What a bad Linux joke lol anyway.

Few months ago, I thought that Linux is you know, just Linux. I've been using Windows since time immemorial and I have no idea of what Linux is aside from thinking that it is an OS for Nerds and Developers. Even though I'm learning Software Development for quite a while, the closest interaction I had with Linux is running a ls command on an Ubuntu WSL installed on my PC.

What made me use Linux?

Actually, the urge to switch to Linux is something caused by a couple of reasons. First, I am learning Docker and to be able to use it on Windows, I need to install WSL on my PC, and Docker Desktop uses a hypervisor layer to run which increases the memory used on my laptop. When I run a couple of containers alongside Intellij IDEA, VS Code, and twenty Chrome tabs, my PC can just barely run. Honestly, this is also why I postponed learning Docker until I switched to Linux.

Second, I found r/linux4noobs on Reddit and I'm really amazed with how helpful the community is, considering how often the same questions like "What is the best Linux distro for someone who came from Windows?" get asked in the subreddit. Also, I stumbled on r/unixporn which really blew my mind on how people rice the hell out of their Linux setups. I was absolutely fascinated on how much you have control over your system, which is something you cannot do that much on Windows.

Lastly, I just want to expand my skillset. I think that learning a different Operating System really gives me a different perspective and knowledge on how computers work, and I'm really satisfied so far. Since I didn't know the much about Linux, my curiosity only grew as I read more and more articles about Linux, and seeing some of colleagues using it.

After thinking about it for quite some time, I bought a 32GB flash drive, installed Ventoy, and put a handful of distro ISOs to test things out.

First impressions with Linux

Using Ventoy, I spent a day trying out a handful of different Linux distributions. The first distro I booted up was Linux Mint, and everything just works well out of the box. Though at first, I'm kinda confused on how the filesystem works as it is really different from Windows which I was used to. Also, I researched a bit on what is a home partition and a root partition, and some other key things like swap space. After an hour or so of switching back and forth between articles and youtube videos, I kinda understood what I needed to know at the time.

Take note that I didn't install Mint yet but only had a test run of the distro. One of the cool things when trying out Linux is that you can test different distributions by putting an ISO as a bootable flash drive. You can use Rufus for this or if you want to have multiple ISOs in a single bootable drive, use Ventoy (This is my personal favorite). So yep, after I tried Linux Mint, I tested other distros - Fedora, Ubuntu, Pop OS, Elementary OS and Debian. I can't exactly tell a deep review sinced I spent like an hour or so with each before choosing what I use, and I went back and installed Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition.

Desktop Environment

Linux Mint is really, like really beginner-friendly. I came from Windows and I have little to no trouble navigating the desktop environment. The default theme looked a little bit "older" than what I'm used to, but you can easily customize it with the Theme Manager, with lots of themes built by the community.

The File Manager is great, with a lot of things familiar to me because it is largely similar to how Windows does it.

I would also point out an integral thing about Linux Desktops - applets and desklets. Applets are small applications that reside in the panel (or taskbar in Windows). They give a quick access to system functions and info like toggling WiFi, Bluetooth, Audio Volume and so on. Desklets however, are like desktop widgets that can be placed anywhere within the desktop screen surface.

The Command Line Interface (Terminal)

The Command Line Interface (CLI), or the Terminal in Linux, is a powerful tool that, as a new user, can seem daunting at first glance, and let's just say that my first hours using the terminal was not that pleasant. I use the Windows GUI for almost anything before, right clicking my way to install packages and configure files so imagine how confused I am in using the terminal.

I spent the next hours watching youtube videos and reading articles on how the terminal works, and tried the most common commands like cd and ls. After some time, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it.

Installing packages and applications is so easy and fast in Linux as you only have to type a command to download the package from the repository.

This is what I entered in the terminal to install a MySQL Server on my machine: apt install mysql-server and boom! The only thing left is to run the service. In Windows, you usually have to find the download link on the website, download it, and run the executable to have the service installed on your machine. I would love to write more about the terminal but I think that's a topic for another article.

Conclusion

My transition to Linux from being a Windows user was driven by a blend of dissatisfaction with Windows' limitations, a desire to enhance technical proficiency, and the appeal of a supportive online community. As I continue to use Linux, I'm excited by the endless possibilities it could offer to the open-source community.