What is the best Linux distro for beginners?

Pop_os. Yep, that’s it. You probably were expecting a list of “top 10 best Linux distros for beginners” but the reality is these kinds of articles further confuse newcomers coming into the Linux ecosystem. I've been using Pop os for almost 4 years now on my laptop with a Nvidia graphics card and I’ve had an extremely smooth experience with it. So let’s discuss how to install, configure, and improve on what I think is the best Linux distro for beginners.

How to install Pop_os!

Much like any other distro, all you need is a USB drive and a device to flash the Pop_os ISO to it.

First, download the ISO from the official Pop_os website. If you are planning to install this on a system with Nvidia graphics choose the NVIDIA option. Note that this does mean you are installing proprietary drivers, but this is partly what makes Pop_os so easy to install. You basically have to do nothing except this to configure your graphics card. Trust me as someone who used to run pure Debian on an Nvidia system, this feels like magic.

Next, flash the ISO into a Flask drive.

If you are on Windows => Use Rufus

If you are on Linux => Use Balena Etcher

If you are on Android (yes, even Android! ) => Use Ventoy (I have not tested this app)

Prepare your system

NOTE: This is a very important step. If you are planning to dual boot this is not the tutorial for you. There are plenty of good tutorials on the internet for this.

Plug in the USB to your system. You need to find the key that opens the BIOS. This will depend on your motherboard. It’s usually very easy to find with a simple Google search. Power on your system and immediately start pressing that BIOS key. It should open up your bios setting.

Find the setting that reads “boot devices”. You should see a list of devices in a particular order. Use the instructions given to change the order and bring your flash drive to the top of that list. (It usually shows the size of each boot device next to its name. This should help you in finding your flash drive from the list)

Save the setting and click the “reboot” option. Once the device boots up you should see a screen with the pop os logo and “Try or install pop os” button. After that, you should be greeted with a temporary pop os install.

Click on this icon :

After this the process is pretty self-explanatory, when asked for the installation method click “clean install”. Eventually you will see this screen.

At this point click restart, but make sure to remove the Flash drive after the device shuts down.

And thats it, pop os will guide you through some additional configuration setups, but that’s all you need to do to install it, including your graphic drivers.

Improve your Pop_OS! experience

Pop os is amazing as is, but there are couple of things about it i purticulary dont like, so these are the stuff i use to fix these problems.

Dash to panel.

I hate how thick the bottom panel of Gnome is. But as with many things in Linux this is customizable. To do this we will be using a gnome extension.

(Gnome is the desktop environment used on Pop os, gnome extensions are a way to change the look and behavior of Gnome)

You need to install a couple of things to use gnome extensions.

Gnome tweaks => Go to your Pop show (Press meta/windows key to open search and search for shop) and search for “Gnome tweaks” click on it and click install.

Gnome Extension Manager=> Same as gnome tweaks install Gnome extension manager

Open the gnome extension manager, Make sure the user extension switch is turned on. Goto browse and search for “dash to panel”. Click install. Go back to the installed section, turn off cosmic dock, and turn on dash to panel. You should see all your icons on the top panel now. Much better!

KDE Connect

This is an amazing app that let’s your mobile device and pc communicate with each other. You can share clipboard, files, notifications etc using kde connect. Simple use the pop store to download KDE connect on your pc and use the play store/app store to download the KDE connect app.

To learn more about creating an Apple like ecosystem between your mobile and Linux pc check this article.

If you are on a Nvidia and Intel on-board graphics hybrid system (Most laptops)

Make sure you turn on hybrid graphics. This will make your device use the onboard graphics by default and you and use the Nvidia graphics if you want. This will improve your battery life substantially.

Enjoy ✌🏽