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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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I need a distro that can work right out the box without too much hassle to configure it, which one would you recommend? (lemm.ee)

submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Thx in advice.

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[–] TCB13 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Debian is hard mode and is an advanced distro. There are a ton of tools that are unique to Debian. It is used mostly for people running their own servers and custom purpose machines from home or work. It is also the primary distro for hacking hardware and reverse engineering stuff that has no other way to create Linux kernel support.

While I get it I don't agree with the first part. If you install Debian out of the box with GNOME it will work out just fine for the majority of people, usually it will work out better than Mint, Arch and whatnot because it is a finished and very reliable OS, not something targeted for experimentation.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I wouldn't recommend Debian to a noob if they're installing themselves and have no-one to help, because depending ln their hardware, wifi might not work out of the box, and maybe even not ethernet either. Of course it can all be worked out, but I don't think having to solve that would make a good first Linux experience. If it's the iso version with the proprietary firmware already in it's maybe...

[–] TCB13 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

because depending ln their hardware, wifi might not work out of the box, and maybe even not ethernet either

I never experienced this with tons of machines, besides Debian now comes with proprietary blobs for that kind of hardware out of the box as well.

. If it’s the iso version with the proprietary firmware already in it’s maybe…

That ISO no longer exists. It's all now on the base image.

UPDATE 10 Jun 2023: As of Debian 12 (Bookworm), firmware is included in the normal Debian installer images. Source: https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/

"The Debian official media may include firmware that is otherwise not part of the Debian system to enable use of Debian with hardware that requires such firmware." Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/debian-includes-proprietary-code

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Strange, because I installed Debian on a laptop just about a month ago, and the ethernet worked, but not the wifi. I had to follow the advice from this thread to get it working. So either this specific driver is too rare for Debian to have bothered putting it in their default non-free repo, or I somehow downloaded an outdated iso by mistake...

[+] j4k3 -1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Yeah, it is also full or DEB GNOME stuff and has no podman, distrobox or flatpak support.

Debian is nice but "neutral"

[–] TCB13 0 points 8 months ago

It is not really a complete experience. It is ugly, and for the type of person that wants to play in the weeds

Wtf are you even talking about? Setup Debian with all the defaults, it's easier than Windows and you'll get GNOME out of the box. Ugly?

or figuring out flatpaks

Running 2 commands to get all the flatpak software into the GNOME GUI store is very hard :P

Debian provides a solid out of the box experience, a system that won't break and will be compatible with most of the decent hardware out there. It won't complain and bitch, it won't be an half finished product like Arch. If it's too complicated just get Ubuntu and enjoy it's mangled kernel.

Arch / Gentoo are the real "base installs" here, nobody can run those things out of the box without tweaks. Arch doesn't even have an installer, just a bunch of scripts and 3rd party attempts and making something usable and you're recommending over Debian that has a full GUI with sane defaults?