Ask HN: Why do you use the Linux distro that you use?

by nwotnagrom on 3/28/2021, 7:49:51 PM with 14 comments

  • by kevinherron on 3/30/2021, 11:18:45 PM

    Manjaro + KDE. Rolling releases keep KDE and everything else up to date.

    We'll see how much longer I use this setup. I've gravitated towards it lately because I have it installed on my desktop, which despite being 5 years old is still faster than my 16" MBP.

    If a compelling iMac or xMac gets released in the next year or two then my desktop may end up going back to live in the closet.

  • by meekins on 3/29/2021, 8:19:58 AM

    Fedora (KDE Spin): Good compromise between reliability and bleeding edge, decent compatibility with my laptop (ThinkPad Carbon X1), the best KDE experience out of the box, some sysadmin skills directly transferable to RHEL

  • by simonblack on 3/29/2021, 12:23:44 AM

    Works well out of the box, has all of the proprietary codecs and drivers that are required, and I prefer that particular desktop layout.

    Mint MATE.

    Otherwise: Debian Testing with MATE Desktop

  • by bloak on 3/28/2021, 10:51:21 PM

    I use Debian, not because of the quality of the software but because of the bug tracking system and the mailing lists and because I know how to find the source for any package and rebuild it if I have to. Perhaps some other distributions have bug tracking systems and so on that are just as good, but it would be a lot of work for me to learn how to use them, so I stick with Debian where possible.

  • by phendrenad2 on 3/30/2021, 4:22:24 PM

    Well, I use WSL so the distros don't matter much (not like I have a desktop environment), but I like Ubuntu because as the biggest Linux distro, almost everything has been entered into the Ubuntu or Debian repos and/or is available as a .deb.

  • by LarryMade2 on 3/31/2021, 1:42:36 AM

    Mint Mate

    Mint packages are not as out of date as ubuntu has been, Mate offers me a better desktop UI than gnome and lighter weight than Cinnamon. Still has awesome community support.

  • by geophile on 3/28/2021, 9:20:46 PM

    Pop OS:

    - Well integrated with my System 76 laptop.

    - Never a problem with drivers, wifi, bluetooth, etc. It all just works.

    - Good looking, out of the "box".

    - Good availability of packages.

    - Never had a problem with package upgrades.

    - Excellent support from System 76 (although that's not a property of the distro).

  • by kjjjjjjjjjjjjjj on 3/28/2021, 10:26:05 PM

    I used to use Arch because of AUR and pacman, rolling distro, and the cool factor but then I switched to Mac OS because of stability, features, and the Apple ecosystem (there is absolutely nothing like it)

  • by init on 3/29/2021, 11:06:26 PM

    Using Ubuntu because it was the easiest to setup back in the days. Canonical even used to send boxes of free CDs if you promised that you'll distribute them.

  • by atsaloli on 3/29/2021, 2:31:02 PM

    Lubuntu: lightweight, well suited for older laptops.

  • by andrefuchs on 3/29/2021, 4:09:48 PM

    I'm using Ubuntu for the sane default settings, community, available tools, regular OS updates, ease of use.

  • by slipwalker on 3/29/2021, 12:22:12 AM

    Slackware: reliability & simplicity