If you had to choose a Linux rolling distro...? \ stacker news ~tech

pull down to refresh

If you had to choose a Linux rolling distro...?

4571 sats \ 12 comments \ @chowwiwang 22 Sep 2023 tech

If you had to choose a rolling distro, which would you go with.

Arch
OpenSUSE Tumbleweed
Other rolling release most likely based on Arch...ie Manjaro, Endeavour..

619 sats \ 5 replies \ @0232cf2253 22 Sep 2023

I do not suggest rolling distros. If I was forced then Manjaro. I have tried hundreds of distros and my best advice for anyone wanting to run Linux as a primary desktop OS as follows:

Always go for LTS if offered
Never bother with bleeding edge rolling distros

Just install Debian where you can. Don't make life harder than it needs to be.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @newnym 22 Sep 2023

This. Bleeding edge + Linux = botched upgrades + hours fixing Linux.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @0232cf2253 22 Sep 2023

Yeah I only learned that through trial and error. I didn't understand how bad that screwed me. Things would change on boot and I would have no idea why. Sometimes really strange bugs would happen like apps would full screen with no way to undo it.

From Windows 95 to 10 I have generally enjoyed the OS and they do a great job with the experience. With the more recent direction of 10 and 11 I am fully out and switched to Linux. I had realized beyond the privacy issues that Windows now has, it also behaves closer to bleeding edge Linux distros where random components of your OS will update and just be different one day.

So I switched back to Linux and had the realization that if I didn't want to deal with bleeding edge updates on Linux, I didn't have to.

Beyond that Linux without the insanity of unstable releases or rolling updates can still be quirky in very unexpected ways.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @0330830bf9 22 Sep 2023

This is the right answer.

Rolling back a botched kernel upgrade is a special event you should only celebrate twice a year.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @knorozov 22 Sep 2023

Bit offtopic: Running Ubuntu for years. What are the advantages I would get with Debian? I don't really like working from the terminal, don't really have the patience to learn it.

121 sats \ 0 replies \ @0330830bf9 22 Sep 2023

If you're a casual Ubuntu user who's averse to the terminal, you won't gain anything by switching. Moving up the distribution chain would primarily be for higher level customization or concerns over the negligibly larger attack surface.

111 sats \ 0 replies \ @brianh 22 Sep 2023

I've been using EndeavourOS for the past few months...so far so good, but like the other comments point out it is a lot more likely to break from bugs that come from the rolling releases

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @tom335 22 Sep 2023

I'm a partially happy arch user for a while now. Cannot lie, frequent updates give me chills, so let's say I'm not recommending it. With that said, I haven't had any system breaks on any upgrade, fortunately. Most packages are available and if you get used to, it can be a great option for a lean and custom OS.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @scottathan 22 Sep 2023

I've been using OpenSUSE Tumbleweed on my laptop for almost 6 months now and it works fantastic. Super stable with no issues thus far

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @ionisle 22 Sep 2023

NixOS

110 sats \ 0 replies \ @dtonon 22 Sep 2023

Gentoo is still a thing?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @newnym 22 Sep 2023

I'd only choose a rolling distro if your intention is to learn Linux. I used Arch back in the day and it was quite the learning experience, as something would always break and I was forced to figure out a solution. That said, there are other ways of learning Linux that don't involve self flagellation. :)