Can someone point me to a helpful beginners resource explaining some Linux basics? Like what is the difference between “distro”, which is what, like Ubuntu, fedora, Debian (? Or is that a category of distro?) And desktop environment which is what, KDE, Lubuntu, gnome? Like I don’t even know I have these categories right let alone understand why I’d pick one over another and what practical effects it will have- which apps will I/won’t I be able to install, etc…
I’m not expecting anyone to answer these questions for me, but if you could point me to something already written, I’d appreciate it.
A distro is a complete installable operating system (+ a set of software repositories from which you can install updates and new software).
Many distributions (or their flavors/spins) will come with a default desktop environment and then usually also apply some distro-appropriate theming to that desktop environment.
If you look at screenshots of distributions, you’re likely just looking at screenshots of their themed default desktop environment.
And a desktop environment is essentially the GUI of your OS.
It includes software such as the panel/taskbar, the application menu, the systray, the audio system, icons, a login screen etc… It also typically comes with a set of default applications, such as a file manager, a terminal emulator, a text editor etc…
In a sense, the desktop environment contains essentially everything that differentiates a desktop OS from a server OS (the latter is usually just a terminal, without graphical interface).