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I recently switched from Mac to Linux so that I can use beefy refurbished machines as my daily driver. I've installed Linux on lots of different machines previo

I recently switched from Mac to Linux so that I can use beefy refurbished machines as my daily driver. I've installed Linux on lots of different machines previously, but this time it's not just a hobby. Ubuntu has great support for my hardware and peripherals, but the app store feels unfinished and forced. Pretty much everything works as expected. I'm interested in checking out Mint (also Debian) and Arch, but it feels like there's a lot of software written with Ubuntu in mind, so I'm wary.

garrisonhh 3y ago
There is almost nothing written for ubuntu that won't work on arch or really most current distros. When I ran arch I did have to get familiar with assumptions people make due to ubuntu, but this would never be more than patching a config file or configuring some environment variable. And those are useful and transferable skills.
- Kalanos 3y ago
  hmm. thanks for sharing. that's the kind of stuff I don't want to do though. i already have my own software to write and use a wide array of tools. i can't afford to lose a morning on that kind of stuff. plus i want to be able to tear down and rebuild without a ton of custom config
cardanome 3y ago
Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. You can use all Ubuntu packages just fine. It is really just a strictly better Ubuntu. There is a Debian-based Mint version as well but that is more as a security so that they are not deadly dependent on the Ubuntu people. Though these days, even using exotic distros isn't that problematic, as you can always use appimage/flatpack/snap if you native package manager doesn't have the specific app you need.
- Kalanos 3y ago
  Mint looks awesome! It seems like it was designed by people that actually compute. My main gripe w ubuntu was the snap store, but embracing flatpak/hub seems like a highlight of mint
znpy 3y ago
Do yourself a favor and give Fedora a try. I wish I had done that earlier.
- Kalanos 3y ago
  I used AWS Workspaces for a while and that ran Fedora. It was nice, but I wasn't blown away. I seem to remember not being able to find some yum packages where there were apt counterparts.

garrisonhh 3y ago

There is almost nothing written for ubuntu that won't work on arch or really most current distros. When I ran arch I did have to get familiar with assumptions people make due to ubuntu, but this would never be more than patching a config file or configuring some environment variable. And those are useful and transferable skills.

Kalanos 3y ago
hmm. thanks for sharing. that's the kind of stuff I don't want to do though. i already have my own software to write and use a wide array of tools. i can't afford to lose a morning on that kind of stuff. plus i want to be able to tear down and rebuild without a ton of custom config

cardanome 3y ago

Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. You can use all Ubuntu packages just fine. It is really just a strictly better Ubuntu. There is a Debian-based Mint version as well but that is more as a security so that they are not deadly dependent on the Ubuntu people. Though these days, even using exotic distros isn't that problematic, as you can always use appimage/flatpack/snap if you native package manager doesn't have the specific app you need.

Kalanos 3y ago
Mint looks awesome! It seems like it was designed by people that actually compute. My main gripe w ubuntu was the snap store, but embracing flatpak/hub seems like a highlight of mint

znpy 3y ago

Do yourself a favor and give Fedora a try. I wish I had done that earlier.

Kalanos 3y ago
I used AWS Workspaces for a while and that ran Fedora. It was nice, but I wasn't blown away. I seem to remember not being able to find some yum packages where there were apt counterparts.