Skip Navigation

User banner
InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)H
HaraldvonBlauzahn @ HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org
Posts
31
Comments
148
Joined
5 mo. ago

  • Removed

    I think I have decided.

    Jump

  • SuSE (nowadays OpenSUSE LEAP / Tumbleweed) was always said to have the best KDE support; they supported it strongly from the beginning. But I think the differences are becoming smaller over time. KDE had fewer big breaking UI changes in the past than GNOME (and these change were putting off some people, which is the cause MATE still exists). Also, being highly configurable it is also a bit more geared to experienced users, while GNOME since Ubuntu days has tried strongly to make things simpler.

  • Here another helpful solution for people who want to evaluate and compare different Linux distributions: GNOME Boxes, a software to easily create virtual machines

    Jump

  • Yeah, that was the point I was trying to explain - it is simple, and this can make it a good choice.

  • SAMTIME Linux advertisement

    Jump

  • You have become an expert, which is half the way to a master who just looks at things and suddenly they become simple for everyone in the room.

  • Here another helpful solution for people who want to evaluate and compare different Linux distributions: GNOME Boxes, a software to easily create virtual machines

    Jump

  • Yeah. Makes it also easy to share files between host and VM via NFS, which can be handy when running cooperating desktop systems.

  • Here another helpful solution for people who want to evaluate and compare different Linux distributions: GNOME Boxes, a software to easily create virtual machines

    Jump

  • That's right, virt-manager is a GUI with many, many options. It is more tailored to run several VMs at once, give limited network access into or out of them, and so on.

    Also very handy to run tiny, outdated Windows systems with an app you can't get rid off isolated from the net because it runs your grandpa's heart-lung machine or so.

  • Here another helpful solution for people who want to evaluate and compare different Linux distributions: GNOME Boxes, a software to easily create virtual machines

    Jump

  • Here another helpful solution for people who want to evaluate and compare different Linux distributions: GNOME Boxes, a software to easily create virtual machines

    Jump

  • Distrochooser: Tool to choose a good Linux distribution for your needs

    Jump

  • Distrochooser: Tool to choose a good Linux distribution for your needs

    Jump

  • The package management always made me go back to arch or debian.

    Well, why? Do you have concrete reasons?

  • Distrochooser: Tool to choose a good Linux distribution for your needs

    Jump

  • What people often overlook is that Debian has an incredible broad range of use cases it is well suited for: It has a beginner-friendly graphical installer, it works for desktops and servers as well as embedded systems, and it also has a rolling release version which is attractive to software developers.

    And if you have questions you can always look into the Arch Wiki ;-)

  • Distrochooser: Tool to choose a good Linux distribution for your needs

    Jump

  • To me, it gives Devuan, OpenSUSE, Rocky, Debian, Artix and Arch.

    What I have used in the past 27 years is S.U.S.E., Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, OpenSUSE Leap and Arch (the latter for some years dual-booting with Debian until NVidia shit broke both after a Debian dist upgrade, but that was only once in 13 years). I never had a stability issue with Arch.

    What I currently use is Debian as daily driver, with both Guix package manager on top of it for programming, and Arch in a VM (with Guix for programming with dependencies). And importantly, I only use fully supported hardware.

    I could imagine using Arch as a daily base system, or using OpenSUSE Tumbleweed as a base or in a VM. But I don't have strong incentives to switch the base, Debian works incredibly well for me and I know how to configure it.

  • Distrochooser: Tool to choose a good Linux distribution for your needs

    Jump

  • The automatic snapshots are great; if any thing you do breaks the system you just boot to w previous snapshot in the advanced boot option, then if it is allworksing as expected issue a sudo snapper rollback command to make your current snapshot the default.

    That is really a good feature especially if you like to try out things, change stuff and tinker around.

    What makes OpenSUSE Tumbleweed also a very interesting alternative for experienced users is the quality of a fast rolling release together with automated testing and QA, which I think no other distribution has. Together with a community which takes security serious, this gives you a both very up to date and quite secure system.

  • Distrochooser: Tool to choose a good Linux distribution for your needs

    Jump

  • You can narrow it down further by looking at the reviews for each suggestion at distrowatch.com - I think these reviews are often spot-on!

    Also, a lot of smaller distributions are derived from a few larger ones. Therefore, they are usually not very different.

    In the end, it is more important to try, after gathering a reasonsble amount of information!

  • Distrochooser: Tool to choose a good Linux distribution for your needs

    Jump

  • Some more criteria which I think are meaningful:

    • How often are you willing to upgrade or re-install your system ?
    • How reliable does your system need to be ? Would it inconvenience you or even be a risk for your livelihood if it stops working tomorrow morning for a few days until you find time to fix it?
    • If some software package has a breaking change, do you want to see the consequences of that change (a) invariably together with the next minor software update, or (b) only with the next mayor system upgrade of which you can chose the timing?
    • How quick and experienced do you want to have security updates applied? For how long do you need security updates ? (btw this point is an important difference between Debian and Ubuntu, as in older Ubuntu LTS releases security updates are reduced!)
    • is security of your system and privacy of the user data a top concern for you?
    • are you an open source software developer or do you have otherwise a strong need to run the latest software version - and how old would be the oldest version you want to tolerate?
    • do you want to be, in an easy way, to be involved with the open source development community?

  • Distrochooser: Tool to choose a good Linux distribution for your needs

    Jump

  • I am thinking this could be neat for people new to Linux to help them select a first distribution.

    A few more points:

    • There are a lot of choices
    • There are also a lot of different valuable qualities.
    • Consequently, there are no distributions that are "good" or "bad".
    • It is nice to try out things! And trying out things will change what appeals to you.
    • That said, perhaps you don't want to try out too many things now, instead right now you'd prefer something that just works....
    • Also, your needs and your capabilities will change over time. If you are a young student who wants to learn programming, a pc gamer, or somebody who likes to learn and understand Linux in detail, they might be different from when you are a busy parent or a young professional which just needs to write job applications!
    • So, what matches your needs best will likely also change over time.

    Finally, the choice of distributions is not an either-either or black-and-white thing. You can run Linux, and on top Windows in a Virtual Machine (basically an entire simulated computer). You also can run another Linux distribution in a virtual machine, which matches a specific use case.

  • ArchLinux doesn't boot after computer lost power during system update

    Jump

  • Usually with several larger external drives, e.g. 8 TB.

    Are we saying that BTRFS corruption is not recoverable? 😦

    You need to check the docs for the version you are using. Generally, in that area it is much weaker than ext4.

  • If you dual-boot different distributions and want to keep old versions of distros for upgrades, how do you proceed?

    Jump

  • Where does it store that ? Is this an LVM frontend?

  • If you dual-boot different distributions and want to keep old versions of distros for upgrades, how do you proceed?

    Jump
    • having a second system that boots can be very handy if something breaks - for example one can chroot intp the other system and fix a missing grub install
    • when disk space becomes scarce, one csn mount it where it makes sense

  • If you dual-boot different distributions and want to keep old versions of distros for upgrades, how do you proceed?

    Jump

  • What problem does it solve exactly and how does it do that ?

  • Programming @programming.dev
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Introduction - redo: a recursive build system

    redo.readthedocs.io /en/latest/
  • Programming @programming.dev
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    The Leo Text Editor's Home Page

    leo-editor.github.io /leo-editor/
  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    What is your most useful Linux app which others might not know about (please don't just give the name but a link and why it is good for you) ?

  • Open Source @lemmy.ml
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Trusting your own judgement on AI is a huge risk

    www.baldurbjarnason.com /2025/trusting-your-own-judgement-on-ai/
  • Programming @programming.dev
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Lukas Atkinso: Net-Negative Cursor

    lukasatkinson.de /2025/net-negative-cursor/
  • Programming @programming.dev
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Cognitive Debt (A term to describe the costs of skipping thinking)

    smithery.com /2025/05/05/cognitive-debt/
  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Which program is the one that surprised you most that it is available on Linux?

  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Recent disruptive changes from Setuptools

    lwn.net /SubscriberLink/1020576/fcef31015579a9b1/
  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Passwords are okay, impulsive Internet isn't

    www.dedoimedo.com /life/passwords-passkeys.html
  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Exploiting Undefined Behavior in C/C++ Programs for Optimization: A Study on the Performance Impact

    web.ist.utl.pt /nuno.lopes/pubs.php
  • Programming @programming.dev
    HaraldvonBlauzahn @feddit.org

    Orsom Peters: Bitwise Binary Search: Elegant and Fast

    orlp.net /blog/bitwise-binary-search/