#AskFedi #LaptopLinux best system to load on a Dell Latitude 7490 which has Windows OS (10, I think) after a fresh factory reset.
This one's so old it still has a mechanical hard drive in it. All I've heard of is Mint, so please fill my ear about other versions and what's what in detail, thanks. #newbie to Linux although I've had a class in Unix a bazillion years ago.
This one's so old it still has a mechanical hard drive in it. All I've heard of is Mint, so please fill my ear about other versions and what's what in detail, thanks. #newbie to Linux although I've had a class in Unix a bazillion years ago.
Unus Nemo
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •@Radio Free Trumpistan
Mint is pushed on new users as it is trendy. The reality is that all distros use the same kernel and basic (POSIX) software. Aside from some differences in trivial choices in the directory hierarchy and some philosophical choices, such as whether to allow non-free software by default without the user explicitly enabling non-free repositories. There is not much of a difference. Any DE (Desktop Environment) can be used on any Distro except tiny distros designed for ancient computers. Distros that really do take more experience and you probably want to steer away from until you have more experiences are:
Arch, Gentoo, Alpine and Slack
They all have a larger learning curve and it helps if you already are familiar with your machine before approaching those distros. With that said I recommend that you try out.
Fedora, Debian, Mint (based on Debian not Ubuntu), or any number of the newer distros ba
... show more@Radio Free Trumpistan
Mint is pushed on new users as it is trendy. The reality is that all distros use the same kernel and basic (POSIX) software. Aside from some differences in trivial choices in the directory hierarchy and some philosophical choices, such as whether to allow non-free software by default without the user explicitly enabling non-free repositories. There is not much of a difference. Any DE (Desktop Environment) can be used on any Distro except tiny distros designed for ancient computers. Distros that really do take more experience and you probably want to steer away from until you have more experiences are:
Arch, Gentoo, Alpine and Slack
They all have a larger learning curve and it helps if you already are familiar with your machine before approaching those distros. With that said I recommend that you try out.
Fedora, Debian, Mint (based on Debian not Ubuntu), or any number of the newer distros based on them. You can check out [ur]=https://distrowatch.com]DistroWatch[/ur] Though read twice and make sure you are looking at a General Purpose (GP) OS (Operating System) as they also have a lot of Domain Specific (DS) distros listed as well. A DS distro is intended for a specific purpose such as to build a firewall machine or for Security and Forensic. You should not choose a DS as a Daily Driver (an OS you use for every day purposes).
I have used many distros. I like Fedora. It is a rolling distro and maintains the most recent packages in its repos. You might prefer Debian that keeps an LTS (Long Time Support) and only adopts newer version of packages when they are security releases or offer a significant change as they see it.
The best way to choose a distro is to use a distro. Download some ISOs and install them on a Virtual Machine or run them from a USB drive (better choice) and see how you like them. Most important keep this in mind. There is not best distro, only the distro that is best for you! The same goes for your choice on DE. You will hear a lot of people push their favorite flavor of GNU/Linux, or even suggest BSD. Though the best this is you decide. Allowing someone else to choose is a lot like letting someone else decide what shoe is most comfortable for you. It really is a very personal decision that you are going to use a lot of metrics two decide. The choice will be very different for many people.
When you finally choose a distro do not be scared to download others and install them to an external usb drive and try them out. New variations are always coming around. You may fine something you like better than your initial choice.
You might also want to trade out that HDD for a SSD. They are very affordable and you can watch a You Tube video on how to install it. It is extremely simple.
Definitely try out Fedora, it has many choices as to DE and such. It even has what we call Immutable versions that some people like. I personally use the default Workstation with Gnome.
Radio Free Trumpistan
in reply to Unus Nemo • •@Unus Nemo
Thank you for such a detailed response. I'll say that I've heard not so nice things about Fedora but since I haven't tried any distro at this point, I have no idea what that was about....some dust-up re: Git Hub or something, I don't remember.
Since I do have a laptop with a digital drive in it, the HDD in this experimental laptop isn't an issue, really. This is me dipping my toe in Linux water for the first time and am looking for a good place to start dipping the toe. Of course exploration is part of the experiment, but as time permits.
Thanks again, very much!
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Unus Nemo
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •@Radio Free Trumpistan
In all honesty most differences most people point out are moot. The important thing is to find a distro you work well with. A high percentage of Developers use Fedora. So some people view it as a developers distro. Though there is no real bases for that conclusion.
Radio Free Trumpistan likes this.
Radio Free Trumpistan
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •Unus Nemo likes this.
Unus Nemo
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •I do not use rufus so I am not sure about rufus. I am at work though I will get back to you tomorrow.
Radio Free Trumpistan likes this.
Radio Free Trumpistan
in reply to Unus Nemo • •I appreciate that, thanks. I just want to add that Rufus can only run on the laptop with no internet connection and not my connected desktop because the desktop is Win7 and I suspect Rufus insists on Win10 or later. Setting up the laptop for internet will disturb other people on the LAN.
Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •Thanks, plan-A--I did manage to access the internet via the laptop in question last night without disturbing people. I then successfully created the thumbdrive last night. I'm at the point where I can boot up on the drive to see if the configuration is the correct one, so I'm not there yet--but it's all still in progress. Thanks!
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Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •Heh. One step at a time. This is my first time and I'm still not familiarized with even the first installation. YET. I need time.
At the point of this writing I have it installed on the laptop but don't have the required disk space to install it on the HDD, so the thing remains thumb drive dependent.
Unus Nemo likes this.
Unus Nemo
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •@Radio Free Trumpistan
Let me know if you are just trying to get a different experience in Desktop Environments (DE) or if you are actually trying to learn the CLI (Command Line Interface). For an average user it really isn't necessary to learn the CLI. You can install everything from Gnome Software and about any software you would want for the average user (and then some) will be available. Then again maybe you would like to learn both? It is up to you and your needs. I do have some advice for some useful Gnome Extensions once you have an install. In the screenshot below you will notice there is more going on in my status bar than on a default install. This is provided by Gnome Extensions. And this is true on any distro if you are using Gnome as your DE. So it is not just useful for Fedora. Let me know more of you intentions and I will be better able to help you. Though for now I need to get some rack. I have not been to sleep yet since I left work and I am exhausted. I will no doubt be around this evening.
Unus Nemo
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •@Radio Free Trumpistan
It only requires like 8 gigs or less for a pretty complete install. Did you make sure to format your HDD? I need some sleep but I will help some more when I get up. I really do not think you could possibly not have enough space on the HDD. I think either you did not chose the right device (perhaps the HDD is not showing up?) or you did not tell the setup to partition and format the drive for a GNU/Linux installation. Not sure, some screenshots will help though, even if you have to take them with your phone until you have the system up.
Though you will be able to get an idea from running it on a USB. It will just be a bit slower than if installed on an actual hard drive.
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Radio Free Trumpistan
in reply to Unus Nemo • •This laptop is intended for use as-is, so the HDD stays. It wasn't formatted because I wasn't sure I wanted to burn the Windows bridge, as it were, just yet. The installer gives me the option to free up more memory by deleting specific Windows space, and all I deleted was the thing called something like Windows bit reserve or some such. Welp--since this is a spare nonessential laptop, I guess I gotta go all the way with burning my bridges to Windows.
Radio Free Trumpistan
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •Well guess what--I booted off the thumb drive and went into setup without clearing any more memory as I thought I might have to. I did a search on "laptop lid" and got no results. What I want to do now is force the laptop to stay off when I lift the lid. There's a setting for that in Windows but I can't find one in Fedora. I need to disable that thing.
Radio Free Trumpistan
in reply to Unus Nemo • •I can't say that I know what I need in terms of CLI but I'm thinking it would come in handy. I'm still exploring and Job One right now is to disable the lid from turning on the laptop when I lift it. I want it to be power button only.
Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •Adding VM means more stuff I gotta learn and I just ain't there yet.
Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •I'm not doing a dual boot. It's all Fedora. Now if only I can make this thing stop powering up when I open the lid.
Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •I wasn't aware of that, but I got it working now. The lid thing is in the BIOS, so mission accomplished there, too.
Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •Didn't know that. I'm good now. FOR now, that is, ha.
Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •YouTube blocks me because I use ad blockers. Nothing on YouTube is an option--sorry.
Radio Free Trumpistan
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •Oh good lord--because you already lost me with all that. I'm still trying to determine which end is up.
Radio Free Trumpistan
Unknown parent • •Well dammit, I could have used that for Monsterdon yesterday.Gonna keep that one in mind for next Sunday, by golly.
Radio Free Trumpistan
in reply to Radio Free Trumpistan • •Unus Nemo likes this.
Unus Nemo
Unknown parent • •@plan-A
One of the reasons I left Meta was that they moderated your account for any mention of Distro Watch. Even in our Linux support groups. They called it a Cyber Security issue with absolutely no explanation as to why it was considered a threat. Then they started moderating your account for any mention of Linux period. Even in a Linux Support group. That really drew the line for me.
Unus Nemo
Unknown parent • •@plan-A
If you are having a hard time reaching Distro Watch it may be because of your anonymous browsing. Many sites block Tor these days because of misuse (spammers and trolls using it to keep from being banned). You could try a proxy.
Unus Nemo
Unknown parent • •@plan-A
Many scammers use domain names close to popular name in order to attack the unexpected. That is why it is important to do your due diligence and be sure you are on an official site. The other day number one search result for a common utility came back for a site that wanted to sell you a copy of what you could get from the official site for free.
Unus Nemo
Unknown parent • •@plan-A
A bridge only prevents your ISP from knowing you are using Tor, it does not in anyway stop your destination site from knowing. All exits are public knowledge and sites use that data to block Tor browsers. There is nothing to stop a site from knowing you are using Tor besides an online proxy.
I have used Tor and contributed off and on for decades. I am very familiar with the project and what it can do and what it cannot.
Unus Nemo
Unknown parent • •@plan-A
Tor does not use DNS so adjusting it will not change anything. You use a web based proxy at the end of the chain which will obfuscate your IP of your Tor exit. This is the only way to get past sites that block Tor. As I said bridges have nothing to do with it, as that is your entry point and is an entirely different topic and an entirely different reason to use them.
Unus Nemo
Unknown parent • •@plan-A
Right now I am busy reading a book but later I will get you some links to online proxy sites. Do not use a proxy browser or something that you would have to download. You need a proxy site that you can access while browsing. I will get you urls later. A site that lets you plug in the url you want to go to and then connects you to it. You should have to do nothing at all to your configuration to get it to work and they do not even require JS to work.
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