*or distribution

Having been a (GNU-)Linux user since 2006 (desktop only), I have done what many Linux users have also done: hop around from one thing to another.

That all stopped a few years ago when I decided that I would just stick with Debian. I was happy and comfortable. It worked. I used Stable, Testing, Unstable… no issues.

That is until about 4 months ago I was cleaning and found an older laptop and decided to try something different on it: Alpine Linux.

I even wrote about it on my blog. It was such a nice installation and process that I decided to put it on my main personal laptop.

Since April I have been using Alpine and I must say I am pleased. Differences from one Linux to the next aren’t much to write about. With Alpine however, I finally experienced another part of Linux that I hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy: the community.

Package requesting? Easy. Asking for help? No shame. Patience and help provided? Excellent.

None of those comments are to disparage other OS communities. It is simply that I had only ever used popular distros (Debian- and Arch-based) so I never needed to ask for help. Either way, I am still using Alpine.

So, just to repeat the titular question: what have you tried out this year? What are your impressions?

  • Aio@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Here are the Linux distros i have tried this year and my opinions on them:

    Arch: I liked it and im sticking with it on my laptop, it is great on such a medium power machine. But the updates suck if you do not have a reliable internet connection.

    Mint: I love it and im going to stay with mint for a long time on my main PC i think.

    Fedora: Nice installer but a pain to work with.

    Tails: A nice idea and pretty easy to install but way too painful for daily driving.

    Slax: Did not work.