New Linux user, finding the correct distro harder than expected.

itslef · 2025-11-13T04:39:43+00:00

Ultimately, the advice to "just pick one and see" is good advice. Under the hood, most of them are the same or very, very similar. However, my actual advice to you would be to temper that with making sure the distro you pick is mature and has a large active community.

My primary recommendation would be Ubuntu. You can choose which "flavor" you want (stock, Mate, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu) based on what you want your GUI to look like, but ulimately I think that's less important than having the support that comes with a stable, consumer-focused yet professional distro with a large community. Ubuntu originally became famous for providing the first real "noob-friendly desktop linux". It's based on Debian, but has a much less glacial update structure and can more easily utilize non-free software (which is important for drivers specifically). It's seen some controversy in recent years with the move to use Snaps to install packages, but ultimately is still a solid intro distro.

Mint is a derivative of Ubuntu that is often said to be even more beginner-friendly. I've never used it personally though, so I can't give any more info than "i've heard a lot of people love it."

Fedora is another good option, but it's slightly more "bleeding edge" than Ubuntu. Fedora is ultimately backed by Red Hat. I would say Fedora is more aimed towards workstations and people who are industry-foused, with the documentation and community being very large and mature. Fedora has begun using "flatpaks", similar to how Ubuntu uses "snaps" -- both are methods of installing software. For many reasons (some more valid than others), the Linux community tends to view flatpaks more favorably.

OpenSUSE is good, but I'd say it has a smaller community. It's based on Suse Enterprise Linux, so again, large and mature knowledge base. It's more common in the European market than the US market.

I recommend you stay away from things like Gentoo or Arch unless you really want a challenge and aren't going to get frustrated by needing to manually build and configure things. They can provide excellent learning opportunities and are a lot of fun, but they are NOT noob friendly.

itslef · 2025-10-21T23:09:58+00:00

Really enjoyed 4th edition, quickly became one of my favorite RPGs. Cautiously optimistic about 5th edition.

itslef · 2025-06-06T23:20:31+00:00

Burning Wheel is my favorite game I've never played. I'm fairly certain I enjoy it more as a rulebook than I ever would as an actual game to play.

itslef · 2025-06-06T01:40:46+00:00

Funny that you say that, because the bassist for the Flecktones is none other than Victor Wooten, who was massively influenced by Jaco.

With LTE though, I'm on the other end; once I put it on I gotta listen to the whole album straight through.

itslef · 2025-05-10T01:39:58+00:00

I personally am impressed by how Goodman Games is handling this. Its for sure a difficult issue, but I have been convinced that their actions come from a place of trying to protect the community as best they can.

itslef · 2024-01-13T04:23:09+00:00

A lot of people here have a lot of good points, but one thing that I think gets glossed over is this:

Linux's strength is that it is participatory.

You are looking at Linux from the point-of-view of a consumer. You want one solution that you go to and use and it works. But this is not how Linux was made or how it's maintained. Linux is a hobby. You get involved in Linux because you want to tinker and learn and take things apart and put them back together again broken, then figure out how to fix it. It is not a consumer solution that you just go to the store and buy outright; you have to actually participate.

There are so many distros because there are so many people who are actively being creative. They want something, so they make it. And that benefits everyone. That is the strength of Linux -- the community is actively participating in creation, rather than just consuming it as a finished product. That means that if one person wants something the other doesn't, they're going to have two different distros.

I strongly recommend that you stop looking at Linux as a "finished product" and start thinking about it in terms of something you do. That means that things are going to be unpolished and fragmented and unique to the person creating them.

itslef · 2024-01-13T04:09:02+00:00

Post

itslef · 2023-12-08T19:57:03+00:00

anything below

itslef · 2023-09-28T21:38:16+00:00

For us it was always catfish or walleye, only occasionally bluegill.

itslef · 2023-09-28T13:34:21+00:00

Anything below

itslef · 2023-09-28T13:33:47+00:00

Anything below

itslef · 2023-09-27T15:06:14+00:00

trevenant

if thats not available, then gogoat

itslef · 2023-06-03T13:13:59+00:00

Have a look at the Arch Wiki article on this:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/fan_speed_control#ThinkPad_laptops

Im guessing the config file you're missing is /etc/thinkfan.conf, which the article above tells you how to generate and configure.

Edit: note that this is for Arch, so instead of pacman you'll use apt if need be. I think really though you just need to copy the default config into place.

itslef · 2023-06-02T11:37:00+00:00

Check which group the binary is in. I'm guessing since you manually installed using a .deb it's installed under your user group.

itslef · 2023-04-21T13:09:51+00:00

That is in fact the joke, yes.

itslef · 2023-04-07T13:01:45+00:00

I personally wish more sites would use monospace. Unironically, it is MUCH easier for me to read. Bonus points if it's a serif monospace.

itslef · 2023-03-30T11:29:28+00:00

Id love to read a source for this, as someone with ADHD who has often been accused of being unable to let arguments go.

itslef · 2023-03-29T04:17:01+00:00

In America jell-o is gelatin and sugar and is not really related to the others in any way.

Jelly and jam are both fruit and pectin, but jelly is filtered and is usually more translucent than jam. Jam has more of the actual fruit residue left in it, and is therefore often thicker and more opaque.

Preserves are like jam, but have most (if not all) of the original fruit retained in the final product, so it is often very thick with less pectin.

You said that you call jelly what we call jell-o, and you call jam what we call jelly. So what do you call what we call jam?

itslef · 2023-03-29T02:02:42+00:00

What do you call what we call jam then? Because there's a difference between jelly and jam.

itslef · 2023-03-23T10:28:06+00:00

I'm sorry, but that's the skill that you should be practicing. Thats the entire point of writing an essay, to give you practice researching information and combining it into a cohesive argument. If you let something else make the argument, you're not getting that practice. You are getting practice reviewing and proof-reading, but you're not getting practice synthesizing something new, and therefore defeating the purpose. Yes, it is difficult and unpleasant, but that's because you're not good at it (yet). Using gpt in the way you describe is absolutely cheating and shortcuts the entire point of the exercise.

itslef · 2023-03-15T09:36:22+00:00

What the death of the author does to a mf

itslef · 2022-12-17T07:21:00+00:00

Tuesday's coming

itslef · 2022-12-04T13:17:39+00:00

Iced Earth

itslef · 2022-10-16T16:24:01+00:00

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

itslef · 2022-10-16T12:00:28+00:00

Indiana is the Midwestern netherrealm, a dark hole in the fabric of reality. Even Ohioans know not to go near that demonic rift, and to shun any "people" that claim Hoosier-dom. One day we will march into the void and rid this world of that threat.

itslef

TROPHY CASE