this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2025
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Linux

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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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I'm just so sick of Microsoft and Google. But there's two things holding me back:

  1. I wanna play Steam games on my PC

  2. I am just an amateur hobbyist, not a tech wizard

Is there any hope for me?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Consider your library: most games will be able to run fine on Linux. However, if you predominantly play online multiplayer games which require anticheat you should check compatibility on ProtonDB.

Second, consider your hardware: if your GPU is AMD you're good to go. Nvidia might have issues (not sure if this has been resolved since I last had to look into it).

Finally, choose a distro: I'd recommend Ubuntu or anything Ubuntu-based. There's a lot of mixed answers in the Linux community and definitely a ton of hate for Ubuntu. However, as someone who has been running Linux for nearly a decade at this point, there are a few key points:

  1. Ubuntu is debian based, so it's extremely stable(but not as slow to update)

  2. Ubuntu is very beginner friendly, and you won't need to touch the terminal if you don't want to

  3. Everyone hates on snaps, but for you I don't think you'll run into an issue with it.

Personally, I steer towards debian based distros for my devices as well because I'd rather spend time messing with the software I'm running or other things NOT debugging why my config is suddenly shitting the bed

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (4 children)

GPU is Nvidia. I'm gonna have to look up the words distro, Ubuntu, and debian and get back to you. just to demonstrate where I'm at lol

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Distro: short for distribution. Linux is not an operating system. It's a piece of technology (specifically something called a kernel) you can use to create an OS. Those Linux based OSs are referred to as distros. We are usually not calling them "Versions" because the Linux Kernel is also frequently seeing updates and that would just cause confusion.

Debian and Ubuntu: Popular distros. Ubuntu tends to be a bit more user friendly than Debian and was the default recommendation for new user for a long time. In recent years its popularity among enthusiasts declined because of a series of unpopular decisions, mainly the adaptation of something called snaps which is not completely open source and takes a bit more time to launch apps than alternatives. Debian on the other hand really values stability. Updates arrive less frequently than on other distros but undergo really rigorose testing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

it sounds like debían is better then?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 12 hours ago

Not necessarily. Both have their drawbacks. It takes longer for new hardware to be supported on Debian and setting up a Nvidia grafics card is more complicated

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