I've been on my first GNU/Linux distro for almost 3 months now. I picked Linux Mint (and I am okay with my choice, but I do think about how Manjaro as a first distro would be like), but now I have the need to switch to a different distribution, especially something rolling release.
I do not care about choosing every package that my system will have; I am fine with a little bit of software not being used on my system (This makes the incoming list preferred over Arch Linux). I care about an user distributed package manager (?) being there, such as AUR. I care about installs supporting a Window Manager such as i3. I care about my system not breaking due to an update on the OS (I have heard that this kind of stuff happens on Arch Linux, and that for this reason Manjaro filters the Arch Linux updates and gives a more stable experience (I also heard that they just delay the updates and call it stability).). So with these in mind, I have these distros and Arch Linux installers to choose from:
1- Manjaro
2- ArcoLinux
3- Garuda Linux
4- Endeavour OS
5- Anarchy Linux
I would highly appreciate any suggestion / discussion!
@Pixificial I would recommend you go for Majaro's community i3 edition, I have used it on one of my machines for years without issue. Also you don't need to set up i3 asthetically which is nice cause it looks like garbage out of the box
@Pixificial dev manjaro for rolling release.
But for real. I recommend opensuse or debian.
@deesapoetra Thanks. Debian's stability is really appealing but I want to see how a user repository (e.g. AUR) would be like. And as someone who already experienced a Debian based GNU/Linux distribution, I am willing to explore what else is out there and give them a chance. Aside from that, I should do more research on openSUSE.
@Pixificial most of aur package is a mess (unmantained, bad dependency.)
I prefer the default arch or default manjaro. You had to tweak it a lot tho' since it's a rolling release.
@Pixificial Debian sid is also a great choice. I've using it for about 3~4 years now. Personally using laptop for everyday use and sometimes some statistical tasks. Some would say that sid stands for "still in development" and therefore not recommended, but during the years I've only broken the system once due to a systemd upgrade which kept me out out normal login to desktop. But it was solved just by downgrade systemd to previous version and there was no data loss. I personally prefer Debian because many third party apps provide deb packages but no binary packages for Arch. AUR is great but compiling large application is time consuming and not friendly for old computers.
@Pixificial I would recommend Ubuntu simply because it has been the one of the best build platforms I've used over the past decade. Before anyone starts talking Arch elite at me, I love Gentoo and I have installed it the proper way many times.
@Pixificial I would not recommend Arch Linux unless you have the newest hardware and need the newest version of a program(without obtaining the source and making) . This is the strength of Arch Linux. Arch is really good at bricking on updates.
@AmpBenzScientist Yeah, but distributions of Arch Linux like Manjaro are supposedly made for general / basic users, hence with a bit more stability, availability and user friendliness in mind (And far less bricking, at least that's what I assume.). This is also why I'm not going straight with Arch Linux, but rather "easier" distributions of it. Have you experienced bricking on your device yourself by Arch Linux or distributions based on it?
@Pixificial I have updated on several different devices that I installed Arch Linux on. They bricked hard. It has taken time for me to get more comfortable with using pacman on Manjaro on a few different devices. I have yet to have one of them brick.
Debian and Ubuntu brick too. I have experienced it with these two about 7 times over the years. 3 or 4 were LUKS and it took about 96 hours to recover the first time. If Arch Linux would only have a garage package manager like apt, they could likely be recovered post brick.
@Pixificial I have "never" had my archlinux install break due to an update. Okaaay it only broke once, but thats cuz of delay between them updating half the proprietary drivers for that one graphics company. Anywah i dont use dem drivers now.
Forgot to do tags, I should get used to them. #gnu #linux #distro #arch #archlinux #manjaro #manjarolinux #debian #ubuntu #mint #linuxmint #arco #arcolinux #garuda #garudalinux #endeavouros #anarchylinux