Distrochooser
distrochooser.de
The Distrochooser helps you to find the suitable Linux distribution based on your needs!

Quite a few posts about selecting a distro to use. Maybe it’s time to make that link a little more prominent?

  • @beta_tester@lemmy.ml
    0•4 months ago

    Distrochooser says

    • Not suitable for beginners
    • Requires further knowledge about computers

    Without any context. Distrochooser is a fun little game but you shouldn’t rely on it or quote it.

    Moreover, it would be nice if there was any hint about the choices.

    Most distributions are free. Some distributions offer additional support for a one-time fee.

    • I prefer a free-to-use distribution
    • I would be fine to pay a fee

    Show which distros are free as in beer and which are not.

    And more importantly, you pay a fee for support. If you are a home user you most likely do not need paid support.

    That avoiding systemd is even a choise is nuts

    I want to avoid systemd

    Yes, there are people who avoid systemd but thhere’s nothing to fear about systemd and this topic shouldn’t be brought up.

    • @onlinepersona@programming.devOPEnglish
      0•4 months ago

      Fedora is not for everyone. I think the assessment of that site is correct. When I first installed it, it came with KDE and Wayland installed. Wayland couldn’t share screens at the time and my webcam didn’t work. Which new user has the time to understand the difference between X11 and Wayland? I also wanted to install OBSStudio and finding an rpm repo was no fun at all.

      In the end, I uninstalled Fedora.

      CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

      • @throwawayish@lemmy.ml
        0•4 months ago

        I agree that Fedora’s habit for pushing (sometimes breaking) changes is definitely something to keep an eye out. However, it has been so good over the last (almost) two years. I would even argue that Fedora has become more self-conscious of the consequences and (especially) how this might affect their more casual user base.

        Btw, how long ago did you try out Fedora? FWIW, Fedora (Silverblue; to be more precise[1]) was the first distro that I’ve tried and while I’ve had some experiences with other distros over time (mostly through dual boot), Fedora (Atomic) seems to have become the distro I call home.

        1. It’s probably not as masochistic as you might think for a new user 😅. Though I’d have to say that it took some effort, control and discipline to not instantly go back to Windows (or any other Linux distro for that matter).
        • @onlinepersona@programming.devOPEnglish
          0•4 months ago

          Fedora must’ve been during COVID, because I can’t remember the year. If things are better now, then maybe distrochooser has to be updated. It’s on github, so if you believe it’s become user-friendly, do contribute.

          CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

          • @throwawayish@lemmy.ml
            0•4 months ago

            Fedora must’ve been during COVID, because I can’t remember the year.

            That explains a lot of why you felt that way about Fedora. Thank you for enlightening us on that!

            If things are better now, then maybe distrochooser has to be updated.

            Can’t agree more.

            It’s on github, so if you believe it’s become user-friendly, do contribute.

            Honestly, I’ve tried to contribute in the past; but it didn’t feel as if they got implemented. Perhaps the maintainer has implemented them without making it noticeable to met, but in its current iteration it doesn’t feel as if that’s case. I’ve since given up on it.

    • shikitohno
      0•4 months ago

      That avoiding systemd is even a choise is nuts

      I really want to know what the crossover is on people who know what systemd is, much less have any actual reason to decide they wish to actively avoid it, and those who would find this the best way of determining their next distro. That has to be a vanishingly small group of people.

    • AnonTwo
      0•4 months ago

      Keep in mind that you are an experienced user of linux.

      This site is probably about people who are both inexperienced, and also may not have time to adequately learn the system the way you have.

      And no, as someone who has gone through Fedora, Mint, and Arch, saying they’re for “everyone” just assumes everyone is going to use linux the same way you do. Which is a huge mistake. Arch didn’t even have a normal installer up until a year ago, the process even with the arch wiki guide is completely unwieldy for most users to do. Many distros disable popular codecs by default, which a lot of users wouldn’t have the patience for. Some will have Nvidia drivers for up to date for gaming, and some won’t.

      And most of all, you’re also running new users into the choice dilemma, where there’s so many options they just won’t know what to pick.

      • @beta_tester@lemmy.ml
        0•4 months ago

        Good points.

        Sry for not being clear enough. Arch is for someone who wants to go deeper into linux. I’d never recommend arch for new users,

        If someone was able to add a printer to windows, she’s able to add codecs to linux.

        I understand your point, yet (e.g.) fedora doesn’t hide codecs, they are just not preinstalled. Could it be better? Yes. But it’s not like it was unsuitable.

        Imo the choice dilemma isn’t really a dilemma. If you choose any of the 5 or 10 big distros, you are good to go. Neither is a really bad choice. Oftentimes it’s just the default that’s not perfect. But as soon as you’re on one distro, a default value is no reason to switch distros.

        Btrfs, snapper, immutability, etc. those are reasons to switch, not the default values.