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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Unpopular opinion: Antix Linux for workstation, because:
Debian is always my go-to. Is the users are coming from Windows I might say the DE to Cinnamon.
zorin. im just so lazy. Every so often I try something else looking for something easier. I would really like to use cubeos but likely not going to happen. oh and sourcemage and maybe once im retired.
Not to long ago I would of said Fedora but recently I've switched to OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and I'm really enjoying it. Still learning the ins and outs though.
Gentoo, for its user choice and lack of bloat. I've been using it for a long time, and can create my own packages for personal use if I don't mind them looking like Frankenstein bodges, so that's another plus. It's stable enough if you stick with actual stable-marked packages and don't go out of your way to shoot yourself in the foot, and if something does go wrong at the distro's end, 1. they usually fix it pretty fast and 2. rolling packages back is easy if the older version is still in the tree (and usually still possible if it isn't, although it can get kind of involved).
Would I recommend Gentoo to another user? That depends on which user. You kind of have to be either knowledgeable or willing to learn—it isn't a "just works" distro, although some things have been streamlined in recent years. You do have to put a little time into maintenance, but it's usually on the order of less than half an hour a week.
I’ve hopped around to a bunch of different distros, but I always return to Debian Stable. I don’t really need the most bleeding-edge packages for my system, due to my use case.
Most of my actual apps are installed via Flatpak, so they’re all pretty recent, while still being on a rock-solid stable distribution.
I've been using Garuda (arch derivative) for my home and work PC. It works how I want it to, I like that it has BTRFS as default for the file system, and the AUR is such an amazing resource I miss it whenever I use a different distro.
I have a production server that's using Alma at the moment, but with the RHEL news I'm thinking of switching it over to something else, but I'm not sure what yet. I've been using Ubuntu server for some test servers/projects and I like it better than Alma but it still hasn't given me that "wow" factor I feel with Arch so I'm not sure what I'm going to do there...
I tried quite a few of distros and I keep on going back to Fedora. A lot of things come out of the box such as Flatpak, it won't pester you about the password when you just want to install a app and i barely find myself solving issues with command line.
My other two favorites are Mint and Pop, i can recommend these to beginners and I really just like a good out of the box experience, avoiding command line where possible. Are there others that tick these boxes?
Update for Fedora, my ride and die
On my desktop I run Debian 12 (stable) and on my old laptop I have been playing around with Peppermint OS.
Personally, I've been running Debian everywhere (both on my servers and for desktop use) for a few years and I've found it much more reliable than Ubuntu. Sure, the repos tend to be somewhat out-of-date (unless you're on testing, which I've started using more and more and have yet to experience any actual problems with), but most of the time it makes no difference and if I really need the latest version of something I can just spin up a Docker container.
I use NixOS on my main PC.
If you want to use NixOS, you have to be willing to read.
Two things are especially difficult:
Coding: You will have to learn the Nix-specific way for everything you do. How does Nodejs work in NixOS? How does GCC work in NixOS? How does my IDE work in NixOS?
Using unofficial packages: The nix repos are very large and you'll most likely find everything you need there (or on flatpak/flathub). But if something isn't there, the easiest way tends to be packaging it as a nix package yourself. And that's something many people probably don't want to do.
The coding thing is annoying enough that I may switch away from NixOS at some point.
Other than that, NixOS is great.
Linux Mint is my go-to. It's stable and if I want the latest update of anything, I use one of these:
I think people underestimate how useful docker can be for running various stuff, I have few semi-permanent containers for some software and it works great.
I searched for years. Nothing really clicked... I've finally settled on ParrotOS. Their flagship is a pen testing distro like Kali, but they have a home distro as well, I've been using it for quite some time.
Stability is huge for me, and regular updates. Privacy focused, based on Debian.
Hope this helps your search :)
I’m running NixOS on my laptop and I really like it though I haven’t been able to get Resilio going. It’s challenging sometimes but when I have things the way I want them I have a great sense of order. So it’s the most satisfying Linux I’ve tried.
I use Arch Linux on my desktop and laptop. My servers run a mix of Debian and OpenSUSE.
I've been using Arch Linux as a daily driver for about two years I believe. As with any other distribution, it depends on the user's preferences, experience and needs, whether or not I'll recommend them Arch.
What I like the most about Arch is the customization from the ground up, the rich, detailed and yet user-friendly Arch Wiki, the AUR (although one shouldn't depend on it too much) and that after the installation everything seems more trouble-free than the distributions I've tried before. Arch almost never broke for me and even then fixing the issues weren't a big problem. It's not as difficult as it is often portrayed.
Nor is it as easy as it is often portrayed. A new user could be comfortable starting with Arch Linux, but it doesn't hurt to have experienced another distribution that is intended to be user-friendly.
It depends on how you want your update cycle.
If you don't mind the rolling release type of updates where you get updates ASAP, EndeavourOS does the job nicely. It's based on Arch Linux like Manjaro, but unlike Manjaro it only uses its own repository for its own, distro-specific extra software, everything else is from Arch's repos. If you remember Antergos, it's basically the spiritual successor.
For those who want a stable update cycle, I would recommend either Linux Mint or Fedora. I've had a solid experience with Fedora, but my friends really like Mint as well.
For those who want to be able to mix and match stable and unstable packages, Gentoo is the way to go. The nature of its package management allows you to mix and match stable and unstable versions at your own leisure, at the cost of long compilation times. It depends on whether that's worth it for you, but it's worth mentioning.
Well I would have normally said Fedora but with the current RedHat issues I'm thinking of making a switch. but in my opinion Fedora was always rock stable and leading edge. currently looking at an alternative.
If I had to choose, I'd go with openSUSE Tumbleweed. It's a solid distro overall. Arch, Debian and Mint are close though! I've been thinking to check out NixOS and Garuda for a while, but I haven't had the time for that yet.
If you are looking for stability with latest updates, then Gentoo. But I won't recommend it to a distro hopper.
Besides than Arch and Mint are my general recommendation.
I'm using Arch simply because of familiarity and comfort in using it. That and pacman being fast usually helps me make up my mind whenever I try something else. I really hadn't experienced any major breakage in any of the packages in the standard repos, especially if everything is configured correctly. So I don't really have anything to say against Arch's stability.
I also hear good things about Tumbleweed, so that could be an alternative and more complete out-of-box package, but that also highly depends on how comfortable you'll be with openSUSE's way of doing things.
It all boils down to how you prefer to configure and manage your system and its packages, really. Nothing much more than that. As long it does the job, it's usually fine.
I am typically on Arch on all my machines since 2006. For a while I bootstrapped new machines using EndeavorOS, but usually stripped out their packages and returned to vanilla arch. Since I now prefer ZFS as root fs, I am back to installing from scratch, to get exactly the layout I want.
Slackware is still my go to, but I have many diatros installed on VM's.
You tried most of them. You found Arch enjoyable, so I'd stick to that for the Wiki, the community, and flexibility.
NixOS looks interesting too, but nothing beats Arch in terms of having so much software at one-click distance with the almighty AUR.
unless we're talking about my main machine, which runs gentoo, i'll always default to alpine. super solid base system and packages. super accessible when it comes to upstreaming packages. I only wish they had s6 as an option for init/service manager
I've been using MX, formerly known as Mepis, for over 15 years now. It's the most stable release I've ever used, and their repos are pretty up to date. The community is great also.
Xubuntu - great ootb configuration, lightning fast on my old thinkpad without compromising on functionality
Fedora XFCE, The only 2 times I ever have to touch the command line are for flatpak and for updateing, so I am not sure if I would recomend the XFCE spin, but I would recomend Fedora, probably the KDE, only because I for what ever reason cannot stand Gnome, I do not know why, but I just cannot get my workflow to work with gnome
In general, Ubuntu is my go-to when I just want something that works and is reasonably stable. Just pick the spin with the Desktop Environment that you like. I'm using KDE Neon (I realize Neon isn't an Ubuntu flavor or spin) on my daily driver laptop, and Ubuntu MATE on my desktop. I also have an old netbook that usually gets Xubuntu, but currently has Fedora 37 XFCE as an experiment.
It sure is nice that we have to option to distro-hop, either on bare metal or in a VM.
For stability, I would definitely suggest a immutable distro
Arch or manjaro because I can find so much more stuff in AUR.
Void linux, but if you're somewhat savvy and don't mind spending some time fixing your flow in the beginning, Gentoo/Funtoo is a nice flex