Quick introduction of all the main things

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Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system kernel initially created by Linus Torvalds, based on an earlier system called Unix. It isn't an OS by itself, instead it serves as the base which many different operating system distributions (distros) build on top of. Linux distros are usually free (although there are some commercially supported distros). Linux essentially competes with Windows and MacOS in the desktop space.

sudo

sudo (superuser do) is a prefix you can put before a command in order to run it root, which is the superuser (administrator) account.

For example, this command runs the text editor "vim" as root: 

sudo vim

Running something using sudo is roughly equivalent to right clicking on the program and choosing "Run as administrator" on Windows.

X11, Wayland and XWayland

X Window System (X11) is the original window manager for both Unix and Linux. It was developed in the 1980s. It provides a standard way for programs to have a GUI.

Wayland is essentially the successor to X11, it's new and shiny. It is similar to the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) introduced with Windows Vista. Most modern Linux distros use Wayland now instead of X11.

Not all programs support Wayland yet. XWayland is an implementation of X11 that runs inside Wayland, essentially acting as a translation layer so that you can use X11 programs on Wayland.

Some features are missing from Wayland and sometimes it can be a little buggy.

GNOME and KDE Plasma

GNOME and KDE Plasma are two different open-source desktop environments. They are the most common desktop environments used by Linux distributions. The latest versions of GNOME and KDE Plasma run on top of Wayland.

GNOME looks and works similarly to MacOS, while KDE Plasma looks and works similarly to Windows.

Red Hat

Red Hat, Inc. is a software company which makes Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), a commercial Linux distribution.

Fedora

Fedora is a free community-developed Linux distribution which serves as the upstream for RHEL (the code from Fedora is used to make future versions of RHEL). Some Red Hat employees work on Fedora and Red Hat is Fedora's largest sponsor. Around 35% of the people contributing to Fedora work at Red Hat.

Fedora Atomic Desktops

Atomic desktops are a new way to deploy Linux which delivers OS updates in the form of immutable images. It is designed to make updating more reliable and reduce the chance of the OS being bricked by a bad update. See also Atomic Desktops introduction.

Universal Blue

Universal Blue is a community-driven project to build custom immutable operating system images based on Fedora Atomic Desktops. Their OS images essentially bundle Fedora with various enhancements.

Aurora and Bluefun

Aurora and Bluefin are Fedora images from Universal Blue which are oriented towards developers. Aurora uses the KDE Plasma desktop environment. Bluefun uses GNOME.

Bazzite

Bazzite is a Fedora image from Universal Blue which is oriented towards gamers. It comes with things preinstalled that are useful for Linux gaming (like Steam, Lutris, ProtonPlus, gamescope, etc). There is a variant for handhelds which provides SteamOS-like features such as the Steam Deck Gaming Mode. Desktop environment is KDE Plasma.

Gaming on Linux

For a quick summary of all the things which make gaming on Linux work, see Introduction to gaming on Linux.

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