Intended for users of all levels, including absolute beginners.
There are three ways to try Linux, you can:
1) Install a Linux OS on a VM (Virtual Machine/VirtualBox) for "safety purposes"
2) Use the Live ISO directly without installing anything, that way, you can get a "full Linux experience".
3) Go balls deep and overwrite everything with Linux (not recommended)
If you are serious about switching to Linux and if you have Windows dual-booted (recommended for pure newbies),
we recommend you use it exclusively for 2 weeks, and avoid Windows dual booting for that period of time, or it's
likely you will start retreating back to windows instead of getting used to GNU/Linux as your new home and working on
making it feel the way you want it.
>Recommended for beginners:
-Ubuntu MATE
-Debian (For Broadcom devices, use an ISO that includes non-free firmware)
-openSUSE
-LinuxMint (a.k.a Ubuntu LTS + Cinnamon)
Before asking, please find the answers to your questions in resources.
Please be civil, notice the "Friendly" in every Friendly Linux Thread.
Understand that much of your software from Windows will be unavailable, although maybe wine can make up for it.
Resources:
man <insert command here>
your friendly neighborhood search engine
https://www.codecademy.com/en/courses/learn-the-command-line
https://wiki.archlinux.org/
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/
What is Linux (or GNU/Linux for Stallmanists)?
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/GNU/Linux
Babby's First Linux (What distro to choose?)
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/Babbies_First_Linux
What software does /g/ recommend? (Please DON'T include the so called infographic -- refer all your recommended software here.)
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/List_of_recommended_GNU/Linux_software
Ricing on Linux (Make it good and functional or make it worse like those at desktop threads)
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/GNU/Linux_ricing
A script designed to ease the transition from Windows to Debian
https://gitgud.io/Chocolate-Chip-Computing/DebianNewbieScript
We now have an entry in the install Gentoo wiki!
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php//flt/
IRC No one uses:
irc://irc.freenode.org:+7000/FriendlyLinux
QUICK, post your system font. Mine is Roboto.
>>52221384
Comic Sans
Is Compton on Fedora kill? For some reason the copr rpm I was using (region51's) is no longer there.
>>52221472
https://copr.fedoraproject.org/coprs/knr/compton/
I think shits down man
>>52221472
I couldn't find compton on the debian repos too
>>52221503
>>52221472
>not using bleeding edge git
https://github.com/chjj/compton
What's the most customizable, meme distro for someone who actually does work (well, full time study) and doesn't want a time sink.
>>52221529
All linux distros are customizable
I'd use Xubuntu LTS for stability
>>52221506
They should be in there if you're using Jessie or newer.
>>52221503
>F21
>>52221526
I always like to use packages, but I guess there's no way around this one now.
>>52221552
Xubuntu isn't a meme, sorry anon.
I study with a bunch of people like you guys who will judge me on my distro, and as much as it pains me I do have to fit-in in order to relate to these autists.
>>52221529
The answer for the stable question is always Debian.
Also this: >>52221552
>>All linux distros are customizable
A distro is just the kernel, corelibs and different preinstalled shit. You can rice literally every distro.
>>52221588
Thanks, I realise now that the customizability of a distro is irrelevant. Still, what's the easiest meme distro to set up and get going without being looked upon by autists as a normie.
>>52221573
On debian you have "checkinstall" that should create kinda package after compiling. Google it.
>>52221573
https://copr.fedoraproject.org/coprs/gnikandrov/desktop-stuff/
it's in this pakage for later versions of fedoa
Why should I use linux for development IF Windows have as good or better tools, like Visual Studio?
>>52221612
Again, debian. The only insults you may get are about "too stable/old packages".
>meme
the developer just killed himself
>>52221612
well, your basic distros are ubuntu, debian, mint
openSUSE, fedora
>>52221663
Good point, RIP
>>52221663
Founder, not current developer ofc. Sorry.
>>52221669
Fedora looks pretty good desu, the name though...
It's like they want loonix users to be seen as autists, why not just call it blue hat or something.
>Uriel: RIP
>Steve: RIP
>Ian: RIP
>>52221719
Add
>Stallman: RIP
>Terry: RIP
>>52221707
Fedora is a hint to RedHat, some actual serious shit. But well, who could know that some years later the hat joke would appear.
>>52221739
Stallman will survive all of us.
>>52221739
>Terry?
That obscure TempleOS guy?
>>52221752
I realise the hint was to red hat, hence I said why not call it blue hat. The least they could do is rename it.
>>52221778
Sorry, didn't read while drinking. Also: Agreed.
>>52221805
Might just go with Debian, at least it's not ubuntu.
You know what really bugs me about linux?
~/.config/app/app.conf
~/.config/app.conf
~/app/app.rc
~/app/config
~/app.conf
~/.app.conf
~/.app.rc
~/.apprc
~/.App.rc
Is Fedora a good distribution?
>>52221888
Cheapo is better
>>52221887
This is what you get when you buy freedom: anarchy.
>>52221887
Don't forget the infamous:
/etc/app.conf
>>52221887
man ln
mkdir ~/.configs/$app.conf
>>52221930
Now this is really retarded.
>>52221622
I tried this, but Compton isn't in the F23 version sadly.
>>52221573
>>52221526
Also, it turns out that by default Fedora doesn't actually have the build dependencies for compiling Compton and at least 1 dependency isn't in the main repos.
Fuck.
>>52221969
Compton isnt the one and only. Try an alternative.
Xcompmgr, Compiz ...
>>52221887
told you
>>52221529
I know I personally hate huge general statements like this, and although I agree arch is a timesink OS, I believe it works for some people.
Bottom line is that you don't know.
If you act narrow minded and cynical on a subject like this, the arch users who arch is perfect for are going to get even more pissed off.
Why do you care about some "arch" user talks shit about you having ubuntu or fucking puppy linux.
The whole point of GNU/linux is that its supposed to be free and open. Everyone has the right to be able to decide and configure whatever distro they want, you cant call ubuntu shit because it is less configurable than arch, and you cant call arch shit for being "broken".
Scroll to the top of this page, /flt/?, right?
Thats what I fucking thought.
>>52221887
My solution:rc ()
{
case "$1" in
bash)
vim ~/.bashrc
;;
conky)
vim ~/.conkyrc
;;
mpv)
vim ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf
;;
vim)
vim ~/.vimrc
;;
*)
printf "Something happend.\n"
;;
esac
}
>> ~/.bashrc
>>52222090
I found the pic by googling timesink OS, I in no way believe in it xD
https://m.reddit.com/r/HomeServer/comments/3l0eo4/is_getting_a_gigabyte_brix_worth_it/
Install Gentoo
>>52222222
/flt/ GET?
I like the ease and stability of things like ubuntu and linux mint, but I run into problems a lot of the time with old software. youtube-dl has always been a pain in the dick because Youtube is constantly changing. But now I'm missing some newer features of wget, and mpv, and bluez. The simple but possibly reckless thing to do would be to just install the newer software manually. But aside from that, what are my options really? Do I have to go full rolling release mode?
>>52222090
>>>52221529
>I know I personally hate huge general statements like this, and although I agree arch is a timesink OS, I believe it works for some people.
>Bottom line is that you don't know.
>If you act narrow minded and cynical on a subject like this, the arch users who arch is perfect for are going to get even more pissed off.
>Why do you care about some "arch" user talks shit about you having ubuntu or fucking puppy linux.
>The whole point of GNU/linux is that its supposed to be free and open. Everyone has the right to be able to decide and configure whatever distro they want, you cant call ubuntu shit because it is less configurable than arch, and you cant call arch shit for being "broken".
>Scroll to the top of this page, /flt/?, right?
>Thats what I fucking thought.
GNU / Linux is absolutely about choice, it's just that some choices are better than others.
>>52222192
Use Manjaro, its installer is easy to use and your GPU drivers are configured upon install.
Some day people will accept their penis size and use the GNU/Linux distro they like.
i have i3 and 3 monitors
everything is working great, but i've decided that i want two screens to display the same workspace at all times while the other one can switch between workspaces
>>52222223
Legendary fail.
>>52222223
So close to septuples
>>52222219
Didn't they get some flak a while ago for security issues?
>>52221907
Cheapo?
Where's the most recent /g/ OS guide?
>>52222273
Yes, they advised users to set their system clock backwards by an entire week or so
>>52222414
Installgentoo.wikia.com
>>52222018
Compiz takes over my WM and makes it look like ass and xcompmgr screen tears, which is the reason I want Compton in the first place.
Fuck, I was sort of liking Fedora before this, too.
>>52222501
>xcompmgr
I dont have it installed, but does it have an --backend (or simliar) option? This could solve the tearing problem.
>>52222596
Not according to the help option or manpages. Looks like Compton added that.
Is there any actual reason not to do a Debian full install (or of any distro, opposed to minimal?)
>>52222812
Do you feel like wasting disk space on stuff you will never use?
>Yes.
Full install.
>No.
Minimal.
does anyone know of an mpd frontend or pulseaudio/JACK setup to adjust left-right channel balance? I have an external dac with no physical balance controls so alsamixer isn't an option.
>building DCSS from source because the Arch packages for it are weird
>it's taking ages for make to complete
>apparently, Gentoo people do this for everything
i'd kill myself out of boredom, to be quite honest
>>52223162
That's the joke
How can I render Japanese fonts better in Arch?
>>52223550
>How can I render Japanese fonts better in Arch?
Weeb problems
>>52223550
install noto-fonts-cjk
>>52223644
What do I do after? Japanese kanji characters still look very blurry in tint2 and other programs.
>>52223693
Did you restart those programs?
Post a screenshot
>>52223735
Yes, I even restarted my computer.
Hola, /flt/
I want to install linux. Seems simple enough, but here are the catches:
>Poorfag, only comp is a Macbook rich uncle gave to me for Christmas
>want to keep Macshit at least for now, don't want to dive in balls deep as I'm not as experienced in linux as I should be
>I have beginner-intermediate experience, worked with Xubuntu a little before
>I have a USB drive I bought back in 2011 or so, it's a 1TB Iomega Helium 2 storage drive.
What would be the best way to dual-boot, and with which distro?
>>52223804
How about Adobe Source Han sans?
adobe-source-han-sans-otc-fonts
https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/any/adobe-source-han-sans-otc-fonts/
Is there a tiling WM that has desktop environment features like Unity? I am trying i3 and I like it, but not having sound, internet, & power controls (among other things) kinda sucks and I dont want to spend a week configuring that shit.
>>52223834
Try Ubuntu and just run the live CD installer, it will run you through the dual boot process
There was a version of compiz, in the AUR, with its Window manager components stripped out leaving only its 3d effects
>>52223834
Why not just install linux in a VM, get your self ready in in, and then start thinking about dual boot?
>>52223904
Oh, it's working now. The problem was that I downloaded the fonts but didn't set my default font to them and was using too small a font size (size 8). I really want to use a small font though.
im using xmonad and want to use a de, something light.. lxqt or lxde? or something else? i mostly want it for managing settings
>>52223972
>>52224039
Thanks for the replies, but I don't think I was clear enough.
I need Mac OS for school, and don't want to risk partitioning it's internal disk for any reason. I was thinking that I could put the hard drive and swap partitions in the drive, then leave the rest for backing up my mac. Is this a good idea? Is there any distro that would work well with this probably unconventional setup?
Hey goys. My Gentoo install was working fine other than having no sound. So I installed a bunch of Alda shit and a bunch of pulseaudio shit (the libs,utils,and tools for them) and now it won't boot to graphical environment.
It lets me decrypt and systemd gets going, then it reaches eitherstarted restore sound card state
Orreaches target graphical environment
At moment it reaches the latter and then hangs at the former.
I can ctrl-alt-f2 into a minimal cli and I'm messing around to try and fix it.
I also installed libimobile device and gtkpod and ifuse before enabling the android, ios, pulseaudio, and alsa USE flags and emerging @world. I'm concerned that might have done it too, though I can't imagine why it would break my DE.
I use LXDE BTW.
How do you open the terminal in the architect uefi installer?
>>52225042
Like I keep trying to use arch as my first distro AMD I got tired of not getting anything to work AMD tried Ubuntu and hated it.
So now I'm trying to install with architect and JTS goingmount: mount point /mnt/etc/resolved.conf does not exist
==>ERROR: failed to setup resolved.conf
>>52225093
Mount point means the thing getting mounted to. Can you just do mkdir and try again?
>>52225093
>he couldn't figure out arch
you must be this tall to ride
>>52225130
Sometimes a distro just fucks someone's shit up.
The wiki linked in OP said Gentoo would take 24 hours rushing if I was a NEET, which I was at the time.
Took me 15 fucking days to get it to boot into a usable DE, and that was after working like 14-hour days on it. Kernel panics everywhere. It was a massacre.
Now I went into that install as a newfag, which probably explains why it took so long, but I maintain I ran into more unforeseen issues than average.
i think i understand at this point why jumping right into arch from nothing isn't really recommended. took me all of last night to even get the OS installed and most of today to get awesome at least half-way working. right now working on getting my audio server to work correctly. i'm completely over my head but it's actually pretty cool, and i'm getting at least a vague idea at this point of how a lot of things work at a lower-than-GUI level that i had never really considered.
i could have just installed ubuntu and been done like 20 hours ago though.
>>52221588
Don't forget the package manager. It's about the only thing that actually differs a lot between different distros.
>>52225343
to-do list:
>get sound server working
>unfuck Xresources
>some point likely far in the future: figure out how to daemonize urxvt to create a widget managing redshift
>>52225011
UPDATE:
I did startx manually from the cli. The error I get isno screens found
I don't get this. It worked perfectly fine when I first installed LXDE. Now it's fucking with me.
>>52225380
>having a to-do list
hello me
>>figure out how to daemonize urxvt to create a widget managing redshift
wat?
Redshift already runs as a daemon, more or less. That is, it runs continuously. If you want to quickly set it to the right temp, "redshift -o" is how to do it in a one shot.
For my setup, I just put redshift into my xinitrc, and it works fine. If you need to pause it, put redshift -x. Restarting it, use redshift or redshift -o. You might need to kill redshift to get it to behave right, so "killall redshift" is useful.
>>52225436
Oh yeah, lspci-k says it's using the same kernel driver it always has, so I don't think it's a kernel issue.
Tried out openSUSE Leap. I like it, but why does it want to be a special snowflake?
>sudo works like su
>emacs uses a custom init file
>kde uses weird defaults
>Firewall is somehow more restrictive than Fedora's default
Any other things I'm missing?
Off-topic, but what is with ccd0's 4chan-X's Inline Quoting being broken on new Firefox installs?
>>52225011
>>52225446
>>52225436
>>52225011
Fixed it. In my touchpad's x11 configuration I allowed horizontal scrolling. My touchpad does not support horizontal scrolling.
What a fucking stupid error. At least now I can vertically edge scroll.
>>52225442
ironically, i actually just figured this out inadvertently when i closed the terminal i'd been running redshift in by mistake
guess that makes my eventual first widget a lot simpler
>decide to build dsf support into mpd
>huh, weird, doesn't work on pulseaudio
>works on alsa, though
>occasionally play some games in wine without music but with voices and mpd in background, want to make this setup workable for alsa and dsf too
>spend hours setting up ALSA and Pulseaudio to allow for it
>finally works
>dsf refuses to play with dmix now
>literally everything I just did was completely useless
>>52225610
also, struggling to envision a scenario where it wouldn't be annoying to have to manually turn on redshift every time i boot. maybe if it's just a keystroke. guess i might as well toss it in the xinitrc in the meantime. thanks for the suggestion
Is anyone using the Ubuntu daily build? Could they post a video of how the new compositing looks?
>transmission works perfectly on my pc
>but rtorrent freezes at 8 torrents
explain this shit
EXPLAIN THIS BULLSHIT
> Installed Gentoo on my laptop
> LXDE
> Got most things working
> No Volume control to speak of
> No brightness control to speak of
> Laptop does not lock when it sleeps/is closed
Why, why, why, why? I've got light-locker installed.
>>52221384
dejavu sans
Total beginner here, when I go to Linux Mint driver menu it only shows me graphics card drivers,What do I do?theres no cancel or back function, I can only install different graphics card drivers.
>>52221888
Use centOS unless you absolutely need some bleeding packages
>>52224769
you could run something super lightweight like puppy linux from a USB perhaps?
>>52225844
Probably forgot to include the right kernel modules with it being gentoo
>>52224390
just test them out. i like xfce.
>>52224769
all distros with non-free drivers will work. (every distro can be used with non-free drivers except for the fsf recommendations)
>>52225992
Just learned about something called Tuxonice for suspending/hibernating behavior. I never had to patch that shit on the "just werks" distros I used to run on this laptop but I guess I'll look into it.
I fucking pray that I don't need to configure the kernel more to control the volume; I'm so fucking sick of digging through it. It says my audio card is loading a kernel driver, once which seems appropriate, so I don't think that's it anymore.
how do i stop my cursor from going to other monitors in a multi monitor setup? i want it to act like a single monitor so it stays on the edge instead of going to another monitor
using i3 wm
>>52226064
Remember that pulseaudio works on top of alsa, so you'll need working alsa before pulse starts to do anything for you too.
what line determines color of the bar showing if you're in horizontal/vertical split mode in i3?
Sorry to ask shitty frustrating questions. I've got a notebook I rarely use that I can completely switch over to Linux. I mainly want to get experience with using a terminal and shell scripting, a desktop environment isn't needed and I would just be using it to mess around and do my programming when I'm away from home. Going by the chart, fuduntu seemed like a good choice but apparently it's dead. Would Fedora be alright? Again, apologies, but I'm confused as fuck.
>>52226380
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/Babbies_First_Linux
debian testing is breddy gud but it's your choice.
My friend used to tell me to use Crunchbang but apparently it's dead now and people are making forks?
>>52226467
bunsenlabs
>>52226367
nm figured it out
>>52226489
Bunsen is shit. CB++ superior
>>52226518
If CB++ is superior then http://crunchbang.org would redirect to CB++ instead of Bunsen :^)
>>52226538
No.
Bunsen is literally four dicksucking retard mods that screamed down any and all discussion in the forums and disgusted the userbase away. These retards couldn't even get a live cd up.
Monara or CB++ are the actual successors to what #! was.
>>52226580
http://crunchbang.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=40737
LONG LIVE BUNSENLABS! DEATH TO IMPOSTORS!
--corenomial, Head of #!
>>52221314
>>52207316
>>52207344
I'm still running 13 because of the lower system requirements, I've got a Toshiba Satellite M55-S135 (http://support.toshiba.com/support/staticContentDetail?contentId=1057464&isFromTOCLink=false).
>>52226749
the system requirements depend almost entirely on your desktop environment. get something lightweight like lxde or just openbox and you can use newer software.
Using Ubuntu to get started w/ Linux. Decided to switch DEs to Gnome and as part of the process switched from lightDM to gdm. I cannot get gdm to work. It just boots first into fsck which hangs, I had to manually enter the terminal and then dpkg-reconfigure gdm and go back to lightDM to get it to work.
Any suggestions? I'm on Wily which I'm suspecting is the cause of the issue. I haven't done anything major on this system, would you recommend just starting fresh w/ Debian or something else?
>>52226832
Start over, fixing it is not worth it if you just installed it. Use Debian, you can choose DEs in the installer.
>>52226941
Switching to lightDM makes it work but I'm wary that something is fucked up underneath. Gonna switch to Fedora or Debian after class tomorrow (have to use emacs in this class I'm in and don't have time to do a fresh install beforehand)
>>52223834
>yfw OS X is POSIX
>OS X is more UNIX than LINUX
>OS X is more LINUX than LINUX itself
just use OS X. It's the only Linux distro that's done right.
>>52226999
it's BSD.
>>52227024
then you agree
>>52226999
>OS X is more LINUX than LINUX itself
10/10
>not recommending plain Ubuntu
>not recommending Xubuntu
>not recommending Manjaro
>>52227160
Antergosfags in 3...2...1...
>>52227160
Thats what bothers you?
No one will speak up about Debian recommendations to noob?
Do people realize how much demanding it is in its initial confing?
Fuck last time I tried I remember I needed to add %wheel group in sudoers, and not just uncommen it but write it all up there
and lets not even start that without sites that generate source list I would be fucked.
This is what we get when your favorite distro feelings overtake common sense
Seriously - STOP RECOMMENDING DEBIAN TO NOOBS YOU FANATIC FUCKS
Since spoiler tag is not supported...
-How to get into linux?
-Best Distro?
-Dual Boot?
My cousin has linus he said he had some version based on debian or something, I liked it, but there were some features I can't remember right now that I disliked.
>>52227246
Also if some windows user were to switch to linus which of the distros would be the most friendly?
>>52227246
>How to get into linux?
you start to use it
>Best Distro?
Generally speaking - Arch linux
but taste and priorities vary
>Dual Boot
sure, most people would not try linux without ability to dual boot
>>52227271
>sure, most people would not try linux without ability to dual boot
I meant to ask what is dual boot and the risks and shit
>you start to use it
k
>Generally speaking - Arch linux
why?
>>52227259
Linux Mint with Cinnamon Desktop
>>52227293
I don't mind not having the interface for windows, tough the download manager ( apparently you guys have a app/program downloader, instead of downloading a .exe and installing it like in windows )
>>52227289
>I meant to ask what is dual boot and the risks and shit
its ability to choose at the start of the PC to go in to windows or linux
google it, theres dozens of yotuube video guiding you through
>why?
its not for noobs thats just warning
- because its bleeding edge, shit is fresh as it gets everything is new and latest version
- because it has AUR, when on linux you install software from whats called repositories. You dont just download exe and run it like on windows. And AUR is single place for Arch where you find most of the software ever created on linux. Its not very safe to use because to get this ease and comftort it means that no one is checking that stuff, but its sure is the best thing to have
- because its very customizable with installation process where you go through much details and choose what you want and how, its kinda like building own PC vs prebuild,
- because its community is active and has the best documentation, no matter what you will use when you google shit out you will find yourself on arch wiki
You might want to give it a try after 3 months on some noob friendly distro.
>>52227312
yeah, it's called package manager. it can be used from the commandline (which is useful) or with a GUI. mint has a nice gui for apt (the package manager in debian based distros)
mint screenshots: http://www.linuxmint.com/screenshots.php
don't install something user centric as your first distro. (arch, gentoo, slackware, crux...)
>>52227220
Hell, what bothers me is the fact they recommend openSUSE in any form what-so-ever. It has some neat windows-like features, but it decides to do a lot of things differently. You need to explain why you cannot use KDE Connect without tinkering, or why plymouth doesn't play nice with sddm, or why it likes to show you a tty instead of plymouth while shutting down. Hell, configuring emacs is confusing, because they chainload 3 files from their default .emacs, and not using that is a big no-no. Because of this, and things like this, openSUSE does things too differently to be used
as a beginner distro.
Seriously - STOP RECOMMENDING OPENSUSE TO NOOBS YOU FANATIC FUCKS
>>52227220
That's true. Even today I still can't use Debian properly in daily usage, recommending for a noob is ridiculous.
Every time I see this thread I see Debian and fucking OpenSuse recommended. Seriously, what the fuck?
Not to mention that OpenSuse, something that also requires initial thinking and is arguably harder because it's not debian based.
It's much easier for a noob to find solution for something for a debian based distro than for others as most of the time ubuntu/mint/debian share the same solutions.
STICKY THIS SHIT
>>52227348
>You might want to give it a try after 3 months on some noob friendly distro.
like which ones?
>>52227348
>its not for noobs thats just warning
I am not a big noob on windows, but I guess.. it's windows..
>- Its not very safe to use because to get this ease and comftort it means that no one is checking that stuff, but its sure is the best thing to have
Which means? that I can get viruses? (probably not) Exactly what do you mean not very safe?
>>52227391
You can get botneted if you use some weird packages, such as Chrome.
>>52227408
somehow I feel like you are lying.
>>52227372
nigger what?
openSUSE is seriusly one of the most hand holding distro I ever used and install is flawless (I have not tried leap or KDE5 though)
and thanks to Yast the shit like setting up SAMBA was all through GUI interface and it worked 100% (unlike my latter attempts on arch with configs to my great shame :[, they work but not 100%)
It does feel weird but it is noob friendly
Fuck you, SUSE shill.
-Red Hat Employee
>>52227289
Not him.
>dual boot
The ability to boot either into Windows or Linux after reboot. Basically, you have two systems that coexist on your hard drive, with the ability to use either whenever you want, with the caveat of needing to reboot for that.
>arch linux
Not a beginner distro, but really popular for power users and works really well when configured well.
Main principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid. Basically, they pick some simple solution and stick with it, you will have to learn to work with it (the solution is simple from a design perspective, not necessarily simple for you), but hopefully it won't become a mess of abstractions and weird caveats that way, which is kind of a big problem in software world.
Also pretty unstable in general, keeps only one version of every program in the package manager. Well, two, one for stable, another for unstable. And even stable is pretty unstable.
>>52227348
Note that technically pretty much every single distro has repository, AUR is just one of the most developed, with the greatest number of programs in it, due to its lax regulations on adding software.
Even on Arch there is also core repository which has much better maintenance, for important soft which better not break... often.
>>52227312
Yes, it's really handy. No viruses confirmed, downloading from a trusted source, automatic install and keeps all the packages you installed with it in a database, with an ability to easily delete or reinstall them, also knows about dependencies and installs them automatically. Use package manager whenever possible, it's really handy and beneficial.
>>52227391
>like which ones?
like the mother fucking Mint already recommend
>I am not a big noob on windows, but I guess.. it's windows..
you will need some terminology and general feel introduction
while you in mint, learn virtualbox and how to use it and setup
its easy, trivial
then you can try arch install in virtualbox any day
>Which means? that I can get viruses? (probably not) Exactly what do you mean not very safe?
its just something we need to tell people
if you make package that will delete your whole home directory
you can actually upload it there and have it there, and tell people to get it
nothing will stop you from that initially
until you get reported and the package is taken down
but the point is that no one is doing some initial check except the guy who put it there
but its still best and when you see package with 100 votes you know shit is fine to use
>>52221314
>2016
>virtualbox
>sucking Oracle's dick.
Starting the year off right, and besides Qemu + KVM doesn't even exist or anything.
>>52227416
isnt everything proprietary a pain in the ass on suse?
>>52227416
That's not the problem. Recommending openSUSE as a Linux distro for beginners is like recommending OSX as a BSD distro for beginners. It changes things so much that what skills you retain aren't skills you can use for other linux distros.
>be 12
>friend installs Mandrake on my PC
>"wow this is so cool, but so complicated"
>use it for a while, fallback to using Win2K because muh games
>install Ubuntu on VirtaulBox today
Wow, I have to say I'm honestly impressed with how far it has gone. This is actually easier than setting up Win8.1.
>>52227461
not that I noticed, was on like 3 months
>>52227467
so your complain about linux distro for beginners is that its too beginer friendly?
>>52227391
There are no viruses on Linux, pretty much. Not enough people on it for people to care. So, no need for an antivirus either.
Those few viruses that are there generally get stopped by root-user system. Basically, you need to be an admin to do anything really bad on your system (like uninstall a program or format everything, user data access mostly doesn't require anything like that), and you just don't use an admin account for most of your tasks. You mostly just use a command to grant yourself admin privileges for one-off Important Tasks, and these require a password. Keeps you from screwing with anything important without knowing it (it will immediately ask for a password) and also keeps malicious programs from being able to actually do anything important.
Hey, been a long time user of mint but switching to ubuntu because Im tired of using ubuntu but not quite. I really dislike how ubuntu looks, and I'd rather use a less bloated interface. I've never used a tiling manager so I'm considering that, but what I want to know is if I can easily switch between different frontends, and if someone can give me some recommendations.
I usually spend all my time in vim anyways so I dont care about ricing at all.
Also, should I get 15.04 or 14.04?
>>52227493
No, his point is that if you'll have to relearn a lot of stuff if you want to change to another distro only because OpenSuse tries to do things in a much different way.
Not saying that the distribution is bad, because it's really good, but not for a beginner who knows shit about linux and will one day run into problems which could be fixed the same way for debian/*buntu/mint and many others, but in a special way for OpenSuse.
>>52227475
If you want "wow this is so cool, but so complicated" install Gentoo or Arch. But then again, these distros specifically promote themselvses as "you better know what you're stepping into" distros.
Ubuntu is really easy to install, and I think VirtualBox makes it even easier, since you don't have to worry about hardware, LiveCDs and partition formatting.
>>52227562
If you're not going to use the LTS, then stick with the latest version, 15.10.
Also, what's the problem with the interface? You can easily hide the sidebar and you´re only forced keep the really small sized top bar.
Pic related. What's bloated about that interface?
>>52227493
No. I used a bad analogy. What I mean is that it's too different. You cannot use openSUSE and retain skills useful to other distros, or even a headless version of openSUSE without some tricks. Your samba example is a good one with that. There are some needed config options to get samba working well in any environment. You will probably never know what that option is.
>>52227571 sums up my point well
I'm running openSUSE leap by the way. Pic related
>>52227584
Gentoo and Arch are for NEETs and hobbyists. Anyone who says otherwise is in denial.
>>52227624
>>52227571
>>52227467
Kinda curious now. Running Gentoo, what exactly does OpenSUSE does so differently?
>>52227453
Does Windows 9x family work well on that stack? Would be good wiping Oracle off my systems
>>52227452
>like the mother fucking Mint already recommend
Let's say I want to go a little step further because this distro looks like shit what do you recommend?
>>52227441
>Also pretty unstable in general
So if arch is really unstable why do people use it a lot and recommend it? to fuck around with it?
>Yes, it's really handy. No viruses confirmed, downloading from a trusted source, automatic install and keeps all the packages you installed with it in a database, with an ability to easily delete or reinstall them, also knows about dependencies and installs them automatically. Use package manager whenever possible, it's really handy and beneficial.
I'll probably get used to it, what I couldn't get used to it was the fullscreen mode it made when I watched youtube or when i mistakenly "made the browser" fullscreen mode didn't knew how to undo it, besides alt+tab opening a new instance of the program and closing every browser.
>>52227584
Oh yeah, I forgot, I did briefly use Arch with OpenBox. I think I'll just stick with diddling Ubuntu over VirtualBox for now. Now I was just impressed how simple and fast the whole process of setting up a computer has gotten.
I think I'll just stay with VirtualBox and Ubuntu for now, until I feel like I know what I'm doing again.
>>52227650
SUSE is hipster Red Hat, they use RPM but refuse to use dnf.
>>52227650
A lot of things. Here's a small list:
>Yast is like Windows Control Panel on steroids. It makes EVERYTHING ridiculously easier.
>You can install software in 3 ways, through a repo's website (Windows-Like), through yast (Mac-Like) or though zypper (Linux-Like)
>They do a lot of things to make them stand out (See >>52227416 >>52227368 and >>52225538 for ideas)
>Easy to make auto-install files
The list goes on.
The things that they try to make them stand out can be a good thing (like their version of firefox they use for KDE) or bad (like their default firewall config). It's a good distro if you can spot differences and adapt to them.
>>52227614
That looks pretty nice actually. Part of the reason why I want a simple and bloat free interface is that I use two chinese display link USB to DVI dongles as well as a HDMI to VGA converter to drive three monitors at uni. This is a pain to set up on mint through a very unreliable process more akin to some arcane ritual, so I figured the simpler the better.
>>52227752
Ubuntu having a bloated interface is just a meme for spergs who can't into hide the sidebar. The top bar is so small that it only makes difference if you're in a shitty 1366x768 laptop screen.
>>52222115
thats awesome!
https://elementary.io/
any good for beginner?
>>52227683
It's not like it breaks any other week. It's just unstable relative to other distributions, and it's expected from an Arch user that if something breaks, they will be knowledgable enough to figure out what happened, but its rolling release and "only the last version, no patches either" makes it inherently more unstable. And overall, well configured, it's actually pretty easy to use.
But if I were to actually answer your question, the answer would be "yes".
Source: didn't actually run it, but my neighbor in a dorm does.
>>52227825
No.
>>52227858
why
This just happened. (I am using Xubuntu)
I deleted my name in "About me" and now "About me" crashes every time I try to run it.
I deleted the name because I didn't want it to show in my whisker menu alongside profile avatar.
How do I fix this back to normal?
>>52227793
With bloated I didnt mean the user experience, I meant under the hood. The gist is I think maybe it would crash less if it was simpler. Note the reason it crashes is displaylink, not bad code on the interface side. I guess bloat is the wrong word with its negative connotations, complexity was what I wanted to convey.
>>52227875
Everything is a file, find it and add your name back in.
Guys, I learned the hard way you shouldn't try to install two DEs. I messed my Debian install.
Its mostly working now, but I cannot open the gnome-terminal. If I try to open it through the default menu, it just won't load. If I try to run it from XTerm, I get the following error:
"Gtk-Message: Failed to load module "pantheon-filechooser-module"
Error constructing proxy for org.gnome.Terminal:/org/gnome/Terminal/Factory0: The connection is closed"
Its probably trying to call Pantheon for something, despite that I have already uninstalled it. Reinstalling the terminal doesn't do anything. Not sure if related, but screenfetch on XTerm doesn't detect my WM, GTK and Icon themes. What can I do?
>>52227971
I always forget that golden rule of files but I am unable to find it. Crash only points me to /usr/bin/mugshot and inside is#!/usr/bin/python3
# -*- Mode: Python; coding: utf-8; indent-tabs-mode: nil; tab-width: 4 -*-
# Mugshot - Lightweight user configuration utility
# Copyright (C) 2013-2014 Sean Davis <[email protected]>
#
# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
# under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
# (at your option) any later version.
#
# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
# WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranties of
# MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
# PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
# with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
import locale
locale.textdomain('mugshot')
import sys
import os
import gi
gi.require_version('Gtk', '3.0')
# Get project root directory (enable symlink and trunk execution)
PROJECT_ROOT_DIRECTORY = os.path.abspath(
os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(sys.argv[0]))))
# Add project root directory to python search path
sys.path.append(PROJECT_ROOT_DIRECTORY)
import mugshot
mugshot.main()
What If I want to uninstall the current linux distro from the partition I made? how would I go about that? just delete the partition?
>>52228088
Do you want to install another Linux there, or just to wipe off every sign of Linux off the hard disk?
>>52228126
Let's say I want to learn how to do both
>>52228135
It kinda depends on your partition layout.
There is a often a separate /boot partition where the kernel is, and there might also be your bootloader there too, unless you have a dedicated UEFI partition, in which case the bootloader stays there.
There is often a swap partition too, for holding contents of RAM when it's needed. unless you're just using swap files somewhere on /.
If you just delete /, then Linux would either not boot up at all if you keep kernel on the same partition, or boot up into a black screen otherwise. Technically counts as "uninstalling Linux", but all these other partition might remain and be technically there, so you have to check if they're there, and if you want them around.
I'm pretty sure it's technically possible to format / without touching /boot or bootloader, install another system in there, and then boot up into it as if nothing happened too. Though most installation would probably overwrite the kernel with their own, and the kernel itself might not have some necessary patches.
TL;DR yes, you can, just make sure to do it for every partition Linux created.
>>52221580
I know I am late to reply but I am really disappointed with you.
>I study with a bunch of people like you guys who will judge me on my distro
Not being able to justify your choice is a big sign of incompetence, hence you are looking for "meme" distros to fit in with autists
I use Xubuntu LTS and I can justify my choice, Xubuntu LTS is objectively a better choice than Arch if
>You have a job or study full-time
>Don't dual boot, have no other machine, use GNU/Linux exclusively
>Cannot afford the risk of breaking the system because of un-reviewed updates/pkgbuilds
>Don't have the time to read your mailing list every fucking time there is an update (aka babysit your OS)
Archfags (apart from the newbie archbabbies) are tolerant to these arguments.
Furthermore for official/academic tasks, Xubuntu is a superior choice. Ease of Screen/Bluetooth sharing support is a big plus (from my experience)
In defence of Arch:
>Arch is minimal but you end up installing the same things in the long run
>Although pacman and the godly wiki is one of the things that makes Arch better. Apt is shit
>Ubuntu community is full of retarded indians and the wiki is a joke
>AUR is massive, but also the source of "Arch is unstable meme"
Gentoo/Slackware are garbage. Gentoo is not practical, Slackware's package management is inconvenient. They are best described as "Toy/Guineapig OS".
Debian is also a better choice.
Mint is alright but I would not take my chances on this. Fedora is an rpm based distro and is not for your desktop use. Arch is a better option than fedora.
>>52228240
Yeah...
you lost me..
Don't understand much..
don't really understand dual booting neither, but that's because I haven't sleep probably.
as of right now, the tutorial I am seeing tells me to make a partition and than 2 other partitions inside that partition when in linux mint one that is a swap and the other one something else...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxepmtjmilQ
Here is the tut I am watching
>>52228255
Yeah this is nice post. I use Xubuntu exclusively because of work. I am not hating Archfags I personally would like if I had time to play with linux more but I can't because I am poorfag and need to work for actual money.
But what I do hate is Fedora,a pure testing ground for red hat.People using that unstable horror are literally guinea pigs.
>>52228255
When will people learn that distros, for the most part, are exactly that same? The only difference is the default DE and packages
>>52228316
gNO
>>52228269
Oh, sorry.
>>52228240
>TL;DR yes, you can just delete partition and it will be gone, just make sure to do it for every partition Linux created.
Pretty much this, I guess.
You can technically not delete them, but they will take up space uselessly, and might give you nonworking options in bootloader.
The last time I tried linux (xubuntu, about a year ago) the version of skype available didn't work for me. I need skype available for tedious reasons. I've tried to get the people I need to communicate with to switch to google hangouts or that thing in the firefox, but they refuse.
Is there a more recent version of skype available for linux these days, or a compatible alternative?
>>52228316
>that distros, for the most part, are exactly that same
No
Pre-installed distro and a "minimal" distro has a lot of differences.
Arch is a rolling release, Xubuntu LTS is not
Arch has a better package management utility, ubuntu does not
Arch wiki is decent, ubunu's is a garbage
Arch will not spoonfeed you with absolutely necessary features (Android file exploring, Screen sharing etc)
Arch updates are insane, breaking Arch is very easy
Arch is the absolute best choice as a secondary system. There can be no valid argument over this.
>>52228376
I am using skype on xubuntu for a year now.Update yourself before you shitpost.
>>52228376
you can use skype with a browser these days (probably)
>>52228412
Yeah this is true also. You can use skype via outlook mail.
>>52228412
On Linux there are no video calls and old-style group chats.
>>52221314
I can't pick between Mint and Ubuntu for my Babby's First Linux, although either way I'll probably be moving to Arch in a year or two. Any tips? Or anything I should know about Mint or Ubuntu?
>>52228447
I'd consider one of the non-unity variants of ubuntu (e.g. kubuntu, xubuntu, ...) instead of regular ubuntu.
>>52228447
Mint is alright.
>>52228461
I don't know much about the different environments, is there any general info I should have on them? I hear that /g/'s got something against Unity.
>>52228473
Coming from windows, I found unity much less intuitive than gnome, kde and xfce. Ultimately YMMV.
>>52228473
/g/ doesn't like Unity for the same reasons it doesn't like Windows 10. Unity sells your data to Amazon.
Any non-Unity Ubuntu is fine.
>>52228506
>Unity sells your data to Amazon.
I thought they stopped that?
>>52228473
Unity:
>Resource hungry
>Uses Mir (X-org replacement)
>Spyware by default (Sends search query to amazon)
>Devs isolate themselves from mainstream DEs
Cinnamon:
>Resource hungy (not as much as unity/KDE)
>Actually is nice, it's getting better
>Less customizable than Xfce
Xfce:
>Can run on a very low system specs
>Highly modular and customizable
>Unless preconfigured, is a timesink
LXQt/LXDE/KDE/GNOME
>memes
MATE
>Everything GNOME should stayed with
Tiling WM
>Severe memes
Best option:
1. Xfce/ MATE
2. Cinnamon
>>52228530
Thanks anon, I'll screenshot that for later.
Since I didn't had time to bother with the dumb dual boot tutorial, I started it up normally with my USB.
Now there is things that I want to know:
-Can you remove mouse acceleration?
-Why is there no chrome on the software manager?
-How do I open task manager?
-Why is the scrolling so slow?
Just In case I am using linux mint, and man 4chan is shit without 4Chan x plugin
>>52228548
I wouldn't bother, it's completely biased bullshit.
>>52228530
>memes
>How to spot a useless spot in one easy step!
>>52228550
>-Can you remove mouse acceleration?
yes, if not through gui settings manager then through xorg conf fine, check arch wiki for mouse acceleration
>-Why is there no chrome on the software manager?
Because it's proprietary most probably
>-How do I open task manager?
Press the icon?
??
>-Why is the scrolling so slow?
??
>>52228395
I'm tempted to ask this to the stupid questions thread...
I've got a currently blank external 1TB drive, with it I want to the following:
1) Backup all my current files to it (the shit currently on the windows machine).
2) Encrypt the drive.
3) Install Mint onto it, configured somehow to be able to boot on pretty much any computer I want (I plan to carry the drive with me most of the time).
What I'm asking is the following:
1) Any tips?
2) Is there any order that I must do the above steps in?
>>52228626
Do you have problems in reading through a thread before memeposting?
>>52227680
Actually if you want GPU passthrough it's your best bet. I mean there's also Xen, but it's a bit more trouble to setup, and doesn't work nearly as good.
>>52228643
mad, archfaggot? ;^)
>>52228550
what the freck
Just reduce any partition on your hdd, leaving about 30 GB unassigned. Then on install choose "automatically format free space" or "install together with my current os", it's the same thing. The end, it will install correctly.
Don't use liveUSB permanently, it's a bad idea.
Also, stop using chrome. It's cancer. Go to the Chromium website and follow instructions there (if there isn't mint instructions, follow the Ubuntu ones, they should work as well).
There is no task manager, you want the system monitor. look for it in the main menu.
Slow scrolling is prolly because you're running the OS on a usb stick or your laptop sucks. The problem should go away once you install the OS properly.
>>52228548
Just use GNOME.
>>52228595
>Press the icon?
exactly what do you mean? what icon...
>Why is the scrolling so slow?
I believe is because of smooth scroll probably, but it does feel slower.
>Because it's proprietary most probably
But um.. my cousin got chrome on his.. what
>>52228696
How old are you?
>>52228696
I don't know how to deal with your kind of stupidity
>>52228717
>arch user
>not (man)child pretending to be haxx0r
This is 18+ website
>>52228743
>This is 18+ website
Close your browser then
>>52228743
>this is 18+ website
>implying moot is 18 when he make 4chan
>implying 80% of 4chan users are not 15 year olds
>>52228756
>no u xDDD
Go away child.
>>52222955
pavucontrol
>>52228770
God these teenagers are disgusting
>>52223959
tint2 for the basic things
>>52228715
Chromium is free, Chrome is proprietary. Chrome is based on Chromium.
Proprietary software often is not in default repositories. Search for Chromium or try to find a PPA (unofficial repository) with Chrome. Could also try just downloading Chrome deb package from website and using it.
>>52228626
>>52228743
>>52228770
It's getting past bed time, junior
>>52224298
WenQuanYi Bitmap Song works perfect for me.
>>52228768
They probably are, but it's just considered if you are stupid enough to actually admit to being underage, you deserve your ban anyway just for stupidity.
So, technically completely 4chan.
>>52225805
I have this problem too.
>>52228836
I'm old enough to had a Packard Bell, anon.
>>52228889
>I'm old enough to had
>to had
sure, anon.
>>52228905
Wait, wasn't that true grammar-wise? I'm not an American so I never listened to them, I still don't.
>>52228573
I find it quite accurate really. LXDE is nice for 10+ year old pc's tho.
>>52221314
>>>Recommended for beginners:
>-Ubuntu MATE
>-Debian (For Broadcom devices, use an ISO that includes non-free firmware)
neo /g/ - ENEMY OF YOUR FREEDOM
>>52228974
>ENEMY OF YOUR FREEDOM
Don't make fun of RMS. If you cared about your freedom you wouldn't have owned a
-mobile phone
-a car
-a credit car
-a TV
>>52228974
fuck off, tc420.
>>52229014
card*
>>52228974
>>52229014
you wouldn't have owned a computer, though. because computers are proprietary because they have no GNU prefix.
>>52229014
>>52229042
Free hardware when.
>>52221314
>>52228974
Agreed.
I started with Ubuntu, but that was nearly 8 years ago now. Ubuntu is not a good choice anymore. And I had to install non-free broadcom firmware in Ubuntu, too. But I did it manually.
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/ubuntu-spyware.en.html
Use debian + MATE. Sure, the founder killed himself a few days ago, but it's still a great distro, and he wasn't in charge of the project anymore anyway.
>>52229042
>>52229014
Educate yourself before posting, thanks.
>>52228809
thanks
>>52229055
Explain
>>52229049
There's no such thing as free hardware. Because they have no GNU prefix. And FSF states that every free hardware must have a GNU prefix. Such as GNU Intel, GNU AMD or GNU ARM.
>>52229071
>>>/gnu/trash/
>>52229064
I don't know what to say to something THIS stupid, I think you should simply consider suicide.
>>52229071
>>52229142
Confirmed samefag
>>52228821
So why are you here then?
>>52228630
How fast is the external drive? Does it use usb 3? There should be a guide on dm-crypt and LUKS on the arch wiki.
Why can't I move anything to the user/share/themes folder in ubuntu? I think it's because of permission.. but I am the only "user" and I should be the admin, shouldnt a window pop up letting me allowed it to move the folder at the very least? or... how should I go about this?
