this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2024
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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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Oh boy here we go again
Distrochooser is not a good resource for newbies IMO. There are too many questions, many of which are misleading or hard to understand (NOBODY taking this knows what systemd is)
Many answers are misleasing: "I want a distro that is supported by game publishers" for example implies each distro has its own game compatibility, this is NOT the case.
And when you're finally done it recommends too many distros, many of which are irrelevant, niche, or flat out not recommended anymore (PCLinuxOS?!?!)
When someone asks for a distro, please just run a random number generator to choose between ZorinOS, PopOS, or Linux Mint. If someone is only gaming, maybe include Nobara too.
It would actually be pretty effective. Just have it return one of the mainstream distros and be done.
Style it like a Tux slot machine. Click on the raised wing to pull it down and let the reels roll, stopping on the perfect distro for you!
Exactly! Many of the criteria included aren't all that good for new users, and neither are the suggestions. It's not really a good resource for experienced users either.
One of us could probably put that together pretty quickly lol
But if we did want to build a new distro recommender... Maybe there are like 5 or so questions that would be relevant.
Just off the top of my head some possibilities:
If you're a beginner, Mint is a good choice. One could argue Ubuntu (noobs don't gaf about snap if they even know what it is). I think noobs would want good GUI tools and a very popular, very polished distro. So issues are infrequent but finding answers is easy.
Into gaming? There's a few distros that come up like Nobara. (I've seen Manjaro mentioned but idk).
If you want something that looks kinda like macos there's Endeavor. Does anyone recommend that one these days? I don't usually see it mentioned.
Idk.
You're probably right, an rng that chooses between a few distros might be better lol
You mixed up Endeavor with Elementary OS, Endeavpr is an arch based distro that you can choose several DE's or WM's witj
Ah right. I'm an idiot.
mistakes happen :)
Exactly. If you have to ask this sort of question, the answer is those three. Everything else is just confusing.
Yeah, I disagree. It's the least subjective resource I can find as nobody asks the questions on that questionnaire here. I'd much prefer it if people used distrochooser and then shared their answers (e.g https://distrochooser.de/en/d5b60b6e6134/), wrote some extra stuff e.g "I want NVIDIA support because I want CUDA" or something, and based on that, we recommend distros. Instead of the herd mentality of "duh, linux mint stoopeed"
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