I just installed Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS (Cinnamon) on an empty laptop a couple days ago and have been experimenting a lot. I’m coming from being a Windows user since I was just a little kid playing old DOS games on my grandpa’s Win-98 PC back in around 2000. My daily driver is currently running Windows 10 but I am pretty adamant on not going with Win-11. I’ve been wanting to experiment with Linux for a while and Cinnamon so far seems like a lot of fun to navigate. Terminal is amazing. The fact that you can custom-write keyboard commands that can be hand-tailored to individual programs on your computer via the OS… that’s powerful.

I have not tried running WINE yet but I plan on doing so soon. I also have not done much of anything, honestly, except for learning how to search for programs with gnome-software --search=. I have also used sudo a couple times to download software here and there, but I know I am not tackling this in as systematic of a way as I ought to be to really figure this machine out.

What are some really important basic commands I can use to start branching out into Terminal command structures and learning more about how I can edit and customize my computer? And if Cinnamon has shortfalls or weaknesses that I may run into eventually, what are some good alternative distros that I could leapfrog to eventually? I do not have any coding experience (currently), but I do consider myself a semi-power-user on Windows, having messed with CMD many times and digging through all the damn menus to access drivers and alter ports.

  • @OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml
    64•11 months ago

    My main recommendation is this - The more techsavvy you are, the harder a switch to Linux will be, because you know how to do some complex things on Windows, and now you’ll have to relearn it on Linux.

    Take your time, Google lots, and just know the ceiling on Linux is much higher for power users, so getting over the initial hump will reward you greatly

    • @BearPear@lemmy.world
      12•11 months ago

      I also switched to linux after using windows for more than 10 years. I still havent gotten used to linux yet. There are still a lot of things I struggle with.

      I kind of had difficulty setting up my printer, I tried to install the HP drivers but it did not install. But none of this installation was required because linux supports driverless printing throught the cups service which I wish I knew earlier.

      Another is the use of vi text editor, I couldn’ t figure out how to even edit the file and save the file🤣.

      Yeah many more examples. It is a bumpy ride. But it is all worth it.

      • @Lanthanae@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        8•11 months ago

        You don’t have to learn vi if you don’t want to. Just switch your default text editor to one that you like (it doesn’t even have to be a GUI one)

            • @Lanthanae@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              4•11 months ago

              I second this. Just going through vimtutor a couple times and then learning how to use the :help pages effectively is all you need to make vim usable.

              I’d recommend using neovim over plain vim though, if not for any reason other than it has nicer defaults.

          • @nestEggParrot@lemmy.sdf.org
            1•11 months ago

            Like other comments mention, neovim is way better and use preconfigured setups (like Astrovim) when getting started to discover features you like and then get to writing your own configurations.

            Also micro is way better than nano foa simple edits and available on most package managers.

      • @poplargrove@reddthat.com
        3•11 months ago

        You should try installing vim (“Vi IMproved”) and run the vimtutor program it comes with, it walks you through the basics. Vim is addictive.