I have heard so many great things about Linux: the customization, security, transparency, cost (free), it's open-source, and just overall makes you understand the cloud and different dev-ops more (host my server on Linux, my OS is Linux). I am searching for a distro which is easy to get into (not super complex), has all the best features of Linux, and has a customizable look. Hopefully, you can help me find a distro which suits my needs best! I will not switch to Linux 100%. I will try out different distros in a VM, and if I like one then I will dual boot! Thanks for your input.
Developer by day, curious by night.
What I do care most are people. I started as Full Stack developer on a Ruby On Rails project.
Now focusing on bridging development with operations and security.
You can derive most of the Linux distribution you see today from common ancestors:
Debian family: Debian is itself a powerful distro, but I would not suggest it to newcomers. Ubuntu is it's probably most know derived distribution. I would choose it because can be customized, has many derived distributions with different UIs and is very stable for desktop use.
Slackware family: I'm not that familiar with it but I would consider this for advanced users. I think t's most popular derivation is SUSE
Red Had family: know for Red Hat enterprise, it's most popular derivation is Fedora. I would say it's a solid distribution for desktop use. I consider it the main competitor to Ubuntu on the desktop.
Enoch, mainly known as Gentoo: the amount of customization you have is endless, but not for the faint of heart. If you are starting out I would avoid it as Linux is as awesome as complex and most of that complexity is overwhelming at the beginning.
Arch family: I consider this a step up over Ubuntu or Fedora, allowing you to customize a lot your system but requires understanding more of Linux internals.
More details on the Linux distro history can be found on Wikipedia.
Apart from the OS, you should have a look at the Desktop Environment you would like to use, I suggest to look at the Wikipedia page for a general overview. Consider that Ubuntu has lot of derivatives pre-made with a Desktop Environment, something that other distribution do not provide (you can always do it manually, and I suggest you to do it, but not on your live system 😆).
Good luck and have fun. That's the most rewarding thing of using Linux.
Wow, thanks for all of this information. I will make sure to have fun when trying Linux! So far I have tried Ubuntu and loved it, I just need more performance. I might dual boot soon!
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I have heard so many great things about Linux: the customization, security, transparency, cost (free), it's open-source, and just overall makes you understand the cloud and different dev-ops more (host my server on Linux, my OS is Linux). I am searching for a distro which is easy to get into (not super complex), has all the best features of Linux, and has a customizable look. Hopefully, you can help me find a distro which suits my needs best! I will not switch to Linux 100%. I will try out different distros in a VM, and if I like one then I will dual boot! Thanks for your input.
You can derive most of the Linux distribution you see today from common ancestors:
More details on the Linux distro history can be found on Wikipedia.
Apart from the OS, you should have a look at the Desktop Environment you would like to use, I suggest to look at the Wikipedia page for a general overview. Consider that Ubuntu has lot of derivatives pre-made with a Desktop Environment, something that other distribution do not provide (you can always do it manually, and I suggest you to do it, but not on your live system 😆).
Good luck and have fun. That's the most rewarding thing of using Linux.
Wow, thanks for all of this information. I will make sure to have fun when trying Linux! So far I have tried Ubuntu and loved it, I just need more performance. I might dual boot soon!