I've wanted to go over to Linux for a long time but I have no idea how to go about it. I hear about incompatibility problems with hardware and all the different options for different Linux OS's and that's it, I forget about it for a while to avoid the headache.
So where do I start? I don't even know how to choose hardware or what to look for. The number of options with Linux makes things a little confusing.
And although others here have answered the question before, I'm unsure what I have to do to stay 'safe' on Linux. Are there extra steps or is it just the standard, don't open dodgy links and turn off Java script in the PDF viewer kind of thing? Does Linux come with a trustworthy firewall/antivirus/malware detection? Is there a chance of Linux e.g. sending my passwords, etc, to someone or just letting someone into my harddrive? I hear that 'open source' means people can check the code but how do I know if someone has checked the code—I wouldn't know what to look for myself.
I followed the Linux subreddit but the users the can be rather… enthusiastic, which is great, but I need something far more basic to get started lol.
Is there a good step-by-step guide somewhere? Or can anyone give me some pointers/tips/advice?
I mainly browse, type, and read pdfs and other text files. No gaming, although I wouldn't be opposed to it. No need to be mobile; laptops are terrible for my back so I always use an external monitor, anyway, so I won't be using it 'on the go'.
Edit: Thanks for all the advice. I got a machine up and running from a bootable USB.
Any others who read the comments here because they're interested in trying out Linux – if you have Windows installed and want to keep it on your HDD/SSD, partition your drive within Windows. Then boot from the USB. You can partition your drive (and keep Windows) from the bootable USB but it's a bit more complicated and it makes it harder to create a swap partition and a storage partition. I had to go back and forth a few times to figure this out.
If you're new to linux and want to stay safe I have a couple of tips:
Never run commands you don't understand. Research what they are doing before you run them. Try to become used to doing everything from the commandline. It may be daunting at first, but it helps understanding what the GUIs do and hiw to fix things if they break.
Use the packagemanagement of your distribution where possible. For example in ubuntu use the "apt" command to install software from the commandline or the software center to install them from the GUI. I'd avoid .deb files from random internet sites as installing them is the equivalent of installing random .exe-s on Windows. It could be safe but you don't really know for sure. tar.gz-files are the compressed source code of the application so while technically more transparent as a newbie i'd still avoid them.
Choose a widely used distro. Especially as a newbie it can be difficult do assess what's wrong. It helps if there are a lot of other new users googling the same problem.
To start I'd suggest Ubuntu on a Virtualbox-VM. Make frequent snapshots so you don't have to reinstall your whole system if you break something.
For most older windows only offline games someone usually has already created a bottle or made an installer on playonlinux. With online games anticheat might act up (I tried valorant and LoL, both didn't work)
Thanks for the tips! It's useful to know that types of new file types to become familiar with and watch out for.
Seeing as you mentioned it, where would one look for old games that are already bottled or would work with playonlinux? (Does that work like an emulator?)
Yes kind of. Both use wine. Basically wine is not like a vm where you simulate the whole windows os but rather the libraries your program needs to run translated to linux.
For playonlinux here is a list: https://www.playonlinux.com/en/supported_apps-1-0.html
Oh wow, I'm getting some good nostalgia vibes reading through that list.
Two quick questions:
No wine is a dependency, it's installed automatically. Yes, they don't include any game files. They would probably get in trouble with copyright if they did. The setup was something like this, iirc: 1.Install POL 2.Insert the disk and mount it/Download your game from your seller(eg. GOG.com) 3. Search for the game in the POL UI 4. Start the installer and select the installation exe