Linux @lemmy.world figjam @midwest.social 6d ago

Q: New to linux, is steam os an ok pseudo casual distro?

I want to get some experience with Linux before win 10 goes end of support. I won't be using this machine for work. Gaming primarily but also 3d printing and possibly some light piracy. Is there any reason not to install steam os?

Thanks in advance kind and wise nerds in my phone.

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I had nearly no idea what I was doing and starting with Debian seems to have gone ok. Others said Linux mint is beginner friendly but I haven't tried it.
- Debian is not a beginner distro. It requires some knowledge and advanced setup. Mint is the default for new users nowadays.
  
  I dunno, I just installed 12 on a 32-bit oldster and it was smooth and painless. I guess you need apt but any linux distro is going to have a little bit of a learning bump.
  
  I say any distro you want to try - go for it. You'll likely overwrite it in a week or two anyway. In the process you'll pick up the 1337 sk33lz and eventually find your flava.
  
  LMAO, only because RTFM became a bad word.
  
  You too can use debian, the only prerequisite is knowing how to read.
  
  Well I personally think having to read documentation ,manually set up sudoers and add repos is worse for the first impression than installing a distro that mostly just works.
  
  FYI: If you leave out root password on install, it instead sets your user up with sudo privileges.
  
  How can a new user know that? Same with the domain name that Debian installer asks you to enter.
  
  It says so on the installer page where you are asked to enter a root password.
  
  FWIW: I'm not arguing for or against Debian as a beginner friendly distribution. Just mentioning that you don't have to set up sudo manually.
  
  I installed Debian at least 3 times and don't remember ever seeing that message.
  
  It has for sure been there for at least a decade now. I think most people autopilot through OS installs.
  
  manually set up sudoers
  
  You just install sudo and add yourself to the sudo group, or do you think sudo should be available to all users of the system by default?
  
  What repos do you need to add? If you don't want to add a repo just download a release and chuck it on $PATH (same for an appimage) or compile it yourself ./configure; make -j$(nproc).
  
  I'm happy mint or pop or whatever exist, I don't care which distro or even OS you use, but the above is beginner linux (including reading docs).
  
  Nonfree is usually something people are going to want to enable (Nvidia, Steam, Media codecs, etc)
  
  You can install a nonfree image, but a person could argue that needing to know which image is needed is already more advanced than other distributions.
  
  Ive been a Debian user for more years than I want to think about. Its what I use the most, more so if derivatives are included. Even more if you count all the Debian VMs and LXCs.
  
  I'd still recommend LMDE for new users. My comfort is not the same as new user comfort.
- Debian is a fine distro, but it's main strategy is being "the stable distro". So most software packages are at least a little out of date because they only put the most stable and tested versions of software in their default repos. You can add other repos to get around this if you want the latest and greatest, but most other repos keep their main package list more up to date.
  
  Debian is fantastic if you want to set up a quick and easy home server due to it's long and solid history, huge user base, simplicity and stability.
  
  So most software packages are at least a little out of date because they only put the most stable and tested versions of software in their default repos.
  
  And for many people, this is a good thing. By favoring reliability, Debian Stable provides the most low-maintenance experience of any distro I've ever used. (And I've been using them for a long time.)
  
  The packaged software is generally up to date when a new Debian release lands. It's a year or two between releases, but that's fine, because the vast majority of software already had the features I needed, and I'm not addicted to watching version numbers rise or fiddling about with UI changes that some developers like to make every month. Security updates do come between releases, and the two or three packages that sometimes warrant a faster update cycle are easy enough to add if needed.
  
  For sure. I use it on my home servers and love it.
  
  stable is not the only debian release, and debian offers multiple ways to integrate newer package versions into your system. Anyone that can read a manual can run a reasonably up to date rolling release on debian.

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