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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New to Linux? Ubuntu Isn’t Your Only Option (www.howtogeek.com)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

218 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Ubuntu's popularity often makes it the default choice for new Linux users. But there are tons of other Linux operating systems that deserve your attention. As such, I've highlighted some Ubuntu alternatives so you can choose based on your needs and requirements—because conformity is boring.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

one of the first

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

there were dozens of others in the 11 years between the first and ubuntu

[–] prettybunnys 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

“Targeted at regular desktop users”

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

https://foundation.gnome.org/1999/03/03/gnome-1-0-released/

[–] prettybunnys 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I really feel like you’re missing the idea of that sentence deliberately.

What Linux distribution came before Ubuntu that was specifically designed to be user friendly for a non-technical user?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

What Linux distribution came before Ubuntu that was specifically designed to be user friendly for a non-technical user?

There were a bunch of distros advertising ease of use; several were even sold in physical boxes (which was the style at the time) and marketed to consumers at retail stores like BestBuy years before Ubuntu started.

Here are four pictures of the physical packaging for three of those pre-ubuntu desktop distros designed to be user friendly and marketed to the general public:

Photo of the cardboard packaging for Caldera OpenLinux Another Caldera box Packaging of SuSE 8.1 Mandrake 7.2 packaging

Ubuntu was better than what came before it in many ways, and it deserves credit for advancing desktop Linux adoption both then and now, but it was not "one of the first" by any stretch.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, no.

It was one of the first that didn’t make you to want to tear your hair out, I’ll give them that.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

That's what I interpreted from the "targeted at regular desktop users" part.

Certainly not one of the first distros. But one of the first that almost any normal person would actually be able to install and use? Absolutely.

There were multiple before it that claimed to be easy for anybody to use, but most of them still weren't by a long stretch.