I've been using Linux as my daily driver for thirteen years, after a couple incidents with FBI Moneypak on Windows XP. I started with Mepis (now known as MX after partially merging with Antix, which I also used on a couple lower-spec secondary computers), then switched to Kubuntu 14.04; I switched flavor to Ubuntu MATE for 16.04 and then came back to Kubuntu for 22.04 (which has recently started to nag me to update due to only about 8 1/2 months remaining for flavor support). I'm no guru, but I use the command line when I must and have a few CLI utilities that I use in preference to GUI tools (htop, for instance, is indispensable, especially with the way SeaMonkey and Firefox sometimes crash).
I have a homebuilt system with AMD Fx8350, 32 GB RAM, nVidia RTx 2070, and generic other stuff, continuously upgraded since buying as a second machine with a Pentium II 300 MHz. I have a 1 TB platter drive with old Windows partitions and still using NTFS, a 256 GB SSD, and a 1 TB SSB; currently, Kubuntu is running short on space in a 50 GB partition (largely due to Ubuntu's recent obsession with Snap and my installation of Flatpak to get stuff that wouldn't work in Snap to run.
Of course, the big deal with Snap is that it's apparently impossible to free application space for Snap apps once they've been installed, even if you switch to a different (.deb or flatpak) version of the application -- and they take a lot more space (the tradeoff to making snap/flatpak distro-independent) than .deb installs.
I read recently that Debian is not dependent on either Snap or Flatpak, but instead by default installs everything from .deb repositories, as I was used to doing before Kubuntu 22.04 -- this makes me want to examine whether transitioning to Debian is a good step for me. I know there won't be significant changes in file system layout or command line, because all the distros I've used in the past are Debian based, but one of the big "selling" points of Ubuntu flavors is that they're aimed at a lower level of Linux proficiency than some distros. The installers for Ubuntu flavors, for instance, are very, very good in terms of automating partitioning and formatting, which is important because I plan/expect to reuse my /home (as I've done since the beginning). This will obviously be a "clean" install, and therefore I can expect it to take a weekend before I have all my applications back in place, desktop(s) arranged, etc. and is one of the things I really hate about my Linux experience so far: the inability to upgrade a customized system; that is, having to choose between running my system, my way, vs. being able to upgrade versions in an automated process.
Which brings up the main question: if I switch to Debian KDE (currently 12.7?) will I (in a couple years, depending on the support cycle) be able to upgrade to the next version without the tedious "clean install" process, at worst by disabling third party repos and ppa? Or is this something that the upstream devs just consider normal and think has some significant advantage over being able to type an upgrade command and do something else while watching for user input requests?
I have a homebuilt system with AMD Fx8350, 32 GB RAM, nVidia RTx 2070, and generic other stuff, continuously upgraded since buying as a second machine with a Pentium II 300 MHz. I have a 1 TB platter drive with old Windows partitions and still using NTFS, a 256 GB SSD, and a 1 TB SSB; currently, Kubuntu is running short on space in a 50 GB partition (largely due to Ubuntu's recent obsession with Snap and my installation of Flatpak to get stuff that wouldn't work in Snap to run.
Of course, the big deal with Snap is that it's apparently impossible to free application space for Snap apps once they've been installed, even if you switch to a different (.deb or flatpak) version of the application -- and they take a lot more space (the tradeoff to making snap/flatpak distro-independent) than .deb installs.
I read recently that Debian is not dependent on either Snap or Flatpak, but instead by default installs everything from .deb repositories, as I was used to doing before Kubuntu 22.04 -- this makes me want to examine whether transitioning to Debian is a good step for me. I know there won't be significant changes in file system layout or command line, because all the distros I've used in the past are Debian based, but one of the big "selling" points of Ubuntu flavors is that they're aimed at a lower level of Linux proficiency than some distros. The installers for Ubuntu flavors, for instance, are very, very good in terms of automating partitioning and formatting, which is important because I plan/expect to reuse my /home (as I've done since the beginning). This will obviously be a "clean" install, and therefore I can expect it to take a weekend before I have all my applications back in place, desktop(s) arranged, etc. and is one of the things I really hate about my Linux experience so far: the inability to upgrade a customized system; that is, having to choose between running my system, my way, vs. being able to upgrade versions in an automated process.
Which brings up the main question: if I switch to Debian KDE (currently 12.7?) will I (in a couple years, depending on the support cycle) be able to upgrade to the next version without the tedious "clean install" process, at worst by disabling third party repos and ppa? Or is this something that the upstream devs just consider normal and think has some significant advantage over being able to type an upgrade command and do something else while watching for user input requests?
Statistics: Posted by Silent Observer — 2024-09-01 13:32 — Replies 4 — Views 66