It was no joke: I've been learning Linux from behind the scenes! Not interested in using Win11 as a main machine, so I've been playing around with a distro on a laptop. If any of y'all are linux-curious, I recommend digging up an old laptop or making a VM and learning it yourself. - ThreadSky

killeremcee.bsky.social • 65 days ago

It was no joke:

I've been learning Linux from behind the scenes! Not interested in using Win11 as a main machine, so I've been playing around with a distro on a laptop. If any of y'all are linux-curious, I recommend digging up an old laptop or making a VM and learning it yourself.

Comments

harinair.bsky.social•64 days ago

Started installing Linux from 1997. Initially it was Red Hat. Those days making the modem work itself was a pain. Then switched to Ubuntu… by 2007 started using Mac and never been happier.

avistent.bsky.social•65 days ago

With wsl2 I just don’t have a reason to use a distro full time anymore. I game too much now to use Linux full time.

organicm3chanic.bsky.social•64 days ago

Maybe 2025 really will be the year of the Linux desktop...

discovery-process.bsky.social•65 days ago

I recommend trying Debian and choosing the MATE desktop.

zag08lait.bsky.social•65 days ago

Don't start that debate...mint😉

killeremcee.bsky.social•65 days ago

I'll have to give this one a try.

petersmiths.bsky.social•64 days ago

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/77729624/vmware-not-recognizing-my-android-phone-the-device-was-unable-to-connect-to-its

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX85vZ3ANVk

rozodru.bsky.social•64 days ago

I'm 41, been in the tech industry for like 20 years now, and only this past year did I finally decide to use Linux. Honestly, I wish I had done so 10 years ago. It was a slow process at first but it made me feel young again, like I was a junior dev again learning.

rozodru.bsky.social•64 days ago

Switching to Linux also improved my work. I'm faster at coding than I was on Win. I ditched the mouse thanks to using a WM, Zellij, etc. I embraced using Vim and ditching Sublime then just used Vim navigation for everything. It's amazing how the mouse slows you down and how much faster the KB is.

arthurfontaine.com•65 days ago

My adult disabled son has been on Linux for decades. As a teenager he was always getting toolbars and popups and other Windows garbage. He's never had a problem on Linux.

totalcuckball.bsky.social•64 days ago

I mainly use my pc for gaming and all the codec and driver stuff makes Linux too much of a pain in the ass, but MAN Win11 is so bad. Just built a new tower and it's wonderful but 11 gets in the way horribly.

But yeah Mint is nice. I duel booted my old machine with it and it was a nice antidote.

gocyberninja.bsky.social•64 days ago

It's definitely worth the try!

penbird42.bsky.social•65 days ago

I have used Linux since '96 and I still sometimes get stuck. That's why today I use #ChatGPT to figure out tweaks, and I have not stumped it yet. Anyone learning Linux should start a conversation and let it coach them.

chkgrz.bsky.social•65 days ago

I started out in about 1997 with Redhat Linux. It was pretty rocky, but still better than Windows.

These days, I'm using Linux Mint (XFCE). Still better than Windows.

goreckis.co•65 days ago

I’ve been at it for about the same amount of time but there’s no way Linux in 1997 was in any way on the level of a Windows desktop experience. Getting X to even start was a Herculean task.

chkgrz.bsky.social•65 days ago

Getting X to start wasn't that hard for me. Of course I was already pretty proficient with computers (I cut my teeth on a Commodore 128) and I had some help.

For me, Linux was a breath of fresh air.

karpachameleon.bsky.social•65 days ago

I made a simple plex media server on a laptop with a broken screen. Ubuntu and an hour or so and it’s running great. Next project is pi-hole!

bionicjoe.bsky.social•65 days ago

Just upgraded my Pi-Hole when the Raspberry died after 7 years. (Ran it with a random power adapter for years.)

8 years later and it's even more necessary.
Originally my ad traffic would peak at 40% of DNS queries. Now it rarely drops below 40%.

seven3.design•64 days ago

Care to share your gravity lists?

bionicjoe.bsky.social•64 days ago

https://v.firebog.net/hosts/static/w3kbl.txt
https://v.firebog.net/hosts/AdguardDNS.txt
https://v.firebog.net/hosts/Admiral.txt
https://v.firebog.net/hosts/Easyprivacy.txt
https://v.firebog.net/hosts/Prigent-Ads.txt
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anudeepND/blacklist/master/adservers.txt

2 of 2

bionicjoe.bsky.social•64 days ago

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
https://secure.fanboy.co.nz/fanboy-annoyance.txt
https://easylist.to/easylist/easylist.txt
https://adaway.org/hosts.txt
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PolishFiltersTeam/KADhosts/master/KADhosts.txt
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FadeMind/hosts.extras/master/add.Spam/hosts

1 of 2

seven3.design•64 days ago

Thanks!! 5 of the 6 I had you posted so the only one I have to share back is:

https://phishing.army/download/phishing_army_blocklist.txt

buildchimp.bsky.social•64 days ago

If you really want to learn it, try to make sure you're doing something "real" on it, that you really need or want to get done. Everything new is like that, really. I find that extra motivation of trying to get shit done helps me break through the inevitable barriers I'll hit in anything new.

johnharv.bsky.social•65 days ago

Each tiny step or try or discovery is a step forward. You are learning, and will learn, so much; it'll blow your mind! Take many notes; it helps restarting from zero. Using VMs, as you note, helps the "oh I have this machine; I don't want to install over this!" feeling. Try virtualbox to learn!

davehowe.bsky.social•64 days ago

if you are linux-curious, and your existing windows machine doesn't support hyper-v, grab any free hypervisor (such as virtualbox) and install it. you don't even have to install linux yourself - prebuilt virtual machines can be downloaded for all the major distros.

thegu4ntl3t.bsky.social•65 days ago

Its not that bad! Its a nice upgrade to life!

pizzapaul.bsky.social•65 days ago

My Thinkpad just bricked itself. I'm going to try one more install (if there is a recovery partition) otherwise it's time to nuke and pave.

I don't know if I'm ready for Linux (I mean at 71 I could die before mastering it) but I bet I have a copy or two of Intel compatible OSX somewhere.

7atheist.bsky.social•65 days ago

You’re never too old to learn a new system. I’m 63. I started about a year ago with Mint and am now test driving Arch and Fedora.

chaosdaemon.bsky.social•65 days ago

Give Linux Mint a try. If you don't like it and since you already needed to reinstall Windows anyway no loss. Small learning curve to get used to terminology and where things are located but after the apps you need are installed it should be easy.

chkgrz.bsky.social•65 days ago

Seconded. The XFCE version is pretty good (that's what I use). It's lightweight (good for older hardware), and shouldn't be hard to adapt to.

ozxjo.bsky.social•64 days ago

If you are installing linux mint, it works out of the box ;-)
After installing it, watch some youtubes "of what to do after installing linux mint 22"
BTW 75 years old here, addicted distro hopper from opensuse, debian, fedora, arch & mint.
good luck & enjoy :-)

killeremcee.bsky.social•65 days ago

Never too late to learn!

jj-unifil.bsky.social•65 days ago

I'm currently learning Kali Linux. Interesting.

fbarrio.bsky.social•65 days ago

Leave Linux as a SERVER platform as it meant to be..

rjazzman323.bsky.social•64 days ago

old laptops do lousy at emulation and second of all you need to process your instruction implicitly regardless of your core operating system. either for Intel virtualization or Linux KMS to function correctly at decent speeds. mmm

dukedragon28.bsky.social•65 days ago

I did this and found one I want, but linux is still missing a few things I need. But I really dont wanna use 11 unless they let me erase copiolet. Such a difficult decision agh

snertkip.bsky.social•65 days ago

try Lubuntu 24.04 LTS
it has a windows xp like menu structure
its fast and reliable
i use it in an industrial enviroment.
and with muon package manager easy to install software.

killeremcee.bsky.social•65 days ago

Linux and open source software are in a better spot now, so you can easily find a free (sometimes better) alternative to what you're currently paying for.

I've been fishing around for what would be good for beginners and Linux Mint and Pop!_OS seem like a good starting point.

shoutsatclouds.bsky.social•65 days ago

I can't recommend Pop! for new users to Linux. Mint is a much better onboarding experience in my opinion. Things are in the same place and it just makes things easier.

That said, I'm glad you're enjoying the Linux experience!

killeremcee.bsky.social•65 days ago

And if you want to start maining LInux, there's dedicated hardware out there for it now!

Framework makes some amazing modular laptops and System76 (the folks behind Pop!_OS) have their own line of desktops and laptops. Just be sure to stick with AMD for your hardware since it's more Linux friendly.

killeremcee.bsky.social•65 days ago

I guess that's my PSA. Have fun learning and go fuck yourself, windows!

lilera57.bsky.social•65 days ago

Installed CachyOS after building my new 5600x 6600xt Rig. Works like a charm for the games that I play. Could not be happier

bushbaby53.bsky.social•65 days ago

Def don't want Win11
I did just that with an old laptop
As a GUI (windowy) PC it's fine but the command interface gets a bit of getting used to
Set up OBS and the important add-ons are available

Performance obviously limited by the PC

App availability is limited
Eg no simple equiv of Paint

fionnafire.bsky.social•64 days ago

Check out ventoy! You can load as many ISOs on a flash drive as you want and boot from each with a grub menu

seven3.design•64 days ago

I've been using it for yeeeeeears as a server OS, using SSH or building out my own simple webtools to do stuff, but rarely ever mess with it as a desktop. W11's AI crap is making me consider it, though.

bionicjoe.bsky.social•65 days ago

VM!?

Install that shit native a fly, dude!

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