Ask HN: Which Linux distro you use, and why?
24 comments
I use GuixSD on all my machines because I'm a Schemer and love to be able to declare the desired system state with a Scheme DSL. I no longer have to fear breaking my system with upgrades because I can always roll back to previous versions as the system is stateless.
Kde Neon because I like all the new stuff the Kde team is doing. I have previously used Arch for yaourt as a package manager, but I value the reliability and compatability of an Ubuntu based distro, while getting all my obscure packages and tools through the repos myself.
Recently switched to Lubuntu 17.10. I wanted something less bloated, that can last and provide with more control, since Unity was abandoned and Gnome is too amateurish and incompetent.
It took some time to make it work and to make it usable, but that was my expectation anyway. Had to replace intel ddx with modesetting, try a bunch of kernel gpu driver options, options for grub to disable freezing cstates, install compton to fix vsync/tearing issues, etc. So far like it better than Unity.
It took some time to make it work and to make it usable, but that was my expectation anyway. Had to replace intel ddx with modesetting, try a bunch of kernel gpu driver options, options for grub to disable freezing cstates, install compton to fix vsync/tearing issues, etc. So far like it better than Unity.
Ubuntu: Simple, Solid, Good Looking. The best dev env one can hope for today.
Fedora cause it is so good out of the box. Also debian stretch from chromeOS in a chroot because crouton doesn't have so many options and I just want something boring and reliable.
I'm working on making Nixos my daily driver cause it's the future, also considering GuixSD cause I am trying to go as free as I can.
I'm working on making Nixos my daily driver cause it's the future, also considering GuixSD cause I am trying to go as free as I can.
Fedora. I've used Arch, Ubuntu, Debian, and OpenSUSE. Except Arch (curiously), none of them came even close in usability and stability. Since Arch requires too much tinkering around and I wanted something that "just works" out of the box, I tried out Fedora, and haven't looked back.
And with "just works" I also mean the little things. Ubuntu also "just works", but in 17.10 for example they didn't ship the gnome indexer that allows you to search for files in the overview , so I had to manually install it. It's stuff like that which ruins a Distro for me. With Fedora, I never had such an experience.
And with "just works" I also mean the little things. Ubuntu also "just works", but in 17.10 for example they didn't ship the gnome indexer that allows you to search for files in the overview , so I had to manually install it. It's stuff like that which ruins a Distro for me. With Fedora, I never had such an experience.
Arch or Antergos (Arch with an easy installer)
It's not hard to install Arch but it takes slightly more effort than many of the mainstream distro's. The benefit is a powerful, fully customisable distro. It's documentation and package repo's are best of the best.
Antergos makes it quick (why I sometimes use it) to install and slightly easier for completely new users.
I have been on Arch based distro's for about 10 years and I wouldn't change. I have regularly reviewed other distro's but they all have things that "just work" in Arch but don't for them.
I generally use it on Thinkpad laptops and power settings and back lights (etc) all just work.
It's not hard to install Arch but it takes slightly more effort than many of the mainstream distro's. The benefit is a powerful, fully customisable distro. It's documentation and package repo's are best of the best.
Antergos makes it quick (why I sometimes use it) to install and slightly easier for completely new users.
I have been on Arch based distro's for about 10 years and I wouldn't change. I have regularly reviewed other distro's but they all have things that "just work" in Arch but don't for them.
I generally use it on Thinkpad laptops and power settings and back lights (etc) all just work.
I kcouldn't get Antergos to work properly on my XPS 15 9560 so I had to go with Manjaro with i3. The battery life is amazing. 8 hours with the GPU disabled vs 4 on Ubuntu 16.04.
NixOS, because it's the cutting edge of configuration management and package definition. It even reinvigorated my love for computers and free software just by being so elegant, sound, and practical.
Very well put. My experience of NixOS has been just the same.
I've so loved learning and using the Nix approach that these days the only distro besides NixOS that directly interests me is GuixSD. (I do feel like I should explore other distros just to keep up with the community, but GuixSD interests me for the same reasons as NixOS.)
I've so loved learning and using the Nix approach that these days the only distro besides NixOS that directly interests me is GuixSD. (I do feel like I should explore other distros just to keep up with the community, but GuixSD interests me for the same reasons as NixOS.)
I've been using Debian (always the stable versions) for at least 5 years. Packages are sometimes old, but whenever I need a bleeding edge version of something (generally node+ruby+python+emacs+firefox+blender), I just download or compile it in ~/bin and everything is fine. I love the stability & tiny updates that comes with Debian (When compared with gigabytes updates with forced reboots from windows).
Linux Mint with Cinnamon. I like the UI very much. It's based on Ubuntu LTS so there are a lot of packages and troubleshooting guides.
My main distro is OpenSUSE Tumleweed, because it has good KDE Plasma desktop and KDE software integration and it has frequently updated packages to the latest version. Also love the YaST settings centre.
I also use KDE Neon which came with the Slimbook laptop and works well enough not to have the need to change to something else. And on another computer I use Gentoo,
I also use KDE Neon which came with the Slimbook laptop and works well enough not to have the need to change to something else. And on another computer I use Gentoo,
Started out with Ubuntu and then stumbled across Mint. I'm currently distro hopping and so I've also tried Debian, Fedora, OpenSuse, Elementary, Solus, and Manjaro.
I personally stick with Mint Cinnamon and now Manjaro XFCE. Ive been trying to get a hang of KDE in Manjaro, but I think i'll go back to XFCE.
I personally stick with Mint Cinnamon and now Manjaro XFCE. Ive been trying to get a hang of KDE in Manjaro, but I think i'll go back to XFCE.
Xubuntu 17.10. It could be Debian+XFCE, but i like the fact that it just works and I can concentrate on actually doing stuff instead of doing system administration.
Seriously: bluetooth headset, wi-fi, 3d acceleration, all hardware is recognized (I am using a Thinkpad T440). It just works.
Seriously: bluetooth headset, wi-fi, 3d acceleration, all hardware is recognized (I am using a Thinkpad T440). It just works.
since 1998 up to a couple years ago, i have been a Slackware user, with no intention to change.
But internet banking is a b*tch, and my bank started demanding some brain-damaged daemon overriding standard TSL certificate processing ( namely warsaw by diebold nixdorf ) only available to debian-based distributions ( yes, i tried to fiddle with alien and rebuild the package and so on, and on ) so, i was nudged towards Ubuntu ( xubuntu, actually ).
Still miss the simple elegance of Slack, and everything being found on the most logical place. :,(
Ubuntu because AskUbuntu.com
elementary os.
It's look elegant, has good community, core team has blog at Medium so I know what is going on and has ( awesome ) App Center.
It's look elegant, has good community, core team has blog at Medium so I know what is going on and has ( awesome ) App Center.
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I should mention that it is not an 'install and be ready to work'-distro. You should install and configure everything yourself, and you do run into problems sometimes (for me, I couldn't get the wifi to work for a few days).
If you want an easy distro, I would recommend Linux Mint (or maybe Manjaro, which is based on Arch Linux, but I haven't tried it).