I have tried Linux as a DD on and off for years but about a year ago I decided to commit to it no matter the cost. First with Mint, then Ubuntu and a few others sprinkled in briefly. Both are “mainstream” “beginner friendly” distros, right? I don’t want anything too advanced, right?

Well, ubuntu recently updated and it broke my second monitor (Ubuntu detected it but the monitor had “no signal”). After trying to fix it for a week, I decided to wipe it and reinstall. No luck. I tried a few other distros that had the same issue and I started to wonder if it was a hardware issue but I tried a Windows PC and the monitor worked no problem.

Finally, just to see what would happen I tried a distro very very different than what I’m used to: Fedora (Kinoite). And not only did everything “just work” flawlessly, but it’s so much faster and more polished than I ever knew Linux to be!

Credit where it’s due, a lot of the polish is due to KDE plasma. I’d never strayed from Gnome because I’m not an expert and people recommend GNOME to Linux newbies because it’s “simple” and “customizable” but WOW is KDE SO MUCH SIMPLER AND STILL CUSTOMIZEABLE. Gnome is only “simple” in that it doesn’t allow you to do much via the GUI. With Fedora Kinode I think I needed to use the terminal maybe once during setup? With other distros I was constantly needed to use the terminal (yes its helped me learn Linux but that curve is STEEP).

The atomic updates are fantastic too. I have not crashed once in the two weeks of setup whereas before I would have a crash maybe 1-2 times per week.

I am FULLY prepared for the responses demanding to know what I did to make it crash and telling me how I was using it wrong blah blah blah but let me tell you, if you are experienced with Windows but want to learn Linux and getting frustrated by all the “beginner” distros that get recommended, do yourself a favor and try Fedora Kinoite!

edit: i am DYING at the number of “you’re using it wrong” comments here. never change people.

  • dino@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    2·
    5 months ago

    Thanks for the detailed reply. I see where you are coming from but I for example never head about Fedora Atomic whilst I am familiar with OpenSUSE MicroOS, GUIX, NixOS. I noticed that MicroOS is the server oriented immutable whilst Aeon is the new orientation for Desktop… ANYWAY, all this immutable talk is anyway pointless, because I was talking about general distributions and not a discussion about immutable distros.

    On the topic which distro adopted what first, my confusion did stem from by what context. As I tried to make clear with my confusion about fedora not being rolling release. To cut all this talk short here my answer to your question:

    The default value of OpenSUSE Tumbleweed is pretty strong because

    • rolling release
    • zypper having sane args for regular tasks (install, search etc.)
    • btrfs as default filesystem
    • optimal snapper integration which leads into
    • making a rolling release distro suitable for non-technical people/daily usage without fear of regular updates

    But this is just a general recommendation for “distros”. If the requirements get more specific it makes much more sense to make proper recommendations.

    • poki
      2·
      5 months ago

      Thank you for reading through that info dump and thank you for your reply!

      I see where you are coming from but I for example never head about Fedora Atomic whilst I am familiar with OpenSUSE MicroOS, GUIX, NixOS.

      Interesting. So, you never heard of Fedora CoreOS, Fedora Silverblue, Fedora Kinoite, uBlue, Aurora, Bazzite and Bluefin?

      ANYWAY, all this immutable talk is anyway pointless, because I was talking about general distributions and not a discussion about immutable distros.

      On the topic which distro adopted what first, my confusion did stem from by what context. As I tried to make clear with my confusion about fedora not being rolling release.

      Thank you for clearing that up!

      To cut all this talk short here my answer to your question:

      Finally 😜.

      The default value of OpenSUSE Tumbleweed is pretty strong because

      Thank you for your answer! First of all, regardless of which distro you would have chosen, I would have respected your answer. Though, depending on your answer, I could have definitely judged you for it 😂. Thankfully, however, you’ve shown to have great taste; openSUSE Tumbleweed is indeed a formidable distro. Unfortunately, I’d argue it’s (somehow) underrated and underappreciated; which is really a pity for how excellent of a distro it is. I hope it will garner a bigger audience, because it simply deserves better. Regardless, openSUSE Tumbleweed is definitely a top contender for best traditional distro IMO and I might have been daily driving it were it not for ‘immutable’ distros.

      Secondly, while I agree with you generally, I can’t deny that the total package deal specifically is what makes openSUSE Tumbleweed special. So, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

      • rolling release

      Rolling release distros aren’t that rare by themselves. And, as even Arch is an independent distro with a rolling release cycle, it becomes very hard to regard this selling point as unique.

      • zypper having sane args for regular tasks (install, search etc.)

      zypper’s args/syntax don’t seem very different from dnf and apt in terms of saneness. But, if this is a selling point for you, what prevents dnf (which is found on Fedora) from being a selling point for you?

      • btrfs as default filesystem

      Fedora also ships Btrfs by default, though TIL that Btrfs was first adopted by openSUSE. But, once again, this begs the question why this isn’t a selling point (according to you) when it’s found on Fedora?

      • optimal snapper integration which leads into

      Snapper also seems to be properly integrated on the derivatives of other distros; e.g. Garuda, Siduction and SpiralLinux to name a couple. So, again, this selling point doesn’t seem unique.

      • making a rolling release distro suitable for non-technical people/daily usage without fear of regular updates

      Excellent. This is openSUSE Tumbleweed’s USP (if it’s combined with the fact that it’s a well-funded independent distro, great security standards et cetera et cetera). And if this is precisely what you seek from your distro, then openSUSE Tumbleweed is what you rightfully should stick to.

      But this is just a general recommendation for “distros”.

      Fair. I’m not necessarily opposed to it.

      If the requirements get more specific it makes much more sense to make proper recommendations.

      Interesting. Like, in which cases would you recommend something else for example?

      • dino@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        2·
        5 months ago

        Interesting. So, you never heard of Fedora CoreOS, Fedora Silverblue, Fedora Kinoite, uBlue, Aurora, Bazzite and Bluefin?

        Silverblue yes, rest no.

        Snapper also seems to be properly integrated on the derivatives of other distros; e.g. Garuda, Siduction and SpiralLinux to name a couple. So, again, this selling point doesn’t seem unique.

        I have no clue how that is done on those distros, never tried any of those. I just know that it is even “hard” to replicate the configuration of snapper on a system like Void Linux. But that might also stem from my lack of knowledge. At least the guides I found didn’t provide the same result.

        Interesting. Like, in which cases would you recommend something else for example?

        I am glad you also think highly of Tumbelweed, but I think it has the disadvantage of not having such an amazing documentation as other distros. If you stumble upon something and are looking for a fix online, you won’t find as much resources for it as there are for debian based distros for example.

        All in all, I have to thank you for this amazing exchange. I think this is one of the most friendly and informative exchanges I had on lemmy so far. :)

        • poki
          2·
          5 months ago

          Thank you, once again, for the reply!

          I just know that it is even “hard” to replicate the configuration of snapper on a system like Void Linux.

          Yeah lol 😅. It’s definitely a blessing when it’s setup by default. For example, while Fedora Atomic does come with a built-in rollback mechanism through rpm-ostree, Fedora does actually not. Hence, Fedora users are often interested to set it up themselves. And then, they find this gargantuan guide 😂.

          But that might also stem from my lack of knowledge. At least the guides I found didn’t provide the same result.

          To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if openSUSE Tumbleweed’s implementation is simply better. At least, it would make sense if that were the case. So, I will give you that 😉.

          but I think it has the disadvantage of not having such an amazing documentation as other distros.

          Fair. Fedora’s documentation isn’t that great either 😅. Though, in that regard, I’d argue only Arch and Gentoo have excellent documentation. Granted, I suppose that’s a prerequisite if the distro claims to be unopinionated; which both of them do while Fedora and openSUSE don’t.

          If you stumble upon something and are looking for a fix online, you won’t find as much resources for it as there are for debian based distros for example.

          I agree. But, for Debian (and Ubuntu), I feel their documentation isn’t necessarily better. Instead, their user base is simply more substantial. Hence, there’s a pretty good chance that someone has experienced the same issues before you did. And thus, it’s easier to find resources on the internet to help with troubleshooting.

          All in all, I have to thank you for this amazing exchange.

          I feel the same. Thank you! And I would also like to thank you for being patient with me 😅. I have got the tendency to write very long answers and not everyone appreciates those 😅. I even noticed how you weren’t particularly appreciative in this interaction. So, to be honest, I was very happy when you messaged me back earlier today. I really appreciate you for that!

          I think this is one of the most friendly and informative exchanges I had on lemmy so far. :)

          Thank you for being you! I am really grateful for these wholesome and sweet compliments!

          Sometimes, I question if it’s worth pursuing these conversations. But, thankfully, exchanges like these make it worthwhile. My fate in humanity has just been rekindled. From the bottom of my heart, thank you 😊!