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I've used Ubuntu way back in like 2010, but I know a lot has changed since then.

Any recommendations for a user-friendly distro that will function as a good backup that will (hopefully) work for the next 4 years?

I've used Ubuntu way back in like 2010, but I know a lot has changed since then. Any recommendations for a user-friendly distro that will function as a good backup that will (hopefully) work for the next 4 years?

(post is archived)

[–] [deleted] • 4 pts 4y

if you are a complete masochist, try gentoo.

if you want to get really good at linux but are not a complete masochist, try arch linux - grab an old machine and install arch from scratch, get a desktop environment working, video drivers, and get to where you can play a youtube video in 4k. then format it, and do it again 5 times until you know the process super well. then try and maintain it. learn to run a full system backup with rsync. test restoring that backup onto a test machine or a VM.

if you are lazy as fuck and want the village idiot experience, try ubuntu. if you hate their lame ass desktop environment check out kubuntu.

if you want bleeding edge but you are not gangster enough for arch linux, check out fedora 33.

if you are autistic as fuck, try freebsd, which is actually unix.

[–] • 1 pt 4y

Thank you, great suggestions.

[–] • 1 pt 4y

Spot on.

I just use kubuntu, wipe all the call home shit off, and clean and free.

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt 4y

Wait when did FreeBSD become the autist OS? I used to love that thing, the demon was so cute

[–] • 2 pts 4y

FreeBSD got taken over by SJWs.

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt 4y

hey, just like linux!

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt 4y

fucking seriously? What are the SJW gonna do to BSD? Call the /mnt folder /hop to stop rape culture or some shit?

[–] [deleted] • 2 pts 4y

oh i'm just a hater. unix is cool i guess. i used to use pfsense. it was quite alright.

[–] • 0 pt 4y

if you are a complete masochist, try gentoo.

Can confirm, I run gentoo on three machines and use as my only distro.

Who doesn't want to spend 5.5 hours compiling chromium?

No really:

qlop -t chromuim

2021-01-18T10:50:08 >>> www-client/chromium: 5:35:27

(ps that's with distcc and two helper boxes)

Gentoo a great way to learn but don't go there first.

Consider Linux Mint or just regular old Debian.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt 4y

Is the difference in performance with compiling everything marked? Is it really worth the pain?

[–] • 1 pt 4y (edited 4y)

Individual app performance is negligible and probably not noticeable.

However things like boot time and memory usage are definitely better. The kernel is tiny to and weighs in at only 2.1M.

e.g. My server boots with only 90.4 M of ram and very few modules loading

top

%Cpu(s): 0.1 us, 0.0 sy, 0.0 ni, 99.9 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st

MiB Mem : 20065.3 total, 19904.1 free, 90.4 used, 70.8 buff/cache

MiB Swap: 4096.0 total, 4096.0 free, 0.0 used. 19800.6 avail Mem

and

lsmod

Module Size Used by

tun 53248 4

nf_log_ipv4 16384 1

nf_log_common 16384 1 nf_log_ipv4

xt_comment 16384 9

xt_state 16384 0

xt_LOG 16384 1 xt_limit 16384 1

xt_multiport 16384 17

hwmon_vid 20480 0

r8169 86016 0

radeon 1560576 0

realtek 20480 1

k10temp 16384 0

fam15h_power 20480 0

ttm 94208 1 radeon

backlight 16384 1 radeon

My primary incentive was the ability to customize my system and get exactly what I wanted. (No systemd and no pulseaudio)

'Worth it' is subjective and will vary for everyone. Personally I think it is for the learning. Also my systems have been running for years and I'm pretty used to it by now. I just kick off updates at night and they are basically done by morning.

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[–] • 4 pts 4y

User friendly or noob friendly? Stick to mint if you are honest about your level.

[–] • 2 pts 4y

Noob friendly. I've done basic shell commands and things like wget and PuTTY but I'm just not that passionate and committed to learning multiple commands/pipes/etc. Just looking for a way to stay connected to the world and do basic tasks without Microsoft doing shady shit to my files.

[–] [deleted] • 4 pts 4y

Linuxmint. Debian based fork of Ubuntu.

Clean, well maintained and pretty good package availability.

[–] • 2 pts 4y

Install Biebian

[–] • 1 pt 4y

GAAAY!!

HANNA MONTANA LINUX MASTER RACE!!(hannahmontana.sourceforge.net)

[–] • 1 pt 4y

For the love of all that is good in the world do not ... no, you know what; go with this ^ one

[–] • 0 pt 4y

OP will surely LOVE it!

[–] • 1 pt 4y

Today I swapped my Laptop from MX-Linux to Linux Mint. But I had to think long and hard as Biebian is based on Puppy Linux which is rock solid. (sorta like Biebian is ;)

[–] • 2 pts 4y (edited 4y)

Devuan is cool and kind of like ubuntu from back then, but all I know is it from the commandline, but I'm sure it could be a decent laptop OS if you don't want the D [the systemd, that is - and only fags would want that]. Regular ubuntu is what it is: mainly pretty user friendly. My new PC came with a fork of Ubuntu called PopOS, and I kind of like it, but I also kind of want to try other things on it, but just for the sake of trying other things - this OS does all the things I need it to do as a desktop.

Oh, come to think of it, I did find a showstopper in Ubuntu 20x: a bunch of versions of wine won't run on it for some stupid reason. One of those dependency hell type situations.

I've found Centos and Fedora to be super solid if you want to go a more Redhat variant way; imho Fedora makes the better desktop, or at least I thought that the last time I tried it which was a good few versions ago.

But if you're looking for user friendly, it sounds like you already kind of have your answer, although some weird faggots might recommend Mint instead, and they might be right, I just disagree because of opinions.

PS: In a way, I personally found Ubuntu of 10 years ago more user friendly than I find the latest version... but it could just be familiarity, as that's what my boss ran then and so it's what I also ran. It ended up being more user friendly than the Solaris and HPUX I had been using prior to then. But I digress.

[+] [deleted] • 1 pt 4y
[–] • 1 pt 4y

Mint is a good choice. If you want to learn try Slackware.

[–] • 1 pt 4y

If you want a distro that just works (tm), get Linux Mint

I have no idea why you would use windows instead of it, actually. Installing and using it easier than windows.

[–] • 1 pt 4y

Most any distribution with xfce manager should be fine for a modern laptop. Search your model to see what distributions people have run on it.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt 4y

i prefer using sddm for a display manager and plasma for the desktop environment. xfce is a little too lightweight for my fancy taste. if i want high performance and minimalism i go i3wm.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt 4y

side note, if you wanna run windows games on linux you will want wine-staging (for the compatibility layer) and lutris (for the launching of games)

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