this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2024
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Linux
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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 haven't set up this laptop yet, then I'd suggest installing a server-oriented distro like Debian, AlmaLinux, or Ubuntu Server. Those have minimal install options that come without a desktop environment installed, as most servers do not need one. If you'd like to make the install harder for yourself, this might be a good excuse to give Arch Linux or Gentoo a try, as those have the option of a fully manual install. If you'd like, you can install a desktop environment afterwards using the package manager.
If you already have a Linux with a graphical desktop installed, you can configure the system not to automatically start it with
sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target
. (Do not do this on your main device!) You can re-enable it withsudo systemctl set-default graphical.target
.Regardless, you can then start a graphical session using
startx
, or whatever command is more appropriate for your desktop environment (gnome-session
to start GNOME on Wayland,startplasma-wayland
to start KDE Plasma), or bysudo systemctl start
ing your login screen manager (sddm, gdm, lightdm, etc).