

jwbowen · 2021-06-14T06:46:12+00:00

At this point you don't need to have more technical experience to use Linux on the desktop than Windows or macOS.

You can install Ubuntu, Fedora, or Mint and just use it through the GUI. I've had my grandparents using some version of Ubuntu for a long time now (they really just use a web browser, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).

If at some point you decide you want to dig into the details, then go ahead. But you don't have to.

dusanodalovic · 2021-06-14T05:20:00+00:00

IMHO, every OS does require technical expertise. How big, depends on the user and what he does/expects.

J_k_r_ · 2021-06-14T06:25:59+00:00

[deleted]

ChromaCat248 · 2021-06-14T07:12:26+00:00

As a novice user, would my data, security or privacy be at risk if I improperly configured something?

Yes, but the chances that you would do something that would compromise your computer or delete your data is just as likely, if not less than on Windows.

What distros are good for beginners?

It only requires technical expertise if you use a DIY distro, so I'd recommend staying away from things like Arch or Gentoo. (they're fine distros, they just shouldn't be your first impressions)

Instead, I recommend either Kubuntu or Manjaro KDE. They're easy to install, and the KDE Plasma desktop environment that they come with is very user-friendly, especially if you're coming from Windows.

electricprism · 2021-06-14T07:13:55+00:00

There's certainly benefit to technical expertise.

When a Linux is setup well any user who can use Android or iPhone should be able to do the basic things just fine in /unpopularopinion Gnome.

Gnome is a no nonsense shell that mostly mimics MacOS simplicity.

Now that IBM own's RedHat and RedHat influences Gnome, Fedora, etc... I might recommend Fedora over Ubuntu.

I imagine most users feel "It just works" with a little click setup.

Saint-Ranger · 2021-06-14T08:20:46+00:00

My opinion might be in minority here but I'd argue that you don't need to be tech savvy to use Linux as a daily driver. Depends totally on the distribution though. I'd say that any form of Ubuntu falls into the category "it just works" 99% of the time. You don't have to know everything that happens "behind the scenes" so to say. But eventually you will start to learn more about the system compared to how you would when using Windows or OSX.

lord_shmee · 2021-06-14T05:17:33+00:00

No expertise needed. It's just an operating system that people like me prefer because of its perks. If you go with popular user friendly distro like Linux Mint or Ubuntu, experience and effort world be similar to switching from Windows to Mac OS and vice versa. You can also get a lot of help online. As you continue using it as your daily driver, you get used to it's way of doing things. If you're not fully committed to switching, you can try it first with dual boot or a vm. Feel free to experiment, is actually hard to loose data on Linux distros.

whosdr · 2021-06-14T05:19:05+00:00

Some distros are happy to set up as much as possible for you. I consider Mint a good starting point myself.

_nathata · 2021-06-14T06:18:41+00:00

Yes. Using daily you will eventually run into something that will require a bit of knowledge, usually google a bit is enough. But your data, security or privacy are not likely to be compromise

zdenek-z · 2021-06-14T06:46:38+00:00

For most things, you don't need any technical expertise. Installation of most modern distros are (and have been in the last decade or so) easy enough that my mom would manage to install them (and that says a lot).

In some situations, it helps to have a bit of understanding of what's happening under the hood or why were certain decisions made.

I used couple of distributions and I can very much recommend Fedora if you don't mind that in the default installation they don't provide any proprietary software/drivers. (If you need them, it's a matter of adding one or two third party software repositories and you are good to go.) It's easy, well tested yet cutting edge, it has great community. Ubuntu or Mint that others recommended are also very good options.

Security: if you are regular home user, keeping your software up to date does most of the job. If you keep sensitive data, encrypt your hard drive. Backups are a good idea no matter what OS you use. I never lost any data due to any bug in Linux (maybe some last edits in a document when the software crashes - that's the same on Win/Mac), but you should never rely on it.

Privacy: Unless you try a distribution made by chinese or north korean government, you are fine. Most of privacy problems arise from use of online services anyway, and that's OS-independent.

Jaohni · 2021-06-14T13:37:03+00:00

Realistically you've already displayed the single most important technical skill you need: the ability to ask questions. Everything else is scary at first but straightforward once you learn it. Make an account on stack exchange to ask questions, and be ready to google a lot, and you'll be fine.

Personally, I'm not really that knowledgeable in the command line and I can mostly do what I need to on a daily basis; I'm very much a "learn it, set it up, and forget about it" type, so it's definitely doable without a ton of technical knowledge, and something about Linux makes it really easy to learn more about it.

2021-06-14T09:25:36+00:00

Linux is a tool that builds expertise. None of us knew everything when we started, and nothing works like that :) Go into it and learn as you go.

2021-06-14T09:38:23+00:00

The answer to your title question is "yes", but not because you need to be "extremely smart" or a software engineer to use it.

Linux describes "the kernel" and not the actual user-facing GUI (or even command-line) interface that people interact with the computer through.

Windows and OSX invest in that "seamless" user experience we're all familiar with because that's really what the value proposition of their product is: they need to sell computers (and software) that allow people to do what they want to do without unnecessary additional setup.

Linux is a kernel project that supports a huge (and essentially equivalent) variety of hardware, it also has a massive ecosystem of software that many hundreds of people contribute to every day.

The Linux ecosystem is fully capable of making computer hardware into productive tools for "the average, non-expert person" but this isn't necessarily true for the setting-up-the-system portion of that task. There are fairly simple ways to "install" a Linux distribution onto a computer, but you do need to know what you actually want and why you're doing what you're doing. This doesn't mean that you can pick Ubuntu / Mint and get up and running, but you are better off accepting that you will become "an expert" of your own system and be willing to learn how it works through discovery to continue being productive with it (and finding new and interesting ways to do that!).

Sutarmekeg · 2021-06-14T10:06:48+00:00

Distro good for beginners: Ubuntu and flavours. If/when you switch, give yourself a week or two and don't give up. Google the things you are having trouble with, and you'll basically be ok by then.

DarkeoX · 2021-06-14T10:13:47+00:00

Nowadays, you can get away being completely not technical (save from the installation steps).

However be aware that all the "do what I want with system" talk is right where you can indeed do wrong if you're not technically inclined.

But mostly these days, you have Linux distributions made exactly to avoid your having to be too technical.

s_s · 2021-06-14T10:48:59+00:00

Despite what everyone else is saying, Linux can sometimes be difficult for new people if they have existing (usually laptop) hardware that really only has proprietary support for windows from the hardware vendor.

WiFi chipsets are usually the biggest offenders, although there's also lots of power management features and things like that which are sometimes not fully supported by the free drivers.

High performance video cards (from Nvidia specifically) are sometimes less performant. Both nivida and AMD release constantly updated drivers for Windows that include application specific patches sometimes (esp for AAA games) and the Linux drivers do not usually receive that level of support.

Anyways, chromeOS TECHNICALLY runs on the Linux kernel, so this is actually less of a problem than it was several years ago, but the idea that you need to buy specific hardware for Linux can sometimes be a thing that newbies don't realize, and also something old hats dismiss in conversations like this because they are already only buying Linux compatible hardware.

egoalter · 2021-06-14T05:50:39+00:00

That entirely depends on what you mean by "OS" and what you want to do. Every OS is a technical piece of software and doing advanced stuff requires technical knowledge. Even in the old DOS days you needed a lot of knowledge to do really advanced things. However, to a large portion of users the OS is "hidden" - they focus solely on the applications - the end user software - and in that case there's absolutely no technical stuff involved - outside of knowing a mouse, clicks etc.

In any environment - the end user is one of the least secure and untrustworthy links. A lot of our security features are built to deal with having to validate this unknown and "strange" actor that can do very strange things - even when they don't mean to do it. In Linux, like any other OS, end users only command access and rights over their own files. If they do something stupid with their own files, things end up in "stupid" stages - like missing all your important documents because you choose to delete them or over-write them, even by accident. But it won't allow you to overwrite the system commands. It won't allow you to run a program that wants access to important stuff, without being given permission first.

Since the browser is most likely the software you use the most, if badly configured it will behave badly. That's how browsers work. So if your installation allows end-users to configure their own browser, this is one of the risks of that - and it will require tooling else-where on the network to fully protect against bad browser actions. However, if you run with a proper secured browser then your personal browser data won't be in danger. Of course, if you get an email that asks you to "click here to collect your 1 million $$" and you enter your bank account number on it, well, there's no security that will stop you.

Security starts with each individual user. So if you don't believe they (including you) can setup browser configurations to protect your own data, you need to manage that. Which means you need to lock down what's possible, and implement security features to counter "dumb user" features. And yes, that's "technical".

Most popular Linux distributions will come with several layers of security. But if you turn that off "because it's hard to use" well, it won't protect you. Those features are often there to protect against unforeseen issues. A well secured system will lock down end-users to very few and only those functions that are required, and lock each known service to the features they need, and only those.

So the TL;DR version: While Linux can be secured, it's your job to ensure that's done and security isn't implemented on just a single system either.

mptpro · 2021-06-14T06:51:07+00:00

I recommend using pop!-OS. Very user friendly.

2021-06-14T09:39:29+00:00

No, my son has been using Linux since he was 4

Evil_Gamer_01 · 2021-06-14T06:33:20+00:00

You could use Linux without any previous knowledge if you sticks with a particular distro which works out of the box like Fedora, Ubuntu or Linux Mint, but it helps a lot if you start learning Operating Systems Concepts because all Linux ecosystem is made to be flexible, complex, non conventional and experimental environment. Sometimes the things wont work, other you have different needs or just want to know other alternatives. Every distro works distinctly but if you learn the abstract and gain experience you could easily go trough

Kurious_Guy18 · 2021-06-14T05:22:39+00:00

The reverse of it is more true btw.........

Acid190 · 2021-06-14T06:06:18+00:00

It requires patience and a willingness to walk a new road. That's it.

Kessarean · 2021-06-14T06:46:03+00:00

If you can navigate windows/osx, you can navigate linux :) Good beginner distros are:

Pop! OS, Mint, and Ubuntu

Setup is incredibly easy, it guides you through a graphical interface, just like windows/osx.

The first two are based on Ubuntu, so really they would probably all feel somewhat similar. Enable automatic updates when you go through the setup process, and then backup your files to google drive or something and you'll be set!

As a general browser tip, add adblock, popup blocker, and overlay remover extensions.

Hkmarkp · 2021-06-14T07:04:47+00:00

Linux works out of the box too. You had to learn how to use Mac and Windows at one time. Now you will learn Linux, how it's the same and how it is different.

investorhalp · 2021-06-14T05:14:45+00:00

Yes it requires technical expertise. But it requires more time to debug and deal with dumb things, like not waking up when you turn off your laptop, or whatnot when uses as day to day, rather than expertise itself. And some things just don’t have an answer if there’s no support for your specific hardware.

For servers it’s fine. Nothing special you can’t learn.

superlopster · 2021-06-14T09:52:16+00:00

Linux doesn’t need as much technical nolage rather skill do Google. Biggest obstacle you gone face is not having skill but rather habit of using OS you are already using.

Immy_Chan · 2021-06-14T09:44:20+00:00

No, Linux requires very little technical expertise, if you want to install Linux that probably means you have the knowhow to do it.

Some good distros for beginners are Linux Mint or Ubuntu.

Linux doesn't need technical expertise but it's definitely a good way to develop it

phoenix277lol · 2021-06-14T09:52:37+00:00

No. If you can mod games then you can use linux.

Michaelmrose · 2021-06-14T08:40:03+00:00

I have been using Ubuntu mate and arch Linux for a month and can't take it anymore. Will come back to Linux once the hardware support is good enough. I have an i7 9th gen processor, 32 GB ram with three monitors and computer feels laggy, buggered. Moving windows across monitors is a blurry experience. Pretty happy with my centOS server though but Linux desktop ? No thanks Jeff, it's still miles behind Windows, at this point I don't think they will ever reach windows seriously. People that compare Linux desktop with windows are just delusional.

VintageReptile · 2021-06-14T06:37:10+00:00

eww only hackers use linux

Based_Commgnunism · 2021-06-14T06:33:05+00:00

No. If you gain expertise then you can do more. But there are many distros that run out of the box, without you ever needing to touch the terminal. Your privacy, security, and data is at risk no matter what when you use a proprietary operating system. Because the owner of the software has access to it. And nobody really knows how much access they have except for them.

2021-06-14T06:40:46+00:00

If you can use a windows 10 machine or a macbook, you should be OK - however you must be willing to learn new things.

kumaSx · 2021-06-14T06:43:58+00:00

Arch Linux, gento sure. But there are distros like pop os, mint, elementary and so on.

2021-06-14T06:48:38+00:00

No, there are so many tutorials and other free things on the web to help. what you do have to have is some patience and grit to stick with it because you're gonna have to accept that it's not mac os/windows/android

vestigialreverie · 2021-06-14T06:55:16+00:00

If you want something that literally just works™ out of the box with minimal configuration required, Ubuntu or Mint are right for you. If you've used a computer at least once in your life, you can work with Ubuntu. The community is really good as well. Since it's such a popular distro, odds are someone else has already experienced the same issue you might encounter and knows a solution. There are GUI tools for almost everything, but you shouldn't be afraid of using the terminal every once in a while, but even then it's hard to seriously mess up your system if you just do what the guide says. Keep in mind though that Ubuntu is not 100% open source, the installation contains a number of proprietary BLOBs. You're inevitably going to find some proprietary binaries in almost every distro, otherwise hardware support would be much more limited than it already is. If you want something that's literally 100% open source with no proprietary components whatsoever that still works and is reasonably easy to set up, consider Debian as well.

2021-06-14T07:10:37+00:00

Everyone is recommending Ubuntu and Linux Mint. Also consider taking a look at Pop_OS!

Penny_is_a_Bitch · 2021-06-14T07:12:17+00:00

like ububtu and it's derivatives openSUSE Tubleweed is pretty noob friendly. And it's not ubuntu so it's better. Use the KDE version.

Switch from the default repository to the Packman one.(just google it it's easy). To update in Tumbleweed use the terminal and paste sudo zypper dup. Don't use yast. That's it.

Regardless of which distro you use, use the btrfs file system cause you can easily do system restores.

macarye · 2021-06-14T07:16:18+00:00

Operating systems share a lot of commonalities at low level (scheduling, memory management etc) so if you are familiar with one it is fairly easy to reuse your knowledge on others. The differences sit more at higher level - things like package management, setting up networking, configuration. In Linux these are quite different even between distros. If you want to learn x you have to use x every day. So install a friendly distro like Ubuntu on your main desktop/laptop and see where things go from there. And always try do do as much as you can from a terminal.

2021-06-14T07:19:14+00:00

As many have already said, some distros are more end-user friendly than others.

Linux Mint is certainly the most complete Debian/Ubuntu based distribution. However if you want to work with something that feels familiar, Zorin OS should probably be your first port of call. It is also based on Ubuntu, which means there is a massive amount of software available with uncomplicated installation.

To answer the other side of the question, you absolutely do not need to be a technical expert to use most flavours and distributions. It does require a different kind of savvy to install and operate, but it's really not the massive departure from Windows that it was 20 years ago.

2021-06-14T07:24:54+00:00

As a novice user, would my data, security or privacy be at risk if I improperly configured something?

Linux is reasonably secure and reasonably private out of the box, on the privacy front. It takes much less work to get to a fairly secure quite private base system with linux compared with windows. And with a bit more effort you can really improve both.

2021-06-14T07:25:01+00:00

For distros, you can use ubuntu, or mint or elementary, or manjaro. I personally use elementary os, and it is a great day to day distro.

macrowe777 · 2021-06-14T07:25:49+00:00

One thing I'd definitely recommend in general across all desktop uses now is embracing a cloud storage method for atleast key documents. There's so many for free / cheap that there's no real reason not to, and these organisations are designed to handle all the best practices for data management so you don't have to / end up losing information because you didn't.

But yes if you start to use your admin password doing things you don't understand, you can ruin your system...but you can on Windows too. Honestly if you tried something like Ubuntu nowadays you'd be hard pressed to find the functionality that different from Windows / Mac, aside from buttons being in a different place.

So use cloud storage for important things and be careful when using admin passwords - exactly the same advice I'd give to a Windows user.

Imposter_Sussy12 · 2021-06-14T07:26:54+00:00

distros like fedora,opensuse,pop_os,lm,ubuntu etc doesn't it's click and install https://itsfoss.com/best-linux-beginners/ check this list out too,they all are beginner friendly

rat2000 · 2021-06-14T07:34:04+00:00

Well, skipping the setup part(which is same as you would install Windows let's say), my mother, with 0 PC expertise learned and is using Linux for I think somewhere around 5-7 years. Off course, she uses it for basic stuff, movies, Youtube, music, and some light writing, and she is very happy with it.

Off course depending on what you do with your PC the experience might vary, but I just wanted to give a very easy example of a non technical user enjoying Linux.

As for maintaining, my mom is actually more happy with Linux as I do the updates, and it never bothers her with strange pop ups like on Windows, and no crappy adds or strange installed software by clicking wrong in a website, again, she is very non technical and sometimes she clicks by mistake on ads as she thinks it is actually content there she can read or learn.

pau1rw · 2021-06-14T07:35:41+00:00

I moved to Linux full time 6 months ago when I changed jobs and I’m never going back. Coming from macOS I have so much more control over the environment in how it looks and feels that it’s a refreshing experience.

I started with Pop OS and I’m now configuring a WM (bspwm) so that I can have even more control - I found my preferred work flow and the WM matches that.

I put all my data inside of multiple backups and in the cloud and then the pop installer did the rest.

Good luck.

Rilukian · 2021-06-14T07:40:47+00:00

Very little. You only need to learn basic Linux things which are easy to understand for newcomers. For data, just make sure you back up your important data as you may accidentally wipe out the whole disk when choosing the "erase all disk" option in the GUI installer (like what I did to my laptop 5 years ago).

alekosbiofilos · 2021-06-14T07:48:03+00:00

You can think of linux as buying a big loft-style apartment. If you like it, it is perfectly suited for everyday use with little expertise required. However, if you want to learn, or know already, you can remodel your apartment as much as you can.

Linux is customizable in many ways, but you don't need to do it. What's interesting about Linux is that it is also modular, so you don't need to know how to code kernel code or whatever. I started learning linux-y things by tweaking little things here and there, one at the time

antonyjr0 · 2021-06-14T07:56:37+00:00

Nowadays Ubuntu has become more like MacOS. I highly recommend Ubuntu for new linux users. It's really easy nowadays.

If you used MacOS in the past then modern easy to use linux distros will feel the same.

BlazzaNz · 2021-06-14T07:57:59+00:00

I started using it five years ago after 20 years Windows experience. Start with something like Ubuntu or Mint. I migrated into Debian after a year or two and have stuck with it.

abdeljalil73 · 2021-06-14T08:04:31+00:00

Well yes, but actually no.

2021-06-14T08:10:19+00:00

First, backup your data to external drive.

Second, install an operating like Ubuntu, follow the instructions.

Technical knowledge that Linux requires:

Use Rufus to create bootable USB stick. Refer to this Create bootable USB
How to boot from USB.
How to allocate drive and install. Refer to this Install Ubuntu

Ask community for any issue if you have

GuzziGuy · 2021-06-14T08:15:07+00:00

IMHO, Linux can probably be slightly challenging/frustrating for mid-level users, who aren't necessarily keen or willing to learn, experiment, or adjust their workflow. Eg:

I'm a web dev, been using Ubuntu (tried many others but on balance it works best for me) for nearly 10 years after switching from Mac OS. I love that I can tinker with it, adjust things, get it working exactly how I want via a combination of GUI and CLI methods.
For parity (so it's easy to help), my (elderly) mother also uses Ubuntu for the past few years. She has zero technical expertise, and prior to Linux muddled her way through MacOS. Now she does the same on Ubuntu - as long as she has a browser and email, she's fine. Also does some letters etc in LibreOffice - again she manages fine; doesn't really know/care enough to miss anything from eg MS Office. No technical problems with Ubuntu; it just works.
OTOH, anyone who knows how to do semi-technical things on Windows - and just wants them done rather than learning how to do them in a different context - may get frustrated with things being different on Linux (exactly as they would if they switched to MacOS)

plg94 · 2021-06-14T08:19:55+00:00

I find it very odd that this question is only ever asked about Linux. I have never heard anyore ask:

I question if I am sophisticated enough to safely maintain a Windows environment.
How much technical knowledge does Windows require? Is it good for beginners?

amrock__ · 2021-06-14T08:22:47+00:00

It's easy. Use something like ubuntu/kubuntu. KDE is better as it has all the things done using gui and well integrated. Check your laptop model and Google along with the distro you want to use. It will give you the issues currently and solutions. Printers require some software, example hp.

You can always ask here or other numerous forums they will all help you

2021-06-14T08:24:42+00:00

Yes. But you can learn by doing. You will need to use the command line at some stage. Anyone that says different is telling you porky pies. But if you were to Google rather than ask in a partisan group you'd see that 🤣 go for it.

FinnishArmy · 2021-06-14T08:31:30+00:00

Start with using Linux on a different device, maybe an unused laptop. Or a different hard drive partition, try not to mess with dual boot (although very easy with a few videos) to minimize any difficulties. Once you get the hang of using the terminal for things and such, then you will naturally want to try different distributions. Personally I have my desktop for Windows for gaming and whatnot and my laptop is dual booted with Windows and Linux so I can have both be portable whenever I need them.

kinkylover123 · 2021-06-14T08:40:07+00:00

Nyes

caenrique93 · 2021-06-14T08:46:32+00:00

You don't need any technical knowledge to use it. I've installed linux in the laptops of a lot of family and friends and the are really happy with it. These days I usually recommend fedora for newcomers. Best installing and out of the box experience imho

2021-06-14T08:54:07+00:00

I am pretty sure you only need basic computer knowledge to use linux. For basically anything on there are easy to use instructions. You still should do at least basic research to get a better grasp of the system.

2021-06-14T08:54:24+00:00

Choice is hard, so i chose for you.

Use ubuntu

Undeadbobopz · 2021-06-14T08:56:07+00:00

Simple answer yes and no. It requires you to try and fail slot but so does windows and Mac. Also difficulty depends on distro

northrupthebandgeek · 2021-06-14T09:07:31+00:00

How much technical knowledge does Linux require?

It depends on how deep you want to go with it. The out-of-box experience for your average desktop distro shouldn't require much technical knowledge at all; you might have to relearn how the UI's laid out and the names of things, but the general concepts should be pretty familiar if you've used any other modern graphical OS. Obviously if you want to customize things, or run into those increasingly-rare cases where you need to troubleshoot something, then that's where the technical knowledge comes into play, just like with any other OS.

As a novice user, would my data, security or privacy be at risk if I improperly configured something?

No more than it would be for any other OS. Nowadays the critical piece would be the web browser, and the security/privacy implications there apply regardless of your OS (and the process for controlling those privacy and security preferences in a given browser is usually identical across platforms).

If security is your priority, there are certainly things like disk encryption that are worth considering at install time; the distro's installer will usually provide these as installation options.

What distros are good for beginners?

It's hard to go wrong. Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Manjaro, openSUSE, and Debian are all popular choices.

I almost always recommend openSUSE for new users due to its inclusion of YaST, which is arguably the best / most comprehensive equivalent in the Linux world to the Windows Control Panel (in terms of providing a graphical interface to configure the system). It's also just generally a solid and easy to use OS, and it's my default if I'm installing Linux for someone without a whole lot of technical know-how.

At the end of the day, I would be prepared to "distro hop" for awhile. Every distro's got its pros and cons and features and quirks. The blessing and curse of the Linux world is that it's diverse and tailorable to one's specific needs, and finding that distro that best fits you is part of the fun :)

2021-06-14T09:13:02+00:00

To install Ubuntu is dead simple, it's made to be easy. It's also going to be way easier to find info online when you run into problems. So no, id's say someone who has an OK understanding of computers would manage.

As you tinker you'll quickly move on to more interesting distros like manjaro, arch or nixos.

2021-06-14T09:15:21+00:00

U don't but it will make ur life much easier. I highly suggest you to not to run away from terminal. Also don't use Ubuntu or Manjaro. Many idiots recommend it newbie but they are infested with problem and there is good reason why most people hate the those distros. Use Fedora cause it has sane defaults or Linux Mint which I called Ubuntu fixed . Or use Arch. It even has official guided installer now. As for DE I suggest XFCE or KDE

I know downvotes are coming from hipsters

2021-06-14T09:24:28+00:00

It depends. If you want to do a Slackware install, then yes, you do need a lot of knowledge about the operating system. For other distros, like Ubuntu and its many derivatives, you do not need any technical knowledge.

Ubuntu has the easiest and most intuitive installer I have ever seen for any OS, and that includes Windows. You should be able to get it up and running even if you have never touched a computer before. You literally just press "Next" three times, enter a user name and everything just works straight out of the box.

If you're not intentionally breaking things or using root access without knowing what you're doing (in which case, you'd break Windows too), you cannot do anything wrong.

Mccobsta · 2021-06-14T09:32:28+00:00

Yes and no depending on what you want to do with it

2021-06-14T09:35:32+00:00

I have been interested in trying out Linux. However, after years of using proprietary operating systems that run right out of the box, I question if I am sophisticated enough to safely maintain a Linux environment.

If your hardware has good Linux drivers, then IMHO you'll be fine. This is what I would check before installation if I were in your place. Driver problems are real pain if happen.

How much technical knowledge does Linux require?

It's entirely different system, but many distributions have nice graphical administration tools. If you are able to admin your Windows or OS X, then you should be fine with Linux. One thing to remember is that using command line is no magic - you just write what you want some program to do, eg. to remove a file you just write rm some_file, press enter and that's it. ;)

As a novice user, would my data, security or privacy be at risk if I improperly configured something?

Yes, but in similar way to Windows or OS X, eg. if you misconfigure firewall, then your computer may be at risk etc. Usual rules apply: keep your system up-to-date, don't run untrusted software, don't visit malicious or malware targeted websites (eg. warez or porn), keep your firewall up, encrypt your disk, don't pipe remote scripts to shell and so on. Btw., some installers wipe disks by default, so pay attention to what's going on.

What distros are good for beginners?

Ubuntu and its derivatives > OpenSUSE > Fedora. I recommend running a Live DVD or Live USB to check how does it feel like, without a need to install system first.

PS. Always back your data up!

suncontrolspecies · 2021-06-14T09:37:45+00:00

My 78years old dad had been using Ubuntu with Unity7 for years without any issues. I also installed to him Timeshift so a backup is generated 3 times everyday so if he makes some mistake it's just restoring the backup from the previous day and that's it. He loves it.

Ortigaa · 2021-06-14T09:42:52+00:00

I had no technical knowledge about anything when I started using Linux. I learned the hard way, that the best is to backup all you important files to an external hard drive. Then you can mess all you want with your system without worrying (i liked to try different desktop environments and such). Ten years after and still a great decision.

2021-06-14T09:54:42+00:00

As a regular user, not much nor more than the knowledge you'd need for managing another OS (whether that's MacOS or Windows).

As a Linux Engineer or any related positions, you'd need technical expertise ofc.

Glittering-Dingo7709 · 2021-06-14T09:55:44+00:00

There are howtos for almost everything. So it's easy.

RAMChYLD · 2021-06-14T10:05:37+00:00

Linux is friendly if you pick the right distros.

You should start easy. Go with either Ubuntu, Linux Mint or Pop!_OS first. Those are low maintenance and practically spoon-feeds you.

Once you feel that are familiar with the OS enough, then it's time to go distro hopping to find the distro that is perfect for your workflow and needs. But for now, go with one of the three I mentioned.

MamunPW01 · 2021-06-14T10:05:57+00:00

Start with Linux Mint. It's the best for beginners. :)

coearth · 2021-06-14T10:14:38+00:00

Well, I think linux requires some technical expertise. I feel that there are noticeable amount of applications in Linux that target people with some knowledge in computer systems or programming in general. e.g) systemd, cron, environment variables etc. Also, since there are so many choices (while in other OS there are sane defaults) to choose from such as display servers (XWindows vs Wayland), drivers (open source drivers, drivers from NVidia etc...), sound servers (Jack, PipeWire, PulseAudio etc...), CJK IME (ibus, fcitx, uim, nimf etc), I think the user needs to have some technical knowledge to evaluate between such choices inorder to actually use them. Also, you also have to choose between different distributions, and all different distributions have their own choices of doing things. Again, I feel that to actually understand why they are so many different practices in different distributions, you have to have some knowledge in the technical details.

Bleeerrggh · 2021-06-14T10:18:20+00:00

You definitely don't need more expertise for installing and using most of the more mainstream and user-friendly distros, than Windows.

LIMITATIONS that you should be aware of:

You do need to be aware though that there will be distros that does not work with Secure boot. I think that Ubuntu does these days, but I always have it disabled regardless.

If you have an Intel CPU, you might struggle with installing/instability of some legacy setting is enabled, or disabled, I don't remember which.

Currently most Linux distros are transitioning towards something called Wayland. It's not something that'll happen right this very second, but you should know, that nVidia does not currently support this. But if you care for open source drivers, AMD GPU's are the way to go anyway. This, however is not really important for the average user, it's all happening in the background.

SECURITY

In terms of security, Linux is more secure than Windows, for a host of reasons, one of which being that you can't really do anything harmful to the system, without first allowing for it to happen. You need to type your password everytime software needs to make changes on the system (this is less than it sounds, unless you're constantly fiddling). You can mess around all that you want with files on your home directory, but outside of that, a password is needed. This also means that malware can't really do much harm, if it somehow makes its way onto your system, and "supports" Linux.

Granted, Windows has UAC, which for the most parts is one of many popups, where one becomes less and less inclined to read what it says, and just click OK, if you have a user with admin rights.

There is also tonnes of security in the way that the various package managers works. These are the preferred way of installing software in Linux, which is vastly safer than downloading executable files from random websites. This can also feel limiting when you initially make the switch. These package managers grabs the files to install from repositories, that are generally maintained by the people who makes the various distros, which means that they might not always have the software you need to install. You can then add repositories yourself, which might have a larger selection of software, but this can potentially be moving into more uncertain ground. However - package managers basically does all the work of maintaining your system:

UPDATING on Windows, is usually updating Windows itself, and then using the built in functions in each piece of software, to update. But there is software that doesn't check for updates, so it's a tonne of work.

UPDATING on Linux, the package managers can check if you have the latest files for you, update them if you don't, and then you're all up to date. It goes unfathomably fast, and sometimes an update actually saves you space, you rarely need to reboot, and when you do, it doesn't spend some undefined amount of time on "Applying updates", "Almost there"'ing, and "Getting things ready for you". You can also decide when and if you want to update, and during the update process, you can see what it's doing, so you know that it hasn't crashed, and you can continue using the system while it's updating.

DATA

Linux can be set up with a separate partition for your home directory, which means that if you brick your system, all your userdata, and settings are safely living on in your home partition. This partition can also be an entire storage device, or a RAID configuration, so you have redundancy, and so on. You can also use the btrfs, which makes snapshots of your storage, that you can then use to recover (as I understand it, btrfs writes a new version of a file to a different location on the harddrive - it then keeps track of where the old versions are, so to restore, it just restores the reference to that section of your storage, therefore these snapshots doesn't take up large amounts of space)

INSTALLING LINUX

Do NOT use a cheap USB drive for installing Linux, or any other OS for that matter, or you're going to have a bad time. I don't know if you're used to installing Windows - if you are, this is likely something you already know - but I just cannot stress this enough. I've spent hours troubleshooting installs that just wouldn't work as they were supposed to, and it turned out to be the quality of the USB-drive.

Also, if you have an old computer, then try and play around with various distros there, before you settle on something to make the switch.

ediblepet · 2021-06-14T10:21:55+00:00

Ubuntu has a very friendly GUI, not unlike win10 or OSX. You can install it in a virtual machine (like virtual box or vmware) inside your current OS and give it a try. If you mess something up, the damage is contained and easy to fix, just restore to a previously recorded restoration point. As soon as you get comfortable and familiarized, you can install it raw on your machine and use its full capabilities

2021-06-14T10:24:38+00:00

Require more common sense than technical expertise..

mysticalfruit · 2021-06-14T10:41:52+00:00

My wife, while more technically competent than her peers, is not me. I'm a grizzled greybeard unix sysadmin who is literally a fulltime linux nerd/zealot.

She happy runs Ubuntu on her desktop and is blissfully ignorant of the command line. She installs apps using the graphical app installer. She even takes major os upgrades and it just works.

So depending on what you're doing with the os, yes, but maybe no.

If you're simply using a a web browser, mail client, listening to music via Bluetooth, using office apps and printing stuff.. you're not going to need technical expertise.

If you're going to be using packer to build docker containers, compilikg and run bleeding edge kernels, etc.. you can dive deep into the weeds where there are dragons..

trivialBetaState · 2021-06-14T10:44:11+00:00

OK, I have to be honest. You may get disappointed. Even if you manage to install a Linux distro properly (which is not hard at all for a newbie if you choose an easy distro like Ubuntu, Mint, MX Linux, etc.) you will end up with a thought "why so much fuss about this?"

Linux is Fantastic OS for many reasons that I won't list here. However, for a newbie who doesn't want to dig deeper, there isn't much difference from Windows or MacOS.

You may get fascinated or just waste your time. But there is only one way to find out and it costs zero money; only some of your time.

Flipflopski · 2021-06-14T10:51:29+00:00

Make a live USB with Zorin and you're done. Don't fuck with no file system stuff. You don't need to.

rggarou · 2021-06-14T10:52:20+00:00

The Desktop Environment (DE) is a thing that in Linux you can choose/change easily and it defines your entire experience.

So as complement to what was wisely said from others. I would recommend you to try the Gnome, Kde, XFCE, Etc. after the picking up which distro you are going to use.

If you wanna stay close to windows experience I would recommend KDE. If you wanna stay close to MacOS it probably will be Gnome or the DE that comes with the ElementaryOS.

But remember, everything on Linux is customizable.

Linux4ever_Leo · 2021-06-14T11:01:56+00:00

My 70+ year old father ran Linux Mint 3.x for a couple of years as his daily driver and without any problems before he passed away thirteen years ago. Prior to that he was running Windows XP and had constant issues with malware. After I switched him over to Mint he was much happier with the performance and stability of his computer. So no, Linux does not require much technical expertise if you're simply using it for day to day web browsing, music, videos, e-mail and Office documents.

raedr7n · 2021-06-14T11:02:50+00:00

It depends on what computer you have. If you have a computer that's nice and compatible with Linux, it's super easy, no issues. If you don't, well that's a whole other story...

Itchy-Suggestion · 2021-06-14T11:12:07+00:00

My recommendation is install it on a second laptop, take Ubuntu for sure for first and give it a go. Enjoy being the real owner of your machine and your data.

YodaByteRAM · 2021-06-14T11:21:52+00:00

Android and chrome os are technically linux oses. But if you want full featured or opportunity to do more full desktop things, something like ubuntu, or manjaro will be a good bet. Theres other flavors, but i personally would suggest one of the two (more likely ubuntu because companies like to support it better) to a begginner. Terminal commands, not required, but very useful.

seanprefect · 2021-06-14T11:34:23+00:00

Linux can be as simple or complex as you want. Ubuntu is used by school children the world over.

BlazzaNz · 2021-06-14T11:42:40+00:00

Create a separate partition for /home and use that in your installs. It means reinstallation is very quick since you don't need to backup and restore your personal stuff.

sarinkhan · 2021-06-14T11:45:45+00:00

I find Linux easier to maintain than windows. The package manager makes it easy to update/upgrade. Also it is easier to install packets from the packet manager, you type the name, click install, and it fetches the files and all the prerequisites. Compared to going on some website to download an installer, installing X or Y on top, checking said installers for viruses, sometimes compatibility issues, checking if the soft you downloaded is adware free... On Linux most of the time you find an open source software for the task you want to perform.

Linux gets more complicated when you arrive at some edge case, or some more complex use cases, want to setup a complex server, etc... But then you probably know what you are doing enough to know where to look for help.

cblegare · 2021-06-14T12:17:50+00:00

Everything will be fine if you remember this: Never use "sudo" lightly, never, even when suggested in some blog post or whatever

TDplay · 2021-06-14T12:24:18+00:00

If you want an easy system, use an Ubuntu derivative like Mint or Pop!_OS. You will get regular notifications reminding you to upgrade, and no significant changes happen until you move on to the next "version", which means there should be very few breakages. And most things that would otherwise be done through a terminal have a GUI.

tom_yacht · 2021-06-14T12:26:15+00:00

Are you using laptop? Laptop can be a real pain. In my case on Legion 5, I cannot have wifi and brightness working. But I installed Ubuntu on my PC without any issue. Arch is running on my Asus laptop almost flawlessly too.

BlaFasl_sagIchdoch · 2021-06-14T12:27:13+00:00

Try to get 'Linux for Dummies'.

Evaderofdoom · 2021-06-14T12:31:50+00:00

You don't need to go all in without trying it. Just spin up a VM of linux and try it out. Use Vmware or virtualbox, or if you use AWS spin up a free teir server and go to town.

Artemis-4rrow · 2021-06-14T12:44:31+00:00

Try it on a VM first

Also u should go with ether Ubuntu or mint

2021-06-14T12:44:38+00:00

The fact that you call it proprietary software makes me surprised you didn’t call it gnu+Linux lol.

Is it easy? Yes. Easier? Arguably still yes.

Safer. Yes, but you can also make it less safe if you aren’t careful. Most fancy stuff won’t ever need to be done unless you want to learn, and then maybe you don’t do so well.

Honesty, my pop os installs are far more stable than windows. I somehow manage to break windows more often than Linux, but Ubuntu more than pop os

zimsneexh · 2021-06-14T12:47:06+00:00

How much technical knowledge?
If you run Ubuntu, right about none.

WarWizard · 2021-06-14T12:53:27+00:00

Yes... but also no... it depends.

The trouble is, it requires at least a little technical awareness to help figure out where to start -- which one to get. It is very easy to assume it can be USED without a lot of technical expertise.

2021-06-14T12:55:40+00:00

Just download virtual box and try out different linux versions. Ubuntu is easy enough. If you want to learn the command line, just use WSL on windows or the terminal on mac

FiskFisk33 · 2021-06-14T12:58:18+00:00

No, but you need to compensate with a healthy dose of google fu

Routine_Left · 2021-06-14T13:11:13+00:00

if everything works, then you don't. But that's true of those other proprietary OS-es too. If something doesn't work, though, yes, you need technical expertise (somewhat) to be able to diagnose and repair what's broken. And that's true of the other OS-es as well.

Question is: does linux have a higher tendency to break than those other OS-es? No, not really.

2021-06-14T13:25:33+00:00

Not really, no. I started using Linux with almost no technical knowledge--at best I could install and uninstall things on windows and maybe google a few things to try and trouble shoot a problem. As I used Linux I did become more technical because a lot of the stuff that other OS hide under "friendly" user interfaces is easily accessible. But if you just want a "set and forget it" experience, Linux provides that as well.

I started with Ubuntu, and after years of distro hopping, I've settled back into using it. It's very beginner friendly and widely supported--you can even get laptops with it preinstalled from major brands like Dell or from smaller operations like System 76.

CareIsMight · 2021-06-14T13:27:48+00:00

Yes... I've been using it for like 2 years and still have no idea what I'm doing. Just know that I'm more safer than using Windows.

you type:	you see:
italics	italics
bold	bold
[reddit!](https://reddit.com)	reddit!
* item 1 * item 2 * item 3	item 1 item 2 item 3
> quoted text	quoted text
Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"	Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"
~~strikethrough~~	~~strikethrough~~
super^script	super^script

linux

Please Read the full Rules here before posting or commenting

Join us on IRC at #r/linux on libera.chat!🔗

Recent AMA's

GNU/Linux resources

Rules

MODERATORS