Is the Pinebook Pro (current version) good for someone trying to learn linux?

[Watercourse]

*  "IF"  the Novice  was in a college class learning from a qualified instructor,  and a class full of fellow students,  Then YES...
But as a single "Consumer Novice"  then it is probably "NO"  
though a few may 'pick-up' on the subject,  
 Many are going to be disappointed and some are going to be very frustrated.

bcnaz, i get your point.
BTW, i am that "Consumer Novice" you mentioned. Using Ubuntu as my primary for years and learning as i go. I don't know a lot, but i can keep it running okay. Mostly :-)
So there may be a grey area where someone new to linux, coming to it with curiosity and patience would find the PBP a perfect launch point. I'd like to support that. And i agree with you about keeping expectations real

My motivation comes from my strong distaste of Microsoft & Google. I have been using Linux 98.5% of the time for over twenty years.
I use synaptic to fix most of my problems,  I only use terminal when I can find precise step by step instructions.

Same with me.

[hmuller]

Hi all

Is the Pinebook Pro (current version) good for someone trying to learn linux?

Or are there too many issues with it which would overwhelm a new user?

Thanks

Yes, is the simple answer.

You have received considerable feedback already. Some feedback against, and some for.

If you are wish to learn linux, this is a simple, cost effective way to do it.  the Debian desktop mrfixit and Luke put together is an excellent choice for someone new to linux. The desktop works, and it has a terminal. Most of what you wish to learn will most likely happen in that terminal.

You can spend a lot of time, and money purchasing a used laptop and installing linux on it. Although that is a great experience and it provides great lessons, I personally believe it is better to start from a known working point and to grow from there.

The Pinebook, and now the Pinebook Pro are excellent starting points because they have everything you need to learn. A display, a keyboard, a linux operating system, and connectivity to the internet.

You could do all this in a virtual machine, on a windows or mac operating system. But then you will need to learn about virtual machines and the differences between them and real hardware.

Now the most useful advice I have for you is to point your browser to:

https://www.tldp.org/

There are many good resources on the internet to learn about linux, but I think that is a good place to start.

My 2 cents.

[jsperson]

I'm going to have to go with diodelass here. I'm pretty experienced with Linux from a user standpoint and quite comfortable in the weeds with most systems. It took me all of 20 minutes to break both web browsers. I got some well-intentioned help, but the advice to change the OS just to be able to browse the web is a symptom of needing a more mature ecosystem. I'm not upset at all - I can wait, but this isn't a beginner's machine right now.

Edit: this may be blasphemy, but I think the best way to learn Linux is to crank up a Linux AWS VM. When you break it, you just have to kill it and crank up another.

[Arwen]

...
Edit: this may be blasphemy, but I think the best way to learn Linux is to crank up a Linux AWS VM. When you break it, you just have to kill it and crank up another.

That's Blasphemy! :-)

It's cheaper to use Virtual Box or other VM software locally. Immediately after install, either snapshot it, or shut it down and copy it. When you have problems, (note that's not if you have problems), you can start from base install again.

[tsago]

As we could make wildly different arguments based on different interpretations of "trying to learn linux?", perhaps OP should clarify what they meant in more detail?