this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2023
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Linux
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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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You're right, but the point I was trying to get across to another layman is you can have windows already installed and not break anything with another install of Linux. Rather than get into partitioning and dual booting.
Sideloading an app on a phone doesn’t have the potential to wipe everything else off the phone. It’s bad advice to call dual booting that because you might cause someone to go into it without understanding the risks involved. In fact, the best facsimile, which doesn’t even require knowing how to get into the boot menu, would be to run a Virtual Machine instead. That way there actually isn’t any risk of erasing Windows. It’s also really simple these days, here’s some guides from ubuntu and fedora:
https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/how-to-run-ubuntu-desktop-on-a-virtual-machine-using-virtualbox
https://fedoramagazine.org/install-fedora-virtualbox-guest/
Or if you don’t want to go through the hassle of installing Linux inside the VM yourself, you can download pre-built VMs for most major distros from here:
https://www.osboxes.org/virtualbox-images/
Added benefit that you can try multiple different distros without even rebooting your computer.
Sure, I'll do that. But you've lost 99% of average people when you mention "virtual machine".
Also at least for mint which I was directly talking about you actually boot via live USB first and have to install from an icon on the desktop so there really is no risk for erasing windows until your well into making decisions. Which again you have to choose to erase windows.
Yeah, so don’t say Virtual Machine. Say “you can sideload linux on windows to test it”.