A lot of really nice updates happened in the last year, and we’re not going to see a lot of them in Debian stable until 2 or 3 years from today.
If you’re already running Debian, you’ll probably just be delighted when they reach Debian stable.
But if I’m recommending a “how’s Linux today?” test, grab something that already includes the latest quality of life features. There’s been some really nice stuff added to Gnome and KDE and various Flatpaks, this year.
Edit: In about two years I’ll probably be back to saying “forget all that, just run Debian Stable”, the best stuff is already there.
Of course, if the current trend of great updates continues another two years, I may have to eat my words, lol.
It depends on your hardware if it is Debian. Debian prefers to use an older kernel until the next point release comes, which is nice because a random update likely won’t break your system.
But… speaking from experience: expect issues (missing drivers etc.) if your hardware is too new.
I often see people recommend arch and fedora to newbies and then wondering why people turn away from Linux, they should recommend Linux mint, or and steam os
Steam OS is based on arch, and outside of the Steam Deck it’s really not that great of a distro. It’s just tailor-made for that hardware and has good brand recognition.
Bazzite is a similar concept but operates better as an actual OS outside of being a gaming console.
So, which distro is the ready one?
There all fine, but Hannah Montana Linux is the best.
Hannah Montana Linux
Linux mint
Fedora with KDE is stupid easy
Arch
Opensuse/Fedora.
Strange, because in this thread alone I have seen recommendations for PopOS, Arch, Mint Cinnamon, EndeavorOS, Bazzite, NixOS, and Ubuntu.
Even ZorinOS got a mention.
So why isn’t it Debian?
As a ride or die Debian fan, I can answer this:
A lot of really nice updates happened in the last year, and we’re not going to see a lot of them in Debian stable until 2 or 3 years from today.
If you’re already running Debian, you’ll probably just be delighted when they reach Debian stable.
But if I’m recommending a “how’s Linux today?” test, grab something that already includes the latest quality of life features. There’s been some really nice stuff added to Gnome and KDE and various Flatpaks, this year.
Edit: In about two years I’ll probably be back to saying “forget all that, just run Debian Stable”, the best stuff is already there.
Of course, if the current trend of great updates continues another two years, I may have to eat my words, lol.
It depends on your hardware if it is Debian. Debian prefers to use an older kernel until the next point release comes, which is nice because a random update likely won’t break your system.
But… speaking from experience: expect issues (missing drivers etc.) if your hardware is too new.
Fedora the test bed bleeding edge is stable?
I often see people recommend arch and fedora to newbies and then wondering why people turn away from Linux, they should recommend Linux mint, or and steam os
…Ubuntu?
Steam OS is based on arch, and outside of the Steam Deck it’s really not that great of a distro. It’s just tailor-made for that hardware and has good brand recognition.
Bazzite is a similar concept but operates better as an actual OS outside of being a gaming console.