Can someone point me to a helpful beginners resource explaining some Linux basics? Like what is the difference between “distro”, which is what, like Ubuntu, fedora, Debian (? Or is that a category of distro?) And desktop environment which is what, KDE, Lubuntu, gnome? Like I don’t even know I have these categories right let alone understand why I’d pick one over another and what practical effects it will have- which apps will I/won’t I be able to install, etc…
I’m not expecting anyone to answer these questions for me, but if you could point me to something already written, I’d appreciate it.
I am gonna simplify it. This contains a lot of generalisation.
A distro or distribution is like Windows or macOS. When you want to install applications you mainly look for applications (they are generally called packages in linux) that are built for these distros. Major ones are Debian (Ubuntu comes under this), Fedora and Arch. Here the Debian/Ubuntu is the most user friendly with lots of guides and forums to help you get going. Most applications that has a Linux version will support Ubuntu. Major advantage of Debian is that, its stable. Because of this, core files that a system needs to run will be thoroughly tested and will not break. If you are testing the waters, you should go with distributions like Debian 12, Ubuntu 24 or 22.
Okay, coming to Desktop Environments, for now you only need to know about two, KDE, & Gnome. They are the GUI that you interact with. They come with basic GUI applications like a file manager, Terminal Emulators, etc. If you like window 10 style, you can go with KDE and Gnome is a little different, but its the default option in Ubuntu I think. You can install any DEs on any distributions but may require some know how. So DEs are for basic utility and Look and Feel.
Image: Gnome on Debian 12
Image: KDE on Debian 12
This is the best answer. Most of the others jump straight in at the deep end. The entirely predictable outcome of asking this question to a bunch of earnest geeks.
Great explanation. Quick follow up question.
One thing I necessarily will want to install is Proton VPN*. Per their website,
This makes it sound like it will only work on gnome DE and implies it won’t work on Ubuntu with KDE (for example)
*ok, so I’m also aware that you can use Proton VPN through open vpn somehow but for the purposes of my understanding of distribution vs DE, let’s just ignore that for now.
Basically, what the protonvpn page is saying, is that they only test the app on Ubuntu gnome, itll work on basically anything else, they just wont help you if it doesnt
Maybe if you use Proton VPN on KDE it could need to pull in some Gnome packages. Which isn’t a problem. I use Proton VPN on KDE but I just install it from flathub to keep it simple, so I couldn’t say for sure.
I have Proton VPN running on two different machines running Ubuntu-based distros with KDE and Cinnamon, respectively. Works fine :)
The official Proton client or Open VPN with Proton credentials?
Former.
Im not sure if your looking for a simple install and go type of setup but I often recommend zorinos as the free community type edition mimics the feel of windows and it comes with wine and play on linux from the get go. its a ubuntu using gnome spin so it sounds like it would work for you.