Linux people!

[alexseanchai]

I had the thought that maybe one of the reasons I can get work shit done so much easier On The Clock than Anywhere Else is, at my previous job I was not primarily on a personal device.

...Okay so that isn't going to work so hot for work shit that isn't directly For The Corporate Overlords or whatever. Unless I acquire a second laptop, which, uh. Shall we not?

But hey! I have previously turned a Windows machine into a Windows-Linux dual-boot without difficulty! I could make this laptop also a Linux machine and use the Linux for work shit! And just...not let myself log in to social media shit on the Linux side. (I'd still have access to the things on my phone, but I got work shit done just fine at previous job by alternating the work desktop and my phone.)

Ubuntu is what I had ten years and several machines ago. I have forgotten everything.

And I'm sure Linux options have changed in the past ten years! Techradar is currently recommending Zorin OS for total newbies, Linux Mint for beginners, and Ubuntu (or Lubuntu for less graphics-heavy or Ubuntu Studio for audio and video processing) for somewhat more experienced users. iTechHacks and It's FOSS concur.

*debates*

Does anyone have any strong opinions?

Comments

[echan]

Ubuntu is good for newbies for one really big reason -- its insane popularity means google'ing for help with any issues is much much easier than with another Linux distro. I cannot overstate how big a benefit this is, how many potential headaches it avoids. One downside is that the initial install is somewhat bare, so you may find yourself needing to look for 'basic' apps to install from day one.

I've heard good things about Mint, even from experienced users and coworkers. Never used it myself, not for any particular reason.

[alexseanchai]

:)

I decided on Ubuntu Studio—for some reason I thought I was trying to install 18.04, but that's the current release; the current long-term-support release, which is what I'm happier with on principle, is 16.04—and Things Went South. Proooobably user error. I'm ceding defeat for the evening.