{"video_id":"XXrCAC6bUsk","title":"Which Linux Distro is Right for You","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2026-04-18T17:11:47+00:00","duration_s":728,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":5.44,"text":"So, you've finally had enough of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":3.08,"end_s":9.44,"text":"Windows. The pop-up ads, the buggy updates, the constant OneDrive sign-in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":7.44,"end_s":12.88,"text":"prompts, the Copilot button in Notepad, Copilot in Paint, Copilot in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":10.92,"end_s":18.34,"text":"taskbar, Copilot as a dedicated app, Copilot inside Edge, the Office app","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":15.08,"end_s":18.995,"text":"being renamed to Microsoft 365 Copilot.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.34,"end_s":25.68,"text":">> [gasps] [sighs] >> Now, you decide to install Linux and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.4,"end_s":31.52,"text":"you're greeted with over 600 different versions to choose from. Ubuntu, Fedora,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":28.24,"end_s":34.08,"text":"Arch, Mint, Zorin, Gentoo,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":31.52,"end_s":36.88,"text":"and Puppy. And then you go to Reddit where everyone's telling you to use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.32,"end_s":40.8,"text":"something different and that picking the wrong version could mean hours of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":38.68,"end_s":47.28,"text":"troubleshooting, broken drivers, AND INDECIPHERABLE CONFIG FILES. WHAT'S A","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":43.32,"end_s":48.68,"text":"Windows refugee to do? Hey, don't worry.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.28,"end_s":53.12,"text":"We're here to help you decide which version is right for you. Let's break it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":50.8,"end_s":58.12,"text":"down. It's going to be okay. Now, first, all of these versions are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":55.36,"end_s":62.04,"text":"called Linux distributions or distros for short. So-called because they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.96,"end_s":66.4,"text":"distribute the various components of the operating system as a self-contained","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.04,"end_s":70.44,"text":"bundle. You see, Linux by itself is what's called a kernel, the code in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":68.68,"end_s":75.6,"text":"middle of the distro that talks to your hardware. You can think of a full distro","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":72.52,"end_s":78.32,"text":"like some kind of glorious egg roll.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.6,"end_s":82.64,"text":"Linux is just the filling. A distro takes that kernel and wraps everything","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":80.48,"end_s":87.44,"text":"else around it into one delicious package you can actually eat. I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":84.72,"end_s":91.24,"text":"I mean, use. Specifically, that wrapper includes a desktop environment, the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":89.36,"end_s":95.52,"text":"graphical interface you can see and click things on, a package manager, how","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":93.76,"end_s":100.08,"text":"you install new software and keep everything updated, and in a way, it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":97.92,"end_s":104.12,"text":"also includes the philosophy about how all of those things should work","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":101.56,"end_s":108.8,"text":"together. Now, as we said, there are over 600 of these tasty little egg","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.44,"end_s":112.72,"text":"rolls, I mean, I mean, distros. We shouldn't have shot this before lunch.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.2,"end_s":116.2,"text":"But we've picked nine of the most widely used ones to help you figure out which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.56,"end_s":120.04,"text":"is right for you. Here's how we're breaking it down. We got five for people","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.44,"end_s":124.52,"text":"fleeing Windows who just want their computer to work. Got three for people","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.4,"end_s":129.52,"text":"who want to game on Linux, including one distro you might already be running, and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":127.04,"end_s":132.8,"text":"another for the tinkerers out there. Again, there are hundreds more you can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.36,"end_s":138.36,"text":"go explore, but these are the ones that'll cover almost everyone watching","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":134.84,"end_s":140.56,"text":"this. So, let's start simple here. Linux","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":138.36,"end_s":144.48,"text":"is the single most recommended distro for people leaving Windows. It looks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":142.44,"end_s":147.64,"text":"like Windows. It feels like Windows. It comes with media codecs and drivers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.96,"end_s":153.32,"text":"already configured out of the box, and its entire philosophy is stop bothering","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":150.6,"end_s":157.24,"text":"the user. They've had a very hard day. If your reaction to this video so far","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":155.2,"end_s":161.72,"text":"is, \"Please, just tell me what to install and get me out of here.\" It's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":159.32,"end_s":165.6,"text":"Mint. But if you're still watching, then good because it gets a lot more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.08,"end_s":169.44,"text":"interesting. Zorin OS is like Mint's cooler sibling. It has a feature called","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":167.8,"end_s":173.68,"text":"Zorin Appearance that lets you make the desktop look like Windows or macOS,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":172.0,"end_s":178.48,"text":"depending on which operating system you're fleeing. It's arguably the most","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.0,"end_s":182.36,"text":"polished switching experience out there. There's a paid Pro tier with extra","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":180.56,"end_s":187.4,"text":"layouts and software, but the free version has everything most people will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":184.4,"end_s":190.28,"text":"ever need. Now, Ubuntu is the most","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":187.4,"end_s":194.04,"text":"popular Linux distro, period. It has the biggest community. It's available","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":191.88,"end_s":198.32,"text":"pre-installed on some Dell and Lenovo hardware. And if you Google literally","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":196.16,"end_s":203.28,"text":"any Linux problem, the first result is almost certainly a solution written for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":200.4,"end_s":208.32,"text":"Ubuntu. That community alone makes it the safe pick, especially for beginners.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":205.92,"end_s":213.36,"text":"And then there's Pop!_OS, made by System76, a company that actually builds","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.12,"end_s":217.44,"text":"Linux laptops and desktops in Denver, Colorado. It's for the person who wants","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":215.12,"end_s":221.84,"text":"more control than Mint, but doesn't want to go anywhere near a config file.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.64,"end_s":226.48,"text":"Everything lives in a nice, neat settings panel, perfectly designed for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.12,"end_s":230.72,"text":"your dumb brain. It also has the best NVIDIA graphics card support of any","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.56,"end_s":235.04,"text":"distro, which matters a lot because Linux and NVIDIA have historically","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":232.76,"end_s":239.68,"text":"gotten along about as well as a cat and a bathtub. We talked to System76","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":237.64,"end_s":243.92,"text":"co-founder Carl Richell about what people end up loving about Pop!_OS. If","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":242.32,"end_s":248.72,"text":"you're into personalization, if you're into um kind of refining your workflow,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":247.44,"end_s":253.4,"text":"a really good, especially if you're keyboard driven, it's a fantastic uh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":251.16,"end_s":256.519,"text":"experience. There's the keyboard shortcuts are amazing. You know, tile","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":255.08,"end_s":260.44,"text":"one workspace and not the others, you can have mixed floating and tiling","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":258.16,"end_s":263.44,"text":"experience, but all without it feeling overwhelming. Our philosophy was that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":262.32,"end_s":269.68,"text":"with with very careful and thoughtful design,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":266.44,"end_s":271.6,"text":"we could build a desktop experience um","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":269.68,"end_s":276.12,"text":"that didn't have to compromise on what the user how the user wanted to use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":273.72,"end_s":280.4,"text":"their computer. That's kind of the whole pitch of Pop!_OS. It gives you the depth","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":278.48,"end_s":284.68,"text":"and flexibility that makes Linux worth switching to in the first place, but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":282.2,"end_s":288.4,"text":"that depth is surfaced through menus and toggles that feel familiar if you're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":286.52,"end_s":292.08,"text":"coming from Windows or Mac. You're not unlocking new power by learning a new","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":290.4,"end_s":296.68,"text":"language, you're clicking around in a settings panel that was made for a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":294.12,"end_s":301.68,"text":"normal human being. Which brings us to Fedora. It's backed by Red Hat, one of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.68,"end_s":306.32,"text":"the biggest names in Linux, which means it's usually one of the first distros to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":303.52,"end_s":309.96,"text":"ship new Linux technology. Most distros make you choose between stable and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":308.2,"end_s":313.4,"text":"current releases. You either get software that's been tested for a year","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":311.88,"end_s":317.2,"text":"or software that just shipped this morning and might break your system.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":315.32,"end_s":322.56,"text":"Fedora doesn't really make you choose. It ships tools like Wayland, PipeWire,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":319.8,"end_s":326.68,"text":"and BTRFS first, but still goes through a proper release cycle before they reach","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":324.72,"end_s":330.68,"text":"you. You get to be ahead of the curve without being the person who finds out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":328.12,"end_s":335.12,"text":"something is broken. Now, those five cover probably 80% of people watching","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":333.16,"end_s":340.88,"text":"this video. But what if you're not just trying to escape Windows? What if you're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":337.44,"end_s":342.84,"text":"trying to game on Linux? We'll get into","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.88,"end_s":347.28,"text":"the distros that are making Linux gaming arguably better than Windows right after","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":345.08,"end_s":352.0,"text":"we thank today's sponsor. Tello, wireless that doesn't drive you crazy.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":349.64,"end_s":355.6,"text":"Tello me about it. Have you ever had to pull up the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":353.32,"end_s":359.36,"text":"calculator app on your phone, punch in your paycheck, and start subtracting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":357.64,"end_s":364.52,"text":"bills to figure out your budget? Feels pretty bad when you hit minus 200 just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":361.96,"end_s":370.0,"text":"for a phone plan. Well, Tello has mobile plans starting at $5 with an unlimited","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":367.68,"end_s":374.92,"text":"option for just $25. Or get 10 gigs of data and unlimited","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":372.24,"end_s":379.28,"text":"talk and text for $15. Every plan comes with extra freebies","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":376.72,"end_s":383.48,"text":"like hotspotting, Wi-Fi calling, and more. Plus, they pride themselves on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":381.6,"end_s":386.72,"text":"offering friendly, live, and responsive customer service. Check out Tello's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":385.12,"end_s":390.68,"text":"unlimited plan with the QR code on screen or click the link in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":388.28,"end_s":394.96,"text":"description. Okay, so Linux gaming, a phrase that only a few years ago was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":392.48,"end_s":398.96,"text":"basically a punchline in itself. Now, it's genuinely competitive, largely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":396.84,"end_s":403.96,"text":"thanks to Valve and CodeWeavers building a compatibility layer called Proton that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":401.52,"end_s":408.12,"text":"lets you run most Windows games on Linux without doing anything weird. And a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":406.64,"end_s":412.84,"text":"handful of distros have built their entire identity around making that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":410.2,"end_s":417.44,"text":"experience as painless as possible. Bazzite is one of the most talked about","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":415.24,"end_s":422.12,"text":"gaming distros in recent years. It was built specifically to bring the Steam","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":419.72,"end_s":426.36,"text":"OS-style gaming experience to hardware Valve never officially supported. Your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.32,"end_s":431.68,"text":"ROG Ally, your Legion Go, your gaming PC, running on Fedora under the hood","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":429.12,"end_s":436.4,"text":"rather than Steam OS itself, but looking and feeling almost identical. Bazzite is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":434.0,"end_s":441.04,"text":"a distro that's classified as immutable, meaning the base system is read-only and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":438.92,"end_s":444.96,"text":"nearly impossible to break. Think of it like a gaming console. It updates","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":442.8,"end_s":448.52,"text":"itself, it supports HDR, it works on handheld gaming devices like the Steam","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":446.52,"end_s":452.04,"text":"Deck and the ROG Ally, and if you somehow mess something up, you can just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":450.44,"end_s":456.72,"text":"roll back to the previous version. It also comes with everything a gaming PC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":454.16,"end_s":460.8,"text":"actually needs already configured. GPU drivers, Proton, controller support,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":458.84,"end_s":464.64,"text":"codecs, none of which you have to hunt down yourself. On a general-purpose","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":462.88,"end_s":470.68,"text":"distro, getting all of that working is an afternoon project at least. On","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.4,"end_s":472.56,"text":"Bazzite, it's just done. Next, Nobara.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":470.68,"end_s":478.88,"text":"It's built by a Red Hat engineer who goes by Glorious Eggroll online.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":475.56,"end_s":481.88,"text":"Oh, that explains it. I'm not hungry, I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":478.88,"end_s":484.28,"text":"just love gaming. And I'm hungry.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":481.88,"end_s":488.36,"text":"Anyway, Mr. Eggroll got tired of Fedora not being gaming ready out of the box,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":486.56,"end_s":493.72,"text":"so he took Fedora, stripped out everything that wasn't pulling its weight, and preloaded it with everything","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":491.52,"end_s":498.44,"text":"a gamer actually needs. Steam, open-source game manager Lutris, NVIDIA","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.12,"end_s":502.64,"text":"drivers, multimedia codecs, all configured and ready to go. There are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":500.68,"end_s":506.68,"text":"five editions of this distro, including one built specifically for handheld","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":504.48,"end_s":511.28,"text":"devices. And speaking of handhelds, if you own a Steam Deck, congratulations.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":508.8,"end_s":515.599,"text":"You're already running Linux. Steam OS is itself a fully functional Linux","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":513.32,"end_s":519.08,"text":"distro. The Steam Deck has two modes, the gaming interface you actually use,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":517.36,"end_s":522.64,"text":"which looks and feels like a console, and a full Linux desktop running","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":520.88,"end_s":526.88,"text":"underneath it you can switch into anytime. But most Steam Deck owners","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":525.08,"end_s":532.96,"text":"never touch the desktop mode, and they have a perfectly fine time.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":529.16,"end_s":534.68,"text":"Now, for the power users, the tinkerers,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":532.96,"end_s":539.6,"text":"the people who decided that installing an operating system should be a journey","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":536.84,"end_s":544.2,"text":"of self-discovery. Arch Linux is the legendary do-it-yourself distro. If you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":542.44,"end_s":549.6,"text":"spend any time in Linux circles, you've heard the joke.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":546.72,"end_s":553.08,"text":"I use Arch, by the way. It's a meme about insufferable people","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":551.56,"end_s":557.68,"text":"who won't shut up about their operating system. They're the vegans of the tech","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":555.56,"end_s":563.12,"text":"world. But the reason Arch users are like that is actually kind of earned.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":560.68,"end_s":568.4,"text":"Arch Linux is also a rolling release distro, which means there's no Arch","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":565.52,"end_s":571.56,"text":"version 2024 or whatever. You just keep updating continuously, and you're always","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":570.44,"end_s":576.68,"text":"running the latest version of everything. Then, there's the AUR, the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":574.28,"end_s":581.2,"text":"Arch User Repository, a massive community-maintained library of software","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":578.8,"end_s":585.56,"text":"available to all Arch users, including stuff that would never make it in to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":583.08,"end_s":590.76,"text":"Ubuntu's official repositories, those prudes. The tradeoff? A lot of this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":588.48,"end_s":594.88,"text":"software hasn't been formally vetted, so it could be broken or worse. Ubuntu","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":593.32,"end_s":600.24,"text":"wouldn't even know what to do with any of this. But for Arch users, that's kind","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":597.56,"end_s":603.84,"text":"of the point. Arch also has a wiki, and it is genuinely the single best","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":601.92,"end_s":607.64,"text":"technical resource on the internet. The trade-off for that, you better enjoy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":605.64,"end_s":611.76,"text":"reading documentation. But, on the other side of that learning curve is a machine","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":609.56,"end_s":615.56,"text":"that does exactly what you want, nothing you don't, running exactly how you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":613.92,"end_s":618.92,"text":"configured it. And that's what they're also smug about. At the end of the day","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":617.28,"end_s":622.52,"text":"though, here's the thing that nobody tells you about picking a Linux distro.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":621.08,"end_s":626.84,"text":"For most people, it barely matters. Seriously, every","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":624.84,"end_s":631.04,"text":"major distro can browse the web, run LibreOffice, play games through Steam,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":628.96,"end_s":635.32,"text":"and handle 95% of what you do on your computer every day. The real differences","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":633.36,"end_s":639.12,"text":"are in update philosophy, how much hand-holding you get, and how much you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":637.2,"end_s":643.48,"text":"want to tinker under the hood. And the people actually building these things,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":640.76,"end_s":648.32,"text":"they'll tell you the same thing. I think you can come to Linux and just be a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":645.52,"end_s":651.4,"text":"user. And that is absolutely awesome. You can also know that coming to Linux","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":650.08,"end_s":657.88,"text":"and being a user means that you're helping support the ability for everyone else to go as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":655.44,"end_s":660.76,"text":"far as they want to with an operating system.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":658.56,"end_s":664.92,"text":">> you're paralyzed by choice, install Linux Mint. Use it for a week, if you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":663.0,"end_s":669.88,"text":"love it, you're done. If you want more control, try Fedora. If you want all the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":667.96,"end_s":673.76,"text":"control, try Arch. If you want a polished desktop with tiling built-in,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":672.2,"end_s":678.44,"text":"and the company that makes your laptop also makes your OS, try Pop!_OS. If","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":676.32,"end_s":683.24,"text":"you're a gamer, try Bazzite. The beautiful thing about Linux is you can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":680.44,"end_s":688.92,"text":"always reinstall, and it takes about 10 minutes, not the 45 that Windows needs,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":686.44,"end_s":692.88,"text":"plus three Copilot installations you did not ask for. And if you're still on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":690.839,"end_s":697.2,"text":"Windows 10, and you don't want to move to the never-ending revolving door of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":695.12,"end_s":701.36,"text":"buggy updates and malware masquerading as AI, your clock is ticking.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":699.64,"end_s":706.68,"text":"Microsoft's extended security updates for Windows 10 end October 13th, 2026,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":704.64,"end_s":710.24,"text":"which means no more patches after that. So, I don't know, maybe don't overthink","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":708.6,"end_s":713.6,"text":"this one. If you want to learn how to actually install Linux step-by-step,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":712.4,"end_s":719.08,"text":"we've got a video about that over on LTT. As for me, I'm going to go mass","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":716.56,"end_s":724.8,"text":"downvote everyone on r/Linux who doesn't use my distro, RileyOS. The whole thing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":721.96,"end_s":729.08,"text":"is just cat memes from 2003 and Homestar Runner videos. Somehow, it works.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1}],"full_text":"So, you've finally had enough of Windows. The pop-up ads, the buggy updates, the constant OneDrive sign-in prompts, the Copilot button in Notepad, Copilot in Paint, Copilot in the taskbar, Copilot as a dedicated app, Copilot inside Edge, the Office app being renamed to Microsoft 365 Copilot. >> [gasps] [sighs] >> Now, you decide to install Linux and you're greeted with over 600 different versions to choose from. Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Mint, Zorin, Gentoo, and Puppy. And then you go to Reddit where everyone's telling you to use something different and that picking the wrong version could mean hours of troubleshooting, broken drivers, AND INDECIPHERABLE CONFIG FILES. WHAT'S A Windows refugee to do? Hey, don't worry. We're here to help you decide which version is right for you. Let's break it down. It's going to be okay. Now, first, all of these versions are called Linux distributions or distros for short. So-called because they distribute the various components of the operating system as a self-contained bundle. You see, Linux by itself is what's called a kernel, the code in the middle of the distro that talks to your hardware. You can think of a full distro like some kind of glorious egg roll. Linux is just the filling. A distro takes that kernel and wraps everything else around it into one delicious package you can actually eat. I I mean, use. Specifically, that wrapper includes a desktop environment, the graphical interface you can see and click things on, a package manager, how you install new software and keep everything updated, and in a way, it also includes the philosophy about how all of those things should work together. Now, as we said, there are over 600 of these tasty little egg rolls, I mean, I mean, distros. We shouldn't have shot this before lunch. But we've picked nine of the most widely used ones to help you figure out which is right for you. Here's how we're breaking it down. We got five for people fleeing Windows who just want their computer to work. Got three for people who want to game on Linux, including one distro you might already be running, and another for the tinkerers out there. Again, there are hundreds more you can go explore, but these are the ones that'll cover almost everyone watching this. So, let's start simple here. Linux is the single most recommended distro for people leaving Windows. It looks like Windows. It feels like Windows. It comes with media codecs and drivers already configured out of the box, and its entire philosophy is stop bothering the user. They've had a very hard day. If your reaction to this video so far is, \"Please, just tell me what to install and get me out of here.\" It's Mint. But if you're still watching, then good because it gets a lot more interesting. Zorin OS is like Mint's cooler sibling. It has a feature called Zorin Appearance that lets you make the desktop look like Windows or macOS, depending on which operating system you're fleeing. It's arguably the most polished switching experience out there. There's a paid Pro tier with extra layouts and software, but the free version has everything most people will ever need. Now, Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro, period. It has the biggest community. It's available pre-installed on some Dell and Lenovo hardware. And if you Google literally any Linux problem, the first result is almost certainly a solution written for Ubuntu. That community alone makes it the safe pick, especially for beginners. And then there's Pop!_OS, made by System76, a company that actually builds Linux laptops and desktops in Denver, Colorado. It's for the person who wants more control than Mint, but doesn't want to go anywhere near a config file. Everything lives in a nice, neat settings panel, perfectly designed for your dumb brain. It also has the best NVIDIA graphics card support of any distro, which matters a lot because Linux and NVIDIA have historically gotten along about as well as a cat and a bathtub. We talked to System76 co-founder Carl Richell about what people end up loving about Pop!_OS. If you're into personalization, if you're into um kind of refining your workflow, a really good, especially if you're keyboard driven, it's a fantastic uh experience. There's the keyboard shortcuts are amazing. You know, tile one workspace and not the others, you can have mixed floating and tiling experience, but all without it feeling overwhelming. Our philosophy was that with with very careful and thoughtful design, we could build a desktop experience um that didn't have to compromise on what the user how the user wanted to use their computer. That's kind of the whole pitch of Pop!_OS. It gives you the depth and flexibility that makes Linux worth switching to in the first place, but that depth is surfaced through menus and toggles that feel familiar if you're coming from Windows or Mac. You're not unlocking new power by learning a new language, you're clicking around in a settings panel that was made for a normal human being. Which brings us to Fedora. It's backed by Red Hat, one of the biggest names in Linux, which means it's usually one of the first distros to ship new Linux technology. Most distros make you choose between stable and current releases. You either get software that's been tested for a year or software that just shipped this morning and might break your system. Fedora doesn't really make you choose. It ships tools like Wayland, PipeWire, and BTRFS first, but still goes through a proper release cycle before they reach you. You get to be ahead of the curve without being the person who finds out something is broken. Now, those five cover probably 80% of people watching this video. But what if you're not just trying to escape Windows? What if you're trying to game on Linux? We'll get into the distros that are making Linux gaming arguably better than Windows right after we thank today's sponsor. Tello, wireless that doesn't drive you crazy. Tello me about it. Have you ever had to pull up the calculator app on your phone, punch in your paycheck, and start subtracting bills to figure out your budget? Feels pretty bad when you hit minus 200 just for a phone plan. Well, Tello has mobile plans starting at $5 with an unlimited option for just $25. Or get 10 gigs of data and unlimited talk and text for $15. Every plan comes with extra freebies like hotspotting, Wi-Fi calling, and more. Plus, they pride themselves on offering friendly, live, and responsive customer service. Check out Tello's unlimited plan with the QR code on screen or click the link in the description. Okay, so Linux gaming, a phrase that only a few years ago was basically a punchline in itself. Now, it's genuinely competitive, largely thanks to Valve and CodeWeavers building a compatibility layer called Proton that lets you run most Windows games on Linux without doing anything weird. And a handful of distros have built their entire identity around making that experience as painless as possible. Bazzite is one of the most talked about gaming distros in recent years. It was built specifically to bring the Steam OS-style gaming experience to hardware Valve never officially supported. Your ROG Ally, your Legion Go, your gaming PC, running on Fedora under the hood rather than Steam OS itself, but looking and feeling almost identical. Bazzite is a distro that's classified as immutable, meaning the base system is read-only and nearly impossible to break. Think of it like a gaming console. It updates itself, it supports HDR, it works on handheld gaming devices like the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally, and if you somehow mess something up, you can just roll back to the previous version. It also comes with everything a gaming PC actually needs already configured. GPU drivers, Proton, controller support, codecs, none of which you have to hunt down yourself. On a general-purpose distro, getting all of that working is an afternoon project at least. On Bazzite, it's just done. Next, Nobara. It's built by a Red Hat engineer who goes by Glorious Eggroll online. Oh, that explains it. I'm not hungry, I just love gaming. And I'm hungry. Anyway, Mr. Eggroll got tired of Fedora not being gaming ready out of the box, so he took Fedora, stripped out everything that wasn't pulling its weight, and preloaded it with everything a gamer actually needs. Steam, open-source game manager Lutris, NVIDIA drivers, multimedia codecs, all configured and ready to go. There are five editions of this distro, including one built specifically for handheld devices. And speaking of handhelds, if you own a Steam Deck, congratulations. You're already running Linux. Steam OS is itself a fully functional Linux distro. The Steam Deck has two modes, the gaming interface you actually use, which looks and feels like a console, and a full Linux desktop running underneath it you can switch into anytime. But most Steam Deck owners never touch the desktop mode, and they have a perfectly fine time. Now, for the power users, the tinkerers, the people who decided that installing an operating system should be a journey of self-discovery. Arch Linux is the legendary do-it-yourself distro. If you spend any time in Linux circles, you've heard the joke. I use Arch, by the way. It's a meme about insufferable people who won't shut up about their operating system. They're the vegans of the tech world. But the reason Arch users are like that is actually kind of earned. Arch Linux is also a rolling release distro, which means there's no Arch version 2024 or whatever. You just keep updating continuously, and you're always running the latest version of everything. Then, there's the AUR, the Arch User Repository, a massive community-maintained library of software available to all Arch users, including stuff that would never make it in to Ubuntu's official repositories, those prudes. The tradeoff? A lot of this software hasn't been formally vetted, so it could be broken or worse. Ubuntu wouldn't even know what to do with any of this. But for Arch users, that's kind of the point. Arch also has a wiki, and it is genuinely the single best technical resource on the internet. The trade-off for that, you better enjoy reading documentation. But, on the other side of that learning curve is a machine that does exactly what you want, nothing you don't, running exactly how you configured it. And that's what they're also smug about. At the end of the day though, here's the thing that nobody tells you about picking a Linux distro. For most people, it barely matters. Seriously, every major distro can browse the web, run LibreOffice, play games through Steam, and handle 95% of what you do on your computer every day. The real differences are in update philosophy, how much hand-holding you get, and how much you want to tinker under the hood. And the people actually building these things, they'll tell you the same thing. I think you can come to Linux and just be a user. And that is absolutely awesome. You can also know that coming to Linux and being a user means that you're helping support the ability for everyone else to go as far as they want to with an operating system. >> you're paralyzed by choice, install Linux Mint. Use it for a week, if you love it, you're done. If you want more control, try Fedora. If you want all the control, try Arch. If you want a polished desktop with tiling built-in, and the company that makes your laptop also makes your OS, try Pop!_OS. If you're a gamer, try Bazzite. The beautiful thing about Linux is you can always reinstall, and it takes about 10 minutes, not the 45 that Windows needs, plus three Copilot installations you did not ask for. And if you're still on Windows 10, and you don't want to move to the never-ending revolving door of buggy updates and malware masquerading as AI, your clock is ticking. Microsoft's extended security updates for Windows 10 end October 13th, 2026, which means no more patches after that. So, I don't know, maybe don't overthink this one. If you want to learn how to actually install Linux step-by-step, we've got a video about that over on LTT. As for me, I'm going to go mass downvote everyone on r/Linux who doesn't use my distro, RileyOS. The whole thing is just cat memes from 2003 and Homestar Runner videos. Somehow, it works."}