Doesn't matter which distro you'll pick. You'll always pick the wrong one when you're just starting
this post was submitted on 28 May 2025
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All roads lead to Debian
Nah
I like Debian. There are very few distros I don’t like. But it’s not the right choice for everything.
The road continues on to Arch from there.
Debian is becoming more and more viable as a desktop OS in the era of Flatpak and Distrobox. Trixie looks like a really nice release.
arch is for edgelords -- debian sid is where it's at :P
Bookworm was, for me, the first one that installed fine for me. I love the philosophy of Debian but I might also like Arch - the bleeding edge is very attractive and I think I like AUR, however I need to understand how that works some more, before daring to do the jump.
I had the same impression of Bookworm. Debian including non-free firmware made a big difference. Trixie may be a game changer for Debian on the desktop.
You might consider installing Arch in a Distrobox and adding yay to it to get access to the AUR on your current system. I use a MUSL based distro these days but use Distrobox to bring the AUR with me. This would be a way to give you a feel for the AUR without having to quit your current distro of choice cold turkey.
I have considered trying LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) with a an Arch/Distrobox. That would be a base system of Debian Stable (stable), a reasonably up-to-date but not “bleeding edge” desktop (Mint), and the AUR for up-to-the minute versions of every package I can think of if I want them. Maybe I will try it when LMDE 7 launches. Could be good.
@original_reader Install on USB thumb drive and give a test drive, when you like, install on main media.
Not all distros play nice as live distros
@LandedGentry You can partition a thumb drive and install just as if it was a hard drive. I create thumb drives this way mainly for restoration of a system is something gets broken to where it can't boot, kernel corrupted, initramfs, etc.
You’re totally right lol got tunnel vision there
I'm good. But thank you for the tip.
Just posted the video, because I like that she's quite balanced in her views. The subject matter will always trigger a level of controversy, esp. on lemmy. But the advice is pretty solid.
And if Mint isn't the answer, go with Ubuntu. Or Zorin OS. Or PopOS. All of them are "right" and provide excellent beginner experiences for many people.
@original_reader Here I've got a mix of Ubuntu, Debian, Zorin, PopOS, Fedora, Alma, Rocky8, MxLinux, Mint,and Kali, but the primary work horse is Ubuntu.
ubuntu,debian - for beginners. fedora,garuda - average. arch,blackarch,kali linux - for experienced. But do not forget that the distribution depends on your interests and actions.
Strange that kali is listed, since it is such a specialized distro.