How to Get Started With the Linux Operating System

What operating system are you using? For some, this question may be asked in Latin or Sanskrit. For others, this is an invitation to a heated debate about the advantages of a GUI versus command line, a modern user interface versus an old-school metaphor, the pros and cons of Windows 10, LAMP versus IIS … the list goes on and on. For most, however, the answer would be the Windows or Mac option.

But anyone who has used Windows (in any of its incarnations) long enough knows that at some point frustration will reign in the day and you will work together, and seemingly out of nowhere, Windows will decide to apply updates and restart. putting your work at risk while you go through the lengthy process of installing updates and rebooting. What about an imminent virus or malware? You are wasting precious money on antivirus software, or in the worst case, you have to send your computer to your local computer for repair to remove the virus. All this time, work is not being carried out. While Apple’s macOS products are less affected by the vulnerabilities found in the Windows platform, they also come at a fairly high price tag.

However, there is another alternative to both, which does not require any money to download and install, and is much more immune to viruses and malware. This operating system is Linux. What is Linux? Let’s take a look.

So what is it?

Linux emerged in the mid-1990s when then-student Linus Torvalds was tasked with creating a disk driver so that he could read the Minix filesystem. (Minix is ​​a POSIX-compatible, UNIX-like operating system that was first released in 1987.) This project eventually spawned what would become the Linux kernel. The operating system kernel is the essential kernel that provides basic services for all aspects of the operating system. In the case of Linux, the kernel is a monolithic UNIX-like system, which is also the largest open source project in the world. Simply put, you can say, “Linux is a free alternative to Microsoft Windows and macOS.”

Linux is a platform you can do

For those who are preoccupied with getting their job done with Linux, let’s take a look at how the average computer user works and how Linux can meet those needs. For the average user, a computer is a tool:

  • Interact on social media
  • Read Email
  • listen to music
  • Watch Youtube or Netflix
  • Write something from time to time

Five years ago, each of these tasks would have been solved through a separate application. Now, not so much. Modern computing tasks are most often assigned to the browser. Facebook, Google Docs, Netflix, Outlook 365 … they are all used in Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer. Each of these browsers allows the user to do their own thing. Only in very rare cases does a user land on a site that will only work with one of the above browsers.

Therefore, given that the average user spends most of their time in the browser, the main platform is becoming less and less relevant. However, with that in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to use a platform that doesn’t suffer from the usual distractions, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses that plague the likes of Windows? This is where Linux shines. And since Linux is open source, not only can users use the platform for free, but they can also modify and redistribute the operating system as their own distribution.

Linux lets you customize and share

Basically, there are two different types of software: proprietary and open source. In proprietary software, the code used to create an application (or operating system) is not available for public use or viewing. On the other hand, open source makes the code used to create software free. While the average user might not be bothered by being able to make changes to their OS, this Linux functionality helps explain why the operating system costs you nothing. Linux is an open source platform, which means that the code is available for download, modification, and even redistribution. For this reason, you can download the source code for the various elements that make up a Linux distribution, modify them, and create your own distribution.

As for this distribution, it very often causes confusion among new users. As mentioned above, Linux is really just the kernel of the operating system. To actually use it, you need to add multiple layers for it to work. Layers include things like:

  • Device Drivers
  • Shell
  • Compiler
  • Applications
  • Commands
  • Utilities
  • Demons

Sometimes developers will adapt these layers to achieve different functionality or change from one system to another. As a result, the developers create a unique version of Linux called a distribution. Popular Linux distributions include:

There are (literally) thousands of Linux distributions available. For a list of popular Linux distributions, take a look at Distrowatch .

Introducing a different type of desktop

One of the biggest differences between various Linux distributions is the desktop environment. Most users know what Windows and Mac desktops look like. You may be surprised to find that some Linux desktops look and behave very familiarly. Others, however, offer a rather unique look and feel. Take the GNOME desktop (pictured below) for example. This very modern user interface does a great job of ensuring that desktop elements rarely (if ever) get in the way, so that interaction with applications is the focus. This is a minimalistic desktop for maximum efficiency.

The openSUSE GNOME desktop with an action window.

But what is a desktop? In simple terms, the desktop is made up of parts such as the Apple menu, application menu, menu bar, status menu, action center, interactive icons, and some forms of the panel (or dock). With this combination of elements, the desktop makes it easier for the user to interact with their computer. Each desktop contains a mixture of these parts. Linux is no exception. With the aforementioned GNOME, you have a GNOME Dash (which looks like an app menu), a top bar (looks like an Apple menu bar), a notification center, and even (via extensions) a custom dock can be added. … Without a desktop environment, you would be on the command line; trust me you don’t want it.

The most popular Linux desktop environments are:

There are a number of other desktop options available, but the ones above are generally considered not only more popular, but also user-friendly and reliable. When exploring desktops, you must consider your needs. For example, the KDE desktop works just fine like Windows 7. Cinnamon and Mate are similar, but look less modern. Xfce is a very lightweight desktop, so if you have slower hardware this is a great solution. Once again, GNOME is a minimalist dream that barely interferes with your work.

The desktop environment is also where you interact with applications … which brings us to our most important issue.

Are the app options better?

This is one area that has been the subject of controversy for Linux in the past. If you ask any faulty Windows fan / user, he will tell you, as with macOS, you cannot run Windows applications on Linux. But this is not necessarily the case. Thanks to a compatibility layer called Wine (which used to stand for Wine Is Not an Emulator), many Windows applications can run on Linux. This is not a perfect system, and it is not for everyone. But it allows users to run many Windows applications on Linux.

Even without native Windows applications, Linux still offers you:

  • LibreOffice is a complete office suite (think MS Office)
  • Firefox / Chromium / Chrome – full featured web browsers (like Safari or Internet Explorer)
  • GIMP is a powerful image editing tool (think Photoshop)
  • Audacity is a handy sound recording tool
  • Evolution is a collaboration software suite (think Outlook)

Linux has tens of thousands of free applications ready to install. What’s more, most modern distributions include their own app stores (like GNOME Software or Elementary OS AppCenter) that make installing the software incredibly easy. Almost all application stores of modern Linux distributions can be found in the desktop menu. Once you open the app store, look for apps like LibreOffice (which is probably installed by default), GIMP (a powerful image editing tool), Audacity (a handy audio recorder that’s great for recording podcasts), Thunderbird (an email client), VLC ( media player) or Evolution (collaboration software package), just to name a few.

Is Linux right for me and how do I get started?

Linux is poised to open up a world of free (and open source) software that is reliable, secure, and easy to use. It’s perfect? No. If you depend on proprietary software, you may find that Linux (even with Wine) cannot install the application you want. You may have a big question: “How do I know if Linux is right for me?” Believe it or not, Linux has this too. Most flavors of Linux are distributed as “live distributions”.

This means that you can download an ISO image with a distribution, burn that image to a CD / DVD or USB stick, insert the media into your computer (either a CD / DVD drive or a USB port), and boot from that media. Instead of installing an operating system, Live distributions run directly from RAM, so they don’t make any changes to your hard drive. Use Linux this way, and you’ll know pretty quickly if this operating system can meet your needs. Unlike in your early years, you don’t need to be a computer geek to master most of the Linux distributions available. To learn more about Linux distributions, head over to the Distrowatch site where you can download and read nearly every Linux distribution available on the planet.

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