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New to Linux which OS to use? (lemdro.id)
submitted 1 day ago by TheMilk@lemdro.id to c/linux@programming.dev
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Finally making the transition from Windows to a Linux. I'm pretty sure it's been asked several times but which Linux OS would you recommend a beginner to use? I've seen Ubuntu and Mint as a good start. Not looking to do much. Game here and there (not too worried about Linux compatibility), streaming, editing videos. If I break any rules. I'm sorry.

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[-] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Linux filesystems exam time:

section A basics

  1. what does CoW stand for?

  2. evaluate through pros and cons which you personally would pick: Btrfs, ZFS, F2FS, bcachefs, OverlayFS, aufs, Nilfs2, JFFS2, UBIFS

section B btefs

  1. what exactly happens when running this command, including how qgroups, compression, and recursion interact?
btrfs balance start -dusage=5 -musage=20 -c zstd \
    --bg /srv/vms && \
btrfs qgroup limit 50G /srv/vms/guests/win10
  1. explain the effect of the following command on device allocation, RAID reshaping, and metadsta distribution:
btrfs device add -f /dev/nvme2n1 /home && \
btrfs balance start -mconvert=raid1 -dconvert=raid1 -sconvert=dup /home
  1. describe what this snapshotting pipeline does, including send stream structure, parent selection, and how receive-side overwrites are handled:
btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /opt/app /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) && \
btrfs send -c -p /opt/.snaps/last-full \
    /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) \
    | ssh backup 'btrfs receive -f /backup/opt/incoming'
  1. what actions occur on the filesystem when this defrag call is executed, especially regarding extent sharing and how compression interacts?
btrfs filesystem defrag -r -v -czstd:15 \
    /var/lib/docker/overlay2
  1. analyze subvolume management sequence, including how default-subvolume selection influences mount behavior:
btrfs subvolume delete /mnt/root/@old && \
btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /mnt/root/@clean /mnt/root/@ && \
btrfs subvolume set-default 256 /mnt/root

section C zfs

[...]

/s

[-] Tja@programming.dev 2 points 17 hours ago

Answer for all questions: the average user doesn't care, won't run any of those, won't know what fs is on their system because they will choose the default what the installer suggests. Same as they have no idea about all the ntfs or exfat details of their windows system.

[-] Damage@feddit.it 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

That's for sysadmins.

These days I don't even care what fs I use, I just let the distro choose its default, I simply make sure encryption is enabled.

[-] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 4 points 1 day ago

It's really touching that you consider me to be a sysadmin, because I use Linux and know how my fs works. I'm actually kinda proud of myself. My arch install has been working for many years.

[-] Damage@feddit.it 5 points 1 day ago

Are you saying that you use arch btw?

[-] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 3 points 1 day ago

I use arch btw. Do you also use arch btw?

[-] Damage@feddit.it 5 points 1 day ago

I used to use arch btw, but then I grew old and moved to Fedora. Then I saw the light and installed Bazzite on everything, even my coffe machine. It's got RGB now.
You should install Bazzite, save your soul.

this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2025
139 points (96.0% liked)

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