Calling All Linux Users(who want to help a newb)

Now that I'm sitting around my apartment every day out of work, I figure this is the perfect time to finally get away from the crap that is windows. I've tried Ubuntu Briefly before, and am interested to try Linux again. However, I'm a Complete newb.

The laptop I want to install on is an old Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga. It has a dual core Intel Core i3 (4th Gen) 4010U / 1.7 GHz processor and 4gb RAM. The hard drive says it's a 224G SSD if that matters at all.

So my question is, being a Complete newbie and not being all that great at computers in general, what distribution should I start with? I've watched some youtube videos and read some links, but some first hand advice for my complete newbie level and my computer's abilities would be nice to have.

I'm planning on using this laptop to learn some simple video editing too, if that makes any difference. I plan on downloading a free video editing program to start(shotcut) that has minimum system requirements close to my laptops hardware. (CPU: x86-64 Intel or AMD; at least one 2 GHz core for SD, 2 cores for HD, and 4 cores for 4K. GPU: OpenGL 2.0 that works correctly and is compatible. RAM: At least 4 GB for SD, 8 GB for HD, and 16 GB for 4K.) Hopefully it will run...

Why do you want linux and why is windows crap? Anyway your brain will appreciate Arch linux cuz it shows you more of the system workings while still letting you follow a recipe to install and setup. Try that one.

And if your goal is to do video editing linux is the wrong platform there are a million inexpensive and good options that run natively on windows and osx but not linux.

Windows is crap because it's slow, intrusive, forces updates regularly, has anti-virus software that acts more like a virus than a block, etc. down to the little things like having issues keeping bluetooth devices connected and regular annoying little messages and updates prompts popping up. I've read that many of those struggles aren't an issue with Linux. So, I'd like to try it out.

I hadn't seen any recommendations for Arch in my searches for where to begin with Linux. Some of the things I'm reading about it don't sound like the place to start... "The default installation covers only a minimal base system and expects the end user to configure the system by himself/herself." From another source "Arch Linux is an independently developed, x86_64-optimised Linux distribution targeted at competent Linux users."

As for the video editing, that isn't the Main point. It's just something that I'm going to also be learning about on this machine. Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered to mention it. I've chosen a program that runs on Linux. As for osx, I would go with a mac if my sole purpose were video editing or something, but I'm talking about playing around with iphone videos while I'm living abroad, not doing movie editing for work or something.

My main thing is just that I need an easy place to start. I don't mind watching videos and researching forums to learn as I go, but if I step into a totally foreign environment, I won't even know where to begin.

Look at XUbuntu, I have tried that years ago, and it is good.
Take a peek at Mint, I heard great things about that distro.

7. Ubuntu Studio

Spin on Ubuntu aimed at audio and video production

Great alternative to costly production software
Support for audio plug-ins and more
Still allows access to packages in main Ubuntu OS

If you want a home music recording studio or a video production workstation without spending the thousands of pounds involved with industry standard software, consider installing Ubuntu Studio.

This officially recognised flavour of Ubuntu Linux has been designed for audio and video production, as an alternative to paid software such as Pro Tools. Support for audio plug-ins and MIDI input is built in and a virtual patch bay comes preinstalled.

Ubuntu Studio’s repositories have access to the packages in the main Ubuntu OS as well as a few digital audio sequencers. Its main strength is in audio recording through tools like the JACK Audio Connection Kit.

You can get started with Ubuntu Studio here

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markz said:

Look at XUbuntu, I have tried that years ago, and it is good.
Take a peek at Mint, I heard great things about that distro.

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Mint, Ubuntu, and Elementary are the main three I've been reading about. I'll definitely have to look into the studio thing. I hadn't seen that before. Thanks!

Electric Earth said:

markz said:

Look at XUbuntu, I have tried that years ago, and it is good.
Take a peek at Mint, I heard great things about that distro.

Click to expand...

Mint, Ubuntu, and Elementary are the main three I've been reading about. I'll definitely have to look into the studio thing. I hadn't seen that before. Thanks!

Click to expand...

A search of "The Best Linux" will reveal the idiosyncrasies of each distro, there are 100's of distro's and 1000's of "The Best Of" sites.

After more research and videos, I think Mint is probably the best Linux for a newbie coming from Windows, with Ubuntu maybe being the next step. Thanks for the advice!

Electric Earth said:

Windows is crap because it's slow, intrusive, forces updates regularly, has anti-virus software that acts more like a virus than a block, etc. down to the little things like having issues keeping bluetooth devices connected and regular annoying little messages and updates prompts popping up. I've read that many of those struggles aren't an issue with Linux.

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Oh OK so the problem rests entirely with you. None of those things are actually an issue with windows, and switching your OS to something for power users that requires more thinking and effort to do most stuff definitely won't help.

I am using Windows 10, not activated, and I am getting a message coming up on the GUI toolbar. Something about, "Needs Attention" I just had it up, but when I hit the down arrow it closed it not to come up again. Its kinda of annoying at times but for a split instance.

No plans to switch to Linux quite yet, but if I were to, I would need to use a sandbox/vm to play Steam games.

flat tire said:

Oh OK so the problem rests entirely with you. None of those things are actually an issue with windows, and switching your OS to something for power users that requires more thinking and effort to do most stuff definitely won't help.

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Thank you for this reply. It was almost as helpful as your first reply. I'm so glad you took both of our time to respond with such intelligent, helpful replies, not once, but twice. Please do continue.

It takes all of about four seconds to find plenty of people who dislike those same issues with Windows. In fact, most everything I mentioned is common complaints, and things that can't be "fixed." There's a good reason why people who are really into computers often run an OS other than windows. Most people just use Windows because that's what they've always used.

But I digress. Why are you coming here just to troll my thread? Your first reply wasn't particularly helpful, but no big deal. The second you're clearly just being an ass. Having a bad day, or just a miserable, childish person in general? Go find something better to do with your time.

markz said:

No plans to switch to Linux quite yet, but if I were to, I would need to use a sandbox/vm to play Steam games.

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One of the videos I watched mentioned that Steam is now on Ubuntu and Mint. I'm not a gamer, so I didn't look into it more, but I think you'd be good to go. Unless I'm not fully understanding the issue, which is totally possible. As mentioned, I'm still learning about computers and I'm not a gamer.

Electric Earth said:

markz said:

No plans to switch to Linux quite yet, but if I were to, I would need to use a sandbox/vm to play Steam games.

Click to expand...

One of the videos I watched mentioned that Steam is now on Ubuntu and Mint. I'm not a gamer, so I didn't look into it more, but I think you'd be good to go. Unless I'm not fully understanding the issue, which is totally possible. As mentioned, I'm still learning about computers and I'm not a gamer.

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Problem is the Steam games I currently have were all downloaded for Windows. I know games can also be purchased for Linux.

I would suggest you start by deciding what software you want to use and then find the distros that supports it. You can then use this list to find the one that suits you best. I've used many over the years among my favorites are Mint, Elementary and Ubuntu. Being a mac user I liked Elementary the best but it required too many resources for the underpowered 32 bit machine it was running on. I'd suggest a version that looks similar to Windows to ease your transition.

Ubuntu Certified hardware
https://certification.ubuntu.com/

I ended up going for the newest Mint Cinnamon. After research and some youtube videos and installation trouble shooting, I got it installed and dual booting on my machine. The only issue I'm having now is audio. Unfortunately audio seems like a common issue with Mint, I think. When I started searching for an answer, lots of results came up. I haven't found my problem yet, as a lot of the help guides go strait to lots of terminal script stuff, and I'm still a Complete newbie trying to figure out how to use the terminal.

For some reason my JBL bluetooth speaker will show up on the list, will connect for maybe one second, then disconnect. If I plug it in directly to the laptop via headphone jack/cable, it'll work for a minute or so and then start glitching and cut sound.

Other than that issue, I'm really liking Mint. And it's fun that I'm going to learn more about computers and how the software works over time, just due to using Linux. You can't do better than a free hobby!

I like Linux Mint Cinnamon, been using it for the last couple weeks.

I just cant play any Steam Windows games, I have a hundred games on there and seem to only play a handful. Shameful to say I got countless hours playing games, thanks to Steam listing how many hrs are wasted.

I cant get the ISO for W10 because I am in Linux, and go to Windows page and it says I need to get it through a Windows pc. I even tried Virtual Box but get hung up when I go through it all, works but the end part doesnt where you need to find a disk to mount to. Trying to find if I have the W10 install on a usb from a year or so ago when I installed W10 without activation.

I have, I got 6 or 8 sticks. I guess I need to organize my files better, desk is pretty messy these days and not sure exactly if I have all the usb sticks in front of me.

I need Windows 10 to get to Openoffice files saved while using W10, then organize the usb sticks.

Will try it again soon enough.

Electric Earth said:

I ended up going for the newest Mint Cinnamon.

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markz said:

I cant get the ISO for W10 because I am in Linux, and go to Windows page and it says I need to get it through a Windows pc. I even tried Virtual Box but get hung up when I go through it all, works but the end part doesnt where you need to find a disk to mount to. Trying to find if I have the W10 install on a usb from a year or so ago when I installed W10 without activation.

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I can get the iso from https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10ISO after selecting my version and language. Does that not work?

I was in a similar situation to you where I wanted to switch to Linux but did not want to give up all the games. I now game in a windows vm on qemu, which has worked fine for all games. Its all the same as far as the game is concerned.

markz said:

Electric Earth said:

markz said:

No plans to switch to Linux quite yet, but if I were to, I would need to use a sandbox/vm to play Steam games.

Click to expand...

One of the videos I watched mentioned that Steam is now on Ubuntu and Mint. I'm not a gamer, so I didn't look into it more, but I think you'd be good to go. Unless I'm not fully understanding the issue, which is totally possible. As mentioned, I'm still learning about computers and I'm not a gamer.

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Problem is the Steam games I currently have were all downloaded for Windows. I know games can also be purchased for Linux.

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Two things not quite right here:
- If you purchased the game on steam, and it has a Linux version, then that is part of your purchase as well. Put another way, you can download a Steam purchased game for as many OS's as it supports for no extra cost.
- If the game you purchased does not have a Linux vesion, odds on it will still run on the bundled Wine components that Steam provides (called Proton).

I use Steam on Linux, and I have found very few games that will not respond to one of these approaches. Steam makes it easy, but there is also Lutris, which provides installers for a lot of games.
https://lutris.net/

You can see if your favourite game has Proton support here:
https://www.protondb.com/

In summary, it is very likely that the games you have will "just work"(tm) on Linux.
That is my experience (as a Gentoo user) anyway.