Here’s how to get started with Linux in 2024
Linux. Sounds hard? Actually, no. Linux can be as easy using Windows on your device daily. You don’t need to watch hours long tutorials to get started. Nor you have to read lots of articles to get your perfect start.
My Story with Linux:
During Lockdown, like everybody I had to use my computer for a long time everyday. My computer didn’t have the best specifications as it was quite old. Windows didn’t run all that well on it. So looking for a solution to make it a bit more performant, I searched for solutions online and discovered Linux. To be completely honest, switching to Linux wasn’t an easy task. It was my first time installing a new operating system and I messed up in some places. But do I regret it? Absolutely not. My computer was now faster meaning I could give it a few more years to operate, not going totally obsolete.
Yours reasons might be different than mine. You might be a developer needing to learn it for work purposes or just someone who wants to give their old computer or laptop a new life. Regardless, this guide will help you.
How you can get started:
First of all, you don’t need to watch 3–4 hours long YouTube tutorials to learn Linux. Think of it as trying out a new piece of software. You won’t be immediately a master of it, but try to hold on it for a while. Learning takes time. As for requirement, here’s some things I think you should know before installing Linux:
- Partitioning drives: This is like creating a new volume on Windows to store your games or files. As a newbie, you will want to dual boot Windows and Linux. So knowing how to create a separate partition will surely help. You will get used to it anyway when installing Linux, so don’t worry too much.
- Burning ISOs: After downloading a Linux distribution, it will be as .iso format on your computer. Then you can use software like Rufus or Etcher to burn that .iso file on your USB Flash Drive. After that, you can just boot Linux from your USB.
- Choosing Distribution: Linux has a lot of variations called distributions. As a newbie, this long list of distributions can be overwhelming. There are a lot of distributions for beginners but the one I would recommend is Linux Mint. It’s very user-friendly and has a great community for support.
To actually install Linux on your computer, there are lots of good tutorials online that you can follow, especially on YouTube.
After you install it, I recommend that you use it as your daily operating system instead of Windows so that you can actually learn it. It might be hard at the beginning, since you are completely new but it will just get easier from here on. You might run it some problems like installing a software or something isn’t working properly. Finding solution for these will help you learn more. I think running into problems and fixing them is the best way to learn Linux. Sounds funny right, you will eventually see what I mean.
To help with your Linux journey, you can follow youtubers like Chris Titus Tech, Brodie Robertson, DistroTube. I, myself have learned a lot from these youtubers especially DistroTube.
Final Thoughts:
Linux isn’t as hard as you think it is. Learning it will take time but it is totally worth it. It is a powerful operating system and no matter what everyone says I think anyone can learn it. Linux has gotten so much better in the last couple of years and its not just for computer professionals anymore.
