this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2023
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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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This is true for the traditional model in which the package manager is the main differentiator between distros. Therefore Arch, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE etc and their derivatives (which make up about 90% of the distros found on DistroWatch) are indeed mostly the same.
But the likes of Gentoo and NixOS etc don't quite fit the bill. Granted, a new user should only very rarely (if ever) start their Linux journeys on any of these advanced distros.
Yeah, you look at how there are a handful of package managers, and hundreds of distros, they're pretty much all the "same"
But yes gentoo and NixOS do things the most differently. But even on those you can game on them.
I mostly want to discourage distro hopping with the belief that they're missing out on a program or desktop, only to end up on windows because they're tired of reinstalling everything.
Thank you for being thoughtful! I just wanted to add some nuance with my previous comment.