• MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    2 days ago

    Why are there Ubuntu haters? I’m on the verge of installing Linux on my desktop and have the Ubuntu pro installer on a thumb drive ready. I’m worried now…

    I started out thinking to go with Mint, seems popular, but there was an instruction to verify the ISO image and it was just too complex. https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=291093

    I’m already using Linux on an old laptop (Zorin) so I’m not inexperienced, but good lord that’s a faff and a half. I have a life!

    • MangoCats@feddit.it
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      2 days ago

      My advice: run a server (any server) or three, and keep your important / personal stuff there. It can be as simple as a Raspberry Pi with a big external SSD. The PC you use as a desktop environment should be easily built / configured from the base distro into whatever customizations you want, and you can either work with your personal files on the server, or mirror copies of them to your desktop system as appropriate (things like “living documents” should be primarily stored and backed up on servers, things like photo collections etc. can be stored on the server, but copied to the desktop for easy access like rotating wallpaper or whatever.)

      If (when, really) any one of your systems goes down, it shouldn’t be a big deal. If it’s a server, restore from another server mirror / backups. If it’s your desktop, install a new desktop and get your customizations off a server.

      Of course this is an ideal, but keep in mind that SSDs are not “forever” devices, they do wear out and each single copy of your data will be corrupted some day. Spinning rust is even less reliable, in my experience, although I have one 2TB hard drive that has been online for more than 10 years now. It’s mirrored, twice, on SSDs.

      • MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 hour ago

        I’ve never learned about servers - never worked in IT, just a simple old hobbyist. Also never used a Raspberry Pi. But thank you! I might get around to reading up on the topic of servers over the winter. My computer has two drives, the original “spinning rust” and an SSD I installed (so quick! so quiet!). My thought is to keep Windows on a partition until I’m sure I like the distro I’ve chosen.

        I have multiple backup drives, from a wee 4Tb Toshiba to a SparQ drive with 1Gb cartridges (a whole gigabyte, how will I ever fill it?). I’m pretty sure I’ve got everything saved, but I’m equally sure there’ll be something I’ve missed.