this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2023
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Underneath they are all just Linux. Identical in most cases. The things you're referring to they make them feel different are userland features, not OS features. Linux is Linux is Linux.
Just like Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11 all feel different but underneath they are all identical Windows.
Windows 7 to Window 11 are not the same. Can you do WSL2 on Windows 7? DirectX 12?
Not all Linux distros are the same either. What kind of tooling does the distro provide to manage the file system ( especially ZFS or Btrfs ). What C library does your system use? Is it immutable or not? How are packages managed and how many of them are there? What hardware does the distro target?
Some distros are easier for users coming from other systems than others. I do not love Mint myself but it is a pretty decent general recommendation for new users.
The distribution has rather significant impacts on the user experience.
All that said, most users would be better off sticking with whatever Linux distribution they are already using and learn it better than to distro-hop. If you do want to poke the tires on other distros, I agree that trying it in a VM is a decent idea. Swapping the SSD would be even better. I am a hardware cheapskate and regularly use machines as old as 2008 but even I think that SSDs are cheap enough these days that having one for “testing” is not a bad idea.
Yes, underneath they are all using a Linux kernel, but the user experience between Gentoo and Mint is radically different. And Fedora is a very different experience from Arch. Or Ubuntu vs Void.
I've recommended Zorin to my dad. I would not recommend Slackware to him.
It's easy to say that Debian-Fedora-Arch are all Linux, but between all of their derivatives and all of the independent distros, there is a vast array of user experiences available.