this post was submitted on 13 Sep 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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In my day (today) we would create a test user, install a new WM and try it. I don't get the "install the full distro on a VM just to try a program just a few kbs in size"...
You get the whole experience including installing your necessary software
Again, how is it different than installing directly on your machine? Especially when you have a package manager that can rollback the installation?
Not OP, but can only speak from my experience: Installing a second WM/DE usually messes up my install, as quite some stuff is just from one GUI framework, so I don't have to have to much stuff installed.
Also getting rid of it afterwards always wasn't as easily possible.
I completely get trying out a WM y firing up a VM. You could even just boot the live USB stick to check it out.
But changing my working install just to try something (and then have to clean it up again) wasn't working out for me in the past
Well, as I said, it gives you the whole thing from scratch, in addition it doesn't fuck with your menus. Finally, and most importantly, maybe people don't like experimenting on their main machine.