So, I finally decided, after years of putting it off, to try out Linux, specifically Pop_OS. I was waiting for another SSD so it would live on its own hard drive on my computer. Today it arrives.
I first heard about it from Emily (I hope this doesn’t offend anyone, just adding for clarity in case some aren’t aware, but formerly Anthony before her transition) on Linus Tech Tips a long time ago. It seemed like an interesting OS, but being the hater of change I am (ironic that I just made a huge change dropping Reddit and love it so far), I kept telling myself, “Yeah yeah yeah, I will try Linux at some point.”
So, does anyone else using Pop_OS have any advice for setting it up that isn’t in the online docs?
Just enjoy, Pop os and the Gnome desktop environnement are very intuitive, simple and fun to use, just like a smartphone.
When you run into problems and google for answers and they’re all on locked reddits ask here so we can start to rebuild that knowledge base.
Learning the specific program you’re looking to troubleshoot will help a ton.
Searching “how to make a bookmark” might show you how to make a bookmark on your browser of choice, but it might also show you how to make a bookmark on a browser you’re not using, or you might even get a tutorial on how to make a real bookmark.
Searching “how to adjust mouse sensitivity in Linux” won’t get you very far. It would be best to search for the desktop environment you’re using.
PopOS uses the gnome desktop environment. A desktop environment is in charge of most settings you’ll want to modify initially. Toolbar, resolution, shortcuts, etc.
Searching for things along those lines, ending the search term with “in gnome” or “in PopOS” will direct you to better results.
Thanks! That does make sense. I consider myself fairly tech savvy-ish, and use several programming languages for work, so this totally makes sense (all day long with the “how to ___ in R/Python/SQL” lol). However, I am sure without this bit of advice I probably would have done exactly that then followed by getting frustrated after the 10th tab I opened didn’t give me the right answer yet.
Might sound dumb but it’s also ok to take it slow and just focus on the gui for a bit too. For general desktop usage you really won’t need the cli at all.
When you get to a point where you want the customization/run into something that really does require it try to look at how each command works. It will help quite a bit to know how those work for future errors or customization. Or you can go somewhat nuts like I did and just start doing everything from cli “because it’s totally faster”
I used PopOS for quite a while and really liked it. It’s a functional and stable system, although their custom theme has bugs sometimes.
No special advice, just good luck amd have fun.
Congrats on your jump! May your move be a positive one!
I’m on the Arch side of things and don’t touch Gnome a whole lot, so I probably won’t be a lot of help, but one thing I might suggest is to be prepared for the sheer modularity of it all. It’s no longer a Windows issue, likewise, it’s not generally a Pop_OS issue, it’s a specific app’s issue. If your desktop misbehaves, it’s likely Gnome (or Gnome extensions), if games aren’t loading in general, it’s probably Proton/Wine. I say this because it helps immensely to narrow down where an issue or incompatibility lies.
The modularity also has some really cool benefits to it though! If you find that you don’t like your file explorer, install a different one. If you find that you prefer Plasma’s customization but not ready to make a leap off of Gnome, install it alongside Gnome so you can try it out and see what you like or don’t like about it.
The other thing I’d suggest is to be ready to rewire your brain on what apps you default to, just like you’re doing with Lemmy & Reddit, but on a mass scale. It can be subtle differences like gNotes vs. Notepad, or as extreme as Krita vs. Photoshop. Getting familiar with the FOSS replacements for many of the common apps that you use will take you much further than trying to get familiar Windows apps to work on Linux.
Gaming: There’s a lot to learn, but if you take it bites at a time, it’ll make sense. Start with games on Steam, play some Windows games on Linux, note how freaking cool that is. Start to make use of ProtonDB.com to make some games work that might not out of the box, or optimize games you currently have working based on people’s suggestions.
Small jump, ProtonUp, here you can install various runners, compatibility tools, and get your hands messy with the runner side of things. While I don’t need ProtonUp very often, understanding runners can be invaluable, since you might benefit from using a GE version, or take for instance, when Overwatch 2 came out, it wouldn’t run on Wine, but you could copy the runner from Bottles into Lutris and play off of that.
Then the big leap: Lutris and Bottles. These two are fairly similar, Lutris is predominantly for games that aren’t in Steam, and Bottles is generally for applications. I use Bottles very little, because using Linux stuff on Linux will always treat you better than trying to get a Windows thing to work on Linux. Lutris has scripts to help install games for you, but its interface allows for more exploring what those properties on ProtonDB actually are and what they do for you. At this point, you can customize some of the compatibility tools to fit your liking or contribute back to others so they can also play things that may not already have a premade script.
Last and certainly not least: 3 expectations \- Be ready to be a self starter: if things go wrong, be ready to read some (fabulously written) documentation, pulling up some (well organized) logs, and doing some good old fashioned research. \
- Do not be afraid to reach out for help: The Linux community is a passionate one that wants to see others thrive in it. If you have issues with Lutris, why not hop on their discord and get help directly from them for free? Most paid services (Windows) don’t even offer that kind of support! \
- People are people. I know this sounds obvious, but while Linux is fantastic and its community is wonderful, try not to take it personally if someone’s difficult. Most people that support the Linux ecosphere are volunteers, they’re not paid, some of them are really not good with people, and there’s always a lot to do. Be patient with folks, temper expectations, and be ready to get your hands dirty with your computer, because while someone might be able to help guide you, it’s going to be you pushing the buttons.
Congrats again, my friend, and welcome to a big new world <3
To add to this, unlike windows if an app crashes it will give you a real error log. Taking that and googling to error will likely give you a fix in the first few google hits.
I moved to Debian (then FreeBSD though that’s a different story) after about 30 seconds of using windows Vista. The OS has gotten much easier to install and use, really plug and play at this point and finding solutions to errors is way easier than windows nowadays. Most important is to ask if there’s questions, and provide what information you can.
To add even more, to get the real error log you often have to go to console (GNOME terminal) and run the program from here (command name + enter). It will crash and leave the message you can copy. Not that different from Powershell in windows.
How to know the command name? In KDE you right click the program in the app menu (it’s called Activities in GNOME as far as I remember) and go to “Edit program”, where it is in the text field. For example to run Firefox, you run “firefox” from the console. People can correct me about how it works in GNOME and if there are easier ways. I’ve often tried to guess it, lol. Not only experts use Linux.
I switched right before Windows 11 released after using it on and off in either VMs or on my laptop (that I rarely used). What really helped was all the Proton stuff that Valve was doing, which meant that one of my only excuses for not just getting a second drive to put linux on as primary boot was gone. Been great since then! Enjoy the new experience and once you get past the “how do I do [windows thing] in linux” phase make sure you explore all the cool new stuff you can do in linux that isn’t easy in Windows (like package management for installs and upgrades)!
That is one of the reasons I am making the jump. With them closing out support for 21H2, even though I am on 22H2, it’s only a matter of time before they pull the sneaky, “Oh, we updated this for you! You are so very welcome! Enjoy Windows 11 against your will!” like they have in the past. So, best to see if I prefer linux long term.
I hadn’t heard about Emily. Good for her.
Her videos are my favorites on LTT.
I’d recommend using flatpak instead of snaps. Snaps (the Ubuntu proprietary application manager) does a lot of weird things and the apps take up a ton of space. Also updating them had been pretty tedious.
Flatpaks however have been painless for me and seem to just work.
Thankfully, Snap will soon be a relic of the past. Ubuntu is killing it. https://news.itsfoss.com/ubuntu-ditch-snap/
With a date like that on the article you have to add a /s
Aww man, I had some hope for a minute there.
You do realise that’s an April fools article? Ubuntu has an all snap packages desktop in testing right now and will most likely go down that route
My biggest piece of advice would be to research flatpaks and/or snaps if you use proprietary things like Steam, Spotify, Discord, etc. You don’t have to use flatpaks/snaps, but they’ll fix any issues like the famous LTT Linux challenge where dependency issues with steam nuked his desktop. They’ll also get you the latest and greatest if you need the bleeding edge of any particular piece of software.
Secondly, Pop is based on Ubuntu, so if you can’t info you need then searching about the info for Ubuntu might answer your question.
Also, just like Power shell or Cmd Prompt on Windows with admin settings, when you’re in the terminal as root (including w/ Sudo or Doas) there’s no safeties. Distructive commands will run if you tell them to.
Last, if you got the time, try to figure out all the functionality you want out of your device before you need it. Simple things you want such as a screenshot tool are nice to have when you need it, as apposed to going on a mini adventure to find one when you need it.
Good luck!
Flatpak is life.
First off, congrats on making the jump!
I know switching OS’s can be jarring & feel like you’re having to turn your head inside-up & outside-down to figure stuff out. So be patient, long-time Linux users didn’t get it right the first time, either.
One place that helped me early on, was alternativeto.net. It lists alternatives to a specific program, and lets you filter by OS. If you’re not sure about alternatives to [insert program] that run on Windows/MacOS, but not on Linux, this is a decent place to start.
And most importantly, in my experience, is when you get stuck and ask questions, don’t ask for a drop in replacement for <windows app>. Describe what you are trying to achieve and ask how people do that in Linux. Answers from questions posed like that can take you quickly into a deeper understanding of the *nix approach to things and will pay off greatly in the long term.
