cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/16676119
I am seriously considering pulling the trigger on a switch to Linux. Looking for advice and discussion
In terms of hardware, what are some good cost effective resources and what what things might I want to consider differently than what I am used to in both the Mac and Windows worlds? I need smart home management, a plex hub, and photo editing, as well as the usual other stuff.
EDIT: When I say photo editing, I am talking about working with RAW files to optimize the image according to my taste and style. I also make use of software that has good library organization capabilites. In this case, I use CaptureOne. I do not generally do the sort of editing people do in photoshop, putting unicorns in their pictures or whatever people do these days. I’m not opposed to cool creative images or anything, I just don’t go down that route terribly often.
My best advice is:
Don’t listen too much about what strangers on the Internet say you should do or use.
Non of us has statistics to pull from. Mostly it’s individual experience mixed with personal preferences. All that could be different for someone else. E.g. some people will have problems with Nvidia, other with AMD.
Stick to the basic and add fancy stuff later on.
Don’t pick a distribution because of the Desktop environment. Or because someone said it has a nifty feature. People create new distros all the time just for fun and not because there would be a real reason for it. Looking on the release cycle would probably be the most basic decision you should take. Read about the differences between “rolling release” and “long time support” and decide base on you personal use case.
Have a backup strategy
This is nothing limited to Linux but since you are planing to switch your habits, there is a high possibility you will mess up at some point. Best would be you try to stimulate the worst case and look if you would be able to setup your system in a VM or something.
Don’t be afraid to try things out
Especially when you know that your backup is working. There is not much you can lose. Don’t be afraid of using Arch Linux e.g. just because someone on the Internet said it’s just for pros or something.
So this last one is maybe just the consequences of all the above. But yeah I guess that’s all I could say for now 😅
There’s no doubt NVIDIA works worse than AMD. That’s just a well known fact.
I have extra old computers I can use for the hardware. Older than 4 years though. I probably would not install on my main machine yet until I know what I am doing. I did use Ubuntu like 10 years ago, and very much enjoyed it, but I’m assuming quite a bit is different and better now.
Love this. It’s related to one of the reasons I have recommended NixOS more often than I would have expected (not, however, as often as Fedora, Mint, etc.): if you’re heading into a new way of using a computer anyway, why not go with something that forces you to abandon assumptions and learn something truly new? With the side benefit of effortless rollbacks if something you fiddle with goes horribly wrong. :)
But, no, at risk of violating rule #1 in your post, just pick a distro, don’t worry too much about which, pick a desktop environment, don’t worry about which, use the machine, and if you have a negative experience only then remember that you can try another desktop environment, distro, etc. Eventually you’ll get to a distrohopping phase, but until then it’s just software and a computer is just a tool.
I’m a noob and dived right into Arch after light mint use on a spare laptop. Still waiting for the mythical update bork or system break.