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Distro Farming


raymac46

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I'm still doing it, but I have cut way back in the number I'm trying out in VirtualBox. Here's what I have on the go right now:

  1. Linux Mint - I recommend and install this one for new users so I keep a Cinnamon desktop on my main Linux driver. This machine is powerful and fast enough to run anything and the grandkids enjoy playing browser games with it. The desktop is close enough to Windows that anyone can use it and feel comfortable.
  2. MX-16 - just a great distro and I have it on an old laptop that's in the workroom. My daughter used to have this laptop, it's falling apart but OK for a quick web search if needed.
  3. Arch Linux - I love it. It's on an old netbook my wife takes when she goes to visit her mother. It is also our travel machine for holidays. I installed Xfce here and just the minimum of apps we need - browser, light office suite, photo management. Arch gave me some problems as a virtual machine but it's rock solid when installed in real life.
  4. Debian Sid - on a used Thinkpad I picked up cheap. It updates massively but otherwise it's been pretty good. You have to check carefully when updating (I was burned once by incomplete updates and once with a missing set of updated libraries.).
  5. Debian Buster - runnibg this in VirtualBox to see if it's any more stable than Sid. So far it seems to be. This is on Windows as host so I can have Linux available.

So aside from Arch it's pretty well Debian stuff.There are lots of other distros I like - Mageia, Fedora, Open SUSE - but I don't use them enough to keep them updated.

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securitybreach

Well I am a bit different. I have 6 machines running Archlinux but my server hosts about 9 VMs running various OSs/distros. The differences between distros is so minimal, I use the one I enjoy as the base on my systems and run various containers/VMs with the rest. B)

 

Almost forgot about my 2 work laptops running Windows 10 Enterprise. Both have the Linux Subsystem for Windows installed so I have access to all my tools.

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I agree not a lot of difference between distros basically. The main differences are with the desktops I see.

Linux Mint - Cinnamon. I like LM's version best and it's easy to use.

Arch - Xfce. Basic vanilla desktop. I didn't do too much tweaking.

MX-16 - Xfce but very polished and cool.

Debian - I'm rediscovering GNOME here and I like what I see. I put in a few extensions to get comfortable.

I have gotten rid of my old crap hardware now so I don't need the lightweight desktops like IceWM or LXDE. Most of my machines handle Xfce and above with ease. I don't want to do text configuration for a GUI desktop any more. I keep forgetting all the tweaks I need to do. Xfce is about as hands on as I want.

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securitybreach

Well besides the package managers, everything you mentioned can be achieved on any of those distros.

 

For instance, you can install the Linux Mint theme from the Cinnamon theme repo and Cinnamon comes with all the configurations in the system settings, etc.

 

Now some come more polished out of the box but you can mostly configure every one of them to look and act the same as another.

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Yes I know but I haven't acquired the expertise to make a real vanilla desktop look as good as the distro packagers can do.

Here is how my Debian Buster Gnome looks in VirtualBox on Windows.

Buster2017-1024x576.png

 

I took the default Gnome desktop, added the Dash to Dock extension and swapped out the Activities for Places and Applications (sorta like MATE I guess.) I also use the Numix theme and circle icons. I suppose with some expertise I could do the same in Arch.

Edited by raymac46
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