this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2026
18 points (95.0% liked)
Linux
65723 readers
550 users here now
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.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 7 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Speaking from personal experience: get a spare laptop or external drive and jump right into it.
Gentoo is where I learned Linux. The handbook is so good and is my highest recommended source of getting into Linux, assuming you take it slow to understand it.
While a VM might be an option, I think you'll have less problems on a direct system... But maybe I'm wrong, I've never tried installing Gentoo on a VM before.
Just know, this system will need care... Keep Gentoo updated frequently, else you'll have issues with dependencies. If this is your first time digging into Linux, you'll goof. But don't fret, for there's always a fix!
If you find yourself needing something less demanding, my go to has been Mint for that. However these days I've actually been re creating my laptop on Gentoo with an external USB C. Turns out even on that it runs games better, so can't wait to move it to an nvme lol
@Mikelius @pixeldaemon Far as "keeping it updated" you shouldn't ever run into dep issues if you stick to the stable branch without loads of overlays. I regularly go years 😆 (at least months) between updates without issue.