The 5 Things That Taught Me The Most About Linux

It's a question that I constantly get asked: "What can I do to learn Linux?" I typically respond to such a general question with "Just use Linux." But today, I decided to answer the question in more detail, by listing out the top five things that helped me learn more about Linux.
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[@benj6964]

00:00 Intro 00:52 1) Virtual machines (Virtualbox, VirtManager) 04:35 2) Install Arch and read the Arch Wiki (especially installation guide) 09:02 3) Use a standalone Window Manager (not a Desktop Environment) 11:00 4) Use the terminal as much as possible. For example, for package management and file management 15:15 5) Understand the history of the libre and linux philosophies. You can read "Free as in Freedom" by Richard Stallman

[@VengeanceRMP]

Pin worthy

[@pewpewyadead]

guys, I USE ARCH LINUX !

[@bigmikeobama5314]

@@pewpewyadead Garuda for me, that dr4g0nized was too cool looking to pass up

[@AlbertXuY]

课代表！ Good Checker! Nice and Thanks!

[@mathisblair2798]

Arch is the bestest of the westest.

[@jesse7631]

I was showing my Dad some stuff and how to do certain tasks on his computer, and when I was done, he asked "How do you learn all this stuff?" I told him, 'Dad, you need two things to learn how to do anything on a computer. Time and curiousity. You have plenty of time (he's retired); you just need curiousity.' Now, he's smart, and he used to be really into computers about 15 - 20 years ago. But he is way more into watching sports and television than doing anything on his computer, so he doesn't know that much. He agreed with me.

[@tatofish9]

@@stevensko9153 stack exchange, wikis, and reddit to the rescue

[@sarath14k56]

@@stevensko9153 No.. Duck Duck go way better

[@benj6964]

I would add: * Take notes of what you are doing and learning * Explore minimalism and one-purpose small programs in all of your digital activities (note-taking in plain text, simple image viewers, simple file explorers) * Look for redundancy in your activities and script them in shell script

[@MarcCastellsBallesta]

I started writing: To do X type Y File Z controls a, b, c... And documenting steps when touching unknown stuff. Now I have a highly appreciated file and a method to undo when I screw up. Priceless

[@UteChewb]

Notes are really important. More than a few times I've done things and thought, "Wait, how did I originally do that? And how do I undo it, or do it again?"

[@nobyra]

As a huge noob my first arch instalation was a multiple day ordeal. It was frustrating but mastering it is like a superpower.

[@Bl1ndB3holder]

Yeh thats how my first Gentoo install went, literally 3-4 days (with compile times on my fairly underpowered laptop) to decide it was too time consuming to compile everything and reinstall arch xD

[@sheikhinsec]

Still trying to get it done day by day

[@ghosthunter0950]

For me not the installation itself but finding all that information on what packages I need to get a working system after the installation. there is no single guide on it beyond getting a window manager running.

[@AVSE69]

@@ghosthunter0950 the guide is learning what a operating system as you know needs and look what to install xd

[@3333218]

I migrated to Linux about six months ago. It's so exciting to learn Linux and yet so scary at the same time. Most things are rather easy to do, but they can be time consuming to understand. It's terrifying how deep the rabbit hole can go when you start learning about the different kinds of software there are for all the different parts of your system. Not to mention the ideological debacles that come with them. You end up learning to love GNU/Linux but it's a love-hate relationship. You'll start looking at your system with the compulsion to fix and improve all of the things that it could do better; which can be a dangerous (and fun) path. It's so much freedom that sometimes it's overwhelming. It's ironic that no matter how broken my system might be at any particular moment (probably my fault), I wouldn't trade owning my system for anything else in the world. And I'm only 6 months in! Which is both a lot of time in terms of commitment to learning anything and also just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to learning Linux and FOSS. It's incredible how there's always something new to learn and how there' always exciting new projects coming to life!

[@mathisblair2798]

I started off getting back into retroarch and gaming.... I ended up installing arch linux a month later. If ANYONE AT ALL had SHOWN me in my face just what the hell that penguin stood for and what it could do...... I would have installed a longggg time ago and saved a few machines.

[@3333218]

@Mohammed Mesum Hussain Exactly!!

[@3333218]

@@mathisblair2798 So true!

[@mathisblair2798]

@Mohammed Mesum Hussain Well.... I'm a big fan of why not both? Also for your windows troubles... Have you tried make a custom iso with MSMG toolkit? I'll link a video... I run a debloated windows os currently and its lovely! I think to myself " ahhh this is what windows could be" however there is a caveat. I've got to back up and recreate said custom Iso whenever there is a security update. But still; a small price to pay. For a custom windows Optimization is fun! But stability over all? That's what gets me. That's why I love it. And reviving tech. I love to recycle. I am also rying to learn about magisk and custom android os/degoogling. Heres that custom windows iso video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKrcmn-sZdtleKM

[@3333218]

@Terminalforlife (LL) That's a good plan! I'm currently learning how to build 'Linux from Scratch' and I plan on using Bedrock Linux with both Debian and Arch bases! 😊💕

[@Cobinja]

When I first installed Linux on a PC from an IT magazine's cover CD in 1998 the first thing I had to learn was how to compile the kernel. The preinstalled version didn't come with the module for my sound chip but gladly the sources on the CD did. And the magazine contained an article about compiling the kernel.

[@echoptic775]

Cool

[@louistournas120]

You are lucky. I have never compiled the kernel. I downloaded and compile Krita once. The source code is nearly 900 MB.

[@poytiolas]

No. 3 was pivotal for me. Thank you for introducing me to tiling WMs and especially Xmonad! My workflow as a software developer got much better. Cheers!

[@quinten01]

How has it improved your workflow exactly?

[@poytiolas]

@@quinten01 Organizing my workspaces for specific tasks, using the keyboard for almost everything, reducing the amount of RAM utilized (a standalone WM is much lighter than a full desktop environment)

[@poytiolas]

@Matus Nah, went straight to Xmonad as I wanted to dig deeper into Haskell. It's not that hard to configure, although you should read the docs carefully.

[@jawuku3885]

You got the update command on Debian/Ubuntu the wrong way round. It should read: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

[@DistroTube]

What this guy said.

[@YannMetalhead]

As someone learning Linux right now, the best tip is to use the terminal over the GUI, this alone will force you to learn a lot about Linux.

[@YannMetalhead]

@Terminalforlife (LL) 🤣🤣🤣 It's not archaic, it possesses forgotten knowledge.

[@YannMetalhead]

@Terminalforlife (LL) XD

[@MFTAQ]

I am over a week from fully moving over to Linux, I went with Linux Mint 20.3 and my pc is completely open source now, things are going good just taking my time learning as I go. DT thank you for your video's.

[@WietsedeJong]

Take youre time.. Being happy in Mint is a great place to be.. Remember, in contrary to popular believe, you are not your distribution... ;-)

[@kychemclass5850]

Welcome to Linux! I've been on Linux for a year. I had some 'shaky' moments tying to cope with work's Windows system, and some issues persist, but it's been a path I would not undo.

[@haplozetetic9519]

That's how I started with Linux over 20 years ago with Redhat 5.0, and I think it may be the best way. Search for the answers as problems come up, and make a text file with notes for information you are likely to need again. I've been running Mint for quite a while now, but I prefer KDE so I may move to Feren OS. If you haven't tried KDE, you can install it in Mint to see if you prefer it or something else. Good luck!

[@astroid-ws4py]

Great, Celebrate your freedom !

[@aronwomack359]

I've tried dozens of distros, but Mint seems to be the most stable, for me anyways. They're all basically the same anyways, you can get any package you want if you know a little bit. I'm using Cinnamon, but xfce and all is cool, but just the regular stuff is sufficient, and it's less resource heavy.

[@overclucker]

The great thing about using the command line is that things don't change much. Graphical environments change often because UI/UX designers can't find happiness.

[@Finkelfunk]

The number 1 tip that really helped me learn more about Linux on a much deeper level was reading the LFS guide. Even if you are not building your own system, you start to understand how it functions internally and that just helps understanding the general concept.

[@jppbkm]

I switched from Windows completely to Linux due to a combination of getting into programming, your channel, and LTT's Linux experiment. I just want to say thanks for all the content and your channel is the first one I look up for new topics related to Linux.

[@youtube.user.1234]

As still somewhat of a Linux noob, learning to use the TTYs in case something goes wrong is super important. Like when I tried installing this “howdy” package for Face ID-like unlocking but it didn’t work and I couldn’t log in by entering the password either. So I went into tty (Ctrl+Alt+2) and removed the package, rebooted and it’s working again! Also you should learn to use the recovery mode in Linux. When u boot up ur boot loader like grub, go into mode options below your Linux distro and select the kernel with (recovery) at the end and select root prompt I think, go into maintenance mode and you can run any command. For another example I was messing around with my /etc/fstab and eventually something went wrong so I used the root prompt method to undo it because it wouldn’t even boot up

[@JRCSalter]

I completely agree about installing Arch. There is sooo much to learn from just that one task that my knowledge of Linux grew exponentially while doing so.

[@AndrewGulak]

My problem is, I can do the install as long as I follow along a video with a lot of pausing... But I don't learn anything by doing so

[@yoda6239]

I agree the first time I installed arch even though I had a basic understanding of Linux it all seemed to click once I could just read the wiki page and then finish a whole install myself

[@yoda6239]

@@AndrewGulak I think it's really important to read the wiki page instead of watching video tutorials also try to think of how what you're doing in the terminal relates to the automated installations of most other distros. something I did when I first discovered arch was I wrote my own installation guide and I think that also helped me remember a lot. I tried to write it so someone without much Linux knowledge could use it and in turn I ended up learning a ton

[@samueleliascanett4822]

@@yoda6239 That's an entire way of learning things as well! Try to teach what you are learning. It helps a lot with showing which parts you didn't understand thoroughly.

[@AndrewGulak]

@@yoda6239 the problem for me reading the wiki is, the moment I run into a problem that the wiki doesn't specifically address, I have no idea what to do.

[@tedhurst8939]

I know that at 12:04 you meant to say and type "sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade"... Thanks for all of your good work these years!

[@riseabove3082]

I am surprised by how WELL this list is. I think it is absolutely SPOT ON. You could not have a better thought out list than this. Very well done.

[@whxtey]

A year ago, you had me watching all your videos and It made me realize how much better linux is. Thank you for making this content and helping me switch to linux!

[@DistroTube]

Glad to help! :D

[@coronaklledmebot4856]

@@DistroTube i just watch ur videos cuz of ur voice lol

[@scheimong]

Personally, I recommend setting up some kind of web service on a VPS. A website, a VPN, an auto-backup system, you name it. These days a VPS can be rented for very cheap; some (e.g. Vultr) even allow you to pay by the minute, so you might end up paying only a few pennies. A project like this will teach you a lot about basic commands, file structure, init system, networking, etc. I recommend this to every prospective Linux learners looking for a challenge.

[@TheWanderey]

I totally agree with all the ways to learn Linux mentioned by DT, but I also found myself learning a lot by reading man for each command I was planning to use. Takes time to remember some of the commands/switches/syntaxes, but once you get it it is so much easier (and faster) to do most of the stuff. I find particulary useful when helping my family abroad. I installed mainly Linux Mint on my family members machines, and if they need some help, instead of using TeamViewer, i just tell them to copy and paste certain commands into terminal and most of the times that's all what I need to do :). I am still learning Linux, but enjoying it a lot, and can't wait to discover what else is Linux capable of. And thanks to people like DT and other Linux YT-ers I have finally ditched Windows about a 1 and a half ago, and so far not planning to go back. Keep up good work Linux community !

[@Bens963]

I started learning Linux by installing Gentoo on my machine. Not even kidding I heard about Linux, went over to distro watch came across Gentoo and thought it sounded amazing so tried to install it with absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of Linux or the terminal. I failed(naturally) but also blew my windows installation away with no backups. All I had for a computer was the Gentoo live CD so my only option was to try again. Eventually got it installed after a few days, booted the computer up magically expecting a desktop environment just to be greeted by the TTY, that's when I learned about the existence of Xorg. It was stupid, the whole situation was but I owe Gentoo a great deal, it gave me massive confidence in the terminal and I ran it solely for 10 years(recently switched over to NixOS)

[@truthislam6481]

... and before I go I need to thank you D for your willingness to share, and to teach what you have come to understand!

[@nuldorvamoysenor2091]

My wife had an issue with her linux machine about 15 minutes ago. She uses Feren OS and with each upgrade her Okular brakes. We forced the previous version of the packages the last time, but it didn't seem to fix it in this ocasion. The solution? I installed the flatpak's version. Why am i saying this? Because most of your points wouldn't have helped her. What you said will probably be relatable to power users and Linux enthusiast. This is not trying to be an attack in any way, my point is: there's a hard Linux and an easy Linux. You clearly learned the hard one, and that's completly fine. This is a video about your personal experience after all. But it seems that most Linux channels tend to dismiss the GUI way, like it was "taking a shortcut". Window managers, and knowing the console and setting up VM is cool and all, but most people just need a pdf reader that works. I love watching your videos, and personally find them very interesting. But don't forget about "the normies" because they are the ones that can make the Linux community grow the most.

[@yoda6239]

you're downplaying your own abilities by dismissing DTs recommendations as "the hard Linux" it's not hard it's just that it is different and takes getting use to which is the point of this video it's ways you can essentially practice Linux use if you want to become more comfortable with it. installing the flatpak version of Okular may have worked but that is not the ideal solution ideally you want a working version from your software repos. now I've never used farren OS and don't know what kind of package manager it uses but my point is that youre not like a dumb normie you are just inexperienced and with more experience you learn why things break and what you can do about it which is why it's worth it to do things like experimenting in a VM or configuring a WM I'd say it's comparable to learning about UAC on windows or learning about the control panel or file permissions it's the same thing it's just a completely different experience that requires practice to fully grasp

[@nuldorvamoysenor2091]

@@yoda6239 i'm not downplaying my abilities (i'm going to beat the shit out of synaptic until i get it working again, or use the terminal if necesary) i just used other, maybe simplier, knowledge. I needed a quick way to fix it so she could keep studyig, and most important, a way she could easily grasp in case something similiar happens and i'm not around. And it worked.

[@nuldorvamoysenor2091]

And about VMs: my poor A6 can't handle such things. So i have to keep using live USBs for now.

[@NoName-cm1fs]

Great subject & awesome tips, this may be one of my favorite DT videos. Thx!

[@KevinBReynolds]

Another very solid video DT. You really do some good things for the Linux community. Thank you for your contributions.

[@BWGPEI]

As always, you give me things to think about and Thank You!

[@michaelpezzulo4413]

I started my "Linux Career" 3 years ago, and wish I had this video back then. Good job!

[@greglocker2124]

You inspire me to be more than a basic Mint user. I spent the last four years hiding from the memories of what Windows did to me, but now I'm ready to get back up and keep moving!

[@ThatKermitGuy]

The 5 things that taught me about Linux: 1. DistroTube 2. DistroTube 3. Yes, I watch a lot of DistroTube 4. Documentation 5. Yet again, DistroTube

[@squillium7149]

Been messing around in Linux VMs for about a week now. Your recommendation to install Arch has helped me understand all the pieces that go into building a linux distro. Plus it's fun to mess around in Arch and not have to worry about breaking it cuz its a VM

[@jdebultra]

Very nice production DT. Back in the mid 90's I bought a book that included a disk of slackware. In those days, it made you commit to the OS. I have only ever used Slackware because of that publication. However, your 5 list is an excellent recommendation. Back in those days, it was mainly BBS.

[@sprtwlf9314]

Excellent video. I'm gonna try to install Arch now. Learn a lot watchin this channel

[@2u263]

Super video DT, the LinuxGuy👍 I'm learning how to write text usinng a termnial & nano for fun 🤣 You know how I get stuck, using keybindings to move to tty1 , tty2 , & back to gui that's where I get lost not enough talk about that. Thank you friend

[@MichaelJHathaway]

Linux Mint is super easy to install and use. You don't even have to know how to use a terminal. Easy to learn on. From there you can decide to tinker with Arch or Debian for more of a production stable machine.

[@Novadad35]

Switched from windows, to Manjaro linux. Could not be any happier, you truly are an inspiration.

[@fabianpijpers]

Thx, you have been giving me some inspiration to go back to the bare metal stuff more

[@The1RandomFool]

I'm no expert in the command line, but I like doing all my package management and file system management from it. I find tldr is really helpful for quickly referencing how to use a command.

[@danieleccleston7928]

I've done everything up to 4, I just read up on libre when I feel like. I have to agree though and the order in you listed them in is on point

[@gamerboy4566]

man ... choose whatever command seems most interesting and learn it that day. Repeat for 1 year. 365 commands learnt. By that time, you know what to learn next. I love the slow but steady process.

[@user-qc3vv7xs8r]

The first distro I installed is ubuntu and I moved from it to many other distributions, but now I use debian and I will never switch from it. The best sources I learned from 1- arch wiki because of Arch I solved many problems with screen tearing and software errors 2- You: I changed my mind because of you now I use open source programs only because of you now I use openbox and now I can control it completely

[@jesse7631]

Excellent video DT - I run Fedora on GNOME, but have installed VMM and am going to try out one of the window managers (probably go with OpenBox or i3).

[@mindsharping]

Congratulations. I have wondered for years when somebody will start a antique virtual machine nostalgia craze. So far, you are taking the cup home. Me, I'm going to start a Simon's Basic cartridge fan club.

[@brads2041]

I like the 'use terminal' idea. I've been working on scripting as much of my Manjaro post installation as I can think of. Have had to learn several things, including using git and GitHub, to sync changes and also have a cloud source for a new install.

[@lazy_genes__2032]

6. Watch DistoTube, and other linux youtubers like for real, you guys changed my life

[@peterbutler5597]

Your new black and gray studio background looks very stylish

[@UltimusShadow.]

Been using GNU+Linux since July. Your 3rd point was the only one I didn't consider, I'll be sure to do that when I move to Arch soon. Thanks D.T👍🏼🐧.

[@3333218]

Really great advice!!!

[@squidssh]

well im pretty young still but i used linux back when i was 12 on a VM just for fun and just tried stuff out

[@z8669zzz]

Hello, I must agree with point 4 "Use the terminal window!" For my humble beginnings, I picked up a used laptop, and for less than $50.00 I added Linux Mint [since windows 7 was a bootleg copy] I totally allowed Linux Mint to use the entire drive! Lots of youtube videos and google searches later I am able to get a reasonable amount of work [pesonal use] from this laptop. So like a vehicle it depends on what your needs are!

[@milosjankovic6037]

I dived 100 percent, going Linux all the way. I have two laptops, one very old, now works with Linux 23, and a newer one that has Ubuntu for now (that I had Linux-wise on a USB when Windows crashed).

[@danduby8416]

DT, your original "cop out" answer of just using Linux is the best way to do Linux. Reading the Arch wiki is great documentation, but installing Arch for the 1st time is just reading word for word from the wiki, so to me that is not learning Linux, if you can read , you can install Arch. BTW, I had Arch for a couple weeks and hated it.

[@danduby8416]

@Terminalforlife (LL) I never said I was unwilling to learn anything, all I am saying is that I get tired of seeing everyone saying that the only way to learn about Linux is by installing Arch, and nothing could be further from the truth.

[@wikitraincars6452]

Wow... nice Sharing.

[@tojabdhei4881]

My fist Arch installation took me a couple weeks… In my defense I must say that the PC was really new and I wanted an UEFI + LVM + LUKS installation. Now I can do the same installation in 30 min. I really learned a lot. Great advice for the noobs.

[@louiseyvette2261]

Super interesting!! Thanks

[@cheflA1]

Arch installation is the best way to learn Linux. That's how I learned more than the just the basics. It's really helpful and I can highly recommend doing that. It took me a whole Sunday back in the day, but it was worth every minute!

[@personalgao]

I have use Ubuntu as well for many years. I moved to Debian and I recommend to have a text file where you write all the changes you are making. Packages needed and more things. Have a log with goals, things you want to do and how you fixed those. Great way to learn. Having many distros and checking how to do things in different ways it's great. Still I thing Ubuntu it's great, so functional. I have been always into Debian base.

[@lovebaranus9800]

The best way to learn is, by far, either paying for a course or a book. My recomendations are: Unix & Linux System Administration Handbook Zero to Mastery's sysadmin course (Took it myself, can attest of its quality) Both this resources give way more information than any free resource you could get, the ONLY exception being going trough all of ArcoLinux's inmense interactive course, including phase 8

[@milosjankovic6037]

Man, I finally get why Linux is so fun. I can't express how excited I am for the terminal.

[@mellowgeekstudio]

12:00 It's the other way around: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

[@knglerxst]

Really helpful video.

[@user-fr3hy9uh6y]

The college that I took my system admin class, used hard disk swap trays. I have used one in my home desktop ever since. Front loadable, just pop in a drive and power on the machine. No way to hurt anything important because it is not in the machine. When done just swap the drive back.

[@dlawlis]

Getting windows audio plugins to run under Wine is also a good way to learn more about Linux for those who enjoy working with audio. I've learned quite a bit from it anyway.

[@koduflower2000]

Thank you DT for introducing me to Linux and showing me that I can use linux better than before. Before your channel appeared in my Smart T.V. in which you talked about some points about Linux, I thought I was doomed because I couldn't escape from Windows 10. Microsoft, including my cousins asked me to use Windows 10 because it was much more reliable than any other OSes. But you showed me that Linux is indeed better than any other. Thank you DT for showing me the wonderful world of Linux. Cheers! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@greghilton7797]

It is so refreshing to see someone talk about Linux who is a human being like us and not some bellend on an ego trip. I have toyed with Linux in the past mostly unsuccessfully, but this is the first time I've seen someone make sense of it and without having to setup a duel boot for Microsoft to destroy and put both operating systems in jeopardy. Thank you very much indeed, liked and subbed. 👏👏👏

[@notimportant7682]

This is precisely why I decided to use arch as my first Linux distro, no regrets. now I'm just deciding which distro to install that I can neglect for half a year and not run into issues when I try to update it again

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

debian.

[@notimportant7682]

@@rizkyadiyanto7922 oh, yeah I'm not sure why I hadn't considered that, not the biggest fan of apt-get from my limited experience with raspian but maybe I would like it more if I went straight to the source

[@ricardosteijn4693]

I absolutely agree with everything you said here!

[@AndersJackson]

I would also recommend "Debian Administrators Handbook", which go through how to set up Debian properly, past the main installation. And yes, you can install Gnome, KDE, etc. And then you can install different Desktop Environment or just a Window Manager. You can also choose to not use the Desktop Environment when you log in. I would actually start with standard, and then follow your suggestions after one or two months. But yes, going full in to Linux can be learned by command line, which is more important then to set up your own Desktop from Window Manager. That will usually come later. (I have not have a X11 crash since 2003 or 2004 i Debian, and that was because I run Unstable back then, not Testing because that didn't existed back then. Now I run Testing). I DO agree with all your points in your list, except the order. I would move point 2 lover down, after reading the book about RMS and the background.

[@beardog5245]

Grreat tip on installing arch linux!

[@othernicksweretaken]

Though this is somewhat close to 2) I would add 6) read the man pages. Even for such a mundane command like _ls_ it is amazing what there is to discover in e.g. _man ls_ to improve your scripting. Of course this really applies the more to _man bash_ to which I return more or less regularly.

[@kylenelson5552]

Honey bun comment got me laughing..thanks Distro!

[@johnwpierce3]

1) Mandrake (Used briefly, got frustrated) 2) LFS (Best learning tool, imho. Used for a year or so) 3) Gentoo (Portage supplied the package manager lacking in LFS. used less than 5) 4) Funtoo (Wanted to use ZFS, didn't like new networking scripts adopted by Gentoo. used for several years) 5) LigurOS (Daniel went kukoo for coco puffs. Been using for 3 or 4 years now)

[@fredashay]

I switched to Linux as Win 7 was nearing end of life. I looked into some the of the more popular distros and quickly discovered that Mint with Cinnamon is the closest to Win 7 what with the system menu button on the bottom left, and the apps bar all along the bottom of the screen. So I installed Mint / Cinnamon. It was so easy to install -- just tell it my language and what time zone I'm in. Other than the art style of the icons, it felt like I was still using Win 7. The only difference was the system config screens are completely different than Windows, and Linux has a Software Store. Except for those two things, Mint with Cinnamon was virtually identical to Win 7 in the way everything looks and works. I then watched some YT videos on how the Linux file system is organized, and learned how to use GParted and Disks to put my home directory on a removable SATA drive so that I could try out different distros while pointing to my home directory from any one of them. So I tried a few other distros like Debian and Ubuntu. The installs were a little more involved, asking about disk partitioning and network settings. I also needed to use the terminal to install Flatpaks so I could install the apps like Eclipse, Steam, and Minecraft (that were already available on Mint). If it wasn't for Mint, and I had to start out using Debian or Ubuntu, I prolly would have given up on Linux on day 1. Now, I'm thinking of trying out Manjaro, Arch, and a few of the other geek distros, lol. But Mint will stay my "daily driver" unless I'm given some compelling reason to switch.

[@francescopremsolidoro3858]

Hey DT, have you ever felt the need to use tags over workspaces? If/when you do, do you just quickly switch to awesome or dwm, or have you built in the tag behaviour into xMonad (or does xMonad use tags, too? I thought it used workspaces, but I might be wrong since I never learnt Haskell)?

[@Sybertek]

About virtual machines. Every Windows 10 and Windows 11 user has access to Hyper-V. You just have to turn it on in the Windows Features. Very easy and doesn't really require any downloads or installations.

[@theinquisitor18]

Hey, DT(lol). I had a question. I have a laptop that I was running Ubuntu on. I had Windows on a Qemu/KVM with VirtIO drivers installed. No problems and awesome performance. The only issue I had was with adding multiple video adapters for duel screening windows. When using a duel display for the Windows VM, it would freeze unbelievably bad. I threw it up to a lack of virtual video memory, so I added more. The laptop has a decent discrete GPU. This didn't fix it. Is it because I'm not doing a GPU pass though? I'm asking because Google was absolutely zero help here.

[@randyriegel8553]

First time I used Linux I got a single RedHat floppy out of a back of a computer magazine in mid/late 1990's. The best way to learn is to play with it and not worry about messing things up. You learn from your mistakes. VM's do make it a lot easier now.... if I want to try something crazy I just take a snapshot of VM before I do it. As far as VirtualBox I used to like it but gave me so many problems. I bit the bullet and pay for VMWare Workstation.... works flawlessly and so many more features than Vbox.

[@randyriegel8553]

If you really want to learn Linux install Gentoo :) I use Gentoo to this day.

[@fatusopp4739]

using i3wm has taught me so much more about linux than installing arch in a vm with a regular DE ever has. pretty excited to try out/move to dwm and eventually xmonad in the future.

[@JamesSmith-ix5jd]

I'm moving to wmutils, posix shell + sxhkd. Don't repeat my mistake, seek professional help until it's too late for you.

[@RyanGrange]

People need to realize he's describing learning the most about Linux, not basic usage for those who just want to sit and use the computer. If I've ever used a standalone window manager, it's only because I didn't realize that's what I was doing. And I've been a Linux user (Red Hat [pre-RHEL], Sorceror, Gentoo, Debian, various Ubuntu flavors, CentOS, White Box, Arch) since the 90s. (When people went gaga over the Kernel moving to 2.0.)

[@androth1502]

what do you think of risc V and do you plan on moving to that cpu once it becomes more on par with amd64/arm?

[@zajlord2930]

thats how i did it even through everyone kept sending me on mint but im glad i stayed, i learned so much so quickly

[@punklejunk]

Did you know: Astronauts use Linux. Because you can't open Widows in space :P I'll see myself out, don't mind me

[@StrikerEureka85]

switched to linux 2 years ago. DT has made my journey through linux that much more enjoyable

[@louistournas120]

I switched 2 y ago as well, when MS pulled the plug on Win 7. Lucky for me, Linux has evolved and can take over. Gaming, programming, office work, web browsing. I hope more people join Linux.

[@user-jz2wg3hl1g]

Классный контент! Смотрю вас вопреки незнания английского. Что думаете по поводу линукс гейминга? Portproton + corectrl for amd 5000 and 6000, what each other? Nvidia and andervolting- it's saaaaaad

[@rittalisa4916]

Honestly I will advocate to deal with vps or arm board like raspberry pi first. You can do cool project, you deal with system user wright, network, remote acces, web serveurs... You do everything in ssh and you are on you Mac or window with the environment that you know. It's a good start.

[@13thravenpurple94]

Great work thank yoU

[@fahimabrar2922]

The quality of the video though 👏👏

[@theodorealenas3171]

Also taking notes so you can revert system changes you made. The notes might end up being useless because to make the useful you need to clean them and organize them, but somehow they feel like time travelling.

[@daviel]

I have a question regarding UEFI systems, I have a somewhat corrupted efivars folder/partition where it said I have multiple dupe boot entries. Not only that, it has over 200 files in it and it is jam-packed. Are you able to help me fix my efivars? And any advices to manage it properly in the future. Many thanks in advance, cheers.

[@techdoc9257]

yeah learning the command line is kinda a must i think in linux i mean you dont have to learn the command line in linux i mean you can get by with out using it but i mean if you do that then you are really missing out because the terminal is very fun and it is cool to use

[@AndrewErwin73]

+1 for the Arch Wiki. The installation isn't GREAT (though it isn't terrible either), but the Wiki as a whole is very nice. Even if you aren't on Arch, the Arch Wiki can help you solve a LOT of Linux issues.

[@Ax4400]

what's the difference between Arch Linux & Slackware? Can you run apps like obs gimp & audacious w/o desktop manager from the command line ?

[@apo_ka]

Good morning dt, since a year ago i move to linux, i try almost all the distros & the most stable is fedora but i dont have to use terminal at all :(

[@marcgrosse4483]

Yes DT, I totally agree and appreciate, Thank You. But Your topics are probably for more advanced linux user. Someone comming from Windows and would like to know more about linux needs help about right configuration & partitionning, the possibilities to select & install all possible environments (desktops, windows manager...), backup and recovery utilities... Mostly all things which are not used, do not exist or cannot be imagined in standard Windows. More linux basics.

[@louistournas120]

#6 Port your Windows project to Linux. use cross platform APIs. For example, OpenGL or Vulkan instead of DirectX. OpenAL. Fmod for sound. SDL, Qt, GTK to create a window. Learn gcc, g++. Learn to use an IDE under Linux like Qt Creator, KDevelop, Eclipse, NetBeans.

[@Handy-Handy]

I bought a raspberry pi 4 And different camera models. And played kind much around with the camera models and getting so deeper into linux

[@ysegrim9824]

install arch on a vm with virtual box - ok on it =) thanks for the confirmation i thought about this option a couple of days ago, hearing it recommended gave me the push to do it now.

[@SearInMinecraft]

I actually learned Linux by using virtual machines, installing arch, watching Linux content on KZbin, and reading documentation.

[@xzaratulx]

If one is interested one will eventually change some configs which may crash the system (or nvidia had a bad day) Learning how to recover it with the tty, vim and log files is the true art. In the end you will also do useless stuff like play songs in the tty or a "cat /dev/random > /dev/dsp" (just because you could) At least I learned a lot like that 😉

[@theodorealenas3171]

No DVORAK in the TTY though. So I'm slow and frustrated.

[@nevoyu]

DT, I've grown to love fluxbox over openbox. Maybe look into that one?

[@lamtatyan]

For most of the computer users who want to migrate from Windows to Linux, one of the big reasons that make them hesitate is using command lines. For computers who were brought up by UNIX or DOS, using command line is no problem at all yet giving us nostalgic feeling.