this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023
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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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IF you want Steam, THEN you want one of the Ubuntu family: Steam doesn't support any other kind of Linux distro.
openSUSE gave me compatibility-issues after I had it running properly, both Tumbleweed AND OpenLEAP versions, when they broke my wifi-driver, early in 2023, so I'm kinda leery of recommending them.
If you want the most Unix-like system, Slackware used to be that, haven't used it in years, though...
Funtoo should probably be the go-to distro for compute-oriented machines, like Blender renderers, or such... optimize to use ALL the hardware-advantage you can...
Many enjoy Void Linux.
just some opinions & experiences...
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I would love to pick your brain as well if you don’t mind! I have a 2016 MacBook Pro, Intel processor one of the last ones, that is actually in pretty great shape but I just don’t use a lot these days. I’ve been thinking about turning it into a Linux machine. I would like steam to run on it, but mostly it’s to teach myself Linux/experiment. Steam is definitely not a requirement so if that’s really bogging down my options I’m down for some versions that don’t have steam. I’ve got a steam deck and a Mac Studio that pretty much covers my PC gaming bases.
Decide, 1st, on the point of your installing Linux on it:
IF you want the most-fundamental-understanding,
THEN you want the book "How Linux Works", the most-recent edition of that, and maybe you want a Debian/Ubuntu in order to guarantee that any problem you encounter will already have been encountered by somebody else, while you are getting competent in the fundamentals... There are 2 Linux System Administration books to consider, after you work through that one, 1 is from OReilly, the other .. I can't remember who published it, but it has several authors, & a cartoon on the front cover, and it is huge, and it is the one you want.
Neither of those books are cheap, but try comparing them with a university-year of a course, and the competence you can earn through those 2 books is at least that level.
You also are going to need, around the time you get partway through the 2nd book, a book on Linux Security.
IF you are just a crazy hack-at-things person who likes technical toys, then maybe Void is more likely to be fun for you...
Linux From Scratch is how you get the every-last-step-of-the-way understanding, but I haven't done that one yet, because I want to keep using my computer for things like writing, and LFS might make me avoid my machine ( I spent years burnt-out from geekery, several times, and am leery of getting myself that way, again, but LFS really is the way to get truly-competent as a sysadmin. ).
You will need the same books listed above, though.
Do well!
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