See title. I’m considering to shift to Linux and maybe e/OS (coming from Macintosh and iPhone). I don’t know where to begin, so have an infodump (please do not sudo rm -rf /* this post, just redirect me elsewhere if that’s needed). TL:DR; below.
I’m a “beginner” in the sense that I haven’t worked with Linux before. I’m a casual user in that I mostly use my laptop for browsing, mail, gaming. I want to learn to get away from Big Tech, though, and hopefully manage to selfhost someday.
I want to take my privacy more seriously, though, and I’m familiar with some FOSS software (LibreOffice, GIMP, VLC, Signal, etc.). I’m also not a digibete à la “grandma doesn’t know what the red X” does, or not knowing how to troubleshoot using wikis. Compared to the median Linux user, I have a lot to learn, though.
I know some basics (what is a terminal, what’s a kernel), but not what a shell is, nor how to configurate an IP address. So I think I’m comparable to an average Sally on this. I’m open to learning more about all that though!
Did a bit of research and currently, I’m considering to choose between Fedora and OpenSUSE, but I’m open to other suggestions. I’ve heard Mint is good for beginners, but the GUI seems more Windows-oriented, and Mint also contains proprietary elements, and I’m not exactly a fan of stuff being locked down. I like MacOS-like interfaces, but customisation of the interface is also a big thing for me, but I presume this shouldn’t be an issue.
So, my questions are:
1) When Linux users talk about distrohopping - how do ye do that, converting from one OS to another?
I see it mentioned often and it sounds like it’s really easy to do from one Linux distro to another. Just straight up plug in a USB stick with the new distro, have a menu say “Do you want to replace this distro with this, or just run parallel”, and then follow?
2) How do I make the transition from Macintosh to a Linux OS?
For preparation, I could put everything from iCloud onto the device itself, and then back it up, but how do I do the actual steps?
3) What distro should I start with?
OpenSUSE Tumbleweed, Fedora Linux, or something else?
My priorities are that:
a) it’s privacy friendly and has good security (regular-ish updates too),
b) it’s friendly for the level of beginner that I am,
c) its interface is highly customisable (a Mac look with a twist would be my ideal)
d) it works with gaming, and still adheres to FOSS principles
4) For phones, what would be the best option?
I mostly care about privacy, independence from big tech, and ethics. I know GrapheneOS would be the best, but they only work on Google Pixels, and I strongly dislike the idea of depending on Google. Fairphone with e/OS is one I’ve my eyes on currently; would that work?
5) Keeping devices & laptop question
My laptop is 9 years old (phone is 5 years old). Should I keep them both, or would it be more worthwhile to switch over to new devices? If so, would a laptop from Slimbook or Starlab be a good option? I wholly oppose American stuff, prefer European the and like, the rest I’m indifferent about.
TL:DR; buncha questions about starting with linux, see boldened questions.
The “multiple distros thing” is often the most confusing aspect of the Linux ecosystem. But don’t sweat it too much - they’re more similar than different. Generally speaking you can do all the same things with most any distro.
The most user-facing differences are in the installer, default UI settings, and how applications are installed. A lot of it is simply preference.
All of the ones you mentioned are “fine”.
But if you want to “distro hop” (something that I consider to be a mostly pointless activity) then you need a way to preserve your home directory between installs. It’s where all of your settings are kept. The two ways of doing that are typically a) have a backup somewhere (recommended regardless) and b) put /home on a separate disk partition (more advanced - easily Googleable though).