this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2026
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Distro recommendations and the right questions to ask (lemmy.ml)
submitted 4 days ago by GaumBeist@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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A lot of distro recommendation threads focus on the questions that novices think are important, but leave out the questions people would have after experiencing the differences (things that distro-hoppers might ask). As such, answers vary between "use _____, I found it very user friendly" and "use whatever, you can turn any distro into any other, and tweak it to your needs."

What are some questions that newbies should ask when deciding on which distro to use as the basis for their system. Things like "what package manager suits my needs and how do I try out different ones without changing distros?" Or "what is a desktop environment/window manager, and how do I figure out which suits me?" Or "how does an init system affect my user experience as a newbie?" Or "how what are the choices made by such-and-such distro during install?"

Bonus points for also answering the questions you propose (I don't have answers, picked a distro and stuck with it)

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[–] First_Thunder@lemmy.zip 18 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I’d say picking a desktop environment is the most important question you should make. Then, after that, pick a rolling release or something with a short release schedule (Fedora for example), because for most people, LTS doesn’t matter, and you’ll have a worse experience having old packages.

https://distrofighter.com/ A dumb but fun way to pick both

[–] BartyDeCanter@piefed.social 10 points 3 days ago

This is it exactly. For a typical new user the things that make them bounce are, in order:

  1. The difficulty of writing a bootable USB stick and partitioning their drive for installation.
  2. Hardware support, mouse/keyboard, video, wifi, audio, and webcam being most important for most people.
  3. A familiar feeling desktop environment.
  4. An easy to use package installer GUI

The whole discussion of things like immutable, deb, rpm, systemd, Wayland vs x11, etc are somewhere between meaningless and a scary sounding distraction for normal people who are fed up with MS/Apple and thinkng about trying something else.

[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

While old packages do ruin experiences, stuff changing too rapidly can as well.

Arch as well as OpenSUSE Tumbleweed are good examples at this.

[–] chgxvjh@hexbear.net 9 points 3 days ago

LTS doesn’t matter, and you’ll have a worse experience having old packages

I'd say the opposite it true. Up to date packages doesn't matter for most people but having to upgrade to a new release can be a hurdle for people.