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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Who here uses a less popular Linux distribution? What made you choose it? (lemdro.id)

submitted 1 year ago by mfat@lemdro.id to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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Hey fellow Linux enthusiasts! I'm curious to know if any of you use a less popular, obscure or exotic Linux distribution. What motivated you to choose that distribution over the more mainstream ones? I'd love to hear about your experiences and any unique features or benefits that drew you to your chosen distribution.

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[–] theshatterstone54@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Arch and its derivatives (and once, NixOS) are the only distros that provide me with the range of software I need. But guess what? NixOS has some issues if you don't want to go deep into it, and for me they mostly stemmed from the immutability of it. And Arch and derivatives are all rolling release, when I don't want a rolling release. I want a machine I can keep running for 10-15 days or more and not have to bother with the idea of updates.

[–] TCB13@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"for me they mostly stemmed from the immutability of it" 😱 😱 someone saying that immutably OSes are crap. I can't believe what I'm reading 😂 Related discussion: https://lemmy.world/comment/4571828

[–] theshatterstone54@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago

For some things, they suck. Even NixOS, with its incredible flexibility compared to something like Silverblue, sucks for some things. For example, a Linux-only piece of software I need for University. The supported way to install it, is to download the archive from the university website and unpack it into your root directory, where it will install itself and its dependencies under /usr. You can't exactly do that on an Immutable distro. And I tried to make it work locally, but then in the end, after it didn't, I just gave up.