im attempting to select a linux distribution to put on a computer
and im getting kind of overwhelmed with all the differences that i don't know the implications of. like, foobar linux uses x desktop environment and y package manager and z init system, but bazqux linux uses a whole different set of stuff
and it's not really clear to me how much committing to one locks me out of other stuff. like, iirc there's a bunch of stuff that depends on systemd? so what if i get a distro with runit instead
@typhlosion what is your goal? If it is to learn how Linux works, then reading all those details and trying a few distros make sense. If it's to use your computer to do usual stuff, those distinctions don't really matter. Just get something with systemd because for some reason it makes the desktop work better. Or something. It's something the big distros are standardizing on. Everything else is... exotic.
@typhlosion Yeah. I don't have any advice but I wanted to say that I relate to this a lot, it's a very real problem
@typhlosion You have to start somewhere, and learn the nuances once you have a baseline. For what it's worth: I use Debian with XFCE because it's exceptionally stable, at the cost of included apps being always ancient, and system administration being done from the command line. Aside from performance issues on machines older than 15 years, you probably don't need to worry about systemd versus other init systems; that's a pain for distro maintainers. Do learn about partitions and keep your /home separated if you can. Also Qemu is a great way to try out alternatives.
@typhlosion I mean, it's not a permanent choice.
I've been using fedora on a laptop for a few years and honestly? Instructions for Debian and Ubuntu are just more common.
Just start with Ubuntu until you gain enough understanding to have opinions about the differences.
@typhlosion you can have separate partitions for your system and your home folder and just reinstall if you don't like it
but also I've been using systemd distros (mostly bog standard debian) since it was a thing and I never felt like I needed anything else?
@typhlosion I use Debian with KDE and it has served me well, is probably one of the best environments. It supports Wayland which is basically way superior to X, supports my tablet, touch input, pen input, and mouse all perfectly fine.
For installing packages intended for other distros then for Ubuntu you can install the deb directly. Otherwise there is the alien package/program which can install lsb, slp, rpm, pkg, and Slackware's tgz.
With regards to systemd, there is no real reason to not use it as it is pretty efficient and works well. It also is highly configurable and is good at logging services as well.
@typhlosion As someone who uses Artix + OpenRC, which is pretty hipster:
- Don't worry about init system for now, on Linux, you can quite easily distrohop if you have /home on a separate partition. The reason I don't use systemd is mainly a pure hatred for Lennart Poettering and wanting something lighter than it, mainly ideological stuff. On the other hand, if something doesn't work outside systemd, it's because it heavily uses it, and you can use Linux for years without encountering a single program like that.
- Especially don't worry about DE, you can change it without removing the previous one.
- As for package managers, it's just a matter of what you're used to, I don't mind if it's apt, dnf, pacman, apk or xbps. Just keep in mind that if software offers a binary package, it's mostly like made for Ubuntu, which uses apt.
Okay, now into actually subjective things:
- Avoid everything that's a fork of another distro unless it changes something significantly. Mint is fine, as it's a fork of Ubuntu (which is a fork of Debian, but shhh) that mostly removes snaps (avoid them like a plague), same with systemd-less forks of distros, like Artix is a fork of Arch. What is not fine in my book is another fork of Ubuntu that just looks slightly different than stock. How do forks end? Check
apt install steamincident on Linus Tech Tips (with adblock so you don't give him revenue). - Start with something popular and recognisable before settling on something tailored for you. Sure, Gentoo is (eventually) faster, Alpine is lightweight and stuff like that, but most documentation is for either Ubuntu (and forks because they are the same thing mostly) or Arch, so you'll probably end up using docs made with them in mind. Once you feel comfortable in Linux as a whole, you can experiment.
- Personally, I always recommend Mint with Cinnamon, looks like Windows and is compatible with Ubuntu, but hey, I'm just a random girl on the internet :P
If you prefer a system with few maintainance, use long-term support distributions. If you prefer to always have the last software, use rolling-release distributions. I would not recommend distribution with a new version released every six months, as you will have to reinstall it regularly.
im trying to graduate away from being the kind of computer user who just accepts what is put in front of them. but it feels like it's really not a gentle slope, with linux, between "pick ubuntu or debian and don't worry too much about it" and the expectation of mastery over your preferences. it's a lot to take in