Thinking about my Linux installation, Garuda Linux. It's great, I mean really really good, but it's run by the type of Linux Elitists that look down on users like me and I don't feel particularly welcome or keen to become part of that community*. So I'm considering a hop to a new Distro.
I'm used to Arch distros now (RIP Antergos) and I really appreciate Rolling Releases so the first candidate that springs to mind is Manjaro Linux. It even has an unnofficial Gamer Edition "spin" (fork).
What's more, I could use Manjaro to obliterate that Windows partition that still exists on my SSD, preserving all the data in my Garuda Home directory and simply copy it over between the dual Linuxes. Then I delete Garuda and expand Manjaro across the whole 2TB SSD.
Two birds, one stone? 😃 Am suspicious, solutions are rarely this neat...🤔☺️
*Like the Fedi, the political attitudes of certain groups (Distros/Instances) tends to be something you find out after you've joined up. Distrowatch needs a checkbox for Linux Elitism 😁
@Uraael Manjaro is a distro that just should not exist, they've failed repeatedly with their purpose, which was to have a stable arch derivative. They've rolled out broken packages as well as failed to update ssl certificates in time on several occasions.
Maybe the manjaro community is more welcoming than arch, but you could just use arch. Or if you are looking for another rolling release why not openSUSE Tumbleweed or Void Linux? EndeavourOS could also be an option.
I'm not quite at the level where I could use raw Arch; I'm still looking for a spot of hand-holding by Distro Maintainers making things relatively beginner friendly. Manjaro touts that but I'll look closely before opting in.
Garuda don't take responsibility for the packages their firehose provides, apart from their own bespoke pieces (Firedragon). Stuff breaks after an update they're like "Well why did you install it?", seeming to expect their community to have that in-depth knowledge of the thousands of individual package releases. I'd prefer a more curated approach, if possible.
Endeavour has blipped my radar a few times. I wasn't particularly enamoured with SUSE when I tried it, though that was some years ago, finding it quite slow. Void...is that new? I'll look but after suffering through the Antergos collapse do need a team with some established longevity to them.
@Uraael void is not a "new" distro, it was initially released in 2008. While the software repo doesn't contain as much as the AUR you can easily get more packages with Nix or flatpak. Void is a stable rolling release without systemd, of course only you can decide if that's something for you, but personally I left arch for void last summer after 7 years on arch, and I'm not going back. After some time I just got so tired of arch and bleeding edge regularly breaking things.
@alto Yeah, up to speed on Void now. Still wary. Bit weird Wikipedia noting it was #3 on Distrowatch as of 2023 but now #99? What happened??? Good to hear it's workng for you, though. Especially as I am getting a bit gun shy of bleeding edge breakage myself. Oddly, I don't think I've ever used a Flatpack before: with the AUR I've never needed to.
Just read a couple of user reviews of Endeavour praising stability. We may have an early Leader in this race. Though I will have to set up just about everything myself...🤔 #CanIBeArsed
@Uraael I'm not sure if ranking and rating on distro watch are the same thing.
Also note that Void is not a derivative, it's an original distro from scratch, which sets it apart from many others.
Regarding EndeavourOS it's not any more stable than standard arch, I've had it on a laptop for 3 years almost and there have been plenty of issues, in fact I'm feeling a bit of urgency to get off it and onto openSUSE soon, it's just that the device in question is seeing daily use.
@alto I really appreciate your perspectives, by the by. Fascinating stuff I never normally get access to. Sorry if I'm soundinf a bit negative; really just trying to ensure I'm covering all bases as I work toward a decision I can be happy with.
Void being distinct from the general Linux throng has advantages but it also means the pool of folks familiar with the bespoke systems is far smaller when things go wrong. But I will deffo take a look at it.
I'll take your points about Endeavour onboard too; someone who has actually used it. Remembered I did try it it last year and it only lost the Live USB battle to Garuda.
Add comment