this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I don't know... Debian 12 or latest Fedora (ugh) are pretty darn idiot proof. CLI doesn't really enter into the picture on those if you don't want it to. And, your computer won't have to be tossed out for another 10 years.
I'm personally just getting back into Linux after a 20-year hiatus, and configuring/compiling Gentoo from the ground up has definitely given me a different perspective on computers.
In general, almost all Linux distros stem from 3 primary distributions: Debian, Arch and Fedora. (The outliers would be things like Void, Gentoo and Slackware.) All of these other distros that "just work" are, for the most part, skins of those primary 3 with different apps pre-installed.
Kali? It's Debian. Ubuntu? It's Debian. Mint? It's either Ubuntu (which itself is Debian) or now Linux Mint Debian Edition. The "look and feel" of a distro has nothing inherently to do with that distro.
What they all have in common is that the eye-candy Desktop Environment is there to provide a "friendlier" interface than a CLI - but there is nothing a DE can do that the native terminal can't.
I've also found it's just faster/easier to install things via terminal than browse through an artificial "app store."
Maybe I'm moving away from the idea of a desktop environment in general, in favor of a Window Manager that just handles putting programs in floating windows in a black space.