this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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If she's coming from Windows, Mint is a much better choice with Cinnamon
Has been using Ubuntu for a while but kept destroying it. I aim at a stable base with modern applications.
Maybe you should give a try to an immutable OS like Fedora Silverblue or Kinoite.
They are very hard to break.
Thanks for your suggestions. Silverblue might be a good idea. I am more in the Debian based camp but maybe it is time for a change. I think it gets major updates as often as fedora "normal". This might not be ideal for us though.
If you like Debian, then just wait for Vanilla OS. The next big release (a open beta should be out soon) will switch from Ubuntu to Debian. I will switch instantly if there's a KDE variant.
Wow, that looks very promising. Will keep that in mind. Thanks for the tip.
Isn't Endless immutable?
Yes. Is in the same camp as Silverblue and Aeon, except Debian.
So, basically the same Fedora system, but with different DEs, right? If so, this may be exactly what I've been looking for.
What does immutable mean with an OS? I'm not understanding how an OS can be unchangeable. Or is it talking only about the subsystem, because of Flatpak, where the userspace is mutable (with installations and files, etc), but the subsystem is protected from all unofficial change?
I don't suppose you're familiar with Docker? If you are, you know how you can't really change a container other than through its persistent volumes (otherwise upon a restart all changes are lost)? The immutable images from Fedora as far as I understand are essentially OCI images, so if you think about it from a docker mindset it all starts to make sense very quickly since that is what they practically are.
Or to put it more generally - imagine everything outside of your home folder is mounted as read-only. Flatpaks work great because they're installed in your home folder under
~/.varso you can still install applications this way since your home folder is read/write.You kinda can install traditional packages using
rpm-ostreewhich creates a layer on top of the system, but it's best to avoid doing this if you can (and keep the amount of layered packages minimal).This also means that updates are easier to ship out, because the base system everyone runs is going to be the exact same, and untouched. If an update doesn't work for one person, then it probably wouldn't work for anyone running that "image". Additionally, updates end up being atomic in that they either apply correctly or they don't - you won't end up in some weird middle state where your system has part of an update installed.
Fedora's immutable images are indeed the same Fedora system with different DEs. Silverblue is GNOME, Kinoite is KDE, etc. You can actually run one command to "rebase" from one image to another without any data loss too!
That's awesome! (And mostly what I understood) Your Docker comparison was very helpful.
Then the distro doesn't matter that much. You shouk go for either Snaps or Flatpaks for applications as they won't break the system even if something catastrophic happens.
Personally I'd go for distros with great deal of support (Pop, Fedora and Mint) and put Flathub as the main source in the respective app stores. Smaller distros tend to have more issues that requires some troubleshooting at times.
Check how does she uses Ubuntu first though, if she's using the Canonical's additions to Gnome a lot, she'll have a horrible time with vanilla Gnome as it's pretty barebones, that'll rule out any distro with vanilla Gnome such as Fedora. Trust me, you don't want to be babysitting your partners computer.
Ok, I'm normally against this, but this sounds like a job for nix.
Nice idea. I`d love to love nix but I think it is too involved for me. Maybe I have to try again but I need results tonight, so this might be for another time.
Yeah, it's not hard, but definitely not my cup of tea.
But if you want something nearly impossible to break you can't beat immutable.
Fedora silver...something works too.