As much as I love using Linux, and wish people used it more, I will (try) to be the first to say:
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@48kRAM The worst is whatever I'm using right now.
@socketwench That is, honestly, fair
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I will be uncompromising on this:
Its not the distro. It's not the desktop environment. Its not using "the right apps" or "the right hardware".
I don't help anyone put Linux onto any system unless they are willing to *learn*.
If you don't have time, don't have the patience, don't have the will to learn and solve problems... I can't help you. You'll just be angry and frustrated and hate the whole OS. And I'll hate myself for upsetting you vicariously.
I made the switch in 2013. Started a new gig. Decided, hey, I was managing Linux servers why not just go all in and do a Linux desktop too?
The first six months was *painful*. It kicked me from being a Windows power user to a total n00b. But it eventually clicked, and felt right, and I just could not go back.
My work laptop these days is Windows. I spend all my time in WSL. I feel equally befuddled whenever I must interact with the Windows OS and leave my comfy space.
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Approach Linux like you're *dating*. You don't need to commit, your just hanging over tea. Get to know a distro, not by looking up a list but by looking in the mirror.
Maybe you'll like what this distro is like, maybe you'll want to bail and keep looking. That's good! That's why we have so many of the dammed things!
Find one that feels like home.
And when you've found you love it despite the busted sink, or that hole in the wall, then, you can move in.
I love the dating analogy here.
Also, I ended up running OpenBSD. Not sure what that says about my software romantic life...
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There is no "best" in Linux.
There is no best distro. There's no best desktop environment. There's no best app.
All of that absolutist, best of 2026 nonsense has as much thought and consideration as a techbro using ChatGPT to write the speech he'll give you before laying everyone off.
There is no best in Linux. Anyone who says that is a damned liar, including myself.
There is only "best" for *you*.
@socketwench This is why the first thing I ever do when someone asks me what distros they should try I immediately ask them what they want to do with their computer and how they want to do it.
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Approach Linux like you're *dating*. You don't need to commit, your just hanging over tea. Get to know a distro, not by looking up a list but by looking in the mirror.
Maybe you'll like what this distro is like, maybe you'll want to bail and keep looking. That's good! That's why we have so many of the dammed things!
Find one that feels like home.
And when you've found you love it despite the busted sink, or that hole in the wall, then, you can move in.
@socketwench Something that I try to mention as much as I can is that unlike Windows and Mac, you can actually use most Linux distros before you install it. Give it a spin via USB first. There's very little to lose.
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I love the dating analogy here.
Also, I ended up running OpenBSD. Not sure what that says about my software romantic life...
@RussSharek You appreciate consistency, stability, even if it's not flashy?
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As much as I love using Linux, and wish people used it more, I will (try) to be the first to say:
Don't. Don't install Linux.....on your primary machine. At least, not at first.
The thing with Linux is, it's messy. It's jank. You will mess it up the first time. Maybe the second or third too. You might destroy everything on your drive.
So don't put it on your main system. Put it on your last one, or one from the thrift store, or a pi. Play with it, find what you like and don't.
@socketwench wise advice. And I think the more someone uses their computer for deep work, the more it’s a tool embedded into doing something that’s important to them, then the wiser it is.
The more you actually *use* your computer to do things, the more “muscle memory” and little workflow tweaks and such you develop. And that makes switching cost higher.
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@socketwench wise advice. And I think the more someone uses their computer for deep work, the more it’s a tool embedded into doing something that’s important to them, then the wiser it is.
The more you actually *use* your computer to do things, the more “muscle memory” and little workflow tweaks and such you develop. And that makes switching cost higher.
@socketwench Though I will say I find the inverse true as well: I got a Linux machine for my mother in law, because the way she uses a computer is 95% as a web browser launcher, and 5% for one particular crafting app which is Java.
She had no issues adapting, she even installed it herself, and only needed a little help running a Java app that wasn’t packaged with a .desktop file.
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@RussSharek You appreciate consistency, stability, even if it's not flashy?
I assumed I was into bespoke and niche weirdos.
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There is no "best" in Linux.
There is no best distro. There's no best desktop environment. There's no best app.
All of that absolutist, best of 2026 nonsense has as much thought and consideration as a techbro using ChatGPT to write the speech he'll give you before laying everyone off.
There is no best in Linux. Anyone who says that is a damned liar, including myself.
There is only "best" for *you*.
@socketwench clearly you have never heard of Hannah Montana linux
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I will be uncompromising on this:
Its not the distro. It's not the desktop environment. Its not using "the right apps" or "the right hardware".
I don't help anyone put Linux onto any system unless they are willing to *learn*.
If you don't have time, don't have the patience, don't have the will to learn and solve problems... I can't help you. You'll just be angry and frustrated and hate the whole OS. And I'll hate myself for upsetting you vicariously.
THIS.
Believe it or not, I use Phorge (https://www.phorge.it/) to track every issue I encounter on my production machine, which runs Fedora Linux 42. Before that, I used Redmine.
So yeah, if you are not willing to learn, maybe Linux is not for you.
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