I’d like to settle on a distro, but none of them seem to click for me. I want stability more than anything, but I also value having the latest updates (I know, kind of incompatible).
I have tested Pop!_Os, Arch Linux, Fedora, Mint and Ubuntu. Arch and Pop being the two that I enjoyed the most and seemed the most stable all along… I am somewhat interested in testing NixOS although the learning curve seems a bit steep and it’s holding me back a bit.
What are you using as your daily drive? Would you recommend it to another user? Why? Why not?
Arch because I like simple.
Other distros are an exercise in patience I think. Each Ubuntu version has different names and versions of stuff like docker, mysql and everything else. It’s really annoying to work with. I assume all six month distros are like that. And you have to add extra repos, keys and whatnot for it to even find things.
With arch, since it’s rolling, I just install the latest version and I already know the command. It’s always the same. Always.
There are many reasons I like arch but the simplicity of the installations is one of my favorite reasons to use it.
Debian for servers and debian for desktop. Debian everywhere!
This is the way.
For the past six years it has been Kubuntu, but I think it’s time to finally abort Canonical and their idiosyncrasies and choose Debian as a KDE base, especially now that Debian 12 includes non-free firmware by default.
I kinda hope they rebase KDE neon to debian. That would be dope.
This is what I need to do. Just too much inertia in my own stuff to make the switch so far.
I use kde neon, I much prefer it to Kubuntu.
Debian. I always come back to Debian.
It’s just a rock solid, multipurpose distro that has everything. If you have an issue with some older software versions, you can just track testing or sid and treat it as rolling release or use flatpaks for GUI apps.
To me, Debian is almost perfect.
To me, Debian is almost perfect.
I agree, but ever since systemD, well…
Devuan then!
Devuan is awesome, but I’ve moved to Void! Devuan is a ripper though!
I decided to switch to Devuan a long time ago, because it’s an opinionated Debian that align better with my preferences. The Devuan community prefer the simple solutions like ALSA, sysvinit (and others), udev independent of systemd, would rather avoid dbus and so on… the thing is I’ve never made the switch. I’m now running old old stable Debian with sysvinit, ALSA etc… but soon™ when I decide to clean up the mess that is my computer, I’ll rebase to Devuan which does what I want out of the box :P
I wouldn’t call it rock solid… It was running old versions of kde with lots of bugs. Bugs that had been fixed months ago.
So I don’t know. It’s good we have choice but I don’t personally see Debian as more stable than arch. I see it as having older bugs than arch.
KDE could fix 80% of it’s bugs overnight and it will still be the most bug-ridden DE by a longshot
Yep, most features and most bugs. I go back and forth between kde and Gnome when a bug annoys me too much.
mint
it “just works” and I dont have to update it constantlybut my daily driver is endeavourOS
This is the way.
Debian for my work. It is stable and I’ve been using it for many years.
Fedora! To me it sits right at the sweet spot of stability and bleeding edge (they call it “leading edge”), and I’m very happy with how they run things (including the most recent controversy!).
If you’re looking for stable and up to date, give openSUSE Tumbleweed a shot.
Also openSUSE project provide OBS, which is replacement of Aur on Arch.
This is the way.
I changed GPU recently and felt like doing a fresh install and tried openSUSE Tumbleweed (was using EndeavourOS before). Very stable and fast.
second that. after arch, manjaro, debian and ubuntu i landed there as my daily desktop driver.
for servers, i still stick with debian, but might also go for an immutable rolling release distro next
Absolutely. Rolling distro with stability is very rare in the linux world. Opensuse TW is rock solid with updated software. I stopped distro hopping because of it.
I’m actually in the middle of deciding on a new distro, I’m trying to get away from Ubuntu/snap, but Debian 12 with LxQt or Xfce isn’t playing nice with my laptop. I just finished writing out Mint and Tumbleweed flash drives, gonna give them both a shot, but I’ve never really used openSUSE before.
Any tips? Particular things you like about it
Honestly, what I like about it started with the mascot. Otherwise, I like the fact that the rolling release has automatic testing to make sure it’s mostly reliable. Many people will also tell you how amazing YaST, their “control panel”, is. There’s definitely some stuff to get used to, like patterns and zypper. But, for a set and forget system, it’s hard to beat IMO.
Fedora, really uptodate software, GNOME, stability of a server distro.
Arch Linux is my go-to distro because I can literally install it in half the time that it takes a lot of others. I also like that it is very lightweight.
Same here. I just get muddled up with all the other package managers. Tried Debian/Ubuntu a few times but always end up with a load of ppas and everything being a mess!
Currently NixOS having been a long time Arch user. The power of Nix is unbeatable once it finally clicks.
I keep hearing about NixOS, is it possible to leverage both NixOS and the AUR from arch?
Not that I’m aware of though it would be cool if possible. Thankfully everything I’ve needed has been found in NixOS Packages or Flathub as my last resort. My current setup if you’re curious.
Just skimmed my AUR install list, and yea most of them seem to be on there, good to know! If my laptop ever shits the bed, I’ll give this a shot haha.
NixOS user now. Long time fan of Arch with BTRFS and snapshots but Nix takes everything to the next level.
Debian – The Universal Operating System
Because it’s universal, runs on everything rock solid and stable.
Debian stable, the os for 50 year old nudists.
It’s the stable branch of one of the oldest distributions around.
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Fedora.
I can highly recommend fedora to a newbie. It’s easier to use than ubuntu. It doesn’t come with snaps. You only need one or two methods of installing apps. It’s safe. It’s well written. It’s supported very well. It’s updated frequently. It incorporates innovative technology.
Opensuse and EndeaverOS are also very nice.
I’ve slowly over the last 16 years come all the way around to Fedora. I started with Ubuntu Feisty Fawn, explored Mint and then Debian, then played around with Arch, moved to Opensuse Tumbleweed when it began, and now all Fedora and Fedora derivatives.
I think the most interesting Fedora projects rn are the immutable desktops, Silverblue and Kinoite. I might consider testing out Opensuse MicroOS when the desktop versions are more stable.
