this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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I have tried Linux as a DD on and off for years but about a year ago I decided to commit to it no matter the cost. First with Mint, then Ubuntu and a few others sprinkled in briefly. Both are "mainstream" "beginner friendly" distros, right? I don't want anything too advanced, right?

Well, ubuntu recently updated and it broke my second monitor (Ubuntu detected it but the monitor had "no signal"). After trying to fix it for a week, I decided to wipe it and reinstall. No luck. I tried a few other distros that had the same issue and I started to wonder if it was a hardware issue but I tried a Windows PC and the monitor worked no problem.

Finally, just to see what would happen I tried a distro very very different than what I'm used to: Fedora (Kinoite). And not only did everything "just work" flawlessly, but it's so much faster and more polished than I ever knew Linux to be!

Credit where it's due, a lot of the polish is due to KDE plasma. I'd never strayed from Gnome because I'm not an expert and people recommend GNOME to Linux newbies because it's "simple" and "customizable" but WOW is KDE SO MUCH SIMPLER AND STILL CUSTOMIZEABLE. Gnome is only "simple" in that it doesn't allow you to do much via the GUI. With Fedora Kinode I think I needed to use the terminal maybe once during setup? With other distros I was constantly needed to use the terminal (yes its helped me learn Linux but that curve is STEEP).

The atomic updates are fantastic too. I have not crashed once in the two weeks of setup whereas before I would have a crash maybe 1-2 times per week.

I am FULLY prepared for the responses demanding to know what I did to make it crash and telling me how I was using it wrong blah blah blah but let me tell you, if you are experienced with Windows but want to learn Linux and getting frustrated by all the "beginner" distros that get recommended, do yourself a favor and try Fedora Kinoite!

edit: i am DYING at the number of "you're using it wrong" comments here. never change people.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Because it can't hibernate? (But then, not sure which distros can.)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I run Bazzite, which is Fedora Atomic, that hibernates just fine. In fact, so far it's the only one that does. Arch and Mint both would never come back from sleep.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

There was a time when I thought about switching to Fedora when I ditch Windows in 2025, but the frequent release schedule of Fedora has made me worried if those updates risk breaking my setup.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

I'm a big fan personally. I an experimenting more with OpenSUSE's distro including microOS but that not because of Fedora but more so I want to recommend options that are easy to scale into FOSS professionally for people too and unfortunately RedHat no longer offers that path for Fedora users.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

I generally do mention that I like my Fedora KDE, but I'm a little worried about SELinux. I have had two or three run-ins with it, and I think that would be hard to diagnose for a noob.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)
  • Updates inevitably lead to things breaking sometimes. If you want to avoid things breaking as often, using something stable (like Debian) would help.

  • The benefits you are describing are probably because of KDE vs Gnome and not a distro thing.

  • Fedora does things differently than Ubuntu/Debian (mainly package management, but there are other small things). Because of this, noobs & intermediate users alike will get frustrated at things "not being how they are supposed to be"

All that said, if Fedora works for you, keep on using it. I daily drove it for about a year before switching to other things.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I didn't have any problem using Arch Linux which many say is much more newbie unfriendly but I had several problems using Fedora most related to Intel video drivers and I couldn't solve them in any way. The fan of my Intel Nuc started to run on maximum when I opened the browser lol. All drivers were correctly installed

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Because SE Linux drove me bonkers once and I am petty.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Kinoite shows the future of noob Linux I think, but it's still new and has some rough edges. I installed it on an ARM and couldn't make it wake up from sleep.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

I quite often recommend the atomic flavors of Fedora to people and have it set up for a few people (my mother for example). I think atomic distributions are perfect for tech unsavory people, because they can't really damage anything and it mimics/reproduces lots of the things they are already used from their phones.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

I do recommend Fedora. It's what I started on (besides tails) and after a couple years I've moved to FedoraKDE.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

KDE was far less stable for me compared to Gnome. In the end, my patience with KDE lasted for 1 week.

KDE is more exiting and familiar, but it had no tangible advantage in the end for me.

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