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General Discussion => Technology and Development => Computer Usage and Setup Help => Topic started by: alberthrocks on November 12, 2012, 04:10:33 pm

Title: Looking for a new Linux distro!
Post by: alberthrocks on November 12, 2012, 04:10:33 pm
Although I am "brave" in programming things, overclocking, etc. etc., I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to upgrading a system. Especially Linux ones. (Blame it on Ubuntu's terrible upgrading.)

I currently have Mint Linux 10, a distribution that's quickly gathering dust. I'm looking for a distro that has up-to-date libraries and programs, but is solid in stability. (That's quite a bit to ask for, eh? :P) I'd prefer a Debian-esque system, since I'm already familiar with it and don't want to spend time to relearn it. It also needs to have word processing and web browsing. (Hint: LibreOffice and Firefox) And finally - it needs to be easy to setup (including data reimport). Time is key.

So basically:

As for backup and restore, I don't trust MintBackup for that. I want to keep not only /home, but also modified config files and programs that I've installed through the years. What tool would work for that?
Title: Re: Looking for a new Linux distro!
Post by: flyingfisch on November 12, 2012, 08:43:16 pm
well, ubuntu 12.10 is looking pretty good...
Title: Re: Looking for a new Linux distro!
Post by: willrandship on November 12, 2012, 09:50:07 pm
You could try classic debian, but keep in mind that if you do change from mint/ubuntu to something else, the configuration files will occasionally change places, meaning restoring them from a backup file will be difficult.
Title: Re: Looking for a new Linux distro!
Post by: alberthrocks on November 12, 2012, 11:31:45 pm
Quote from: flyingfisch on November 12, 2012, 08:43:16 pm
well, ubuntu 12.10 is looking pretty good...
Hehe, never again.... :P As long as those guys focus on monetizing customers and releasing unpolished work, I will not use their OS. :/

Quote from: willrandship on November 12, 2012, 09:50:07 pm
You could try classic debian, but keep in mind that if you do change from mint/ubuntu to something else, the configuration files will occasionally change places, meaning restoring them from a backup file will be difficult.
Actually, my ideal OS would be Debian 7, since it comes with all the shiny updates, and it's pretty stable. But you're right - Ubuntu/Mint does store config and such differently, which will affect quite a few things.
Title: Re: Re: Looking for a new Linux distro!
Post by: Juju on November 12, 2012, 11:43:40 pm
Yeah, I might go with plain ol' Debian as well if I were you.
Title: Re: Looking for a new Linux distro!
Post by: willrandship on November 13, 2012, 01:19:31 am
If you're after shiny updates, Arch is way better at it than debian (and it's still stable. Don't let the online peoples fool you!), but you also wanted debian-ish, so that's your best bet.
Title: Re: Looking for a new Linux distro!
Post by: Vogtinator on November 13, 2012, 03:52:49 am
openSUSE fits perfectly your needs.
If 12.2 isn't recent enough, you can use Tumbleweed (rolling release).