I can confidently say that I used Ubuntu (different versions even) many years ago on work computers and the Frankenstein monster it became and it breaking when updating was a real problem. I’ll never do it again. Arch has it’s problems but less worries managing it and updating.
The lts trap + old kernel version + plus their horrible custom patching of it + needing other ppas for some hardware to work on top of that of custom patched kernel to support whatever specific thing the laptop needed that was available on more recent kernel version + the need for some apps/tools with recent versions… Hell, all of it.
I’ve been using Ubuntu since 2008. Still use it just fine. I dunno what is horrible about it, everything works. Have used it on a ton of different computers. Everything has always worked on it for me. I am an old unix bearded person, and a sw eng.
Snaps and DEs are what drove me from Ubuntu. Gnome2 was actually nice to use and unity was too Mac for me. Then came snaps and things kept breaking. The breaking point for me was going “sudo apt chromium” and it installing snap, then chromium through snap.
Oh, and I have never had a stable update experience. Every single update lead to me being dropped into a shell or TTY session without a functioning display manager. I tweak my system in many ways to develop software (many PPAs) and updates always meant going on the hunt for new ones to be able to develop again.
Now I’m at NixOS and although the community forums are a constant slugfest with nonstop drama (so I dont visit them anymore), the system has actually been stable for my entire usage period. A friend audibly gasped when I switched channels and updated. They too had never seen a smoother update experience between multiple different major versions (20.05 - > 24.05).
If all you do is develop in devcontainers, have no PPAs, dont modify your system in major ways and just are stock, yeah, pretty much any distro can be pleasant.
No devcontainers here. Don’t use ppas - have not in a few years. Last ppa I used was deadsnakes like in '18. Have a bunch of de-chromed chromebooks with Ubuntu in non-stock config.
I’ve struggled like twice with ubuntu on old laptops that had bad ram. Everything else has been smooth and I have customized the hell out of many configs. Lots of new Thinkpads in my past
I can confidently say that I used Ubuntu (different versions even) many years ago on work computers and the Frankenstein monster it became and it breaking when updating was a real problem. I’ll never do it again. Arch has it’s problems but less worries managing it and updating.
The lts trap + old kernel version + plus their horrible custom patching of it + needing other ppas for some hardware to work on top of that of custom patched kernel to support whatever specific thing the laptop needed that was available on more recent kernel version + the need for some apps/tools with recent versions… Hell, all of it.
I’ve been using Ubuntu since 2008. Still use it just fine. I dunno what is horrible about it, everything works. Have used it on a ton of different computers. Everything has always worked on it for me. I am an old unix bearded person, and a sw eng.
I honestly don’t understand the hate.
Snaps and DEs are what drove me from Ubuntu. Gnome2 was actually nice to use and unity was too Mac for me. Then came snaps and things kept breaking. The breaking point for me was going “sudo apt chromium” and it installing snap, then chromium through snap.
Oh, and I have never had a stable update experience. Every single update lead to me being dropped into a shell or TTY session without a functioning display manager. I tweak my system in many ways to develop software (many PPAs) and updates always meant going on the hunt for new ones to be able to develop again.
Now I’m at NixOS and although the community forums are a constant slugfest with nonstop drama (so I dont visit them anymore), the system has actually been stable for my entire usage period. A friend audibly gasped when I switched channels and updated. They too had never seen a smoother update experience between multiple different major versions (20.05 - > 24.05).
If all you do is develop in devcontainers, have no PPAs, dont modify your system in major ways and just are stock, yeah, pretty much any distro can be pleasant.
No devcontainers here. Don’t use ppas - have not in a few years. Last ppa I used was deadsnakes like in '18. Have a bunch of de-chromed chromebooks with Ubuntu in non-stock config.
I’ve struggled like twice with ubuntu on old laptops that had bad ram. Everything else has been smooth and I have customized the hell out of many configs. Lots of new Thinkpads in my past