• rapchee@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    yeah i know exactly the feeling, i want to get into coding, but there is just so much information out there, some of it conflicting, much of it incomprehensible to a layman like me, it feels overwhelming, impossible
    but i do think linux is much easier, in the last 5-10 years it has become much more welcoming

    if you have a bit of time, and an 4+ gig usb stick, you can see it for yourself
    download etcher
    download linux mint (i like to get the torrents, to feel like i give back a bit)
    use etcher to write the iso image on the usb
    restart and select the usb in the bios boot menu (it usually shows a key to get into the bios, usually f1 or f2 or delete, and a separate one for just the boot device selection, f11 or f12, the latter only temporarily changes the boot device. if it goes by too quick, next restart you can hold the key before it even shows)(oh also on newer pcs windows can “cover up” the bios boot process, in that case you need to go through windows settings>recovery>“restart now”)
    wait a minute for the usb to boot (it won’t be quick, especially if you’re used to ssd speeds)
    try mint out, see how it works. you can install stuff with the “software manager”, it won’t remember anything, it’s all temporary (unless you delete/edit stuff from your hard drives, so be mindful of that)
    watch a movie, browse the internet, try libreoffice etc, maybe see what’s available of what you need for your paid projects

    i imagine it won’t happen immediately but if you feel okay with what you see, i’d recommend installing mint on a separate, empty ssd, set the bios to boot from that drive, install everything on there (you can put the boot partition on other drives, but i would advise against that)
    this way the installer will recognise windows, and you can choose which operating system to use, when you turn on your pc, so you don’t lose windows, you can get used to linux at your own pace.
    i did the same thing, i had a linux (ubuntu) install for 15+ years on all my pcs, i booted it up every now and then, but there was always something that put me off, but then, about 5 years ago i tried linux mint, and slowly but surely i spent more and more time with it, until it became the default instead of windows

    reading back this wall of text, i too think “simple huh”, but i try to prepare for eventualities and assume little to no knowledge. i didn’t even write about how to install a new ssd
    and i want to be helpful not just to you, pelespirit, but anyone who might come across this

    • marcos@lemmy.world
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      16 hours ago

      yeah i know exactly the feeling, i want to get into coding, but there is just so much information out there

      Pick a problem, then pick the python library/framework that solves it, follow the tutorial, and adapt it to solve your problem.

      It will be a bad piece of code that barely works. That’s how you start, there’s no other way. After it, pick another problem or an improvement, solve it again, and so on.

      After a while abandon python, because only bad programmers stay with a single language. Or don’t if you want to stop there, because not everybody has to become good at everything.