Linux OS for a new user

Hello users,

This question may be offtopic here, but i need your kind suggestions. I am now going to reinstall an operating system in my computer.
I had Windows 10 earlier. Now I am thinking to use Linux. I have not used it before so I have a few doubts.

Will it be difficult to use and understand Linux?
Will Linux be faster than Winodows 10?

Thanks

 

As with all things, it's a learning experience. Ubuntu has come incredibly far over the last... honestly decade, just a great series of steady improvements (aside from their graphical shell, Unity, not to be confused with Unity, the game engine) and has become a lot easier to use, though it still has some shortcomings. You still have to dip into the command line every so often, and you will likely run into software compatibility issues, even with Wine's own improvements.

Leagues. I use Ubuntu on all my lower spec test rigs (right now I have the latest version running perfectly smooth on a mid-spec computer from 2009, even) and it's a dream come true compared to running modern Windows versions.

 

Hello Murgilod ,
Thank you very much for your extensive answer!

 

Linux has a lot of different flavors and options. You can select a distribution of Linux that fits your needs. I got my hands on an Intel NUC micro-computer, and tried installing Ubuntu on it. But Ubuntu didn't perform as well as I would have liked, given the minimalist specs of my diminutive NUC. So I scrapped that, and installed a variation of Linux Mint that was optimized for lower-power boxes. That did the trick. Now I have an extremely small computer that is able to perform reasonably well.

I still have to dig into the terminal occasionally. Especially when I'm dealing with programming. But a lot of common tasks these days don't require terminal access in Linux. Most Linux distros come with software repositories for installing common open-source application. I got Godot, GIMP, Inkscape, and Blender all installed on my NUC without touching the terminal. And all of them work and run fine.

 

Thanks RichardKain for your opnion

 

If you want to use Unity on Linux, you need to read here: https://blogs.unity3d.com/2019/05/30/announcing-the-unity-editor-for-linux/

 

My recommendation to newcomers is to try it out before you install it. Instructions on how to create a live flash drive can be found below. Once it's installed on the flash drive you can simply boot to it. That way if you decide it isn't for you or that you don't like the distribution you don't have to re-install anything.

https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/linux/create-a-bootable-ubuntu-usb-flash-drive-the-easy-way/

For choice of distribution Ubuntu is definitely a very popular option but others are Linux Mint and PopOS. With a flash drive you can simply try them until you find one that you like.

 

If you are not very technical or are afraid of the command line, then Linux isn't for you. Almost always you can fix issues in modern desktop Linux releases without having to edit text files or use the command line, but emphasis on the "almost" part. You may need to install a graphics driver update which requires compiling against kernel headers from command line, or you may hit some issue there isn't yet a graphical tool ready available to resolve.

Other than that, Linux is a lot of fun and you'll open your eyes to new possibilities and the freedom that a computer should be.

As you probably are already aware, the defacto standard in desktop linux is Ubuntu. If you go with Ubuntu choose the latest LTS release. If you want to try out a distro other than Ubuntu, knock yourself out. Usually the biggest problem when doing so is when you need help and you google your issue, you will almost always find the answer on how to fix your problem on Ubuntu - which may have slightly different steps to resolve in other distros. (That's actually the primary reason I just stick with Ubuntu even though other distros sometimes are objectively better in some ways)

Have fun!

 

Only with distributions that aren't beginner friendly, and these are rapidly becoming fewer in number. Ubuntu can do this entirely through a GUI (Software Update Manager) while PopOS installs the proprietary driver for you.

https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/ubuntu-linux-install-nvidia-driver-latest-proprietary-driver/

 

Yeah I know, but occasionally the driver included with Ubuntu will have some issue with your individual graphics card, and you have to install a specific driver which resolves the issue either from nvidia or made available by the card manufacturer (happened to me at one point). Rare, but does happen.

 

Will Linux be faster than Winodows 10?

The shear of infested background//spyware garbage on win10.. absolutely yes, background services in Win10 is just ffcking shocking, even disabling alot you're still stuck with a lot of third party idiot companies all jumping on the lets dump a bunch of tracking S*** background software/ nvidia/autowreck/adobe/etc the list retarded companies and the amount background/ driver/ licencing S***e that has to run often needlessly when you aren't even using there crap...can't even forget unity now... UnityHelper.exe chewing up 5% in the background just because it's opened... its literately doing nothing.. but hey 4% cpu ..why not.

Anyway I'd still use Win7 over any Linux distro, most of them barely match the UX of WinXp....of course the software available is mostly complete rubbish sadly, they don't have a good firewall like https://www.netlimiter.com/ , don't have a good music player, video player.. eh I could go on, it's disappointment all around, but I guess if you just use it for exactly what does work.. like maybe Unity Editor? Whatever other productive software and IDE's cross platform stuff mostly, because ain't really anything exclusive to Linux that is worth talking about in it's eco system.

I did try Manjaro XFCE, KDE and Gnome a few weeks back on another PC... apart from Gnome which was only barely tolerable, the others were complete S***, right down to simple stuff like resizing a window, NO diagonal resizing from the bottom right corner.. I was just blown away by that.. like HOW IN FfffCK is that still overlooked, meanwhile resizing for the topright corner, mear pixels away from the close window button.. you could resize from that corner.. sometimes you just want to yell the idiots responsible for such asinine design and S*** development.. but then it's 'free'.. ergo its going to be S*** I guess, despite Windows XP being over 15+ years old offering a good template on what the fffck you need to do in order to get basic window/ux done acceptably, I guess those behind all these various linux distros got lost in making crap fluff instead of just getting the damn basics right, forget power user functionality, or a file manager that isn't complete garbage, or any of the various explorer shell extensions Windows has, or at least had ..most are giving up on even bothering with the ongoing train wreck that in win S***ting 10 and it's garbage updates, they've can't even get a dark theme right because the OS is a clusterfk of S*** dumb downed design complete with simpleton design flat crap coloring themes and square corner design.. clearly a large bunch of a squares took over turning Windows into a pile of crap since win7.

Still yet to try Linux Mint might do that next to find out for myself, only way to be sure really.

 

If you're planning on using Unity (the game engine), then stick with Ubuntu, or maybe CentOS. Those are the only ones officially supported.

Keep in mind also that there's a difference between your OS running faster and your overall productivity being faster. At least at first, you'll almost certainly spend more time just trying to get things working in Linux, whereas you could be spending the same amount of time doing actual game development in Windows if that's what you're familiar with. But if you're willing to invest the time to learn Linux, you might be happier using it in the long run, especially if you're willing to use the command line when it benefits you. Longtime POSIX users who have to work in Windows often install Linux-like tools in Windows to get all the command-line productivity tools that they can't live without.

Another thing to keep in mind: If you're making games for other people to play, and not just to learn game dev, the majority of players use Windows. You will need some kind of Windows machine / boot option to test your builds.

 

Windows 7 will no longer be supported by Microsoft after January 14th next year. I'm also preparing to switch to Linux, either Ubuntu or CentOS.

I'll keep my Windows 7 installed but I'll avoid going on the internet with it. And anyway, at some point in the future, Unity will no longer be compatible with Windows 7 so...

 

Thank you very much for your extensive answer guys.