5 ms·

I've been an Ubuntu user for ages, any reasons to switch to Fedora?

by mikevm 5y ago

sparkling 5y ago
I use Fedora because i like to have the vanilla GNOME experience out of the box. I also like that i don't need to undo all the snap stuff like in current Ubuntu versions, just plain old boring packages (snap and flatpak are both optional). But overall, they are really similar.
- stjo 5y ago
  There are some internal differences which may matter to you if you develop software targeting RHEL or CentOS.
- nix23 5y ago
  AppArmor vs SELinux would be another one...
- gtirloni 5y ago
  flatpak is great for apps like Telegram, Discord, Zoom, Teams, etc.
  - IceWreck 5y ago
    For telegram you can just use the package from rpmfusion. I do use flatpak for proprietary software like Discord, Zoom, etc.
rubyist5eva 5y ago
Vanilla gnome, more up-to-date software, package management with dnf is superior than apt. You don't have to have snaps shoved down your throat (but you can still use them if you like). Fedora is a "makers" distro. Every big innovation in Linux has happened in Fedora first.
- addicted 5y ago
  For me, not being forced into snaps, which for many apps that are forced upon us through snaps makes them remarkably slow, is enough reason to pick Fedora over Ubuntu for a fresh install. But whether it’s a good enough reason to switch an existing system depends on how much trouble one is having with these issues in their current system.
  - grawprog 5y ago
    Is snap actually being forced on users by Ubuntu? I've used a Ubuntu based os for years, the only snap packages i have are third-party ones directly from the app devs themselves, ubuntu's never forced me to use snap...
    - mixmastamyk 5y ago
      Yes, it is installed, running a daemon, and spamming mounts and filesystems (~/snap, /snap, etc) at boot up. Well known packages such as chromium convert themselves to snap without warning or permission, then proceed to load a lot slower because they have to be extracted from an image into memory. Snap is not discrete in any sense of the word.
    - rubyist5eva 5y ago
      > Is snap actually being forced on users by Ubuntu? Chromium is a snap in Ubuntu now for a while, even if you install it with apt it just installs the snap. Canonical wants to deliver the entire OS via snap in the future, and is already partially there on the server with Ubuntu Core and they recently announced an Ubuntu Core Desktop is coming soon.
- severino 5y ago
  I dislike snaps too, but when I used Fedora for a couple of years (around version 25), I didn't like dnf a lot either. It felt very slow in comparison to apt, and also, it was just another new command to learn, after yum et al. In contrast, I've been using the same apt syntax in Debian or Ubuntu installs for two decades now. To me, having the same tool with no breaking changes for ages is a plus.
rkangel 5y ago
More up to date kernel (and associated bits) means usually the best support for hardware (e.g. Fedora is usually faultless on Lenovo laptops, unless you have GPU problems). More up to date and more vanilla Gnome means that you've got the best state of Wayland implementation, and therefore the best version of multi-monitor, HighDPi etc. (I don't know what Ubuntu is like here though at the moment).
second--shift 5y ago
no snap! This is really my biggest issue. We use RHEL/rpm-based linuxes at work, and it helps to have a package building environment at home the same as it is at work. Everything else is or can be configured to be the same, for the most part.
stinkytaco 5y ago
What issues are you having with Ubuntu? Hard to say if Fedora is worth a switch without knowing that detail. If you are satisfied with Ubuntu and it's meeting your needs, then I would argue there is not enough in Fedora to warrant switching. This isn't to say there's lots of things to like, just that my tolerance for disruption is pretty low.
dralley 5y ago
Fedora gets kernel and Mesa (graphics driver) updates roughly as fast as Arch, whereas IIRC Ubuntu freezes them for a release, or at least doesn't update them quickly. That can also be a downside though, if you're using proprietary hardware drivers. No "snap" pollution in the home directory. Package naming conventions are better, IMO (this is a small thing to be fair, normally you'd just do a search, but the names are much more consistent and guessable on Fedora/Red Hat based distros in my experience)
- gnome_mouse 5y ago
  If you can use DKMS for your proprietary drivers then the downsides of the quick updates go away, in my experience

I've been an Ubuntu user for ages, any reasons to switch to Fedora?

by mikevm 5y ago

I've been an Ubuntu user for ages, any reasons to switch to Fedora?

I use Fedora because i like to have the vanilla GNOME experience out of the box. I also like that i don't need to undo all the snap stuff like in current Ubuntu versions, just plain old boring packages (snap and flatpak are both optional). But overall, they are really similar.

stjo 5y ago
There are some internal differences which may matter to you if you develop software targeting RHEL or CentOS.
nix23 5y ago
AppArmor vs SELinux would be another one...
gtirloni 5y ago
flatpak is great for apps like Telegram, Discord, Zoom, Teams, etc.
- IceWreck 5y ago
  For telegram you can just use the package from rpmfusion. I do use flatpak for proprietary software like Discord, Zoom, etc.

rubyist5eva 5y ago

Vanilla gnome, more up-to-date software, package management with dnf is superior than apt. You don't have to have snaps shoved down your throat (but you can still use them if you like). Fedora is a "makers" distro. Every big innovation in Linux has happened in Fedora first.

addicted 5y ago
For me, not being forced into snaps, which for many apps that are forced upon us through snaps makes them remarkably slow, is enough reason to pick Fedora over Ubuntu for a fresh install. But whether it’s a good enough reason to switch an existing system depends on how much trouble one is having with these issues in their current system.
- grawprog 5y ago
  Is snap actually being forced on users by Ubuntu? I've used a Ubuntu based os for years, the only snap packages i have are third-party ones directly from the app devs themselves, ubuntu's never forced me to use snap...
  - mixmastamyk 5y ago
    Yes, it is installed, running a daemon, and spamming mounts and filesystems (~/snap, /snap, etc) at boot up. Well known packages such as chromium convert themselves to snap without warning or permission, then proceed to load a lot slower because they have to be extracted from an image into memory. Snap is not discrete in any sense of the word.
  - rubyist5eva 5y ago
    > Is snap actually being forced on users by Ubuntu? Chromium is a snap in Ubuntu now for a while, even if you install it with apt it just installs the snap. Canonical wants to deliver the entire OS via snap in the future, and is already partially there on the server with Ubuntu Core and they recently announced an Ubuntu Core Desktop is coming soon.
severino 5y ago
I dislike snaps too, but when I used Fedora for a couple of years (around version 25), I didn't like dnf a lot either. It felt very slow in comparison to apt, and also, it was just another new command to learn, after yum et al. In contrast, I've been using the same apt syntax in Debian or Ubuntu installs for two decades now. To me, having the same tool with no breaking changes for ages is a plus.

rkangel 5y ago

More up to date kernel (and associated bits) means usually the best support for hardware (e.g. Fedora is usually faultless on Lenovo laptops, unless you have GPU problems). More up to date and more vanilla Gnome means that you've got the best state of Wayland implementation, and therefore the best version of multi-monitor, HighDPi etc. (I don't know what Ubuntu is like here though at the moment).

second--shift 5y ago

no snap! This is really my biggest issue. We use RHEL/rpm-based linuxes at work, and it helps to have a package building environment at home the same as it is at work. Everything else is or can be configured to be the same, for the most part.

stinkytaco 5y ago

What issues are you having with Ubuntu? Hard to say if Fedora is worth a switch without knowing that detail. If you are satisfied with Ubuntu and it's meeting your needs, then I would argue there is not enough in Fedora to warrant switching. This isn't to say there's lots of things to like, just that my tolerance for disruption is pretty low.

dralley 5y ago

Fedora gets kernel and Mesa (graphics driver) updates roughly as fast as Arch, whereas IIRC Ubuntu freezes them for a release, or at least doesn't update them quickly. That can also be a downside though, if you're using proprietary hardware drivers. No "snap" pollution in the home directory. Package naming conventions are better, IMO (this is a small thing to be fair, normally you'd just do a search, but the names are much more consistent and guessable on Fedora/Red Hat based distros in my experience)

gnome_mouse 5y ago
If you can use DKMS for your proprietary drivers then the downsides of the quick updates go away, in my experience