this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2024
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Step 0 really doesn't need to be hard. Most Linux distros have largely the same compatibility with software, so pick something popular so you can get good community support. For that, I recommend Mint. Pick the flavor that looks pretty to you, and go for it, and if you can't decide, get the Debian edition (LMDE).
You're probably going to decide to use something else after getting to know Linux, and that's 100% fine, but you want something stable and popular to start with so you don't need to learn everything at once. After that, branch out to try something else until you find what works for you. I started with Ubuntu (all I knew about), then Fedora (what school used in CS labs), then Arch (rec from coworker), and now I'm on openSUSE Tumbleweed. For a new user, the differences honestly don't matter much, but once you get familiar with the basics, you'll start to develop opinions and want to try things out.
So keep it simple, install Mint and you'll probably have a good experience. Or if that doesn't look good for whatever reason, pick Debian or pretty much any Debian derivative (Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, etc). Those are really popular in the community, and you should have no problem getting help.