What Linux Operating Systems do you like?

I finally messed up my install beyond repair with all the farting about to get Protonmail Bridge working (note to self kwallet is integral to kde!). It gave me a chance to try out some other distros but with Gnome for the fully integrated password manager.

I tried Fedora and Pop OS. I was a die hard Gnome 2 guy back in the day but I just don't like the workflow and reliance on extensions in the latest iteration. I liked Pop's take on Gnome much better than Fedora but found I was relying too much on debs for making things work. I am definitely interested in Cosmic DE when that releases properly. Fedora's take on AUR is a step forward but not as good.

In the end it actually worked out to be more complicated than EOS/Arch for the non-standard things I wanted to do like running VSTs for low latency music production. So I went back to EOS with kde. AUR is too useful and I just don't get on with Gnome. I might have to do something stupid like run Protonmail Bridge in Wine if it messes up again.
 
Cromulent said:
Is that similar to NixOS?
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I think in the sense that it uses the principles of being immutable, but it has some differences such as being based on Debian and utilising containerised software packages (from multiple sources). With NixOS, the whole OS and package installation (via the nix packages) is immutable and declarative via the config file. Both would be good for stability, but I see Vanilla OS being more of a halfway between NixOS and Debian, integrating some of the best aspects of both but not being as pure an immutable solution as NixOS or as fully flexible a solution as typical Debian. That's how I understand it, but I haven't tried it. I still prefer the plain text declarative approach of NixOS on the face of it, for as long as it works for me and it has the software I need.
 
alex24 said:
I think in the sense that it uses the principles of being immutable, but it has some differences such as being based on Debian and utilising containerised software packages (from multiple sources). With NixOS, the whole OS and package installation (via the nix packages) is immutable and declarative via the config file. Both would be good for stability, but I see Vanilla OS being more of a halfway between NixOS and Debian, integrating some of the best aspects of both but not being as pure an immutable solution as NixOS or as fully flexible a solution as typical Debian. That's how I understand it, but I haven't tried it. I still prefer the plain text declarative approach of NixOS on the face of it, for as long as it works for me and it has the software I need.
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I see. Thank you. I might have a play around with these in a VM.
 
Ice Tea said:
Never tried NixOS, i know very little about immutable distros apart from briefly trying Silverblue and MicroOS in VM.
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I think I've posted about it previously, but for me it's endgame distro territory, as it's rock solid due to the immutable principles and has wide package support. If the maintainence of the packages goes away, then that's a risk, but it's currently one of the biggest repos after AUR, I think. Everything I need is there and I know if I add it, it'll probably work perfectly (from experience). I've even expiremented with changing window managers etc. and it just can switch so easily, then if one doesn't work for you - just boot into a previous config (via grub) and you're back, then update your configuration file. There's more you can do even with tools like home manager to preserve your application configs as well, but I haven't had time (or need) to look at that yet. I think for software developers or enthusiasts it's amazing. Combined with how good Valve's Proton is now, I have left windows far behind. My main gaming machine is still on the initial NixOS install (although multiple config iterations) and working perfectly as the day it was installed. I'm planning to move my server over to it but currently pondering what to do with my docker containers - bring them into NixOS as native apps or continue with docker in NixOS (somewhat redundantly) for ease of setup and support... I've even considered moving my MacBook Pro onto it, given it's now EoL but the Apple ecosystem still has me locked in hard (until I get a new MacBook or cave, at which point I'll use NixOS on that too).

The downsides are that you are beholden to the package repository, and whilst it's supported well now, that may not always continue. This is probably not a unique issue but maybe more of a comment on why 'popular' distros can be a safer bet for long-term support. Also, the nix language used in the config isn't complicated, but it's another syntax to learn on top of anything else you know (or quite daunting for non-techies). It also makes most online linux install tutorials useless as it does so many things in a fundamnetally different way. There are other options for immutable distros, I haven't tried them to be fair, but it's the declarative config that really sold me on NixOS. There's also Ansible + your distro of choice but obviously that's only sort of a repeatable thing until it's installed (or version/script needs updating).
 
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