I currently use Windows 10 and Iād like to try out Linux. My plan is to set up a dual boot with OpenSUSE tumbleweed and KDE Plasma. Iāve read so many different opinions about choosing a distro, compatibility with gaming and Nvidia drivers, and personal issues with the ethos of different companies like Canonical. I value privacy and Iād rather avoid a Linux distro thatās implementing something like ads or telemetryā¦if thatās even a thing thatās happening?
As a complete beginner, what sort of advice would you all have for me? Should I avoid OpenSUSE or KDE Plasma for some reason? Are there any ā10 things to do first when installing Linux for the first timeā recommendations?
Despite all the ābeginner friendlyā guides and tutorials around, I still feel a little lost and like Iām going into this blind.
EDIT: Thanks to everyone whoās offered advice, I really appreciate all the help and the patience with my dumb questions! Thereās a lot to look through and itās been a busy day for me, but Iāll get back to reading through everything and replying as soon as I can!
Iād rather avoid a Linux distro thatās implementing something like ads or telemetryā¦if thatās even a thing thatās happening?
Fedora has some telemetry, but as far as I know, you can turn it off during the installation. Some desktop environments like KDE Plasma also have options for telemetry but itās disabled by default. If you want it, you manually have to enable it in the settings.
Should I avoid OpenSUSE
Some software might not be available on openSUSE
or KDE Plasma
Not really, Plasma has a shitload of features and customization options, if many options tend to overwhelm you, you might be better of with a different desktop environment, if you are fine with customization options, Plasma is great for you.
Are there any ā10 things to do first when installing Linux for the first timeā recommendations?
Since you said that you want to install openSUSE, I recommend this video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ajVqJ1nl9bM
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/watch?v=ajVqJ1nl9bM
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
Iām open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Why would some software not be available on OpenSUSE? Would it be available on other distros due to a different way they handle packages, or do you mean in comparison to Windows?
openSUSE is rather small, not everything is packaged for it. Arch is the best in terms of software availability, thanks to the AUR.
The only distro that even comes close is NixOS, but I really wouldnāt recommend it for beginners. You can explore it in a VM though or maybe at some point actually try it out. Itās very very different than other distros though.
Ok, let me see if Iām starting to understand.
If something is packaged for a disto, then I can download it using the package manager and it should theoretically be compatible with the distro and the other packages available through the package manager. But if something isnāt available via the package manager, I could still find it online and download and install it, but it might cause issues because it hasnāt been verified by the people who maintain the distroās package manager accessible repositories. Or I could still install it with flatpaks or snaps and something something container and it should still work? Or might cause compatibility issues?
And youāre saying that AUR has more packages that have been verified for arch than OpenSUSE has with Yast?
Did I get all that right?
Nix (Nixpkgs) actually exceeds the AUR in the number of packages, according to this page.
And the nice thing about it is that you donāt even have to be on NixOS to use it - in fact, NixOS came much later. Nix started out as a distro-independent package manager, and can still be used that way, because Nix packages do not interfere with your systemās packages.
