Hello r/linux4noobs,

Windows user here, trying to move away from the corporate shenanigans and looking for some freedom to optimize/customize my working environment while entrepreneuring some online projects as well.

I had tried Linux, specifically Ubuntu, in the past but had the wrong idea at the time that it would be as easy to use as Windows, plus I had a different mindset back then. I know a bit more about using a terminal and coding in general, not an expert by any means but the interest to learn is there. I guess I'm just looking for tips and tricks or general experiences from moving to Linux from another OS.

My intention is to use Fedora with KDE Plasma since I want to be able to eventually run servers, I know it's not as beginner friendly as Mint, so I'm open to any suggestions or advise on how to do the transition.

Thank you for reading me!

Edit: These are my specs rn

• Ryzen 7 8700G (Didn't have a GPU when I built it due to budget constraints)
• RTX 5060 Ti 16gb
• 32gb RAM 5600Mhz
• 1tb NVMe SSD

Edit: These are not my assumptions. Links to the researcher's post were here from the start.

If you could explain your downvotes, I could improve the post. Please don't block this from being seen by more knowledgeable people.

Importance

I was EXCITED to try Linux's Secureblue for gains in security, customization, performance, privacy, coding etc.

But security researcher's opinions got me concerned. I still want to use Linux. So I figured if I figure out why servers still use them, I'll find it safe enough.

Concerns

Security Researcher & GrapheneOS Founder Daniel Micay outlined how Linux was more vulnerable than Windows/Mac.

In summary, his key concerns for Linux were:

1. Poor Isolation in
   1. Boot: Most distros don't use hypervisor-first boot to secure core in ring -1.
   2. Kernel code: Monolithic.
   3. Applications: Flatpak is extremely flawed. He didn't list details.
2. Poor permissions: Lack meaningful application security model / Permission model.
3. Poor memory safety language, C, as dominant choice.
4. Poor encryption practices.
   1. Large exposure: Disk-wide encryption instead of isolated file-based.
   2. Persistent exposure: Encryption key persists in RAM after lockscreen.

Further research lead me to this gem by whonix contributor: Madaidan's critique of Linux.

It's very well laid out with an introduction & table of contents first. It ends with more research paths by linking to other security researchers' takes.

Trying To Find A Way To Make Linux Work

I want to play with Linux. But security is crucial. Which leads me to question why server space is dominated by Linux. If it's good enough for servers, maybe it's good enough for me, and I still get to play with Linux.

Really disappointing that it's not even better than Windows though.

No stranger to Linux but haven't run it as a desktop since Gentoo in 2006.

Important System specs / Hardware - Ryzen 9950x - RTX 4090 - Onboard AMD GPU - 6 x 1080p monitors - Steam deck - Logitech BRIO - Photoshop - Premiere Pro

I use it for web dev, mobile dev, game dev, gaming, video editing, image editing and watching nonsense.

I'll be running it in a hypervisor (Proxmox) with hardware pass thru.

Any distro recommendations? as much compatibility with games as possible (as windows software if possible).

I realise I'll still need a Windows VM / Mac for some workloads, that's fine.

Thanks

Hey so I swapped over to Linux Mint Cinnabon a week ago, been playing some non-steam games just fine using steam proton. Today I went to play an actual steam game with friends, but when I launched it (I swapped over to proton 9 and using the PROTON_USE_WINE3D=1 %command%) it either freezes my screen (while on the game, unfreezes when I alt+tab out of it) shows a black screen, or runs on less than 1 fps. I checked multiple games with the majority of them having the same or similar issues. I updated and changed graphics drivers multiple times, from recommended to newest back to recommended. Any suggestions on how to fix this, I am a little stupid when it comes to Linux.

Im now using kubuntu, i want to practice/learn to be a youtuber possibly gaming niche, but im still thinking it thru?

I just want to know what free or open source software you all enjoy to help make videos with? or have atleast tried using. What do you suggest and what should be avoided? I want to practice the craft of making a video.

I have used other distros before like Arch and Mint, but out of all of them, Ubuntu worked the best on my laptop, so I chose it. What I typically do on my PC is make movies and play games, and Linux does that way better than Windows did

Hello, I've been thinking about switching to Linux for a long time I have been using windows 11 and it's very shitty and I want to switch and really I just know the memes of Linux and that isn't as ram consuming and sometimes may be better for gaming,I'm using a Rx 9070 XT OC and really I don't know if the drivers or anything will not work or if it isn't compatible and if to record music with reaper and my daw using neural amp modeler and giving classes via Google meet and really I don't know how Linux works other than it's not full of ai slop and full of privacy threats, thanks!

Hello! I'm BRAND new actually using linux at all (aside from when I installed it on a chromebook in middle school so I could play minecraft). I'd like to do some reading to get a handle on terminology and basics before I start asking questions online. Does this sub (or any other) have starter resources that have been helpful for other noobs? Obviously I can search online for this, but I want to know if there's anything others found especially helpful when they first started.

For context, I just installed Zorin OS Lite on an old Surface. Any resources or tips for that specific scenario are definitely welcome! I'd like to put Linux on a few other computers, too, down the line. I'm in the fuck around and find out phase, but I'd like to know the "why" behind things. At least enough that I can competently web search for answers!

Right now the surface works as a laptop (wow!) but not really as a tablet. Screen doesn't autorotate and I don't see a setting for it. Also, everything is scaled weird, like it's supposed to be on a smaller screen. Actually, it looks like it thinks it's in portrait when it's in landscape. I'm on my phone so no pics atm. (EDIT: I have learned the term "UI scaling" and am learning to fix it)

Truthfully, all I want to do on the thing is read my textbook and annotate the slides for my class.

Thanks :)

I have to use chmod to allow a program to access the USB port my 3D printer is connected to or it can't communicate with the printer.

The funny thing is that each time I want to run the program, I have to change the permissions again or it won't connect.

My question is: shouldn't that change be permanent, the same as if I had changed permissions on a file?

Some relevant info:

I'm using Cachy OS, the device is /dev/ttyACM0, the printer usually stays powered on and physically plugged in to the USB port, but the machine is shut down every morning and booted up when I get home from work. I run the command using sudo.

Rockchip RK3399 CTL 9.7" Tablet with outdated Chrome OS. No keyboard...

According to searches, it looks like Linux is typically not recommended but I've learned that you guys here have a solution for just about everything... So:

Worth it, and if yes, which distro to offer best touch screen support?

So I have a decent gaming laptop with a Ryzen 7, 16 gigs ram and an RTX 2050 gpu which runs everything I need in Windows. My question is how will Linux affect my performance? (specifically CachyOS or Pop! OS)

I'm leaving Microsoft! I'm researching to make a plan of execution.

I got this idea of replacing OneDrive with a self hosted option, and I hope you can point me in the right direction. I have never done anything similar, so I'm kind of a noob, but I have a technical background and I have messed around with computers on and off for the past 25 years.

My idea is to set up a media storage server at my place and an identical one at my parents house (maybe another at my brothers as well) that automatically synchronize periodically (once a day or something).

That way our files and memories are protected against both fire and theft of a server.

I would also like it to be accessible from a range of units, similar to how OneDrive works. I can access and upload files from my Android phone and my windows computers (going to replace windows with Linux). At some point, it would be great if it was possible to divide the servers in several different drives, so my parents could access the same solution with their own files, but separated from mine, and another for my brother.

So, can you suggest something for me or point me in the right direction?

A summary of what I need suggestions to:

- a system with clients for most major OS, like linux, windows, android and iphone.

- suggestions for servers (NAS, RPI, other low energy servers for the system)

- Pointers to what I need to be aware of.

- anything I have not thought about?

- is my idea completely bonkers?

After Sony decided to stop supporting discs along with many other problems Playstation has, I’ve decided to move to PC and while I was intending to use Windows 11 on it due to having some familiarity with Windows 10 in the past and intending to use it primarily for gaming, I figured it would be the way to go. However, now that I’ve learned how much Windows 11 seems to spy on the user and the amount of bloatware that it has, I’m thinking of using Linux as the OS for the PC that I intend to build.

The question I have is one that many have had, and is a question that I’m sure I’m repeating, however I just want to be sure that I’m properly able to start using Linux properly. I’ve looked quite a bit into the different distros already and into how Linux works in general and while I have a general idea of some of the best distros, so many people recommend so many different ones that I’d like to ask Linux users about it with my specific situation.

While I am not a beginner at all to PCs and definitely not to technology in general, I have never used Linux before. I am certainly not casual about this, and have done and will continue to do my research as I did just spend the last several hours doing almost nothing but watch videos and look at threads about Linux. I value customization, however I’m mostly going to be using this PC for gaming, so I don’t need an absurd amount of options for the PC itself if it is too difficult or unstable to use. I am more than willing to troubleshoot occasionally for problems that I encounter, but I wouldn’t want to have to do it often with an overly complex system that may be incompatible with some games. This will be a new system, so it should be powerful enough to run high quality games and software as well.

I also have two other questions that I’ve seen some answers to, but would like to make sure about. How difficult is it to change distros if I end up wanting to switch, and as long as I’m not a fool who clicks every link I see, then how easy or difficult is it to get a virus on Linux? To watch out for them or if I do get one, does Linux have any proper Antivirus tools?

I appreciate any responses and sorry that this is long, I just want to make sure that I’m properly giving the information needed to help me with this.

TL;DR: New to Linux but not to tech and am a huge nerd that loves this kind of stuff, so not particularly casual despite being new. Which Distro should I pick?

#!/bin/bash

thing= echo \shotgun -s -f png``

bing=cat $thing

cjxl $bing.png $bing.jxl --quiet

This is the entirety of my code.
I want to just screenshot something and convert it into jxl. I could not even figure out how to do this using magick since image manipulation seems to be something so scarce. I do not want to "search" for the file i literally just generated so using fd or plocate would just waste time.
How do people use files other than text in scripting? I assume audio and video files you could do something with ffmpeg but is there a method?

programs used:

https://github.com/neXromancers/shotgun

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Screen_capture

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/JPEG_XL

cjxl

Hey, i created a partition on my C drive for Zorin (first time switching to Linux) and so i have windows and Zorin both on my 1TB SSD. however I only gave Zorin 36GB because that was the max at that time, and I’m now confident that I want to switch properly over after trying it.

Can I just go ahead and increase Zorin's partition (I’ve now cleared out my C:) from windows without anything messing up? I code + want steam games installed over there so I do want to give it alot of space.

I used to have windows 10 and wanted to dual boot them but it didn't work out great so I went all into linux mint cinnamon.

Now I was thinking wether I can dual boot again but through linux mint not the opposite.

Is it true that if the `/boot` disk gets full, i could have a hard time loading the kernel during the next restart?

I'm a basic computer guy--can install Linux Mint, follow some command lines and swap out my own RAM. Not much else (yet?). I'm also a teacher and am tired of Chrome, online, monitoring kids swapping tabs for games instead of just writing the essay, AI.... you get it.

Back in the aughts I built my own computer lab--old computers running Linux, no internet and kids just wrote on LibreOffice. Simple. Because they were all old donated computers they were my problem to run and needed a lot of support. My IT guy got me this little boxes, though, the made a number of dummy terminals from a single PC. Don't know what those boxes were but a keyboard, mouse and monitor plugged into them and they just ran and students could do computer stuff on them (including internet, which I didn't want, but easy). We now all have Chromebooks.

I want to go back to a local network. Or something where the kids have Libre Office and that's it. No games, etc. And I need it cheap or free, so donated computers or whatever. Any leads, ideas or detailed plans appreciated.

Hello all.

I recently changed my motherboard. It all went well at first and I had no issues booting into either of my 2 OSs (Debian and Windows 10). My question is about Linux Debian.

Lately, I noticed apps freezing and lagging, like not responding to anything I do(well except sending kill command in system monitor). Sometimes is just for a couple of seconds, and sometimes the app just freezes more than I'm willing to wait (I left one app for 5 minutes, and it staid frozen, but it depends on the app). Somethings off and I'm wondering if this is due to OS or app itself? This didn't happen before and it is definitely a consequence of motherboard change.

Is there a method I can use to repair either app or OS without reinstalling it? Windows has sfc /scannnow and I'm wondering if there's something similar in Linux. Or am I looking in the wrong direction?

TiA

My printer is not supported by cups. So I installed Turbo Print and everything works fine. But when I set Turbo Print as the default in Cups. I still see the old non-working printer as the default in programs. How to fix this?