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thebluemarble 🏳️‍🌈

@PurpleJillybeans And don't suggest they use another distro, unless they picked something utterly terrible for a beginner, like Gentoo. Most likely they won't try another distro, they will just lose interest.

14 comments
Georg Ramer

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans I think Kali would be THE worst distro to start with that nevertheless attracts newbies.

phi1997

@georgramer
People only go for it because it's the hacker distro, not realizing it is tailor-made solely for use in penetration testing.
@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans

snahn ip

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans I mean, if they aren't building #LFS from within #wsl are they even real Linux users? All jokes aside, linuxcommand.org/ is great for those wanting "more" than just the pretty GUI stuff we all love. We should also make sure to indoctrinate them into the #gnome & #kde wars for sure!!! If that gets too boring, there are always #Wayland or #x11 debates to be had!!!

ananas

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans Because after all, any distro they choose is a big step regardless, and one more linux user in the os market share ​:02_nod:​


I use arch btw

Sean

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans Live USB images were how I dipped my toes into Linux and built my understanding of what was possible with the OS. Based on my own experience, I always suggest newbies learn to use BalenaEtcher and explore a few different distros.

It’s fascinating to look at a distro like TAILS and see the variety of ways in which your device is screaming its identity across the web, even as compared to Ubuntu.

Ticktok

@eccentric_econ @thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans yea, live discs/USB is definitely the way to go on finding out about linux. Unfortunately some new laptops throw an absolute fit trying to boot from a usb drive. Had a non-tech-savvy co-worker who was interested in linux but his asus laptop had all kinds of win11/bitlocker windows/warnings/errors when he tried to boot from a livedrive and unless I was there every step of the way he was terrified he was going to break his computer.

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@eccentric_econ @thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans

I was making a live USB recently and went back to my old trusted Universal USB/Linux Installer (I forget which one goes in the middle), and I was very impressed. It now installs a barebones system in the stick and you can simply copy a bunch of ISOs in the data partition. On boot up, you can select the OS you want to try. And you no longer need to reburn the stick.

I think it's a great tool for anyone who wants to try several distros.

Sean

@thylacoleo @thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans If you’re talking about the PenDriveLinux one, that’s super cool and new to me. Direct link for those interested: pendrivelinux.com/universal-us

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@eccentric_econ @thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans

Yup, that's the one!

Blew my mind the other day when I saw how it works now.

(Thanks for sharing the link, I'm on mobile right now and it's a bit complicated.)

skze

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans b-b-but gentoo was my first and it was really effective…

skze

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans (honestly the best thing about gentoo was that the people in that irc channel did *not* tell me to install something else. they were happy to have me and to explain to me what a kernel is while i was struggling to menuconfig it into something that boots. it was glorious.

i guess the moral of the story is, find out what a person is actually trying to do for before giving any sort of advice :D)

aardvark

@skye @thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans openbsd folks read the OP’s toot and negated it back in the day. I nope’d out and never looked back.

Cefr

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans I'll have you know, Gentoo is perfect for all Linux users to start off on. If they... (Laughing) I am sorry, I couldn't finish that with a straight face. This is 100% fair for new users: any Linux without a "wizard installation" process is best saved for Extra Credit once you have managed to use Linux for a while.

You don't have to be a programmer, developer, or even a fan of computers to use Linux. Because that's what Operating Systems do; they are the grease between the processor and user. Without it, computers are Cornballers.

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans I'll have you know, Gentoo is perfect for all Linux users to start off on. If they... (Laughing) I am sorry, I couldn't finish that with a straight face. This is 100% fair for new users: any Linux without a "wizard installation" process is best saved for Extra Credit once you have managed to use Linux for a while.

IoT is the grey goo

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans This is actually a big, big issue. Always trying to solve various incompatibility (from unstable ABIs) by saying "hey, distro B is always making adjustments to keep app C running nicely".

Almost any time a user tests or inquired about another app or a feature that some distros include as built-in, they will get peppered with comments to send them distro hopping.

If they're not technical, they'll think that you (the person who installed distro A for them) are a bozo. I've been there, in spades, and not goin' back.

@thebluemarble @PurpleJillybeans This is actually a big, big issue. Always trying to solve various incompatibility (from unstable ABIs) by saying "hey, distro B is always making adjustments to keep app C running nicely".

Almost any time a user tests or inquired about another app or a feature that some distros include as built-in, they will get peppered with comments to send them distro hopping.

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