Side note, you could run it as a VM on proxmox and still get it to work… I think… But again network connection.

So this is a difficult question. Yes, you could use a VM if you have the hardware. The only downside is needing network connection in order to connect to it. If you are away from home that may require opening a port, or preferably a VPN.

Alternatively, I have winapps installed on my Linux laptop. Now, that is designed to run Windows as a VM within docker, podman, or libvirt. The reason I like it is that it doesn’t just use a full rdp session. Do you remember remote apps from back in the day? It is not a full rdp session, it only connects to the app you’ve launched and it appears on your Linux machine as just another window.

I understand your issue with the terminal. I think that it could be fixed with Oh-my-zsh for a personal computer. I have mine setup so I don’t have to remember the entire command, just the first letter and it shows me all matches. I was proficient with both batch and powershell, but bash scripting is even easier.

Yeah, I had given up Linux for over a decade, but Windows 11 has brought it back out… And tbh I like it better as an adult. Now I run Windows in a docker container only.

I simply didn’t see it that way. Sure, the Linux community doesn’t necessarily agree on which version is the best for new users. But we tend to agree on reliable distros which are good to get started on.

Brand New user? Unless they have a specific task that the PC needs to do, then first priority is reliability. Off the top of my head, Debian is reliable as hell, Ubuntu is about the same and fine but not my preference (very dislike snap proprietary bs that almost no one uses anyways), Fedora is a common use case and while I haven’t used their desktop in a while, I rather like the rhel based distros they are reliable but keep things a little newer than say Debian.

The point is that I disagree with you entirely. You see the choice of distributions as daunting and a scary thing. I don’t. I see the choice as freeing.

It has never mattered to me personally what version of Linux someone is using, or what path they think I should go down, I do my own research for my own purposes and come back with my own options(maybe my 90s rebel inner child still exists). Admittedly, perhaps someone needs more guidance when running away from Microslop and I could help as long as I know what package manager the distro is using.

Now, you also say that Linux isn’t mainstream already? There are entire career fields built on it, why the hell is it not considered mainstream. DevOps typically uses Linux heavily, might be as simple as an install script, or a full k8s deployment. And shoot running docker servers for backing up your files via VPN? What about 25 TB of jellyfin movies/shows. Sorry, but even if not used as a desktop, a Linux server can go a long way and do a ton of good.

Straight up, I got it confused with Pop!_OS. Although I’m too lazy to look it up, my buddy who has been using it for years mentioned looking at other options because of that reason.

Honestly, I’m with you on that one. Debian is reliable, so it send like the safest option. Personally, I use it for my seed box, and I’ve helped others set their own up to. Fedora, on the other hand, introduces package updates a little more frequently and in the long run, I think it’s more enjoyable to work on in a desktop environment.

Interesting, I would love to understand the tooling behind that.

Fair. Technically I’m running Windows in a container… But technically that is also a vm.

That is for this neat remote app fella: https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps

Makes it look like Windows applications run on Linux without using full rdp.

Actually I want to delete my comment… 22.04 is actually Pop!_OS not Mint. So I’m really dumb there, admittedly, Ubuntu spinoffs get me a little mixed up.

And the work bit, in truth, I think he could fix it by using a btrfs partition, snapper, and grub-btrfs. Build the machine to automatically take snapshots so if someone breaks it, you can fix it faster.

And yeah, ease of use is important, that was not meant as a criticism instead I pointed out a logical reason why Mint made sense.

Long story short, comment stupid, my bad.

I suggest you check out this: https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil

It is a script to remove a bunch of Microslop… I’m betting on Microsoft re-enabling it unannounced after an update though.

But I’m with you on the Linux bit…

…I use Arch btw…

Mint? Based on Ubuntu 22.04? Seems a hint dated.

No offense, I swear. But I have a buddy who has to support Mint installs for work and it honestly sounds horrible.

Then again, the ease of use is probably worth the time saved setting up Arch.

Edit: It is Pop!_OS that is based on Ubuntu 22.04 not Mint. Ubuntu spinoffs spun me through a loop.

Interesting… I’ve had incredibly good luck with hyprland, though I don’t know if it qualifies as an entire environment. Even changed my gaming PC to use it since it also supports HDR.

Did it require a little research? Yeah sure, but I would say it is more than decent.

Love it. I use Arch… btw… And while I will gladly admit, my setup isn’t exactly easy, it’s quite beautiful.

What I personally like the best about it is a tiling Windows manager. Instead of placing Windows one on top of the other, it places them split side by side. On a big ass monitor, it looks something like this:

Personally, I would say anything Linux.

I’ve got a docker server at home running my containers and because of my wire guard, I can access it from everywhere.

Mainly file storage and backup with nextcloud, some -arr and jellyfin nonsense, and a few odds and ends.

First, let me get this out of the way. If you are just starting with Linux, find an easier path. I would say Debian, fedora, something simple with reliable packaging.

With that said, Arch is my go-to. Arch requires a little more understanding of the Linux environment and has helped me learn a hell of a lot. But the primary reason I use it is for hyprland. Now, while I haven’t fully setup hyprland for gestures, it is possible. My cheater dot files have touchpad actions. I want to see this expanded. Perhaps, each application automatically launches in a different virtual desktop. And if you want to split a screen, simply use the needed gesture to get there. To get even crazier, technically you can run Android applications from within a container, so you don’t even lose any compatibility. This aspect may take further testing, but technically you can run Windows apps in a container utilizing freerdp to remote app to the container so it appears as if it is running on your Linux machine even though it uses a containerized vm. I do not know if it would work on a phone because I don’t know if libvirt can visualize x86_64 on an ARM64 device.

Btrfs is a partition type/filesystem. It is meant to solve two problems.

One, it is meant so you can combine partitions from multiple drives (similar to raid 0,1, or 10). Technically it is capable of raid 5, but lacks reliable performance.

Two, it also provides reverse incremental snapshotting capabilities. Good for backing up data.

I’m using it in combination with grub-btrfs so if an update fails, I can boot from a snapshot to fix it without a live cd or reinstall.

Gamescope is what runs on a steam deck in gaming mode. I have my gaming PC configured to use gamescope for HDR gaming.

Finally, the link I sent is technically a war game. It is more meant to teach you to keep things secure more than anything else. In short you will control one of their cloud hosted machines over ssh and they hid the password somewhere on it. In order to win, you need a few commands: cat, vim, cd, ls, and git. It introduces them as you go. Eventually, I think it escalated to using netcat, honestly I stumbled through that part, and the git part too.

I’m not sure if mastering the terminal is a goal of yours, but I use tools to make it significantly easier. Instead of bash, I use ZSH. Combine that with Oh-my-zsh for theming and plugins(I like zsh-autocomplete, zsh-autosuggestions, zsh-syntaxhighlighting, fast-syntaxhighlighting), and zoxide to replace cd.

When it comes to updating, it can be different per distribution. Mint uses apt, typically you will need:

sudo apt update # Gets the latest version number of each package
sudo apt upgrade # Install the latest version of each available update

Apt is the package manager of most device based installation.

Yum/Dnf are the primary package managers for fedora and Red hat distros.

There are a few others, but I’ve gotten off topic enough.

Regardless, it is good to see someone joining the community. If you need any help with anything feel free to reach out to us, you are not in this alone. And if ever you can’t figure out a command, try running it with --help. Ex:

ls --help
cd --help
cat --help

I think that if someone (even ai) is analyzing my documents, then they are bypassing my permissions and looking despite the fact that it is supposed to be private. Basically if ai is looking at my files, I don’t care if it isn’t running locally, it is bypassing my permissions to my automated stock trading algorithms. I know security isn’t exactly Windows strength anyways, but accessing my files without my consent or knowledge is a nail in the coffin for me. Granted, you can disable it, I might point you in the direction of winutil by Chris Titus, but I would bet money that a Windows update will re enable it without consent or permission.

Welcome!

If you think the biggest challenge is going to be the terminal then how about a fun little game that will make you more familiar. It is a quite basic game that focuses on some of the commands that are used frequently in Linux.

I assume you already know the package/update commands of course.

https://overthewire.org/wargames/bandit/

I gotta say, with all the nonsense about using ai to analyze notepad and every PC is now a copilot ai PC, this feels like the year of Linux. I made the switch myself to Arch(hyprland) and personally discovered how much I love tiling Windows managers.

In case you’re not aware, btrfs is amazing. I run snapshots on my days every hour. This works for my personal data and protects me if an update goes sideways.

And finally, I’m unsure about Mint, but on Arch, flatpak has been amazing for installing software. It installs as a tenant of your PC with limited privileges.

Also, since you mentioned steam, you may wish to look at gamescope in order to utilize the full steam deck ui.

+1 for LibreElec. Note that if your tv can pass commands over HDMI then you can use the normal tv remote to navigate the menu. Or, I use an old Bluetooth SNES controller most of the time.

Mine is connected to jellyfin.

Yeah… I don’t have those pacman update issues anymore… I used Arch wiki to setup btrfs, snapper, and grub-btrfs. I can boot from a snapshot and revert if there is an issue

With an Nvidia GPU, I would recommend Nobara over Bazzite becomes it comes with the various drivers.