this post was submitted on 08 May 2024
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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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The most obvious difference for the end-user compared to Windows is that you can choose different desktop environments, such as KDE, GNOME, XFCE, LXQt, Mate or Cinnamon to name the most prominent among others. As you are used to the look-and-feel of Windows, I'd suggest giving KDE a try.
For a beginner, I'd recommend using a 'beginner friendly' distribution such as Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE) or Linux Mint (based on Ubuntu using Mate/Cinnamon DE). Fedora, Linux Mint Debian Edition or plain Debian are also suitable, but for a more experienced user.