sturdy plank
#mint
I'm having small issues trying to get used to the infrastructure of linux, and here i was hoping to have quesitons and get answers on smaller issues i'm having, in the attempt of getting a fresh install to start being more useful and less "google searching" for solutions
so, keeping in mind what another user said, i'm going to start making a list of things i want to be able to do, and what issues i've run into already, so that anyone who is looking to help, will actually have something to start with and be able to help
bleak hill
Sure, go ahead. Concerning drivers for newer hardware like certain wireless controllers, switching to a newer kernel is a worthwhile try. I am running the 6.5 branch, the latest you can select from Update Manager right now. Does pretty well here.
sturdy plank
What I use my computer for:
low grade gaming, mostly thru steam.
Emulation, older games
Document creation and reading
Research
Discord, streaming, talking
I recently bought a DAW called Ardour, so music creation (i don’t play instruments, mostly beats and electronica, amateur of course)
What I’m looking to learn:
File organization
Frequent tasks as a Linux user
Where to find and how to use core features, updates, troubleshooting issues
Proper installation of most programs, and how to tell the when a program requires a different method
A basic “cheat sheet” of most commonly used commands
Do’s and Dont’s, the important stuff
The overall goal:
Completely set up my computer to be able to complete these tasks, understand how to fix issues I’ll definitely run into, understand the terminology of the system, be able to simply use my computer instead of be constantly struggling to make things work how I want them to.
Most of the issues I feel like I have, feel like they come from not understanding the system as I understood windows.
Not knowing what the tool I need is called.
Overall just being new to this system.
And thanks in advance to anyone willing to help.
sturdy plank
i just started back up in 6.15
nothing seems different except for the login screen
and YES my controller works with no issues now.
bleak hill
Some "cheats":
apt search <name>, and grep things from that output if the list is too longsudo apt autoremove to get rid of superseded kernels and leftover packages from experimentsman <command> brings up the manpage, the built-in manual; quit with q
sturdy plank
Some "cheats":
- search if software is available in repos with `apt search <name...
the autoremove thing, will this affect my timeshift?
very thankful for the "man" command, i'll have to start looking into the coding stuff more and more as i go. currently reading a small book called "Unix for the beginner mage" which honestly seems to be helping a bit.
I don't use my computer everyday, so im getting thru it in pieces.
I'm also looking for any programs that you would call a staple for the OS, at least for a casual user. anything that assists with ease of use, or as tools.
I'm just not sure if I'm missing things that a normal user would already be familiar with.
it's def good to know that most of what i should need will just be here,
i'm not sure why that friend installed an older kernel so i'll check back in with them.
I'm truly interested to learning the code that useful, and making sure that I can run things smoothly, or at least be able to read the "warnings" or instructions of applications for linux so that i can understand them.
using a vm sounds like a good strategy, and i'd be interested in looking into that.
i'm attempting to catch up with linux so that i understand it, in a similar way that i understood windows.
I hate being lost in the middle of something like "installing a program"
or not being able to figure out where something got installed when using a .deb and little by little i'm learning.
and what stops me here, is that i feel like an ass if i ask something like "well, what DO you know how to do" while asking for help 
well, bridging the gap is going to be a large hurdle to jump, bcuz i don't like to constantly "not know"
but while searching myself, i find long winded youtube streams, "quick fix" command lines with no explaination, and posts from too long ago to trust are accurate.
so i figured coming directly to users i can find, would be the next best.
so here i am. being on a more recent update helped fix one of the simpler issues (getting my controller to work wirelessly)
and most of my other answers seem to be, read read and read some more, which isn't a bad answer. I'm just a talker, not a reader, so it's not the answer i wanted is all. trust me, not complaining over it, just observing it.
it took years to toying around to learn windows, so i'm just at swuare one here.
anyway, i guess i'll keep this area open for me when i have new things going on, and so i don't have to ask one question and leave a bunch of support threads up all from me
i'm going to look into a good vm and see if arch or void look like good options to toy around with, and just push into learning what i can.
thanks a lot for the help so far, and if you'd like, i'm open to dm or pings if there's something to be said or shared
what would you say is the most code heavy or bare bones distro?
i recently got a DAW that said i could have the code for free if i "built it"
is that what it means?
Ardour is the program
music software
does that sound the same as compile the programs?
so gentoo operates like that, but the whole way thru for everything?
so, for the purpose of learning, would you push me towards void or arch?
does it matter if it 32 or 64?
so i could run it in 32 for simplicity since im using it to learn to use linux
fair enough
i'm attempting to set it up now, so i can see what i'm looking to get into tomorrow.
that's when i'll be startin the journey anyway
what memory should i assign that the vm
i've got 16 on board
there's so much to think about making these
bleak hill
so i could run it in 32 for simplicity since im using it to learn to use linux
32bit is actually more difficult these days, since many projects have abandoned support for it. Discord never released a 32bit version, iirc. If you are on a 32bit OS and want to use Discord, find a working browser and use the web version.
sturdy plank
i had a rought time trying to get the VM working, i'll just follow a tut for that tho.
I'll have to revisit these issues when i have a better list, or specific problem to deal with.
good news is that, i believe my machine is working well enough to not need to do any important tweaking for a while
thank you all for your help