this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2025
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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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Why are there Ubuntu haters? I'm on the verge of installing Linux on my desktop and have the Ubuntu pro installer on a thumb drive ready. I'm worried now...
I started out thinking to go with Mint, seems popular, but there was an instruction to verify the ISO image and it was just too complex. https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=291093
I'm already using Linux on an old laptop (Zorin) so I'm not inexperienced, but good lord that's a faff and a half. I have a life!
My advice: run a server (any server) or three, and keep your important / personal stuff there. It can be as simple as a Raspberry Pi with a big external SSD. The PC you use as a desktop environment should be easily built / configured from the base distro into whatever customizations you want, and you can either work with your personal files on the server, or mirror copies of them to your desktop system as appropriate (things like "living documents" should be primarily stored and backed up on servers, things like photo collections etc. can be stored on the server, but copied to the desktop for easy access like rotating wallpaper or whatever.)
If (when, really) any one of your systems goes down, it shouldn't be a big deal. If it's a server, restore from another server mirror / backups. If it's your desktop, install a new desktop and get your customizations off a server.
Of course this is an ideal, but keep in mind that SSDs are not "forever" devices, they do wear out and each single copy of your data will be corrupted some day. Spinning rust is even less reliable, in my experience, although I have one 2TB hard drive that has been online for more than 10 years now. It's mirrored, twice, on SSDs.