bunches of refurbished t-series thinkpads out there - t480, t430, etc. apparently the 490 is one to avoid. I got a t470 some months back for $150 - put mint on it and have been very happy with the performance.
this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2024
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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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If you have PC that can run virtual machines I recommend starting there so you can see how Linux works. Use it for a longer period of time and try doing some stuff there that you would normally do on Windows.
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trying to learn JavaScript
Your first hurdle will be to figure out how to install VS Code. Double clicking the downloaded .deb file often doesn't work. You'll need to follow the instructions on the official page under "Debian and Ubuntu": https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/setup/linux
Specifically the part about 'sudo apt install {distro}.deb'. The other parts are not needed.
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Follow the first few steps of this guide to download Linux Mint, create a bootable USB, and live boot into it.
You can now play around with this like it's a real system. Nothing will be saved when you shut down.
When you are ready, you can continue with that installation guide to either dual boot, or completely wipe your disks to use linux. (To start, I recommend dual booting. You never really know when you'll need it as you're transitioning.)
Good luck!
Welcome to the community!
Seconding all the previous comments recommending Linux Mint: since you come from Windows, you'll probably feel most at home there. It is also possible to do all common tasks without ever opening the terminal.
Mint should run fine on any hardware, but to be most safe, try to use something that is at least 1-2 years old and stay clear from dedicated GPU as first (in particular Nvidia).
I'd also advise that the packaging situation for distributing software in Linux rn is somewhat messy. Thankfully, multiple format (apt, Flatpak) are directly available in the Linux Mint Software Center. In case you need to use some proprietary software (Chrome, Spotify, idk), you'd probably want to go with Flatpaks.
I'll also add: There's a base distribution and then a variety of "Window Managers" (WM) or "Desktop Environments" (DE) to choose from. These determine the layout of your desktop, "control panel" analog, what settings can be tweaked, and stuff like the network/volume controls accessible him the tray etc.
Mate/Cinnamon are good, but I recommend KDE/Plasma Desktop. I've had good luck with that one for people who I've helped migrate from Windows.
Your can actually install multiple DE's and will be able to choose which one you use at the graphical login screen.
As for Chrome, I think Google still has a repository for that or one can use Chromium which is the base experience for that anyhow.
For code editors, there's a bunch of choices. I tend to use Pluma for basic text stuff, Bluefish for a lot of web stuff, and CodeBlocks for C++'ish stuff. You can also install VSCode on Linux if you so desire and a lot of people seem to quite like it.
Hardware I lean more towards **AMD - though not bleeding edge - as the drivers come with the OS kernel and tend to get updated with such. I've generally not had issues since about the RX480 days, except for some weirdness with APU's not liking certain TVs (usually scaling issues). Nvidia generally works too, but requires a proprietary driver stub be installed for accelerated graphics and that can sometimes break on updates. Most Intel (graphics) is ok, but there have been a few issues with less-common chips in smaller fiorm-factor or tablety devices.
** I have heard people complain about some AMD stuff, but honestly I've run an RX480, Vega56, 6900XT, and 3-4 generations of APU's without major issues except when those chips were fairly new (first 6mo of release can be dicey).
Yes to KDE for windows users. There's nothing wrong with cinnamon. But kde is much more impressive in a "wow! This is all free?" Sort of way. Just today I used both k3b and ktorrent!
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Another Mint + Thinkpad vote here. I'm a lifelong Windows user who has occasionally dabbled in Linux, and Mint is the first distro that I've stuck with enough to consider it my daily driver. I have it running on a used Thinkpad T14 Gen 2 with an AMD Ryzen 7 in it. I still have a separate Windows desktop for gaming and Adobe Lightroom, but the Thinkpad is my everyday couch PC now. Everything worked out of the box except for the infrared camera used for face unlock type stuff, and the fingerprint reader. I got the camera set up to use the Linux equivalent of Windows Hello, Howdy, and while it does work now it's not as fast and reliable as it was under Windows. I haven't even tried to set up the fingerprint reader yet. I'm very happy with how well everything works in general under Linux Mint.
Debian! As far as hardware you'd probably have an easier time with an AMD GPU but otherwise most everything works. Get intel wifi if you can/want wifi.
Ebay, T470, T480, T490. $200-300. Good laptops with great Linux compatibility. Cheap and reliable.
For your distro, Linux Mint. The stock, normal edition right on the website. Cinnamon desktop edition.
Simple and reliable, and very windows-like.
https://etcher.balena.io/ is good and simple software to create a bootable USB.
Use the Mint .iso as the file, burn to the USB stick of your choice.
Welcome to the club :)
haven't heard much good things about the t490
Only issues I've heard with the T490 is with models that have the Nvidia MX mobile gpu.
Most of that is old news. TLP for power management, and just don't get the Nvidia model honestly, integrated Intel graphics are plenty for basic uses like coding and light browsing.
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Linux Mint and any computer of your choice.
Second this. I only still have Windows on dual boot because of game pass and I need office for work. Mint just works.
Debian + Gnome. The debian wiki is full of great documentation. If you prefer watching, there's so many great (and not-so-great) courses on YouTube. I personally found tutoriaLinux's series helpful. Please understand that is merelyy what helped me at that point in my journey not necessarily the best tutorial series for you or anyone else.
My biggest tip is, regardless of the teacher or the lesson: follow along. Learn by doing, not by watching someone else doing. If you find yourself thinking anything like "couldn't I have done this" or "but what would happen if I changed this parameter": Do It. Try it out. Seee what happens.
Coincidentally, my second biggest tip is: use a test environment to do anything that you don't fully understand. Even if it's only a new folder with a bunch of empty files to practice file manipulation commands, it's way better than losing your important files. Anything that affects software configuration should be backed up first, anything that affects the OS should be tested in a VM
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
In this thread: a bunch of people making it more complicated than it needs to be.
Grab an old laptop, grab a user oriented distro that has a live-USB boot option. Play and learn.
Live USB options that should be user friend enough. Choose at random -- because you like their logo or whatever.
https://pendrivelinux.com/put-mandriva-2010-on-a-usb-flash-drive-windows/
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Live_USB_stick
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2230389
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/burn.html
I recently bought a used LG Gram to install Arch on after a few years of not having Linux…so recently did similar research, albeit with more Linux knowledge. I do NOT recommend Arch as a first distro unless you are willing to put in time for troubleshooting. That said, looking up a model of laptop you are considering + Linux in a search engine can be valuable in determining how much ease you will have getting basic (trackpad, Bluetooth, webcam, WiFi) items working. I dabbled with a CD distro as a gateway to Linux and the “live disk” option is still the best way to experiment. Nowadays it is on a USB stick. This method allows you to play around without actually installing. Others here have already given good advice. If you go the USB stick route, do be careful with anything related to disk partitioning and formatting. I accidentally wiped my dad’s hard drive once when I was not being careful!
I hope that people aren't seriously recommending Arch. You should at least start with Linux mint and honestly you can just stick with it.
Sometimes people unironically recommend Arch to newbs because "you'll learn so much about Linux while installing it".
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I haven’t seen Arch recommended to new folks outside of the Arch community circles and even most of them express caution. I always recommend Ubuntu or one of its variants for a person starting out, but it does help for the person to try a bunch of distros to see what they prefer. When I was starting out everyone was recommending Debian or Fedora. The more user-friendly distros didn’t come out until much later. Since then even the mainstream distros have improved a ton concerning usability, though I will say documentation always leans a bit too technical for my taste…for Arch especially. Too many holes for people that have no experience.
Tbh, I don't recommend beginners to try out multiple distros in the beginning. Realistically, if you don't have in depth Linux knowledge already, all you'll be able to differentiate is the look of the DE and the wallpaper.
I find, too much choice tends to confuse beginners more than it helps them.
So I'd rather recommend something simple like Ubuntu and let them try out the flavours with the different DEs.
Choice is better for later when people actually understand what they are looking for.
I would say this probably varies by person. I learned a lot by using multiple distros. When I put the dots together that yum, apt-get, and (later) pacman do the same thing, that was a huge ah-ha. Sometimes seeing the differences in how they work in command line especially helps you understand larger concepts. If you stick with one distro (like I did for too long) you may have trouble comprehending these concepts for longer. Some beginners may find choice overwhelming, yes, but I do think it can be useful having exposure to two or three distros out the gate…even if just on live USB.
Most people I helped getting Linux to work are actually not techy at all and they haven't touched the CLI at all so far...
I guess it differs if you use Linux because you are interested in the technology or if you use it because Windows 11 doesn't run on your PC.
Hardware wise, you'll be hard pressed to find any even half-way popular computer that can't run some form of Linux. So I'd say just get something that's within your budget. Those x86 APU-based mini pcs that you can find for ~$200 are becoming pretty popular for projects these days. Something like a Raspberry Pi or Orange Pi or whatever might also be fine depending on what you want to do with it, just keep your power expectations in check. If you want to spend more money on something with graphics hardware, I'd recommend going for AMD over NVidia, just because the drivers are built into the kernel and essentially no-hassle.
When it comes to software, especially if you're on x86, just arbitrarily pick one of the reasonably popular distros like Ubuntu, Fedora, PopOS, or any of the other ones you've probably heard of. One of the first things to learn about "Linux" is that there's a whole ecosystem of software projects behind it, and there is a lot of overlap between the software that each distro runs. Yes, there are some meaningful differences between, for example, Ubuntu and Fedora, but I think they are much less meaningful to a noobie (who is just learning the basics of Linux) or an expert (who probably knows enough to bend and customize just about any distro into whatever they want).
Small caveat #1: If you prefer to have a desktop that more closely resembles Windows (like the one of the Steam Deck's desktop mode) you might want to pick a distro spin that uses the KDE Plasma desktop. On the other hand, if you want to play around with something that's a bit different than what you're used to, it might be worth checking out a distro spin that uses the Gnome desktop. I can recommend them both for different reasons, so you might want to check out some videos of them to see what you're more into before picking. (Other desktops are available, these are just the two big ones! So there truly are a ton of options to explore here if you want to.)
Small caveat #2: At this point in time are you more interested in stability or customization? If you want a truly rock-solid Linux system that's hard to ever break, you might want to consider one of the new "atomic" distributions like Fedora Silverblue/Kinoite (or others), though you might find some of their limitations annoying. On the other side of the spectrum, if deep customization and flexibility is what you're looking for, then you might want to venture into the deep end with things like NixOS or ArchLinux, just keep in mind that they can be very technical and overwhelming for noobs. Personally I have been using Fedora Silverblue for a couple years now and I love the stability of it, and I can work around it's limitations with distrobox.
Another thing to consider is just using what you already have. For example, playing around with Linux in a virtual machine, setting up a Linux-based server on one of the popular VPS services, or just plugging your Steam Deck into a dock with a keyboard and monitor attached and playing with something like distrobox (which you can probably find a guide on how to set that up for your deck).
But literally any PC that’s within your budget. OK maybe that’s not true, there might still be some crap WiFi cards out there with weird firmware that don’t support Linux very well. Find an older name-brand PC within your budget. Before buying it Google “[make and model] Linux WiFi” and see whether there’s tons of complaints about the WiFi. If not, go ahead and get it, put Ubuntu or Linux Mint on there, start banging out JavaScript projects, profit.
Something thing to keep in mind when getting started is to manage your expectations. You've spent all this time using Windows so you already know where everything is -- for Windows. In a lot of respects you are going to be starting over from scratch, learning new ways to install software, get around the desktop, and doing simple things like changing your settings. Don't get discouraged, you've done this before, you can do it again.
One way to cope with the initial frustration is to start out loading up something like VirtualBox on your Windows desktop, and installing a linux distribution there. Then you can play around, take your time to find a desktop that's right for you, and learn how to actually DO things in linux that you already do daily in Windows. That way you eliminate the pressure of trying to figure out how to do everything at once.
Another reason to start with a virtual machine is that there are a LOT of possible linux distributions to choose from. There are also quite a number of different desktop environments to choose from. It pays to take a bit of time and play around with different options to find out what you like. You also need to decide if you want something running the cutting-edge releases, or if you prefer stability with slightly older software. For example, Ubuntu is a good choice for the absolute latest releases but can introduce bugs that the devs refuse to fix. On the other hand, Debian (which is actually the base system that Ubuntu is built on) only releases slightly older software that has been tested over the past few months. However in all cases, you will always get immediate patches for security issues.
As already mentioned, any old computer laying around is a viable candidate for Linux. Until last year I was running internet-facing web servers on 1GB of memory and a single core. If you have something built in the last 20 years it will work for your purposes. Hell my desktop is someone else's throw-away because under Windows they considered it "too slow to get email or browse the internet". I use it for writing arduino code and building models for my 3D printer.
... there are a LOT of possible linux distributions to choose from. There are also quite a number of different desktop environments to choose from.
I never considered the backend could have different frontends. So is Ubuntu just a different desktop environment for Debian? Or is it like I could just install a different desktop environment on top of my old PC's Ubuntu installation?
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