Distribution choice for the long run!

aoib578

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Moving from Windows 10 to Linux.
My focus is Web Development. I was considering a Mac with macOS; but a Linux user insists Linux is better for this purpose, and other general purposes too. Plus more private and secure.

Mint Linux seems like the best (easy to manage) general purpose, private and secure distro.
You agree?

I intend to make Mint my main OS for the long run!
 


Mint is a good start for ex- Windows users, as are many others,
as most of us will tell you, the best distribution for YOU, is the one you like the look and feel of the best, the one that works on your machine the best [not all distributions are friendly to all machines]
Download a selection of say 6 or so distributions with different desktops, and run them live from a pen drive, you won't get the full speed, but it will give you a chance to make your decision, your own, as to what is the best distribution,
there are one or two distributions you should avoid if you do not have good experience of both how Linux works and the use of the terminal. [you will soon work out which, if you start having problems installing the desktop and necessary drivers]
 
I was new to Linux about two and a half years ago. I did as Brickwizard says and downloaded a handful of distro's to try before installing. I settled on Mint Cinnamon which I ran for 5 or 6 months, it was faultless but I found it unappealing, Being happy with Mint I tried their Mate and Xfce desktops before settling on Xfce .

I'm happy with, and have stuck with Mint Xfce ever since but out of curiosity have regularly tried many other distro's since (on live USB).

There are many fine distro's out there, so, good luck, enjoy your seach and let us know what you choose.
 
Give a try the Debian 11 nonfree cinnamon, I was coming from windows 10 when I stumbled upon it, trouble free OS
 
@aoib578
just a quick definition point.. Non-Free , doesn't mean there is any financial cost , It just means the distribution includes licenced drivers supplied by manufactures, and not Foss [Free and Open Source Software.]
 
Hello, @aoib578 -- Why limit yourself to one distro?

You get to know Mint, you more or less know all ubuntu-based distros except the specialty ones. Very close to Debian, the latter will not be a big step after learning Mint. In fact, Mint makes a Debian Edition. Why would it do that if ubuntu and Mint were truly Debian distros (a rhetorical question to you, OP)?

Then there is the enterprise distros and the independent distros like Solus. And Slackware and Arch, best kept for later, when the n00bie knows something about his OS.

It's a big GNU/Linux world out there. I just hate to see someone limit themselves so at the outset.
 
Welcome aboard aoib578,
There are many great choices out there and has been said don't limit yourself to one distro.

Lately I have tried Linuxlite, Refracta, Peppermintos and Devuan and found all to be great choices.

In the past have tried Slackware and Debian, Antix MX Linux and Puppy. Also tried Mint so there are many great choices so in short enjoy the discovery and joy of finding your choice of OS.

 
Moving from Windows 10 to Linux.
My focus is Web Development. I was considering a Mac with macOS; but a Linux user insists Linux is better for this purpose, and other general purposes too. Plus more private and secure.

Mint Linux seems like the best (easy to manage) general purpose, private and secure distro.
You agree?

I intend to make Mint my main OS for the long run!
are you leaning towards react eg javascript or php for web ?
 
Mint is a good start for ex- Windows users, as are many others,
as most of us will tell you, the best distribution for YOU, is the one you like the look and feel of the best, the one that works on your machine the best [not all distributions are friendly to all machines]
Download a selection of say 6 or so distributions with different desktops, and run them live from a pen drive, you won't get the full speed, but it will give you a chance to make your decision, your own, as to what is the best distribution,
there are one or two distributions you should avoid if you do not have good experience of both how Linux works and the use of the terminal. [you will soon work out which, if you start having problems installing the desktop and necessary drivers]
@Brickwizard
I completely agree!
But as a good starting point and since you're experienced here. I need to know if linux is better than macOS for full stack web development?
If it is. What 2 extra distros distros you recommend, that are private, secure, and work well? Just like mint!

I have a Dell Precision 5540 Workstation with Xeon.
 
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I was new to Linux about two and a half years ago. I did as Brickwizard says and downloaded a handful of distro's to try before installing. I settled on Mint Cinnamon which I ran for 5 or 6 months, it was faultless but I found it unappealing, Being happy with Mint I tried their Mate and Xfce desktops before settling on Xfce .

I'm happy with, and have stuck with Mint Xfce ever since but out of curiosity have regularly tried many other distro's since (on live USB).

There are many fine distro's out there, so, good luck, enjoy your seach and let us know what you choose.
@dm999

If i choose mint i will try all desktops.
Reason for sticking with a distro after i try a few is to save time and not be jumping around loosing time installing and tweaking software.
I will try a few on vmware workstation before installing one on my Dell Precision Workstation with Xeon.
 
Hello, @aoib578 -- Why limit yourself to one distro?

You get to know Mint, you more or less know all ubuntu-based distros except the specialty ones. Very close to Debian, the latter will not be a big step after learning Mint. In fact, Mint makes a Debian Edition. Why would it do that if ubuntu and Mint were truly Debian distros (a rhetorical question to you, OP)?

Then there is the enterprise distros and the independent distros like Solus. And Slackware and Arch, best kept for later, when the n00bie knows something about his OS.

It's a big GNU/Linux world out there. I just hate to see someone limit themselves so at the outset.
@forester

Obviously mint is not truly debian...
I will jump to any linux distro as i've worked a little with red hat before. Not completely new to linux...
I just know i don't want to have ubuntu as main OS!
 
OK, I am not making any recommendation, but a couple of distros that claim better security, are MX-22 and Parrot,
I am not experienced at web design, but there are plenty of tools available . https://www.linux.com/training-tutorials/web-development-tools-linux-how-install-them/
@Brickwizard

Parrot seems very good! Will give it a go!

I really need to clear something.
Linux for web development is better than windows right?
Is linux better than macOS for this purpose?
If so it's good news as i already got a dell workstation!

PS: Plagueos seems quite secure to. But maybe not as functional as parrot.
 
Parrot seems very good! Will give it a go!
Parrot comes in two flavours, the one you need is the Parrot 5 home edition, [I will warn you there are still a few teething problems with it but most can be fixed] the other edition is for professional security and pen-testing people and come complete with all the hacking tools so unless you are changing your job don't waste the space downloading this version,
and watch out, I may see you on the dark side ;)
 
I tried parrot 5 home and just deleted it -- just quit, could not log out, had to do a hard shutdown. Running a VPN.
 

Starting with Gentoo is *maybe* a bad idea. It depends on your patience and ability to learn things technical in nature. It's considered one of the more difficult, and technically advanced, distros.

EDIT: The reason for the above is I'd not want you to get discouraged and think that all Linux requires a great deal of effort and technical knowledge.
 
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