It took me years to accept that Debian based distros, suck as a desktop.
Debian's one advantage is because they've been around forever, you can find pretty much anything in terms of software. You cannot ignore that DEB still significantly has a much wider selection of 3rd party apps.
But Debian as a desktop is frustrating. I could easily argue that their packages are older, and I know someone would argue, that is what makes it more stable. But that is not true, regarding a desktop.
Debian's true strength is as a server. Rock solid.
But as a desktop, where you've added many different features, functions, services, and apps, you're going to run into dependency issues, even if you install no new software (keeping only the stock install). sudo apt distr-upgrade which is the basic command to update everything, is considered "taboo" within the Debian ecosystem, for a reason.
I doubt many Debian groupies have stopped and asked themselves why there are so many built in commands to fix Debian, or continuous updated guides to fixing Debian. As a previous Debian users, it was only until I stopped using Debian, that I realized, I had a lot more free time on my hands.
As I said, as a server, with minimalist needs, Debian keeps on ticking faithfully, but as a Desktop, you're better going with an RPM distro. If you're OK with a little bit of work, perhaps Arch. -- I'm not joking (I was surprised, myself). Debian is not the distro for desktops.
And do you add any non-free firmware, drivers, and media codecs, or do you just stick with the stock install? How many held packages do you have, and how often do you run into dependency issues or missing packages?
Linux Mint is "OK" for the "old school" Linux user or for those people who like poking around. I can see the appeal for those people.
But generally most people want to use their PC and not "learn" their computer. Microsoft Windows, for example, was successful because you could easily click your way through Windows.
Today, some Linux distros have better hardware support or compatible hardware support. As someone pointed out, the latest GPU drivers come preinstalled in Ultramarine Linux, while you would need to track those down in Windows. And since much of what people use today, has become either web based or app based, generally much of the software has caught up too. Today, I can load Steam and automatically install, and run Windows games without any configuration - just point and click.
Mint is not exactly a point and click distro. Nor is it a completely an "out of the box" experience directly after install. And maintaining Mint is not the easiest if you wish to keep that ease of use. It does not help that Mint is 3rd inline in 3 independent developments with 2 completely independent upstreams before it. Nor does it help that they not support their Debian edition, sometimes for years (whatever Mint breaks, stays broken, and obviously, Debian updates are not going to fix Mint's customizations or configuration). You also cannot overcome the community who will ignore the GUI, if there is one, and try to get you into a sometimes a lengthy process in the terminal.
There are much better Linux distros for a Windows user looking to switch to Linux.
@itsfoss@mastodon.social Although in naming Mandrake Linux, you mentioned, Mageia, I always felt Open Mandriva (OpenMandriva) was a true successor to Mandrake Linux.
I still recall years ago, arguing with the development of Mageia, the importance of non-free media codecs.
Never tell me I cannot say something, never tell me I cannot or should not have an opinion. That's why I am here, and if you're not, social media isn't the place you seek.
What's civilized freedom of speech? It means freedom of speech without hate speech.
It is the type of speech corporations sometimes put down (silence) at the request of governments, for example, the Arab Spring, that took place several 10+ years ago, whose people only wanting better human rights and civil rights.
Likewise, it is also the type of freedom of speech that may not necessarily be politically correct, and ad sponsors would prefer not to be associated with, and so may be silently oppressed by the algorithm. For example, while I often talk about Linux, I also sometimes express my thoughts as a male survivor of abuse, at the hands of an abusive woman.
These are just two (2) examples, where a corporate centralized social media platform, fails, but a decentralized social media platform, has its strengths.
@marila the best animes don't get s2That is, unfortunately, often true, and why I am often reluctant to start a new anime, and why when younger, I stopped watching anime.
Personally, the only reason I started to watch anime again is because of my work (career). Most TV shows, today, remind me too much of work (I do content moderation for META), involving other people's drama and sometimes real life true crimes and horror. But a cartoon is often so far removed from reality.
@mttaggart@infosec.exchange I don't know any Linux distro that boot from exFAT. It would be faster, if you could.
I voted for btrfs, because as someone who used to lose power, I recall how easy data loss could take place in ext4. I also recall that zfs can prove to be a problem if you wish to resize something later.
@Sheril@mastodon.social For the past few years, I have been trying to aim to be plastic free, but almost seems impossible. Nearly everything is shipped, packaged, or lined with plastic these days.
@mudkip@wetdry.world Flatpak is better than Snap, but not everything is best run in a container. VPN, for example, where you want to ensure everything and everyone, system-wide is passed only through the Vpn. It does address the need for a more universal packaging distribution, but the hub (Flathub) seems to be to closely associated with GNOME. - Flatpak has its pros and cons.
I often suggest Ultramarine Linux (KDE Plasma), because it is nearly just as user-friendly as Microsoft Windows (you don't need to use the terminal). But I also suggest the distro, because it is based on Fedora, the upstream to Red Hat, owned by, IBM.
I've got something for everyone. No matter if you like open source or prefer to trust a corporation.
My primary account is here on Kitty Dot Social ( @Linux@kitty.social ), which uses my preferred software, CherryPick. I keep a reserved account at Misskey Dot De ( @Linux_Is_Best@misskey.de ), which, as the name implies, uses Misskey. Additionally, as keep a 2nd reserved account at Mastodon Dot Social ( @Linux_Is_Awesome@mastodon.social ), which, of course, uses the latest copy of Mastodon.
My reserved accounts are for those rare moments something is offline, and generally also to keep an eye on the two mainstream software platforms (Misskey and Mastodon). If you want to follow my reserved accounts, you can, but I am primarily here (Kitty Dot Social, using CherryPick).
I already work to a large social media company (Meta), and the idea of trusting another large social media company during my leisure, seems both counterproductive and unwise, given what I know. If most people read the TOS (terms of service) and understood them, you'd never join a corporate social media platform.
See how they treat their children, elderly, poor, and disabled. But also, see how often they drag their countrymen into war, and most importantly, how well or how poorly they treat those who have managed to have survived, and return home.
Describe myself? Why? Who I believe I am is irrelevant to who you're going to believe me to be.Language: While I do natively write in English, I also use a combination of DeepL and Naver SmartBoard to translate my text to better communicate. If you notice an error, please let me know, and I'll forward it to the right people.This is my primrary account.