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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Longtime Arch user, first time Debian enjoyer (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by bigmclargehuge@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml

70 comments fedilink hide all child comments

As the title says, I've been using various flavours of Arch basically since I started with Linux. My very first Linux experience was with Ubuntu, but I quickly switched to Manjaro, then Endeavour, then plain Arch. Recently I've done some spring cleaning, reinstalling my OS's. I have a pretty decent laptop that I got for school a couple years ago (Lenovo Ideapad 3/AMD). Since I'm no longer in school, I decided to do something different with it.

So, I spent Thursday evening installing Debian 12 Gnome. I have to say, so far, it has been an absolute treat to use. This is the first time I've given Gnome a real chance, and now I see what all the hype is about. It's absolutely perfect for a laptop. The UI is very pleasing out of the box, the gestures work great on a trackpad, it's just so slick in a way KDE isn't (at least by default). The big thing though, is the peace of mind. Knowing that I'm on a fairly basic, extremely stable distro gives me confidence that I'll never be without my computer due to a botched update if, say, I take it on a trip. I'm fine with running the risks of a rolling distro at home where I can take an afternoon to troubleshoot, but being a laptop I just need it to be bulletproof. I also love the simplicity of apt compared to pacman. Don't get me wrong, pacman is fantastically powerful and slick once you're used to it, but apt is nice just for the fact that everything is in plain English.

I know this is sort of off topic, I just wanted to share a bit of my experience about the switch. I don't do much distro-hopping, so ended up being really pleasantly surprised.

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[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 27 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Wait until you discover aptitude.

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Considering that aptitude needs shortcuts it might feel like a throwback to pacman for OP.

There's also synaptic for checking out dependencies and searching etc. which doesn't need the user to learn shortcuts.

Where aptitude absolutely rules and saves the day is in fixing complex package conflicts... but often if your system has reached that point you might as well consider reinstall.

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

You can use shortcuts, or you can use the keyboard menu, or a mouse.

It also works well in case you ever get restricted to a text interface.

[–] hardcoreufo@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Aptitude has a GUI? I've been using it purely CLI for years.

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 1 points 8 months ago

It’s technically TUI, but on all the xterms I’ve used it, it accepted clicks. No idea how that works, but it does. I find it better to use the keyboard though.