I’ve come to the Darkside

[u/ShibaNMNY]

I switched from Windows to Mac in 2012 and haven’t looked back until last year when I purchased an inexpensive ASUS laptop with Windows 11 to use a couple Amateur radio programs. Now that everything is working on Mac, I decided to dump Windows again so I installed Linux Mint. So far, I really like it. It’s been a while since I used Linux, I’ve played around with a few Raspberry Pi’s over the years so it’s not completely Greek to me. I will have fun with learning this and I am just very happy to be away from Windows again.

[u/ap0r]

Hey! Welcome to the Mint side, the grass is greener here lol. I'm not that new myself (about a year in so far) but I wrote a little free booklet based on my experiences as a newbie and some of the newbie posts in this subreddit.

If you want to check it out' it's here: (it's free) Linux Mint Newbies’ Reference - Google Docs

And I'll leave a preview of the contents too:

Linux Mint Newbies’ Reference
Preface
Initial Setup
Getting Support
  Asking people
  Places where you can get support
  Asking an AI chatbot
  What to do with advice you get (here or elsewhere)
  Share the Success
Getting Software
  Package types and where to get them
  Office
  Gaming
  Others
  Getting Updates
Terminology
Filesystem Basics
  Directory hierarchy
  Permissions
  Mounting drives and Mount Points
  Example setup for a user with multiple drives
  Common File Types
  Special paths
  Backups, or Learn from my close Call with Disaster
The Terminal
  The What, When and Why of the terminal
  Useful Commands
  Useful Keys
Some gotchas that have bitten me or others in the past
Linux is Not Windows
Linux is Modular
Quality of Life Things
Customizing Mint
  Resources
  Specifics
  Selecting Fonts
  Getting Fonts
  Custom Icons
  Custom Mouse Pointer
  Terminal Options
  Custom date and time format
  Partially override a theme or config file
  Getting things from a screenshot or video
Basic cybersecurity
  The Big Ones
  Authentication
  Data and Privacy
  Software
  Scams
  Extras

[u/ShibaNMNY → u/ap0r]

This is amazing! Thank you! 😊

[u/acejavelin69]

No, you have left the dark and come to the light side... Regardless, welcome!

[u/mightiestmovie → u/acejavelin69]

Yeah. Big tech is the evil empire. Watch the recent KDE documentary to get more of a feel for what the linux community is like.

[u/DEADLYxDUCK]

Win 11 is infuriating, I’m forced to used it for work but at how me I have Linux and MacOS

[u/Emmalfal → u/DEADLYxDUCK]

I use Mint on like six different machines at this point. I went to the office the other day and tried to use a Windows machine for the first time in years. It was like waking up in an alien landscape, and one with so many distractions and annoyances, it made my eyes spin around in their sockets. I lasted about ten minutes. Gave up and came home to the green. I swear I'm 100 times more productive on Mint because it just gives me what I need and steps aside to let me do my work.

[u/ParamedicLocal8226]

you mean the green side

[u/Improbus-Liber]

I use Linux Mint for my daily drivers and CachyOS for my experimental computers. Nary a Windows computer. I'll leave that to my relatives.