What Linux Distro do the Linux users of GH use?

[SBJ]

Thinking about testing the *BSDs next.

How are they for every day desktop use?

[Nagato]

I use Ubuntu Budgie at home and Xubuntu at work.

[xtrafrood]

what is 'yum disc'?

Yum disc is doggo slang for pizza.

Thinking about testing the *BSDs next.

How are they for every day desktop use?

Depends on which one you want to start with. TrueOS is suppose to be an install it and forget it experience, though I've only installed FreeBSD and OpenBSD. For hands dirty types the ports collection and FreeBSD is pretty great. I've even had success with esoteric packages like bspwm and polybar. OpenBSD is damn near an install it and forget it experience sans wifi. I had about as much luck with wifi on OpenBSD as I did with wifi on HaikuOS (zero--I'd imagine thinkpads would be ideal). However, if your every day desktop includes gaming... well, I've read and heard through podcats that console emulation and DOSBox are a thing on FreeBSD. Steam and PlayOnBSD (or Wine) are not exactly 1:1 with the Linux variants.

[no, the other guy]

OpenBSD has good WiFi support - if you have ethernet during the first installation so you can run fw-update.

[xtrafrood]

OpenBSD has good WiFi support - if you have ethernet during the first installation so you can run fw-update.

I found the vendor driver I needed for my wifi, moved that to a usb thumb drive and gave it a go. Still wouldn't work. Same issue I had with HaikuOS. I'm not saying that OpenBSD is a bad option. I'm implying that those coming from the linux side of things might want to investigate the wifi situation first. I KNOW.. John Carmack donated $10K to OpenBSD this year. I get it. That's fantastic for OpenBSD--but the wifi situation compared to FreeBSD is pretty bad. But what do I know.

[SBJ]

what is 'yum disc'?

Yum disc is doggo slang for pizza.

Thinking about testing the *BSDs next.

How are they for every day desktop use?

Depends on which one you want to start with. TrueOS is suppose to be an install it and forget it experience, though I've only installed FreeBSD and OpenBSD. For hands dirty types the ports collection and FreeBSD is pretty great. I've even had success with esoteric packages like bspwm and polybar. OpenBSD is damn near an install it and forget it experience sans wifi. I had about as much luck with wifi on OpenBSD as I did with wifi on HaikuOS (zero--I'd imagine thinkpads would be ideal). However, if your every day desktop includes gaming... well, I've read and heard through podcats that console emulation and DOSBox are a thing on FreeBSD. Steam and PlayOnBSD (or Wine) are not exactly 1:1 with the Linux variants.

Alright thank you.
It wouldn't include gaming, I have windows for that. It would be as a second boot option on the windows pc when I am not gaming.

[xtrafrood]

what is 'yum disc'?

Yum disc is doggo slang for pizza.

Thinking about testing the *BSDs next.

How are they for every day desktop use?

Depends on which one you want to start with. TrueOS is suppose to be an install it and forget it experience, though I've only installed FreeBSD and OpenBSD. For hands dirty types the ports collection and FreeBSD is pretty great. I've even had success with esoteric packages like bspwm and polybar. OpenBSD is damn near an install it and forget it experience sans wifi. I had about as much luck with wifi on OpenBSD as I did with wifi on HaikuOS (zero--I'd imagine thinkpads would be ideal). However, if your every day desktop includes gaming... well, I've read and heard through podcats that console emulation and DOSBox are a thing on FreeBSD. Steam and PlayOnBSD (or Wine) are not exactly 1:1 with the Linux variants.

Alright thank you.
It wouldn't include gaming, I have windows for that. It would be as a second boot option on the windows pc when I am not gaming.

Yep. I should probably add that although the FreeBSD Handbook is a fantastic reference, it may not include things like how to enable utf-8 support. b1c1l1 - Using UTF-8 (Unicode) on FreeBSD

[SBJ]

what is 'yum disc'?

Yum disc is doggo slang for pizza.

Thinking about testing the *BSDs next.

How are they for every day desktop use?

Depends on which one you want to start with. TrueOS is suppose to be an install it and forget it experience, though I've only installed FreeBSD and OpenBSD. For hands dirty types the ports collection and FreeBSD is pretty great. I've even had success with esoteric packages like bspwm and polybar. OpenBSD is damn near an install it and forget it experience sans wifi. I had about as much luck with wifi on OpenBSD as I did with wifi on HaikuOS (zero--I'd imagine thinkpads would be ideal). However, if your every day desktop includes gaming... well, I've read and heard through podcats that console emulation and DOSBox are a thing on FreeBSD. Steam and PlayOnBSD (or Wine) are not exactly 1:1 with the Linux variants.

Alright thank you.
It wouldn't include gaming, I have windows for that. It would be as a second boot option on the windows pc when I am not gaming.

Yep. I should probably add that although the FreeBSD Handbook is a fantastic reference, it may not include things like how to enable utf-8 support. b1c1l1 - Using UTF-8 (Unicode) on FreeBSD

Thanks again. I'll definitely look into it.
Seems like an interesting project for when I am not gaming.

[mattlach]

I briefly experimented with Linux in 1994, but it wasn't until 2001 I switched over permanently.   Since 2001 I have constantly been dual booting, keeping a Windows install around just in case I need it.  Over the years that need has drastically declined until today when I have a Windows 10 install solely for the purpose of the occasional game I play.

My Linux History on my Desktop:

1994(?): Slackware - Got a free Slackware CD on the cover of a computer magazine.. Decided to try it.   Did not like it.  Went straight back to DOS.  Didn't try Linux again for many years.

2001 - 2002: Red Hat 7.3 Valhalla (pre-fedora/RHEL fork) - I was in college. I got tired of constant windows crashes and wanted something more reliable.  I didn't care for the RPM package manager.

2002 - 2005: Gentoo Linux - Being a hardware tuning and performance enthusiast, the idea of compiling with custom hardware specific compiler flags appealed to me. Eventually it grew old.   Didn't really feel any faster than binary distributions, and my habit of using bleeding edge hardware forced me into unstable builds, and constant troubleshooting and workarounds.

2005 (briefly): Ubuntu 5.04 - After my Gentoo fatigue I wanted something easy, and had heard good things about Ubuntu.  I liked it a lot.  I was amazed how much stuff "just worked" out of the box.  No more troubleshooting to get sound to work, etc.  After a month or two I rolled back to Gentoo - however  - because there was some bug in this version of Ubuntu that kept corrupting my hard drive.  (Storage controller Kernel driver?)

2005 - 2006: Gentoo (again) - After repeated drive corruptions under Ubuntu that didn't occur on any other systems, I decided to temporarily go back to Gentoo.

2006 - 2011: Ubuntu - After a year break from my corruption issues, I decided to give Ubuntu another try.  This time it worked fine, no drive corruptions, and I was sill astonished at how easy it was, just detecting my hardware and working.  Eventually in 2011 Ubuntu switched over to Unity being the default desktop, and I HATED unity.   I didn't want to have to mess with installing my own desktop environment, so I decided to switch.

2011 - present: Linux Mint - I originally chose Mint because it was Ubuntu based, and I was always impressed with how hardware compatibility always just worked on Ubuntu.  It also used Gnome 2, just like I was used to and liked from early Ubuntu releases.   So I started out with the Gnome edition, and then when forced to choose between Cinnamon and Mate in 2012, I thought Cinnamon looked snazzier, so I went with that.   I've been on Linux Mint Cinnamon edition ever since.

[JeremyLLawson]

Like others I've played around with many flavors but I'm currently using Ubuntu MATE 16.04. 

For several years I dual booted with a Win install but I finally ditched MS completely on this latest computer, though I do keep a couple virtual installs handy just in case I need it for something.  I also keep a laptop running Ubuntu in my travel bag and have a all-in-one PC running 16.04 with Pi-hole as my network DNS sinkhole blocking malware sites, tracking and ad sites, etc.

[iLLucionist]

I HATE that I cannot switch over completely. I do photo editing in lightroom, and I DO need Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel because that's what academics in my field (social science) use. I cannot get around that. And SPSS (though there used to be linux versions of that).

[mta]

I mostly use Mac OSX but when I use Linux, it's usually Ubuntu. I've tried a few other distros out but kept finding myself coming back.

[Sintpinty]

In my programming class, i remembered we used an old version of Red Hat to emulate CentOS. Problem was, it was a terminal.

[xtrafrood]

In my programming class, i remembered we used an old version of Red Hat to emulate CentOS. Problem was, it was a terminal.

Be careful.  Once you load your conscious into a terminal emulator again you may never leave...  Whatever you do, DONT TRY VIM.  Seriously..

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) might be the new hotness but one can't even run a decent console based music player in WSL.

Have to SSH into the Linux box, and at that point why even bother if you're not required to use WSL..  Sad.

[no, the other guy]

Mpxplay is a good console player for Windows.

[xtrafrood]

I understand those words you wrote.. but I don't understand what those words mean when used in that configuration.

How can one even console in Windows?  I know one can't drop to a DOS prompt (in Redstone anyway), those days are gone.  Is there another way?

[rowdy]

I understand those words you wrote.. but I don't understand what those words mean when used in that configuration.

How can one even console in Windows?  I know one can't drop to a DOS prompt (in Redstone anyway), those days are gone.  Is there another way?

Install a third party SSH server?

Or by "console", Windows users assume you mean a GUI console.

[xtrafrood]

I've got this 10+ year old hand-me-down department store laptop that I don't have the heart to toss (I'll try to throw a pi in it first..).

I've tried: Arch Linux/bspwm, kubuntu, xubuntu, BSDs (NetBSD was +1), various Puppy Linux (not a fan of JWM), and Debian testing/XFCE.

Of all the distributions I've tried, Debian Testing/XFCE (4.19.0-2 amd64) has exceeded my expectations.


edit - Of course after saying this I performed a full update for Debian testing and it not only removed qjoypad from my system but also the two xfce keyboard macros for qjoypad profiles.

I have other xfce shortcuts added that were unaffected.. so weird.  Debian 9.8.0 Stable should be fine for most people. (btw, I use Arch)

[iri]

Obtained a ****ty netbook, installed the latest Puppy on it. Now netbook is not so ****ty.

[no, the other guy]

When compared to Puppy?

[xtrafrood]

Joe's Window Manager is a magical incantation in of itself.

[iri]

What's so wrong with it? JWM has typical look and feel. A-la Windows XP. Or a dozen other WM's on Linux. And it's not that I really need to manage windows on a 10.1" laptop.

[xtrafrood]

What's so wrong with it? JWM has typical look and feel. A-la Windows XP. Or a dozen other WM's on Linux. And it's not that I really need to manage windows on a 10.1" laptop.

I meant no sarcasm.  I recently built a toram Debian ISO because why not, that alone was a challenge.  I should have said that both Puppy and JWM are magical incantations that I hope to one day understand.  Slacko is still my favorite, though the artwork for the latest Puppy ISO is insanely awesome.  After writing this I kinda want to take another shot at ISO building with WoofCE.  Building an ISO with busybox init would be interesting.

[iri]

Bionic pup looks nice, yes. Better than Slacko.

[xtrafrood]

No way.  Slacko is best distro

[thearctican]

Straight Debian babies.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[omuerte]

Almost entirely Debian/Ubuntu across 15~ machines. I tried to get into CentOS, I really did, but everything is *so* old. There are features I want that don't exist in kernel 3.14, thanks.

[SBJ]

Just had to reinstall my Antergos box because it started ****ing up majorly with my network connection.
I need to learn to diagnose such problems better in Linux.

[thearctican]

Almost entirely Debian/Ubuntu across 15~ machines. I tried to get into CentOS, I really did, but everything is *so* old. There are features I want that don't exist in kernel 3.14, thanks.

You're fancy if you got 3.14 in CentOS. Most of our production machines at work still run CentOS 6 and Kernel 2.6.x

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[xtrafrood]

For whatever reason I've gone from Arch Linux and i3-gaps or bspwm to Arch Linux Gnome 3.x.x with Adapta.  So it goes.  Backup system is Debian with i3-gaps (i3blocks bar) and kernel 5.1.x.  Definitely my favorite for VMs

[Leslieann]

For those unaware Antergos has been discontinued.

I'm experimenting with Chakra, Manjaro and Arco as a replacement, so far Chakra is leading.

[SBJ]

For those unaware Antergos has been discontinued.

I'm experimenting with Chakra, Manjaro and Arco as a replacement, so far Chakra is leading.

Well ****.
I'll check out Chakra, thanks.

[xtrafrood]

What I didn't like about Manjaro was Arch Wiki compatibility issues.

Maybe some kind soul will fork the Antergos project.

[SBJ]

What I didn't like about Manjaro was Arch Wiki compatibility issues.

Maybe some kind soul will fork the Antergos project.

What kinds of wiki compatibility issues?
I stopped using Manjaro after it borked itself after en update for like the umpteenth time, but I'll give it another go.
Pretty dependant on aur.

[xtrafrood]

What I didn't like about Manjaro was Arch Wiki compatibility issues.

Maybe some kind soul will fork the Antergos project.

What kinds of wiki compatibility issues?
I stopped using Manjaro after it borked itself after en update for like the umpteenth time, but I'll give it another go.
Pretty dependant on aur.

Pamac to auto update all the things?  Updating packages and repos with a GUI is not for me (great notifier tho). 

As for wiki compatibilty, there were often mismatches in file names, directories, design choices, etc.  Like reading Debian Wiki articles for Ubuntu problems (though ubuntu wiki is dense compared to manjaro wiki).  Sometimes Archisms translated to Manjaroisms, sometimes not.  Which was frustrating.  Even more so for a first time user of i3wm..  After 9 months I gave up and installed Arch.  That seemed like a good idea at the time.

Lots of Arco Linux in the ole r/unixporn as of late, must be something to it if those crazy penguins like it.

[SBJ]

What I didn't like about Manjaro was Arch Wiki compatibility issues.

Maybe some kind soul will fork the Antergos project.

What kinds of wiki compatibility issues?
I stopped using Manjaro after it borked itself after en update for like the umpteenth time, but I'll give it another go.
Pretty dependant on aur.

Pamac to auto update all the things?  Updating packages and repos with a GUI is not for me (great notifier tho). 

As for wiki compatibilty, there were often mismatches in file names, directories, design choices, etc.  Like reading Debian Wiki articles for Ubuntu problems (though ubuntu wiki is dense compared to manjaro wiki).  Sometimes Archisms translated to Manjaroisms, sometimes not.  Which was frustrating.  Even more so for a first time user of i3wm..  After 9 months I gave up and installed Arch.  That seemed like a good idea at the time.

Lots of Arco Linux in the ole r/unixporn as of late, must be something to it if those crazy penguins like it.

Yeah I don't like updating via GUI either, but I can live with it.
Actually yeah I was doing a full upgrade. Should prolly stop doing that. Or at least research if there are problems before I install. Lesson learned I guess.
Checking out Arco Linux now, looks interesting!

[CaninoDev]

Back in the 90’s and early aughts, I used Slackware. Took a hiatus until 2012 where I went Ubuntu, then to Debian and as of last year settled on Manjaro


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[xtrafrood]

Back in the 90’s and early aughts, I used Slackware. Took a hiatus until 2012 where I went Ubuntu, then to Debian and as of last year settled on Manjaro


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why Manjaro?

[Leslieann]

So I was going to reply to a few things on here, but I have so much to add and all this is going to clutter this thread, so I'm going to finish some testing and start a new thread for finding an Antergos replacement.

[Leslieann]

Ok, scratch the above...

For the moment you may want to try RebornOS.
It's a fork of Antergos with more install options, it's still new, and just getting started so who knows if it will stick around but so far it's basically Antergos with more install options. I wouldn't install it over your current system just yet, especially since Antergos isn't a problem yet. I'll be testing it more this weekend.


For those wondering about the others I was looking at.. (a recapp plus new)
Arco -  Nice and uses the Arch repos but it borked the autologin and has a crap ton of preinstalled software (WHY?!).
Chakra - Less preinstalled software but still a lot and does not have access to Arch repos (only AUR).
Endeavour - Antergos fork in the planning stages, it's going to use a new install system from PortergOS and it will have access to Arch repos.
Manjaro - Manjaro left a bad taste in my mouth after I tried it 3 different times and all 3 had repo key problems, it may have just been that variant (Cinnamon) as the KDE variant I tried the other night was fine. It too uses it's own repos which are not always up to date. I want to like it, but it never feels right to me.

Others you may be interested in:
Architect - This basically installs raw Arch, however it was discontinued in 2017 (but still available). It still works however it's not nearly as noob friendly as Ubuntu or even Antergos. This is not really a distro but more of an install script for Arch that keeps you from having to lookup commands. While better, it's still very easy to screw up the install and it's going to take just as long to install as pure Arch.

Manjaro Achitect - Build your own Manjaro, this is basically Architect but using Manjaro repos. All the same warnings apply to it as they do to Architect.

[SBJ]

Lots of Arco Linux in the ole r/unixporn as of late, must be something to it if those crazy penguins like it.

Currently using ArcoB-Awesome.
Took some getting used to but I really like it now that I've got it all set up. Thanks for the tip!

[CaninoDev]

Back in the 90’s and early aughts, I used Slackware. Took a hiatus until 2012 where I went Ubuntu, then to Debian and as of last year settled on Manjaro


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why Manjaro?

I had, at the time, a relatively new video card that just came out to market. I tried Debian/Ubuntu but was having trouble with getting the video card recognized. Then I heard about Manjaro having access to cutting edge drivers so tried that. It worked without a hitch. All I had to learn was instead of `apt install` it was `yay -Syu` followed by package name to update AND install. Much more convenient. Plus can open up access to the AUR. So haven’t really looked back to the other distributions.

Oh and another benefit: it makes the inimitable Arch wiki more relevant as Manjaro is Arch based.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[xtrafrood]

Back in the 90’s and early aughts, I used Slackware. Took a hiatus until 2012 where I went Ubuntu, then to Debian and as of last year settled on Manjaro


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why Manjaro?

I had, at the time, a relatively new video card that just came out to market. I tried Debian/Ubuntu but was having trouble with getting the video card recognized. Then I heard about Manjaro having access to cutting edge drivers so tried that. It worked without a hitch. All I had to learn was instead of `apt install` it was `yay -Syu` followed by package name to update AND install. Much more convenient. Plus can open up access to the AUR. So haven’t really looked back to the other distributions.

Oh and another benefit: it makes the inimitable Arch wiki more relevant as Manjaro is Arch based.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've had the opposite experience with Manjaro and the Arch Wiki, but I can see why some folks like Manjaro over other Arch based distros.

[xtrafrood]

Lots of Arco Linux in the ole r/unixporn as of late, must be something to it if those crazy penguins like it.

Currently using ArcoB-Awesome.
Took some getting used to but I really like it now that I've got it all set up. Thanks for the tip!

Awesome, and apparently the project uses Arch repos so AUR and Arch Wikk should be nearly 100% compatible.

[SBJ]

Lots of Arco Linux in the ole r/unixporn as of late, must be something to it if those crazy penguins like it.

Currently using ArcoB-Awesome.
Took some getting used to but I really like it now that I've got it all set up. Thanks for the tip!

Awesome, and apparently the project uses Arch repos so AUR and Arch Wikk should be nearly 100% compatible.

I've had no problems using yay to install a few programs I really enjoy.
Great to hear about the Arch wiki though, will keep that in mind for when I inevitably will have to troubleshoot something.

[xtrafrood]

I wasn't aware of this until recently; from what I've heard the Antergos team will push a final update that converts an Antergos installation into a full vanilla Arch Linux installation.

So according to plan, anyone running Antergos will end up with a true vanilla Arch Linux installation if you accept the final Antergos update.

Thought someone might find this interesting.  I needed an Arch VM for testing something unrelated but decided on Antergos just to see what happens.

[Leslieann]

I wasn't aware of this until recently; from what I've heard the Antergos team will push a final update that converts an Antergos installation into a full vanilla Arch Linux installation.

So according to plan, anyone running Antergos will end up with a true vanilla Arch Linux installation if you accept the final Antergos update.

I think that was mentioned above, maybe not.
The only problem is while this works for current installs, at some point the installer could become outdated or break.

[xtrafrood]

I wasn't aware of this until recently; from what I've heard the Antergos team will push a final update that converts an Antergos installation into a full vanilla Arch Linux installation.

So according to plan, anyone running Antergos will end up with a true vanilla Arch Linux installation if you accept the final Antergos update.

I think that was mentioned above, maybe not.
The only problem is while this works for current installs, at some point the installer could become outdated or break.

I've heard the news from a few Jupiter Broadcasting podcasts as well as the Ubuntu Podcast--also read via several RSS feeds.  Their press release was all over the Linux news for a bit.

I have faith in the Antergos team to deliver as promised.  And of course the installer won't work a little while after the final update.. their server(s) will be disconnected or repurposed.  Works fine right now if you don't want to install to ZoL zroot (grayed out forever I reckon).

Hopefully I'll notice that script in the updates before I update.  Would make for an interesting read.

IIRC, stripping out the Antergos bits is a pita; lots of outdated guides on the subject.  Might as well install good ole Arch if that's the end goal anyway. 

I needed a clean Arch based VM to install both Arch to ZoL zroot and Arch to encrypted ZoL zroot to test a custom Debian ISO build, and didn't feel like reading all my past notes.  Thought I might as well see how the change is executed while I isolated my main system from potential Zedfs on Linux newb mistakes. Shame the option was switched off in the current Antergos Cnchi installer, would have saved me a few steps

[rowdy]

My older Ubuntu MATE VM is becoming a bit slow, so I'm investigating alternatives.

Tried OPenSUSE, but the installed crashed or hung or was not usable several times, so I gave up.

Installed Solaris as a joke - I've tried it before on Sun hardware but couldn't get used to the differences between it and, say, Linux.

Installed Kubuntu (used to be a KDE user before GNOME became usable, but now GNOME has gone off the rails), but haven't done much with it.

I've tried CentOS on the (virtual) desktop, but the packages are generally too old for my needs, hence something a bit more up to date.

[Leslieann]

IIRC, stripping out the Antergos bits is a pita; lots of outdated guides on the subject.  Might as well install good ole Arch if that's the end goal anyway. 

Simplest/fastest method I've found so far... ArcolinuxD..
Use that to get an easy, minimal CLI setup then install your D.E., I have KDE to just a few commands and only a few minutes total.

My older Ubuntu MATE VM is becoming a bit slow, so I'm investigating alternatives.

These are very fast/bare installs.
I do a base install, then after the reboot clone it before installing the desktop. Saves you from having to start from scratch each time.

KDE:
Install with Arcolinuxd
restart
sudo systemctl disable lightdm.service 
sudo pacman -S sddm plasma-meta   (use defaults)
sudo systemctl enable sddm.service
sudo shutdown -r now  (restarts the system)

Not sure why they enable lightdm (desktop manager) by default, it's not installed, but leaving this messes with sddm (desktop manager).


Mate:
Install with Arcolinuxd
restart
sudo pacman -S lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings marco mate-extra   (use defaults)
sudo systemctl enable lightdm.service
sudo shutdown -r now  (restarts the system)

Vbox packages:
sudo pacman -S linux-headers
sudo pacman -S virtualbox-guest-dkms
sudo pacman -S virtualbox-guest-utils
sudo systemctl enable vboxservice.service
restart

Note: you will need to enable bi-directional clipboard and such in the VM interface