this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
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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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Hey guys, I'm an entry-level IT professional and tech enthusiast.

I'm getting a bit sick of windows for a multitude of reasons and want to try out some Linux distros.

I use my pc for web browsing, university (which uses office 365) where I study software design, software development (vs code, visual studio, jetbrains stuff) and gaming (99% of the time via steam).

My main concerns for switching are that I'll have a hard time with university work because we mostly use teams for video conferences and work together with word, and other office stuff. We also are required to do some virtual machine stuff where we use virtualbox.

Also I'm a bit worried that some games on uplay, epic and other platforms aren't available anymore.

For distros I've been mainly looking at Manjaro, Linux Mint or plain old Ubuntu. Can you recommend anything that might fit for me or will I maybe run into any issues with my chosen three?

Edit: Thanks a lot for all the replies. I've read through all of them even if I didn't reply and it was very helpful. I will test most of your suggestions in a VM before I jump into completely changing my OS. And I'll probably try booting from a USB Drive first. What I didn't mention is that I've already worked with Ubuntu, Debian and CentOS, so I'm not scared about having to use a CLI.

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[–] alottachairs@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Zorin is great! but, if gaming is really important i'd recommend dual booting so you can switch back and forth. eventually you will just let your windows os collect dust

[–] Nayviler@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Linux Mint is great, Ubuntu is ok, I'd stay away from Manjaro. The Manjaro team is known for selectively delaying updates, which can break systems sometimes.

Teams and VirtualBox both work fine on Linux, though personally I'd recommend just using teams in the browser vs downloading the app from Microsoft.

Most games work great on Linux! A really good resource for seeing if the game you want to play works is ProtonDB. There's a compatibility rating for almost every game on Steam there (even if you didn't buy the game on Steam, ratings for the Steam version should be fairly accurate). For non-steam games, WineHQ AppDB is another good resource, though I've found it can sometimes be a bit out of date when it comes to compatibility (in a good way, it'll say games are broken sometimes when they actually work fine).

For Epic, you can use the Heroic Games Launcher. It's an open-source launcher for Epic and GOG games. It'll automatically handle setting up a wine prefix for you and everything, so all you should need to do is click "install" and then "play" once it's done. Uplay is a bit more difficult, since there's no Linux-native launcher, but it's not impossible. I believe Lutris has an installer for it, you can definitely find instructions on how to do this online.

I'm not gonna lie and say that gaming on Linux is as easy as it is on Windows, especially for a beginner. These games and apps were designed for use on Windows, and if any consideration was given for Linux, it was an afterthought. However, it's completely possible for many people to never have to use Windows for gaming. It's so, sooooo much better than it was just a few years ago, and it's only going to improve from here. You might struggle a bit as a beginner, but with time you'll learn more about how all this stuff works and eventually, if a game doesn't work, in most cases you'll be able to figure out why and fix it.

Personally, I can't remember the last time I just wasn't able to get a game running on Linux at all. There was like, one instance where cutscenes didn't work, that's the worst case I've ever encountered. I mostly stick to single-player games, but still.

[–] 0xb@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

If you don't have the newest hardware i would also recommend Mint. I believe is the most friendly to windows users plus is Ubuntu based so there's pretty much anything available to it, and lots of support if needed. Nothing of the software you mention seems like a problem since everything is available or runs in the browser.

Remember to enable proton for all games in the steam settings so that you can run your entire library.

If you en up using a local office suite I would instead of LibreOffice recommend Onlyoffice, in my experience has better compatibility with the ms office formats. You can keep both installed, that's what I do.

Teams I haven't used but there's a flatpak available I believe, so I think it shouldn't be a problem, or you can run it in the browser.

If you have newish hardware then maybe fedora will be a better option, probably the kde spin. Everything else is the same, just with fedora is indispensable to use the rpm fusion repositories.

[–] Drito@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago

Clear Linux looks very performant which is interesting for gaming. And it provides choice between DEs !

[–] thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago

I second everyone else dont use manjaro. As someone who was in a similar position to you, I started with mint just to toy around with it. Personally I'd recommended fedora, or Ubuntu (fedora over Ubuntu). I didnt stick with mint long though, eventually I just took the deep dive and installed arch as my daily driver which I wouldnt recommend unless you have time and energy to tinker with what us broken. If your uncomfortable with using Linux full time try duel booting that way you have windows as a back up system in case you bork something. If you have any questions feel free to DM me. And remember flatpak is the linux beginners best friend.

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