I’m talking about like your mom if she started using Linux, and just needs it to be able to open a web browser and check Facebook or her email or something. A student that just needs a laptop to do homework and take notes, or someone that just wants to play games on Steam and chat on discord.
I’m working on a Windows - > Linux guide targeting people like this and I want to make sure it can be understood by just about anybody. A problem that I’ve noticed is that most guides trying to do something like this seem to operate under the assumption that the viewer already knows what Linux is and has already made up their mind about switching, or that they’re already pretty computer savvy. This guide won’t be that, I’m writing a guide and keeping my parents in mind the whole time.
Because of this there’s some things I probably won’t talk about. Do these people really need to know that it’s actually GNU+Linux? No, I don’t think so. Should I explain how to install, use and configure hyprland, or compile a custom gaming kernel? I dont think that’s really necessary. You get what I’m saying? I don’t want to over complicate this and scare people off.
That being said I also want to make sure that I’m not over simplifying by skipping on key things they should know. So what are some key concepts or things that you think even the most basic of Linux users should understand? Bonus points if you can provide a solid entry level explanation of it too.
(nsfd)
spoiler
The best advice is don’t be an autistic retard. Learn pragmatically by experience. Take your time and have fun. Don’t do (or not do) something just to fit in with losers on the internet.
Contrary to what others write*: Yes, the terminal.
It’s not that you can’t get by without it on many distros, for most things. But for even for medium and non-techy users, getting the fear of the terminal out of the way early will make their journey much, much smoother. It doesn’t have to be much, no shell scripting or anything, just the basics, conceptually what a terminal is, what the shell is, how to execute stuff, maybe
chmod +xto execute, other utilities likels,cp,mv,mkdir. maybe symlinks/ln. That’ll be enough to take away the fear if they see any “Now do this in the terminal” advice online (which they absolutely will, let’s not delude ourselves), and maybe enough to get them to notice that “huh, sometimes the terminal is more convenient, they weren’t bullshitting when they said that”.*) Since you asked about “beginner Linux users” and not users that “just want to use their computer and not think about the OS at all”, I’m pretty confident about that assertion.
PS: I really think that’s not too much too ask. I remember my mother learning DOS commands back in the day for a regular desk-job. Everyone can do this, it’s not difficult, people just have to let go of a few false preconceptions drilled into them by the industry (MS, Google and Apple).
DO NOT download and install random programs from the internet. Not a deb/rpm file, not an elf binary, not an install script, nothing. Use your package manager or desktop environment’s app store. At most use flatpak or snap packages.
Linux gets its reputation for not getting malware from the same place Mac does: It has a managed app repository where you get all your software from. Difference is Mac doesn’t let you install arbitrary programs at all, while Linux expects you to know better than to do that. Someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing downloading Linux programs from random websites will inevitably hit one of the super rare Linux malware in the wild.
Even ignoring security issues, running an install script even from a reputable open source project’s website can open you up to package dependency hell. And if you ever need to upgrade or modify it, you’re in for a rough time because none of the existing tools built into your distro will help you. It’s even worse than Windows when this happens because Windows at least expects for things like this to happen (because everything comes in its own installer and handles updates separately) and has UX elements to help non tech savvy users deal with their mess of apps, Linux expects anyone bypassing the normal package manager to know what they’re doing and if you don’t, it won’t be a good day for you.
Great response, which also helps to answer one of the first questions from non-tech users: which anti-virus do I download for Linux?
The average day of a “computer wiz” on debian (me):
sudo apt install ./randomshitfromgithub.debsudo nano /etc/apt/sources.listpastes stuff in“Oh no something isn’t working right!” Pastes some slop from chatgpt into the terminal
9 months later
“This shits fucked beyond repair, time for a clean install!”
Honestly? Not much different than my experience with windows. ;P
Also, for Arch folk: AUR isn’t a traditional repo. Always be careful what you pull from there. Check pkgbuild files for weird shit and avoid unpopular bin files.
Since when does Mac not let you install where program you want? Are you thinking of iOS?
As far as I know when you download a dmg, the OS checks its signatures against Apple’s registry and only allows installation if it’s approved. The developer would have submitted the app to Apple (for like $100) for them to inspect even if it’s not on the “official” app store.
Not a Mac user so please call me out if I’m just talking out my ass.
Right click, select “open.”
In a better time, yes. These days it’ll throw a warning that the application can’t be trusted and offers to throw it in the bin. You have to run a command in the terminal now. Every time the app updates.
LibreWolf has updated?
Gotta do the dance again. Every. Fucking. Time.
I’m still running 14, has it changed since?
Does this still work to disable it system-wide?
sudo spctl --master-disableis it impossible to disable gatekeeper now?
Yes it’s impossible to do it fully now :( but you can open programs from unapproved developers by going into settings > security > and select “open anyways”. It’s kinda a hassle when you like using open source software.
I think it’s like by default not allowed but there are settings you can change but you have to go through a bunch of warnings and scare prompts
Now the KDE Discover store on Kubuntu needs to let me say no when an app asks for “Full Access: Can Access Everything on your System”. It’s a bloody text editor, what access could it possibly need.
Sadly, just the store doesn’t work for many professional programs and non-free software.
Segger j-link, renesas go hub, Nordic tools, etc… (though AUR solves this on arch distros)
Trusted sources, only.
Same as Windows, Android: sideloading (tarballs, flatpaks, snaps whatever) is a no-no.
Like
bash curl install.shbadI’m not sure this is great advice. In principle it is. But you can’t tell a windows user “yes. You know how many of the programs you used to use are not available because they don’t make a Linux version? Well a lot of the ones that do you shouldn’t use even though the distro supports it for reasons you don’t understand”
That is better advice for an intermediate used learning about the dangers (or lack there of) sideloading.
In general o disagree with your stance on a basically semantic reasons: the definition of a trusted source. If I trust a software manufacturer and they tell me to use their flatpak, it’s fine because they are trusted, regardless of the format. What I do not like are things like the AUR
su/sudo -Why you will need to use it and how not to use it.
-I still don’t think it’s wise to rely on the various stores like Discover or Pop!_Shop to do basic updates as they are bloated and slow to an alarming rate while running.
Backing up a copy of that config file, before editing it.
If you brick or break anything, rolling back to a working-state is much easier.
--//–
You can manually cp a 2nd version of the files, or there are tools to automatically backup for you.
I think the biggest fundamental concept for any computer regardless of operating system is filesystem hierarchy. The concept of nested folders is core to using a personal computer, but for the last two decades UI/X teams have done everything in their power to obscure and abstract it away. Many younger people conceptualize the storage on their device as just an amorphous blob that apps manage autonomously. Windows is starting to go this way as well with OneDrive being sold as the way to manage all your data, but on Linux the file system is still king.
Your mom is presumably old enough to have some experience with desktop PCs, so hopefully that basic hurdle is already cleared. And honestly once someone is at that level of base competence, along with basic interface concepts like how to use a mouse and keyboard, clicking on icons, use of a web browser etc, with the right distro you really don’t need to explain much else. There might be a few quirks of the UI to explain depending on what you choose, but most of that can be handled by just watching them use the computer for a bit, and/or asking them to give you a list of questions and annoyances after they use it for a few days.
The biggest difference is one that most “I just want it to work” users will actually love, and that’s relearning how to install software. Having one central location to install verified software from is a change from the wild west of downloading installers from the internet, but it shouldn’t be a difficult transition. Most people these days don’t even install software beyond maybe Zoom, so you can probably get away with just installing any third party software they need in the initial setup.
I recommend an immutable distro like Fedora Silverblue, at least if a) you’re setting it up and are reasonably technical, and b) you don’t want to go over and help them fix stuff often. I set my mom’s laptop up with it 4+ years ago and she’s only had one problem since then.
Yo mama so old she has experience with desktop computers.
Was not expecting a yo mama joke in this 🤣🤣
Facts, but lowkey a tagging filesystem instead of a tree one would be amazing, that would be an amorphous blob I’d love to see
googling and copypasting in that black app called terminal
… Carefully and with caution.
there is this “attack” where a website tells you to paste malicouse commands into the terminal
yeah you have to carefully hightlight the command without the $ sign, then with caution right-click on mouse to copy it, paste, then enter
I’ve over 10 yrs experience with linux. this process gets everything I want done
/s lol ok jk
- Should have basic understanding of what they intent to do on Linux.
- They should know about the concept of input devices.
- Have an understanding of the internet if they are planing to use it. Like what websites are or how to search for things.
- And I think a basics of generic buttons or symbols (like the magnifying glass for search button) would be nice.
I’ve been using linux for years, but in limited contexts. With switching my primary desktop over this year I’ve found it helpful to stop by my local library and checked out some books on linux. I’m combining that with chatting with a locally running LLM. I’ve also setup an extra Raspberry Pi I had laying around with Ubuntu Lite as a sandbox OS to tinker with.
Maybe consider a portable sandbox setup like this you could quickly demonstrate or share?
At least a basic primer about finding your way around in Linux in command line, and where various configuration files live.
When shit goes wrong (and it likely will at some point) knowing how to dump to another tty and log in via the console and fix issues via command line is pretty key. This has saved my ass more times than I can count now.
Having trouble finding a CLI focused course, but this is a free course that covers a lot of basics:
https://training.linuxfoundation.org/training/introduction-to-linux/
As a Linux noob, this is not as basic as you think it is. It’s probably cool to show them “sudo apt install [program]” as a neat trick to dip their toes into the command line. All the other things you mentioned would scare me away if it was presented as beginner essential knowledge. I legit have no idea what you’re talking about.
It’s basic in the sense that Linux is always a work in progress and no matter how hard you try, you’re going to need it at some point.
When your system randomly turns on to a black screen and there is seemingly no way to log in, knowing how to switch to the command line and at bare minimum back up your settings and documents before you wipe and start over is pretty key. To be clear, I have been in that exact situation and even more confusing situations where the PC has basically become unusable but I was able to fix it via CLI.
Just imagine losing months or years of work because you don’t know that you can probably fix it all from command line and likely don’t even need to wipe your computer and start over if you can narrow down what is going wrong and remove it via the command line.
I dunno seems pretty important to me.
True, first time I ran into catastrophic problems (caused by entering in commands I copied from online, knowing damn well it was a bad idea), I got annoyed having to fish out corrupted files and shit, but I realized that anytime something had gone wrong with Windows I had no tools to fix it and could only check in on a loading screen that lasts hours. It was a learning experience
For me personally, I would remember none of that if taught to me. I’m stubborn and handy enough to figure it out during an emergency. For the kind of noob OP is describing that benefits from a handheld on-ramp, they will probably never be able to do what you’re describing.
I think a good compromise would be mentioning a few things that you can do in case of emergency so a more savvy person would know what to look for in an emergency. You don’t have to teach them so much as tell them there is something they can do. If there’s a fire, idk where the fire extinguisher is but I know there is one and I can go looking.
I’m in the minority who thinks Linux isn’t for everyone and that people who approach computing from that standpoint should really stick with macOS or Windows. Linux gives you more freedom to be in control, but that freedom to be in control also demands more knowledge and involvement to be able to be in control. “With great power comes great responsibility” kind of thing.
For an analogy Windows is like being a passenger in a car with someone else driving, and Linux you’re in the drivers seat of the car. You simply are required to be aware and involved in driving more because you are in control, and that control requires knowledge. You don’t get to sit back and go “I don’t need to know what all this stuff does because I don’t want to.” Understanding how the pedals and steering wheel work is a requirement for driving, as is paying attention to what is going on around you on the road. As a passenger, you aren’t required to know or pay attention to as much because you’re not being given the freedom of control, you’re just along for the ride. Linux is giving you that freedom of control of being the driver, but you have to know a lot more to do it than you need to know just being a passenger (Windows).
I know everyone else thinks Linux is ready for the prime time and ready for regular users who don’t want to have to learn and just want something that works… but I personally don’t. Simply because Linux is a lot less guaranteed to “just work” than the other options.
TBH, I agree with you. However a lot of people’s PCs are no longer supported with no practical way to change that. For those people that are trying Linux out timidly and reluctantly, I’m fine with a little handholding. I wouldn’t recommend someone switch to Linux unless I knew they were a bit savvy. But if they’re worried about going behind on security updates and can’t afford a new PC, I will suggest their one option, even if I know it will be challenging at times.
Agreed on that, it’s not the best solution, but for people who need access to computing and whose devices have aged out of other support, it’s pretty much the only option available.
Communication is the key. And the problem is most Linux users aren’t able to grasp how the language they use is opaque to new users who don’t share their knowledge base. Just the word distro is already a barrier to new users cuz they don’t know what it means and yet Linux users throw it around as if everyone knows what it means. These basic terms are the biggest barrier I think. Most people who just use a computer check their email don’t know what a bios is. They don’t know how to boot from a flash drive. That’s going to be your biggest barrier. Language and the basic stuff you don’t think of as remarkable.
Understanding the proper way to install apps is the biggest one. Make it clear that .exe files are for Windows only.
I wouldn’t try to go further than that, I feel that’s the biggest thing a general user really needs to know.
Honestly the biggest thing is just READ WHAT IS ON THE SCREEN. So many people just refuse to read when the computer is literally telling them exactly how to resolve a problem
Yep. And also for bonus points, learn the basics of asking for help. Even simple things like writing a useful subject for a post, being respectful and how to share useful error codes or logs.
The way Linux treats many things as part of the file system (devices, sockets, etc.) that Windows doesn’t.
Honestly if you can install windows on a machine and use it then you can install linux on a machine and use it. especially if its an out of the box distro (like my favorite zorin). when downloading something from the web you have to choose linux instead of windows and its usually .debian so its good for it to be a debian based distro. if someone else install the linux for the person then they just need the same skills they needed to run windows. mouse moves the same. login is same. doubleclick is the same. etc. etc.
More maintainers should charge for iso’s. Nobody’s gonna compile them themselves or trust “pirated” iso’s. It’s a real genius move from Zorin.
zorin has a free version though. the paid gives you the gui chooser basically which is not necessary to me. If I had a job I might pay but that would be just to support. Want to sign up for status coup news first though. Need that postive cash flow though so who knows.
