What other distros do you guys like? Arch/Manjaro? Straight Debian? Something else???

[ctrl+alt+fashion]

I enjoy mint for it's stability, it pretty much always just works for me but, I worry about how often stuff is updated it being a fork of a fork so I want something that isn't so far derived. Also I just don't like conical. I wanted to install debian since I've mostly stuck with GNU/Deb most of my time running linux (but I started on RedHat) but I had issues with it working with secure boot. I was thinking Arch linux but I think it's too cutting edge and I want something with a bit more stability. Manjaro seems to have everything I'm looking for since it's pretty up to date with arch but still offers a bit of a "buffer" and it likes proprietary drivers which is a plus for me. I've also run openSUSE very briefly, and I've even looked into Slackware but I've never run it.

Basically I want something that "just works" like mint but offers something closer to rolling updates / "the cutting edge". I consider myself a Linux intermediate, what else do you guys like to run?

[Moem]

I'm not a guy, but is there any reason why you're not running LMDE? It seems to tick plenty of your boxes.

[ctrl+alt+fashion]

I'm not a guy, but is there any reason why you're not running LMDE? It seems to tick plenty of your boxes.

IDK I looked into LMDE, I really like the idea and everything but I read they didn't have enough people working on it and so it's several months out of date at a time. Maybe that's not the case anymore? I also hear it's not as stable as other rolling release style distros

Also I'm not a guy either, I guess I just use "guy" as a gender neutral term just like "dude" haha

[Moem]

LMDE has a small-but-loyal userbase on their own section of this forum, you could probably do worse than going there and asking questions, such as 'how uptodate and how stable is LMDE?'

[Arch_Enemy]

Yeah...what she said...

If you like to tinker, Arch is the best for that. You can tweak just about anything the way you want, install just about any package that ever been made for Linux and then when you have it running the "rolling release" model comes along and borks something for you. You need patience and a sense of adventure for Arch. My best advice, especially if you're using some depricated package that support or development has long since ended, get it working the way you like and then turn off the updates.

The only reason I'm not using it is because I needed something stable, and also wanted something I could take and roll my installation into an ISO to put on a USB and take with me. Mint is good for that.

SuSE is another one that is simple and easy to install and maintain, and historically has had good hardware support. But, that was before Novell took over, the original German version. I have used it a few times since, but one of the packages I like to use doesn't play well with SuSE.

PCLinuxOS is another good one, but Texstar keeps things fairly locked down and makes decisions unilaterally. Like when he decided not to do a 32 bit version any more, he took out ALL the 32 bit packages and trying to get something that needs a 32 bit library to run can be a real pain.

And of course, Mint.

I have found these to be the heavy-hitteres, the ones ready for Prime Time. Some of the others are good, too, like Puppy, etc, but for a full-featured desktop with lots of packages those are the best, and when it comes to variety of packages I believe Arch (or Manjaro, etc) are tops. Debian based like ubuntu has lots of packages as well, but Arch has things I've never found in the others (for example, GiMP scripts and filters)

[Arch_Enemy]

PS: I just reread the OP's first post, and my experience with "rolling release" is


"ARRRRGH!!!! WHY THE H LL DID YOU DO THAT?!?!?!?!"

[Sir Charles]

Manjaro seems to have everything I'm looking for since it's pretty up to date with arch but still offers a bit of a "buffer" and it likes proprietary drivers which is a plus for me.
*
Basically I want something that "just works" like mint but offers something closer to rolling updates / "the cutting edge".

Well, you got it!
I multi-boot with Mint & Manjaro and ...
My personal experience with Manjaro: no problem whatsoever.

[ctrl+alt+fashion]

Actually LMDE seems like the most obvious choice for me, I'm not sure why I discredited it so quickly. But I'm still debating it with Manjaro or now openSUSE. The three seem to be managed very similar, it's just a matter of choosing arch vs redhat vs debian derivatives but I'm thinking I'll choose LMDE2 and stick with debian

plus I already have a forum account here...

[chrisuk]

I'm wary of what I say about other Distros, as last year I sort-of praised/recommended another distro to another member and my post vanished as if by magic

I've used Manjaro for months now... even the testing branch is pretty stable - I'd suggest the stable branch, and only update after checking the forum for any problems (each set of updates has it's own thread).

I also use MX-Linux - although based on Debian Stretch the devs (who are in the forum each day) compile stuff from testing and sid that users ask for or is popular... they also update Web Browsers as soon as released.

(Read it quick before it vanishes )

[xenopeek]

I'm wary of what I say about other Distros, as last year I sort-of praised/recommended another distro to another member and my post vanished as if by magic

On topics in the support forums, that ask for help with a Linux Mint problem, talking about other distros is off-topic at best and hijacking at worst. We generally remove such posts.

General talk about other distros is acceptable in Chat about Linux but not in the forums for support with Linux Mint. That's a bit like going into your local Ford garage to get a problem with your Ford car repaired and them recommending you buy a Honda instead from the car dealership across town (I picked two car brands at random; exchange for brands of your choice.)

Back to the topic at hand...

[BigEasy]

PCLinuxOS Mate is my second lovely distro. Seems even faster and ligher and simpler than MInt 18.3 XFCE, almost same reliability, and having what I need in their repos.

[ctrl+alt+fashion]

Ugh so I installed lmde2 on my machine and got the same secure boot error as with straight debian. The only difference is I couldn't even run the installer in debian and lmde2 installed without issue...

Update: I got lmde booted, I manually updated grub on my mint partition and now it boots

[xenopeek]

Stable is such a loaded word. For example on Debian "stable" means unchanging. It doesn't mean "without bugs or issues". Debian stable ships with known bugs and known issues, but it is stable because you know you'll have these bugs and issues for the lifetime of the release.

My personal experience with Arch Linux has been very rewarding. Bugs and issues get resolved quickly; don't have to wait 2 years for a next distro release to finally get the upstream fix. Don't have to jump through hoops to get a new feature release of some program, or to get a program that's not in the repositories.

Folks that know me from the early days here know I used to try a lot of distros. Every weekend I'd read DistroWatch Weekly, download ISOs of new distro releases, and fire them up for a spin. I still look at what innovation others are bringing but I'm down to using a handful of distros: Linux Mint, Arch Linux, Debian + Raspbian, Ubuntu Server and Fedora. Now that Ubuntu have come to their senses and switched to Gnome I may change the Debian 8 desktop installs (with Gnome) I was scheduled to upgrade to Debian 9 this year to Ubuntu 18.04 instead.

[will91w]

Mint was my first ever distro way back on an old dell inspiron laptop, was always amazed at how fast and stable it was. Ofc this led me to explore many of the other distros out there, Arch, Ubuntu ect... Have not come back to Mint until the newest release 18.3! I have to say it makes me remember why i picked mint as my first distro. Everything just works and is stable to the point where you never even realise your on linux

Can't see myself leaving Mint again, the team have done a fantastic job with this release.

[BG405]

I tinker with Arch when I have a few minutes to spare, but not on bare metal (yet). Great for learning how Linux works.

Apart from Mint (various flavours) as my main workhorse I also quite like the look and feel of Peppermint (7 in this case, haven't looked at 8 yet). I did try LMDE when I first switched to Linux and that looked good too. I did have disks with Ubuntu 12.04 but never got round to trying them; those disks have since been re-purposed as no point in installing such an out-of-date distro now (except Puppy, see below).

Puppy is great for some tasks but I find it rather limiting overall and it wouldn't make a good substitute for the likes of Mint. Not sure about the latest version (not enough RAM in that machine) but the older ones have a very poor choice of software, as well as missing a lot of the CLI stuff I use on Mint etc.. In Puppy 4.3 the file manager (Rox) is basically a GUI front-end for dd and other CLI file management tools.

[MintBean]

guys in British
(ˈɡaɪz)
plural noun
informal
persons of either sex
Hi, guys. How are you doing?
Mom wants to know if you guys still have that two-person tent.

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

[Arch_Enemy]

guys in British
(ˈɡaɪz)
plural noun
informal
persons of either sex
Hi, guys. How are you doing?
Mom wants to know if you guys still have that two-person tent.

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Well, at least you guys over there got SOMETHING right when it comes to speaking English!

[MintBean]

IKR?

Back to the OP, I wouldn't even call Mint a fork of Ubuntu, or Ubuntu a fork of Debian. A fork is a piece of code that's taken another piece of code and now develops it independently, whereas large chunks of Mint are not just based on Ubuntu, they ARE Ubuntu components, receiving updates directly from Ubuntu development as and when they become available. What you get is all the work that goes into Ubuntu by Canonical, PLUS a dedicated Mint team working on a more focussed group of Mint specific components- Cinnamon, Software Manager, Update Manager, the X-apps. It's a double win. Plus Mint has a long term track record, so it's no fly by night.

[vansloneker]

Before Mint I had my first serious Linux install with Lubuntu. But that did have some nags and still has.
Before that, in the early 2000's I had a pre-compiled Linux router running. Actually two different ones, one from HD, one from a diskette.

I started using a stick with Slax to run my personal environment when staying elsewhere. But this was hopelessly unstable.
I discovered Puppy and used that for some time.
From there I went to Lubuntu on a stick and later a hard drive.

I have tried many distributions either from a live CD, installed on a hard drive or in a VM. I feel many distributions have a sort of flavour that is not to my taste. I suppose Mint has the right flavour for me.
I appreciate very much that I can make a shutdown button in the taskbar panel that will shut it down immediately.

For a while I had a system running Kubuntu. The version before the one with the quasi Windows 10 interface. What seriously turned me off was when shutting down it did not shut down but you got a down timer telling the system would shutdown in 60 seconds. Why???? Imagine switching of your TV, car, microwave, the lights, flushing the toilet what ever: your car will turn off in sixty seconds... your toilet will flush in sixty seconds...

Distrowatch considers Clonezilla a distribution. Clonezilla is a very valuable tool for me.

[edit: extended]

[Arch_Enemy]

Before Mint I had my first serious Linux install with Lubuntu. But that did have some nags and still has. I have tried many distributions either from a live CD, installed on a hard drive or in a VM. I feel many distributions have a sort of flavour that is not to my taste. I suppose Mint has the right flavour for me.
I appreciate very much that I can make a shutdown button in the taskbar panel that will shut it down immediately.

For a while I had a system running Kubuntu. The version before the one with the quasi Windows 10 interface. What seriously turned me off was when shutting down it did not shut down but you got a down timer telling the system would shutdown in 60 seconds. Why???? Imagine switching of your TV, car, microwave, the lights, flushing the toilet what ever: your car will turn off in sixty seconds... your toilet will flush in sixty seconds...

Distrowatch considers Clonezilla a distribution. Clonezilla is a very valuable tool for me.

I dunno. There have been a few times I have hit Shutdown and then said, Oh, yeah...I forgot...