Terminal and all that other shit, I follow you. Command lines. Fine. I don’t know what the Linux terms mean, but I understand command lines etc… But GNOME… what the fuck is it? Is it a suite? an environment? Every Linux user explains things like I’ve already been a user for a few years and all of them have forgotten what being NEW actually is.
Ironically, the WORST place to find Linux environments explained simply and clearly from the bottom up: The Internet.
This is where I remind and beg: Like. I’m. FIVE.
In: 81
Windows or MacOS is a sealed package delivery. You get the base operating system, the user interface, a bunch of background apps you never think about (like turning hostnames into network addresses) and a simple set of apps all together in one set.
Linux is more of a DIY setup. You put together a base operating system (the “kernel” and a bit more), a set of background apps, a graphical user interface if you want one, and any apps you want in a much more custom setup, and hope that all of your choices are compatible with each other.
A Linux distribution, or “distro”, is a whole bunch of the above tested and packaged up together. For most people a good distro plus maybe one or two more apps is all they will need.
GNOME is a graphical user interface and a few end user apps in one tidy bundle, that you can drop on top of most flavors of Linux to get a fairly standardized desktop environment.
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