Dont want to use MS Windows anymore
 

I am not really new to linux. I have used various flavors of linux over the years, I am a C/C++ programmer. I have used Python, Java, etc. I have written numerous GUIs for both windows and unix-like systems. I use C# and Visual Studio in MS Windows, Windows forms and WPF. I used to use QT3 in linux. QT4 it is too expensive.

I am interested in starting my own blog. I was going to support this on a windows OS. I am having another all-to-typical problem with windows attempting to get the vs 2019 community to install.I would very much like to stop using MS Windows entirley.

I want to learn what I need to know to not only support a personal blog entirely with a linux flavor, (probably Centos??). I want to free myself from dependance on the MS Operating Systems and so-licensed applications. Where Do I Begin??

Thank you

Hi & Welcome to LQ.

What flavor of Linux depends on what you will be using the distribution for.

If you're running a business and you will be setting up a server than yes, by all means give Centos a spin.:)

If you just want a Linux os for home use I recommend Linux Mint 19.

Start by installing the distribution that you want, use it everyday and get really good at running and maintaining it. Get to know the package management system so installing and removing pkg's will go well for you.

I'm running Slackware and MX Linux and both of those work well with my blog on Wordpress. See my signature line.
Any Linux os should work well with a blog:-

Do you have a certain blog site in mind?

I get the impression that you wish to self-host this blog. Be sure to check your ISP's terms of service. Many ISPs, at least here in the states, prohibit public-facing servers on anything less than a business level account. Granted, some enforce the prohibition much more energetically than others. But self-hosting is a great way to learn stuff.

My current ISP, for example, blocks incoming port 80. There are ways around that, of course, but they were not worth the effort in my opinion, so, when I moved here, I moved my website to a hosting provider.

There are many sites, such as wordpress.com, where you can create a blog at no charge.

Good info about the prohibition of public-facing servers (whod of thunk). ZTcoracats remarks about wordpress and his link to Slack
infer what I already suspected. My dependence on all things MS is a self-imposed limitation. I simply need to finally make the leap
to linux I have been considering for years. I am presently reviewing articles by Bob Lotich. Thanks for the responses. Ill be back.

You're Welcome-

Let us know what you go with:-

My first thoughts reading the title:

Just do it!


Linux has plenty of text editors and web browsers and media players. If you need windows for some obscure or proprietary thing you can always virtualize it.

Leaving the choice of distros aside for the moment, for the blog you might look at running a static site generator. If you do not wish to write your own, you can pick from Jekyll, Hugo, Pelican, or a few others. The advantage over things like WordPress would be the ease of maintenace and vastly improved security.