Which Linux distribution do you prefer?

[Nick H. Supervisor]

On 08/06/2024 at 18:27, adrynalyne said:

What? It’s based on an older Ubuntu distro. 

I think the latest available version is based on Ubuntu 23.10? That should be ok for a bit longer, especially considering the issues I've been having since going to 24.04. But to each their own.

[adrynalyne]

On 08/06/2024 at 10:34, Nick H. said:

I think the latest available version is based on Ubuntu 23.10? That should be ok for a bit longer, especially considering the issues I've been having since going to 24.04. But to each their own.

Yes but they just recently updated to it. It will be years before they update again. 

[Nick H. Supervisor]

On 08/06/2024 at 18:40, adrynalyne said:

Yes but they just recently updated to it. It will be years before they update again. 

Looks like they tend to rely on LTS releases, which isn't a bad thing if you want a solid system rather than bleeding edge features.

I could imagine they'll move to 24.04 by the end of the year. That gives it enough time for the current bugs to be ironed out.

I've got to say, I'm not impressed with 24.04. It seems like it broke more than it fixed somehow...

[Barney T. Administrators]

On 08/06/2024 at 15:35, Nick H. said:

I've got to say, I'm not impressed with 24.04. It seems like it broke more than it fixed somehow...

Agreed. I do not recommend installing it (even if you can).

[adrynalyne]

On 08/06/2024 at 12:35, Nick H. said:

Looks like they tend to rely on LTS releases, which isn't a bad thing if you want a solid system rather than bleeding edge features.

I could imagine they'll move to 24.04 by the end of the year. That gives it enough time for the current bugs to be ironed out.

I've got to say, I'm not impressed with 24.04. It seems like it broke more than it fixed somehow...

Which is fine; I was just giving an FYI.

I'd be surprised to see Zorin 18 release by end of year. There was a 2 year span between 16 and 17 and 17 came out the end of last year.

 

Also,  Zorin 17 is based upon Ubuntu 22.10, and has backported only the graphics stack from 23.10.

[redvamp128]

After running Ubuntu for many years version 7 through 12 (only because at that time my computers were pieced together parts from friends leftovers) then going back to Windows 7 through 10 as well as some betas along the way.  I can really say that Linux Mint 22.1 x86_64 -- with Cinnamon 6.4.8 seems to be rock solid.   Especially since this machine will not update to Windows 11 and ran slow with Windows 10.    I have been away from this community for far too long...and it looks like I may be back for a spell.  

Edited April 23, 2025 by redvamp128

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 22/04/2025 at 21:26, redvamp128 said:

After running Ubuntu for many years version 7 through 12 (only because at that time my computers were pieced together parts from friends leftovers) then going back to Windows 7 through 10 as well as some betas along the way.  I can really say that Linux Mint 22.1 x86_64 -- with Cinnamon 6.4.8 seems to be rock solid.   Especially since this machine will not update to Windows 11 and ran slow with Windows 10.    I have been away from this community for far too long...and it looks like I may be back for a spell.  

Welcome back, bro!

Yeah, Mint is well polished. Over all the years.

I never like Ubuntu, the way they were heading. Each to their own.

[Ixion]

Arch (SteamOS) on my Steamdeck

Kali Linux in a HyperV container on my main Windows machine for doing Pen Testing activities.

[inactive]

On 22/04/2025 at 22:26, redvamp128 said:

I can really say that Linux Mint 22.1 x86_64 -- with Cinnamon 6.4.8 seems to be rock solid

Yeah, I think Mint is one of the safest all-around choices when it comes to Linux in general for any random person who wants to get away from Windows and move to Linux, especially if your hardware is not too new as Mint 22's default kernel is 6.8, which is from March 2024 and supported for the life of Mint 22 (i.e. April 2029), and at least currently one can install 6.11 kernel which is from Sep 2024.

additionally, I am not sure how true this is, but I heard when say Mint 22.2 releases (about mid-2025) it might ship with a more recent kernel instead of like in the past they typically stuck with the default kernel. currently one cannot install a kernel newer than 6.11 (at least not officially) on Mint 22 series, but by the time Mint 22.2 releases it might get a newer one by then(?). because on Mint 22 it supports the 6.11 kernel until Aug 2025. so they will get a newer kernel to replace 6.11 soon enough for those who use anything newer than the default 6.8. but 'if' that's true, it will likely just automatically upgrade to newer kernel versions as time passes where as anyone who's on the default 6.8 will stick with that for the life of Mint 22 unless they go out of their way to install a newer kernel in which case it will shift to a newer kernel automatically as the current is is about to lose support. because as I have said, 6.11 loses support Aug 2025, which probably means something newer will be offered in Mint (i.e. Update Manager > View > Linux Kernels) I would guess roughly a month before that.

I have been on Mint since I moved to Linux on my primary PC full-time in Jan 2019 (pretty much same hardware to as my motherboard I had since May 2012 and GPU since July 2017 etc). it's been a pretty smooth experience overall even though it did have some issues here and there that needed ironed out (or work-around).

side note: honestly, I sort of wish Mint would switch to Debian instead of Ubuntu as there base. I am aware they have LMDE6 (Linux Mint Debian Edition), but it's more of a side project to them (still officially supported though) and only has Cinnamon which is not a real option for me. I can install Xfce into it, as I played around with doing it in a virtual machine, and I even got that same general setup installed on a backup laptop (primarily for a certain reason), but it's not their main thing and is a bit more basic as it does not have stuff like the main Mint edition does like 'Update Manager > View > Linux Kernels' which makes managing kernels easier. it's one of those things I was considering putting on my main PC. but at the same time I held off on doing it as I am trying to dodge having to reconfigure everything from scratch as long as I can as I last did a clean install of Mint on I think Mint 21 series and then just upgraded to Mint 22 (I am currently on Mint 22.1-Xfce) as I might see how far I can continue upgrading in the future before there are any obvious issues.

p.s. I prefer Xfce over Cinnamon though, less issues on my PC (primarily for one reason in particular though as other than that Cinnamon or Xfce is solid. I never cared for MATE's interface as it's a bit off compared to Cinnamon/Xfce).

[cork1958]

Can't believe I haven't replied to this topic yet!

I have 6 laptops here that I play around with installing Linux on. Don't use 4 of them very often though. They all had Linux Mint on them until maybe 2 or 3 months ago when I decided to try MX Linux on 1 and Linux Lite on another. Yes, I like Ubuntu based distros!!

I have to say you can't beat Mint for stability and that is my #1 priority for any OS. Have never had any type of issue with it. As far as MX Linux or Linux Lite, they have both been very solid so far. 

I've played around with several other distros over the years but would have to say Mint is my main choice.

[+Good Bot, Bad Bot Subscriber¹]

On 23/04/2025 at 12:12, cork1958 said:

I have 6 laptops here that I play around with installing Linux on. Don't use 4 of them very often though. They all had Linux Mint on them until maybe 2 or 3 months ago when I decided to try MX Linux on 1 and Linux Lite on another. Yes, I like Ubuntu based distros!!

You have 6 laptops "that I play around with installing Linux on" but until recently they all had Linux Mint on them? LOL

Do you not use Linux on any device that is not for playing around on?

[cork1958]

On 23/04/2025 at 12:56, Good Bot, Bad Bot said:

You have 6 laptops "that I play around with installing Linux on" but until recently they all had Linux Mint on them? LOL

Do you not use Linux on any device that is not for playing around on?

Yeah, I knew my wording on that was goofy!

I mostly played around with them installing different Linux distros when they were newer. Didn't want to get on rambling about all that.

[RyanB]

Been using Linux for six years now. Tried many distros and desktop environments. But I always seem to go towards Arch for the latest updates. But on my secondary machine I am using fedora 42 with KDE and on arch I am using Gnome 48

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

Been using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with full Gnome environment (Gnome installed via tasksel)

Played with Zorin, and rather liked it as well.

[redvamp128]

On 22/04/2025 at 22:26, redvamp128 said:

After running Ubuntu for many years version 7 through 12 (only because at that time my computers were pieced together parts from friends leftovers) then going back to Windows 7 through 10 as well as some betas along the way.  I can really say that Linux Mint 22.1 x86_64 -- with Cinnamon 6.4.8 seems to be rock solid.   Especially since this machine will not update to Windows 11 and ran slow with Windows 10.    I have been away from this community for far too long...and it looks like I may be back for a spell.  

I have actually changed it ...

[jnelsoninjax]

Been using Mint 22.1 without any major problems, seems pretty solid, certainly better for this potato computer then Windows 10/11

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 21/08/2025 at 10:50, jnelsoninjax said:

Been using Mint 22.1 without any major problems, seems pretty solid, certainly better for this potato computer then Windows 10/11

Now that they are moving away from Ubuntu and going with LMDE (debian), they'll be even stronger.

[1for-matik]

On 21/08/2025 at 18:26, Mindovermaster said:

Now that they are moving away from Ubuntu and going with LMDE (debian), they'll be even stronger.

What ? When ? 

They doesn't move away from Ubuntu, there's still gonna be a Mint 23. LMDE is their second project... or I have possibly missed a blog post ?

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 21/08/2025 at 17:09, 1for-matik said:

What ? When ? 

They doesn't move away from Ubuntu, there's still gonna be a Mint 23. LMDE is their second project... or I have possibly missed a blog post ?

Apparently they now disagreed on moving sorely to Debian. Linux news changes so quick. Nice catch.  

[adrynalyne]

On 21/08/2025 at 16:37, Mindovermaster said:

Apparently they now disagreed on moving sorely to Debian. Linux news changes so quick. Nice catch.  

They made it clear years ago that lmde was a second project, not a replacement for the main distro. 

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 21/08/2025 at 19:15, adrynalyne said:

They made it clear years ago that lmde was a second project, not a replacement for the main distro. 

Huh, I thought they were moving away from Ubuntu. Unless that was only for the LMDE edition?

[tsupersonic]

Use a mix of Debian, Fedora, and Cachy. 

[Nick H. Supervisor]

On 22/08/2025 at 01:37, Mindovermaster said:

Huh, I thought they were moving away from Ubuntu. Unless that was only for the LMDE edition?

No, last I read it was as @adrynalynesaid - a safety net in case Ubuntu do something silly. I can't remember what it was, but they did something a while back that put people on edge.

[1for-matik]

On 22/08/2025 at 02:37, Mindovermaster said:

Huh, I thought they were moving away from Ubuntu. Unless that was only for the LMDE edition?

Linux Mint is built on Ubuntu, with each major release aligning with a new LTS version of Ubuntu. The upcoming release, Linux Mint 23, will be based on the future Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.

LMDE, or Linux Mint Debian Edition, has been based on Debian instead of Ubuntu for several years now. The next release, LMDE 7 "Gigi," will be built on Debian 13 Trixie and is planned for release in December this year.

[1for-matik]

On 22/08/2025 at 14:17, Nick H. said:

No, last I read it was as @adrynalynesaid - a safety net in case Ubuntu do something silly. I can't remember what it was, but they did something a while back that put people on edge.

It was a time when developers feared Canonical's complete "snapification" of Ubuntu years ago, yes.