Getting Started
Foreword: As you can see in the menu bar of this site, we have chosen Ubuntu, Fedora, and Linux Mint as the main focus of our tutorials. This short article explains the reasons for this selection.
The First Question: Where Should I Start?
Unlike the uniformity of Windows and macOS, the Linux world boasts a multitude of distributions (distros) and various desktop environments (DEs) with distinct characteristics, which leads to wildly different user experiences.
The Linux world is like an amusement park with numerous attractions. Everyone who steps in inevitably asks themselves first: Which attraction should I start with?
A reasonably rational, formal, and error-free answer is: Determine the Linux distribution and desktop environment you should use based on your needs.
However, such an answer is too broad for newcomers and only leads to confusion.
Therefore, this site will more clearly and simply define the requirements, select the corresponding systems, and provide clear, sound operational advice, enabling friends to get a more effective start.
I have set the goals as: easy hardware compatibility verification, simple system installation process, relatively rich software ecosystem, and quick start-up for use.
Below is a point-by-point explanation of these four points:
Easy hardware compatibility verification: Most newcomers are switching from computers running Windows or macOS, so the Linux system we choose must adapt to our existing hardware. It should provide a complete Live environment, allowing us to determine whether it can drive all our hardware before officially installing it to the hard drive. We should not have to wait until after installation to discover issues like a non-functional screen, keyboard, mouse, speakers, USB ports, network card, or graphics card, which would be a waste of time.
Simple system installation process: Our computer experience largely began with pre-installed Windows or macOS computers. Therefore, a lack of knowledge about the process of installing an operating system on a computer is completely normal. A Linux distribution suitable for us to start with should feature a mature graphical installation wizard interface that minimizes confusion, helps us understand what we are doing every step of the way, and allows us to correctly configure our computer (e.g., user account, language environment, disk allocation, etc.).
Relatively rich software ecosystem: In the Linux world, the distribution we choose largely dictates the software ecosystem available to us. The current mainstream software ecosystems in Linux include the deb ecosystem represented by Debian and Ubuntu, the rpm ecosystem represented by Fedora, and the Arch Linux ecosystem. These three ecosystems are generally not interoperable. Cross-distro package management systems like Appimage/Flatpak/Snap serve as complements to the primary ecosystems, allowing us to gain broader software support beyond the native package management system.
Quick start-up for use: The distribution we choose should ideally avoid major changes to the workflows and operational logic we are already very familiar with on Windows and macOS, preventing an overly steep learning curve that drastically reduces our productivity or interferes with basic entertainment activities. To this end, we require straightforward and easy-to-understand operational logic for file management, software installation, multimedia browsing, and multitasking switching, enabling us to adapt to the new operating system environment as quickly as possible.
Based on the requirements defined by these four points, I have selected Ubuntu, Fedora, and Linux Mint as the main focus of this site’s tutorials. By providing basic installation and operation guides for each distribution, I hope to lay a solid foundation for friends to learn about Linux from scratch and prepare them for exploring the richer Linux ecosystem in the future.