Which distro for daily-use main computer?

[sam71623]

Which distro for daily-use main computer? Says,

Debian 12 (many selectable desktops, which one is good?)
Ubuntu LTS 24.04
other deb based Linuxs

The Intel hardware will be used for Visual Studio Code (Python and C), Thonny, Firefox and Libra Office. Support two or three monitors with easy jumping between them. The main screen for programming, search/display manuals/forum/co-pilot, etc. on the other screen(s).

I have started trying out desktop OSs, Raspberry Pi and Ubuntu. I also have RPi lite (CLI) running successfully and have learned basic CLI commands.

[Bloom]

If you want a stable distribution that won't break when installing updates, choose Debian 12 Stable.

[Silent Observer]

You have the two best choices at the top of your list (IMO). My own preference is for a KDE desktop, which is easy and comfortable for former Windows users.

Of those two, Kubuntu (the KDE flavor of Ubuntu) is a little easier to install (based on my recent experience), but will force you to use Snap for some packages that ought to be installed from repo as part of the OS install, resulting in OS partition bloat that can't be removed (the Snap folder in / is untouchable from within Kubuntu, as far as I've been able to determine). Worse, you aren't even given a choice, as Firefox installs from Snap during the primary OS install (at least for Kubuntu). The alternatives to Snap are Flatpak (much like Snap but without the untouchable folder) and AppImage (simpler than either Snap or Flatpack, without requiring a pre-install of a support stack, but not really any less bloaty), but with Kubuntu you'll wind up with those in addition to Snap. At least Flatpak and AppImage install in the /home structure, where it's easier for a user to see them and manage them.

Debian, on the other hand (I like KDE, so that's what I installed) is a little trickier to install, at least on older hardware like mine (I went around and around with my laptop trying to install from the Debian KDE Live, worked better when I switched to the standard netinstall, but that one doesn't let you "try before you buy" like the Live does). Nothing in Debian will force you to install a common application via Snap or Flatpak, and most things that don't come as .deb can be had in AppImage (including Skype for Linux, apparently, due to a very nice person out there who repackages Microsoft's Snap).

I'm pretty sure you can run both Debian and any Ubuntu flavor on a Pi. I think any way you go you'll get forced into either third-party repo or Snap with Visual Studio (I've never touched that, so I could be wrong, but MS seems to not want to spend the effort to support both .deb and .rpm -- at least that's the excuse they gave for Skype). With both Debian and Ubuntu flavors you must disable any third party repos and PPAs before starting a major version upgrade -- so going from Ubuntu 24.04 to 26.04, or Debian 12 to 13 -- else the third party repos will break your upgrade and leave you installing as if new.

[Silent Observer]

If you want a stable distribution that won't break when installing updates, choose Debian 12 Stable.

I've used various flavors of Ubuntu (LTS versions only) for eleven years, and never had an issue with breaking on updates or even point release upgrades -- but never had a successful upgrade between major versions, likely because the upgrader doesn't warn about third-party software sources in /etc/apt/sources.list, and instead attempts to disable them (and seemingly doesn't do it well enough).

From what I understand, Debian will also break on a major version upgrade if you have third party sources.

[sam71623]

While waiting for Intel new hardware, I plan to follow Deb install video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRaJa-VjLGE.

At time 12:57, user can choose GNOME, Xfce, GNOME Flashback, KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, MATE, LXDE, LXQtit.

I believe GNOME and LXDE are used in Ubuntu and RPi that I am trying out?

Any advises which other desktops I can try out for the OP use case.

How to avoid Snap or Flatpak and use the simple and well documented (and the only one I know so far) default sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade?

[Uptorn]

How to avoid Snap or Flatpak and use the simple and well documented (and the only one I know so far) default sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade?

It's as simple as sourcing all your software through the Debian repository (sticking to either apt, aptitude or synaptic all but guarantees this).

[Hallvor]

(and the only one I know so far) default sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade?

Two possibilities:

1. Set a root password during installation, or

2. set a root password post install:

As regular user:

Code: Select all

sudo passwd root

Enter your user's password.

Then set your root password when prompted.

Press Enter, then confirm it again.

To become root:

Code: Select all

su - 

Enter root password

Press Enter.

Once you have verified that su - works, you no longer need sudo.

[None1975]

If you want a stable distribution that won't break when installing updates, choose openSUSE MicroOS. It providing Transactional (Atomic) Updates upon a read-only btrfs root filesystem.

[sam71623]

Set a root password during installation

Not long ago, I started learning Linux. From my reading of beginners' education material, it was 'presented' not to set root account and root password and it is better to use the sudo.

What are the pro and con for either way?

[wizard10000]

What are the pro and con for either way?

disclaimer: my opinion only.

On a home PC I don't think it makes any difference at all. In the enterprise sudo is best practice.

I personally use sudo, I just skip setting a root password so sudo gets installed and my user gets added to the proper group and then just set a root password on first boot so I can use either.

[CwF]

What are the pro and con for either way?

Some more to consider
viewtopic.php?t=158774

[sam71623]

What difference in "ease to use" under the OP use case, between Debian 12 with ticked for GNome desktop (during installation) vs. Ubuntu which is also GNome based?

I am okay with distro that cannot be upgraded between (2 years) major release cycle due to third party software

This forum says there is little difference in CLI (under laying) portion of Deb vs. other OS based on Deb.

On two OSs is am trying, they differ hugely on the upper layer desktop portion.

[juribel]

In Debian, there is absolutely no need for snap or flatpak.

My advice is Debian stable with Xfce. I have used Xfce for years now and it does everything needed. Easy to use, no surprises, lightweight, fast, stable and highly configurable. For my taste, they just decided for some strange settings. Easy but not really necessary to tweak.

[sam71623]

For my learning machine, I plan to install Deb 12.9 using 250GB out of 1T SSD. Should I put home separate or all folders under a single /?

Does LVM allows easy or 'relatively ease' changing partition size for one OS after initial installation?

My testing Ubuntu and RPi OS with desktop, on default install taking whole SSD, put all folders under /.

AI says,
"During installation, the Debian installer allows you to decide whether to create a separate partition for /home or keep it under the / (root) partition. Here’s a quick overview:
Options During Installation:

Single Partition: All directories (including /home) reside under a single root (/) partition. This is simpler but may lead to allocation issues if one part of the filesystem needs more space.

Separate /home Partition: Separates /home from the root filesystem, which helps isolate user data from system files. This makes managing disk space easier and can simplify backups and system upgrades."

AI says,
"LVM stands for Logical Volume Manager. It’s a powerful system for managing disk storage in a more flexible and efficient way compared to traditional partitioning.
Key Features of LVM:

Flexible Disk Management: LVM allows you to create, resize, and delete logical volumes (LVs) quickly and easily, even while the system is running.

Dynamic Resizing: You can dynamically resize logical volumes and filenamesystems, allowing more storage or better allocation without downtime.

Snapshot Support: LVM can take snapshots of your logical volumes, providing a way to create backups or test changes safely.

Volume Group Expansion: Easily expand the storage by adding new physical volumes (PVs) to an existing volume group (VG).

Basic Concepts:

Physical Volume (PV): A physical disk or partition that LVM uses for storage.

Volume Group (VG): A pool of storage made up of one or more physical volumes.

Logical Volume (LV): The equivalent of a partition in traditional disk setups, which are allocated from the volume group.

Example Usage:

Imagine you have two physical disks and want to create a flexible storage setup:

Physical Volumes: Convert both disks into physical volumes.

Volume Group: Combine these physical volumes into a single volume group.

Logical Volumes: Create logical volumes from this volume group for different purposes (e.g., one for root, one for home, and one for swap)."

[Silent Observer]

Once you have verified that su - works, you no longer need sudo.

On this point, I agree with Canonical and the Ubuntu community: you're better off without a root password or using su - to lock your terminal in superuser mode. The reason you're better off this way is it makes it that much harder to accidentally do something that needs root privilege by mistyping a command while in superuser mode. If you type a command at a common user command line that's restricted because of its potential to damage your system, you'll get "command not found" or similar message, so you can be sure you intended to do that before retyping with sudo prepended. Otherwise, for instance, issuing mv for a large data block to the wrong location could wind up filling your OS partition and prevent your system from even booting (no space to open log files etc.) and further leave all the data that got moved before the system system failed in a potentially incomplete condition.

Fortunately, Debian gives the option to do it either way -- if you're used to having a root password and have enough experience not to get yourself in trouble with it, you have the option to set one up; if you're not (or, IMO, if you're a relatively new Linux user) you're probably better off leaving the root password fields blank during install and using sudo for commands that need root privilege. System utilities like kate will prompt you for authentication with root privilege when you attempt to save a file in a location owned by root; the only confusion I've seen is that there are certain things you can't do with Dolphin if they involve root-owned files or folders (right click, "Open Terminal Here" and proceed at CLI will get you past those if you're very certain you need to do that).

[wizard10000]

Folks, let's please try to stay on topic in this thread (and I'm as guilty as anyone here, trying now to get the thread back on track). The topic was selecting a distribution

[sdibaja]

In Debian, there is absolutely no need for snap or flatpak.

My advice is Debian stable with Xfce. I have used Xfce for years now and it does everything needed. Easy to use, no surprises, lightweight, fast, stable and highly configurable. For my taste, they just decided for some strange settings. Easy but not really necessary to tweak.

agreed, but I prefer Mate desktop (with mate-desktop-environment-extras) for the same reasons

[Bloom]

Which desktop environment to choose is a matter of personal taste and of the hardware capabilities of your computer.
If it's, say, more than 5 to 10 years old, choose a less power hungry desktop environment like XFCE or (less capable) LXDE.
If it is a rather modern system, eat your heart out and select a graphically impressive system like Cinnamon, Gnome or KDE (in order of my personal preference). Me, I use XFCE exclusively on all my desktop systems regardless of hardware age because it is always backwards compatible and I configure it all I want.

[Dude Guyman]

Debian 12.9! I much prefer the Debian source over the Debian based spinoffs (*buntu, Mint, etc.). Why have a middleman mucking about in it, "bloating" it up.

As for the desktop environment, that is totally personal preference. Personally I like Xfce far better than the others. MATE as a second/alternate. It has all the customization I need, without feeling bloated and convoluted, causing "option overload" while still not being able to do some specific things I want (KDE, but many folks love this one) that Xfce does, or feeling too stripped down and basic (LXDE). I found Xfce to be much more straight forward and user-friendly. That said, if you're bent on using Wayland or something specific like that, Xfce is a bit behind in their Wayland support, but working on it. I am in no rush to jump to a still "unfinished" Wayland though so don't care.

One other that is good for new people who do not want to have to "google" anything, is MX Linux, which is really just Debian with some custom GUI tools and everything under the sun already installed. Personally, I'd rather google a few things and only install what I actually use.

[Uptorn]

many selectable desktops, which one is good?

I missed that part the first time around.

The desktop environment that is good is the one that you forget you are using because you are satisfied and never have to think about it. I know a few folks who are totally happy with Cinnamon because of its familiarity to Windows. However, I would never personally use a DE that doesn't support Wayland. It all depends what you want out of a DE.