2y ago

Another pick me a distro

Hello, fellow internet users. I am currently using Debian but would like a distro to try the new Gnome on. I have been using Debian for a while and I love the stability, but would like newer packages. I also, for no rational reason, would like to be able to use the default package manager exclusively. I used Fedora before and liked it more than Debian (apart from that it felt vaguely Windowsey) but I would like to distance myself from the whole red hat thing. What distro do you think I should get?

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I'd like to help, but you said Fedora was "vaguely windowsey." I've used Fedora off and on for close to a decade, and I have no clue what you mean. Like, it's not at all windowsey in my experience.
So, in order to avoid what you're talking about in other distros, I'm going to need some more details… what do you mean by "windowsey"?
- Yeah, I feel like OP may not have actually used Fedora.. By default Fedora is probably the least similar to Windows of any major distro (this is actually one of the most commonly expressed frustrations with new users).
- This was a very minor complaint about some very minor UI choices. Fedora is an excellent distro.
  
  Well, then you don't want a pure Gnome experience. That's what Fedora Workstation is. So any pure Gnome desktop is gonna feel "windowsey" to you. The new Gnome is excellent, but it's still Gnome.
  And I am even more confused as to what's windowsey about it.
I’m a huge Debian fan, but I’d say everyone should give openSUSE a shot. It’s a well thought out distro that doesn’t get enough love.
- An ex of my mom left an openSUSE shirt behind after they broke up. I recently found it again and tried out tumbleweed out of curiosity. I cant say that I am disappointed by it and it also is very accessible to newbies to linux.
I vote Arch. Yeah, yeah, but it taught me Linux better than any other distro. Yeah you can break it but that's kinda the point because once you've figured out what went wrong you're left knowing how to fix it again in the future.
The Arch Wiki is second to none, is kept updated promptly when things change with the relevant package to the page you're reading and in many cases it's literally referenced as a source for other Non-Arch distro's documentation
Btw I use Arch.
Edit: I also, for no rational reason, would like to be able to use the default package manager exclusively. I mean sure, you can use makepkg manually with the AUR so Arch still applies but that's pretty inconvenient. If you go with Arch and give up this part I recommend yay as my aur-helper of choice.
- This is the way if you never want to feel like anything is windowsy
Debian testing?
- i don't think it's even in sid yet, at least not the released version of gnome 45.. which, like, just came out--yesterday.
  check the pre-release dailies of ubuntu 23.10. it's due to be released next month and is slated for gnome 45. if you use the dailies, prepare for some... uh... 'instabilities'
  
  No distro has the 45 packaged yet ahahhaha
  
  Yeah, I should have been more clear. I meant I want to have it sometime this year. I know of Arch and Gentoo for quick releases, and I know Debian for lts, but I was looking for more of a middle ground.
It sounds like you want a rolling release distribution. Which means the software repository will have versions close to upstream, or the latest versions shortly after they hit. There's plenty of those.
The best entry level rolling release distribution is, in my opinion, EndeavourOS. It is based on Arch Linux, but provides a fully working desktop out of the box. It grants you a package manager with a rolling release repository.
Next up would be Arch Linux. Similar to above, but it comes with a minimal system and you have to explicitly install most applications that aren't required to boot and start a terminal-only session, including your desktop environment.
Next up would be either gentoo or nixos. But I feel like the other two will cover your bases so I won't talk about those unless you want me to.
- EndeavourOS is so nice. It puts paid to the whole "BTW, I run Arch" meme, because it's silly easy.
- Agreed.
Depends.
Do you mind a Rolling Release? If not, try Arch, either Vanilla with the AUR enabled or EndeavourOS. The default package manager (Pacman) + the AUR has pretty much everything you could need without resorting to flatpaks, snaps, or appimages (or, did you mean something else when you said you'd "like to use the default package manager exclusively"?).
If you want something you don't have to constantly babysit, OpenSUSE Leap is a good choice and has as big of a selection as Arch does, or so I heard, anyways. There's also Ubuntu if you don't mind Canonical's Snaps (or know how to get rid of em). You also get the benefits of DEB packages IIRC, but don't know if you'd count them as part of the "Default Package Manager" or not...and off the top of my head, that's it. I'm sure there's more, but none that you can get away with only using native files on it are coming to me
- OpenSuse leap looks great. I think I will try installing it right now because I recently reinstalled Debian and my computer is in a fairly blank state. Thanks for the recommendation.
  
  No problem, hope ya find what you're looking for there
If you open to do some research - you should be able to stay on Debian and use nix the package manager https://hachyderm.io/@fasterthanlime/111099224022408403
Comes with some steep learning curve, almost a learning cliff though. But once past this - it's good.
Just use a rolling release distro and call it a day. You have Arch if you want to get your hands dirty. Or you can run endeavorOS which is almost Arch. You have suse tumbleweed. I have been running endeavourOS for close to two years now and I love it.
- I'd consider endeavor if I didn't have dracut forced on me. Is there a way to install without it?
  
  I don't even know what dracut does to be honest. Distro works fine for me.
Matchmaker, matchmaker, boot me a flash. Find it with "find". Batch me a batch. Matchmaker, matchmaker see the O'Reilly book, And make me a perfect match...
NixOS or gentoo
Just use guix or NixOS. Last package manager you'll need
- Happy Nixos user here. Never looked back and after this ride I am not able to switch, cannot see the reason for imperativs anymore 😁
  
  I’m currently setting up a NixOS vm and ssh in to setup all the packages my current Ubuntu server runs. It’s been fun. I can’t wait to actually move over.
If you don't mind learning a bit upfront (the installation process is low level but well documented) and want to experience a fantastic package manager, try Gentoo!
LFS
You can make it literally whatever you want at the cost of some time. And you'll learn stuff.
- well, they would be using the "default package manager"---exclusively.
- Thanks but no. I like being able to learn but I am looking to daily drive and don’t have the prior knowledge to make that work.
  
  Neither did I when I did LFS (and Beyond LFS), and I used it as a daily for years.
Red star OS
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Star_OS
- Uses KDE and not available to general public.

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