what linux distro do you use and/or like?

[Trihex]

I've been using Kali GNU/Linux as a daily driver for 2 years now and am very happy with it.

I have more years experience Administering Debian than I do BSD, like the rolling release updates, love using apt and aptget, it's more simple to maintain than FreeBSD and is the most widely hated distro by Chicken Little chickadees everywhere.

This is minimal installation of Kali on a Chromebook with Xfce as a DE.

[dchmelik]

The first I used (after *BSD)--in 1997--was Slackware, and it's the only remaining strictly UNIX-like GNU/Linux. Even Debian/Devuan and Gentoo deviated in ways, though I've used them and have used (open)SUSE, RedHat/Fedora, Arch, *Ubuntu (Kubuntu)/Mint/Neon (and have all mentioned so far installed just to see, in case I might eventually work somewhere they use one). I think NetBSD is best general-purpose (like for many more types of computers); Slackware & FreeBSD & DragonFlyBSD are best for desktop; OpenBSD is best for servers (and OpenSolaris/IllumOS is interesting as a computer scientist) but unless one has hardware FreeBSD can't run (a fair bit) I'd rather avoid any OS running the messy Linux kernel and more & more stuff on OSs that use it that must emulate systemd or other programmer-/sysadmin-unfriendly stuff (like PAM isn't nice for traditional users/programmers). UNIX/*BSD was planned ahead of time (or at least replaced pre-designed UNIX code); Linux is 'make it up as you go along' so the difference in clean/stable code is clear, though Linux slowly improved with the involvement of large computer companies like Google with Android Linux... I just don't think it's quite yet up to the clean/stable standards of *BSD... like if you install a 'huge' Linux kernel on OSs that allow that (Slackware) because then you don't need initializing ramdisc (initrd) it's 99% hardware for other types of computers and takes considerable time... maybe that's not a reflection of less clean code, but seems somewhat a mess Linux could do another way and still not need initrd.
        I just wish *BSD could run my PC's multi-function hub (5.25" bay device with USB/memory readers, etc.) and graphics cards with CUDA & OpenCL because then I probably wouldn't use Linux except for other stuff that needs it (like a certain addon fan on Raspberry Pi computer that only runs in RaspiOS/etc. GNU/Linux).
        I do like the Free Software Foundation and agree the GNU/Linux OS is just GNU and Linux is one of its kernels, but I wish they were friendlier to *BSD and that *BSD programmers were friendlier to GNU/FSF, which is maybe more a stereotype in both cases...

[bsd-keith]

Devuan - Devuan Live/XFCE installations, & sometimes Crowz (a lighter version of Devuan).

(Otherwise, I use OpenBSD, NetBSD, or Haiku.)

[frcc]

MX Linux on one of my machines

[cohumat]

I used to swear by using is strictly Linux but as of lately I've become extremely displeased with the direction that several of the most popular Linux distribution. Like Ubuntu and its other Debian re spins like Mx or Linux Mint ,has frustrated me as every time that their are a lot more variants of Debian and other old school distributions Like Gentoo,Arch and Slackware. I finally gave up on Linux all together and took the bull by the horns a few days back I decided to give up on Linux on a permanent basis and in the processes learn a whole lot more about the way operating systems handle configuration files and how to debug my mistakes in order to learn y=yet more about how your Operating system works,

[cohumat]

When I was using a linux Distribution on a daily basis my favorite distributions where as listed in no particular order.

1. Debian/Ubunt and Linux mint equivalent
2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop or equivalent
3. Suse Enterprise Linux Desktop
4. OPenSuse Leap
5. Atinx
6. Artics
7. so on so forth

[rufwoof]

I voted 'other' as locally I just run the Linux kernel + busybox (plus framebuffer vnc, OpenSSH, alsa/sndio). 6MB vmlinux, 11MB initramfs (xz compressed, 50MB ram when booted). termux on my phone so I can ssh into that, and/or ssh into a ssh server for IRC etc., and/or vnc into a full gui desktop. Pick which gui server according to the task in-hand, could be Windows or mac ... but mostly I use Linux. The main one I use is Fatdog based, but push come to shove and that's mostly just cosmetic, looks/feels pretty much the same whether you're running chrome on Fatdog or Debian.

Desktop setup is left to right .. phone on the side of the laptop screen, large monitor to the right of the laptop screen. Couch setup is the same but without the monitor. Usually have youtube playing on the phone and headphones plugged into that, with the laptop tethered to the phone for internet and a larger browser/screen/keypad/touchpad. I tether rather than use the laptops wifi as my phones wifi is faster and if I boot OpenBSD base + tigervnc ... that doesn't support my laptops wifi (have to tether).

Many complain about "Linux" but typically are referring to Linux Distros that have lost their way, too many variations that largely are just doing similar things - driven by corporate money thrown at the distro. Linux in itself is great and has progressively become easier to setup/use. My kernel .config has been progressively refined to cut down something like 10,000 options to actually using 1500 or so i.e. highly refined for my particular hardware/laptop, so all firmware/modules built in and a 6MB vmlinuz filesize. I tend to track each point release of a stable long term version i.e. kernel 6.6.7 at present. On the server I use to build the kernel its a single script that takes less than 10 minutes to build the kernel.

Unix philosophy has largely been lost to a large inflow of former dissatisfied Windows users, instead of focusing upon modularity each one module doing one task well, became more of a Windows style of jack-of-all, doing no one task well. In flow of former windows users has driven "Linux" (distros) to have become more like windows - and where now many dislike and complain about that evolution.

[Hannes_Worst]

I use Salix (based on Slackware) and Nixos. Two rather different distro's. Salix/Slackware tries to stay loyal to unix file-hierarchy while Nixos mashes it to a pulp. Nixos started out as a very simple project, based on one declarative configuration-file. That appealed to me. But these days it's getting more complex, as it's the case with many constantly developing projects. Slackware on the other hand keeps its simplicity, but is growing out of proportion in the amount of GB on your harddrive.

[bsd-keith]

Originally Posted by Hannes_Worst

... Slackware on the other hand keeps its simplicity, but is growing out of proportion in the amount of GB on your harddrive.

Exactly my reason for using other distros. I started out with a version of Slack run from DOS file system, loaded up a standard installation of Slack, found it extremely excessive in the amount of disk space taken, went to RedHat 4.2/5.0 & Debian 2.1, stayed with Debian, until systemd, then went to Devuan.

Some of the Slack derivatives are good, but I don't like having all the programming software, which I don't use, on my disks!

[frcc]

Mint

[BingWithLessSandwich]

Debian

Most stable (except one time with nvidia drivers when upgrading to kernel 6.18., but that is the fault of nvidia) updates, most supported by majority of the devs, simple installation and letting me do what i want after the installation is the way i like to use anything.

[blackhole]

Originally Posted by BingWithLessSandwich

Debian

Most stable (except one time with nvidia drivers when upgrading to kernel 6.18., but that is the fault of nvidia) updates, most supported by majority of the devs, simple installation and letting me do what i want after the installation is the way i like to use anything.

With nvidia drivers and Linux, it really depends on a few things. If you upgrade to a new kernel, which the driver version you require does not support, you're pretty much out of options.

Similarly if you need to install a newer driver/GPU and it has a minimum kernel version requirement, you will have to upgrade the kernel.

Also, if you installed using Nvidia's own installer shell script, it will usually break during kernel upgrades anyway. You either manage this yourself or you install the driver from the Debian non-free repository.

From an earlier post of mine in this thread:

Originally Posted by blackhole

Stable should refer to the API and/or ABI.

It has been misappropriated by Linux users as a synonym for "stuff doesn't break/crash".

Debian is only "stable" in that it doesn't change. It doesn't mean that you won't have problems (you most likely will) and this also applies to those distributions based on Debian. It is not released completely bug free and by the time of the next stable release, many bugs in the previous release will still remain.

Debian also release with LTS kernels, which are "stable" in that they are "frozen" and only receive security patches - other bugs, e.g. in video drivers, remain and users often have to compile the latest stable kernel to fix such problems or to get missing hardware support.

[bsd-keith]

Present day systems on my computers...

Devuan/XFCE as my main system

MiniOS is my secondary system

Void & Haiku occasionally

NetBSD & OpenBSD just to keep my hand in with BSD, in case Linux goes too 'Commercial'.

[J65nko]

I run MX Linux because OpenBSD randomly crashes on my HP Proliant box.

[blackhole]

Originally Posted by bsd-keith

NetBSD & OpenBSD just to keep my hand in with BSD, in case Linux goes too 'Commercial'.

You mean like this?

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/members
https://www.linuxfoundation.org/blog...at-partnership

https://www.redhat.com/en/partners/microsoft
https://www.suse.com/partners/alliance/microsoft/
https://ubuntu.com/blog/install-dotnet-on-ubuntu
https://github.com/microsoft/foss-fund

[bsd-keith]

Yep, & all this systemd palarver....

[Head_on_a_Stick]

And now Arch has been bought out by Valve:

https://lists.archlinux.org/archives...TNP5DH4XZGJMR/

Grrr...

EDIT: this is particularly annoying for me because Valve have forced the shift away from the current forums FluxBB to f***ing Discord. FFS.

[blackhole]

Valve were one of the first to distribute games over a CDN with DRM. I gave up on any games that moved to Steam at that point. Recently I wanted to play Half Life again, so I got old second hand ones, free of Steam, and ran those.

Arch users will now be telling us that the distro '"feels faster" after Valve got involved. Next thing you know, Microsoft will take over a Linux distro as well... oh wait...

The "Ballistic Weapons" mod for UT2004 is also on "f***ing discord", which basically makes it invisible to the rest of the web. No idea why they do that. I got a family member to set up a discord account, just so I could download it.