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.
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
please please please avoid an LTS (long term support) distro for desktop use, especially if gaming. this includes Linux mint which is based on Ubuntu LTS. the packages are painfully old and cause problems playing the latest games, particularly where they don't work out of the box with lutris/proton/wine etc. LTS is great for servers and workstations but not end users
experienced users can make any distro work including LTS but it's extra overhead for new folks
It's not about Laptop vs worksation. It's about how new is the Hardware compared to the Linux Kernel shipping with the LTS distribution. If your hardware is older than the kernel, you will most likely not have any problems. For example, let's say you use Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, which ships with Kernel 5.17 releaed in may 2022, if your computer is made of parts released in 2021, no problem.
Most of the top answers are good so I will emphasize something that others have mentioned as well, which is that one of the lovely things about Linux is that your GUI, your window manager or desktop environment (different things I know, don't @ me) is up to you.
My personal favorite is xfce, but obviously a lot of people like KDE, Cinnamon, and Mate (mah-tay). There's of course a whole world of options beyond those, when you're choosing a distribution, go to the distro's website, and look at the screenshots. If they have different versions for different desktop environments or window managers, look at all the screenshots. Try to pick one that has a look and layout that looks comfortable to you.
Also backup your home directory. And remember you can always distro hop.
Depends. Whatever choice you pick - go with Plasma (KDE) desktop. Most of below choices have alternative desktop flavors that offer Plasma instead of Gnome.
If your goal is to play games - something like Bazzite might work.
If your goal is to have a desktop experience with some gaming, something like NobaraOS or PopOS would work.
If your goal is only desktop experience - ubuntu will work.
If your goal is to learn and have super awesome Linux desktop - Arch Linux.
Personally I am in Arch Linux for the past decade. Tried many different ones and Arch Linux is the only one that simply "just works" for me. Not suitable for beginners.
If history repeats itself Windows 10 is not going to die until the next good Windows floods the market
If you're a gamer, I recommend Pop!_OS. Everything works out of the box, plus extra compatibility for Nvidia cards. It took me a second to get used to the UI, but now I can't go back.
Relax, Microsoft will eventually fix Windows 11, release a decent Windows 12 or extend the support for Windows 10 for so long you won't be needing Linux anytime soon. :P
My recommendation goes for Debian and install all your software using Flatpak. This way you can get a rock solid OS and all the latest software. Ubuntu might be interesting as it is mostly beginner friendly and has a more cohesive all-in-one solution ou of the box.
Anyone got love for Budgie?
I use Fedora Silverblue personally (feels rock-solid and borderline impossible to mess up), but you might want to get more familiar with the basics before getting into immutable distros. I'd echo what everyone else is saying and do Linux Mint first
Zorin?
Kde plasma if you game
Do it now
Another day another switching post. We need a new community for these posts.