this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2026
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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It depends what the person wants to do, how "learning Linux" is interpreted and what it is installed on.
If someone is technically versed, likes commandline, wants to have the newest software and complete control and learn how Linux works, then something like EndeavourOS might be the right choice. If the focus is GUI tools only, maybe a laptop just to browse the web a bit and learn slowly what "this thing Linux" is all about, then something like Linux Mint or Ubuntu might be a good starting point, or even Fedora KDE. Is the person going to play games mostly, is experimenting a lot and wants to tap into the wild west of Linux, maybe Bazzite with its immutable concept.
There are a few more distributions I could recommend, for certain use cases. There is no single operating system that fits best for everyone.