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1 • testing new releases (by MIkeOh Shark on 2022-11-14 01:21:49 GMT from Germany)
I always test with the live versions first. Live discs are just one of the killer apps that make Linux a better choice for me than Windows.
2 • New Releases (by Pietro ZAMMIT on 2022-11-14 01:52:26 GMT from Australia)
I always install a new version on another partition to learn the differences before committing to the changes
3 • New release. (by Friar Tux on 2022-11-14 02:17:41 GMT from Canada)
The option I use wasn't actually listed. I wait a while after a new release comes out until I've read most of the reviews/articles in various Linux and FOSS sites about that release. If I like what I read, I upgrade, if I don't like what I read, I wait. Because I prefer LTS versions I usually DO up-grade every five years. Seems to work, for me, quite nicely.
4 • Testing Releases (by CorpSouth on 2022-11-14 02:19:45 GMT from United States)
My rule of thumb is if you insist on the latest and greatest, wait until at the most two months away from official release, and don't get bent out of shape if you experience disruptions.
5 • Fedora plans Phosh spin (by Sebastian on 2022-11-14 02:32:48 GMT from Canada)
For the time being, we have only two options in the mobile world, iOS and Android (and its spins). We need to have more choices, we need a(t least one) solid Linux distro for mobile devices.
6 • upgrading (by Trihexagonal on 2022-11-14 02:56:16 GMT from United States)
I upgrade FreeBSD as soon as I can get to it without testing.
Kali GUN/Linux is a rolling release. I update and upgrade 2-3 times a week.
I've never had any problems upgrading either.
7 • Changing terminal font size (by New User on 2022-11-14 03:04:55 GMT from Canada)
Re your tip on changing the terminal font size:
The way to handle this seems to vary on different distributions. In researching this I found a lot of info, but mostly related to Arch based distros.
For those using Slack based distros, the following may be helpful.
In Salix 14.2 (based on Slackware 14.2), I used to be able to pass a kernel argument via the append line in lilo (vga=769).
When installing Salix 15.0, I would get an illegal entry error message.
Ok, in /etc/lilo.conf, changed vga=normal, to vga=769.
Great, that works during bootup, until the kernel takes over, and everything reverts to teeny unreadable font size.
If I understand correctly, there is a way to "append" a vga setting in lilo.conf, but the formatting is not at all clear to me, and I kept finding comments about this being "poorly documented" and to refer to kernel.org
Setting vga=nomodeset works for the console, but the minute you engage X, the kernel no longer controls video settings, and everything is too tiny to see.
In the end, this is what worked:
Fonts are stored in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts
The default font is ter-v16n, which is terminal font, 16 pitch, normal (vga text mode, 80x25 characters, 16 colours).
I simply needed to engage a larger font from those installed in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts.
From the console, setfont -v (your preferred font).
I chose ter-v20n which is larger (512 char., 10x20)
To hold these settings, edit /etc/rc.d/rc.font
(In my case, replacing ter-v16n with ter-v20n).
As to the specific question about temporarily changing console fonts, there are the commands setconsolefont and setfont (see the manpages).
Remember, this info is specific to Slack-based distros. Seem to recall mention that on Arch based distros, there is a tool vconsole. I do not know which distros use the console setup command mentioned in this weeks column.
I hope this is helpful to somebody out there. I'm sure there will be helpful comments and corrections on my tips, as I am (somewhat) new at this. (Suppose using Salix 14.2 sort of "dates" me...).
8 • 'Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead...' (by tom joad on 2022-11-14 03:34:11 GMT from Luxembourg)
I don't test squat. I sail right into the storm if you will. I am on the deck with cutlass in hand ready to have at it with all comers...
Honestly, I have never test a new version. I make back ups of my home folder, wipe it clean and do a new install. I NEVER do the install of the new OS while still running in the old OS. Mint is great for that. They heartily suggest it. I never, ever do that.
Wnen I was working for Gateway I learned very quickly that is a bad idea. I would say you are down on your knees begging for trouble.
As for Linux, I have had few issues doing or installing a new version. But I do the main line stuff, Mint, Ubuntu in the old days, MX a good ways back. You know stuff like that. Sure I have had some hiccups here and there.
The worst one was about 2008 or so. A new version of mint, I don't remember which one, had a bad issue with Nvidia drivers. It something like the plymouth driver would not kick up the Nvidia driver later in the boot for some reason. Something like that. Pretty quickly a work around became availble. That was the worse of it.The AMD and Intel drivers worked fine in the new revision. It was just Nvidia and only specfic cards, not all of them. I had one of the effected cards or chip on my Dell laptop.
I am sure Jesse remembers what I am talking about. Other than that I just do it.
9 • Upgrade vs fresh installation vs rolling release vs... (by TheTKS on 2022-11-14 03:35:24 GMT from Canada)
I voted installing onto a spare/open partition, since that's what I do with the distro I use most, Slackware (stable).
In fact, I do several of those depending on the Linux distro or BSD:
- Xubuntu LTS, hybrid: upgrade after first point release (every two years) for 2-3 LTSs, then do a fresh installation, either over the existing one or onto a spare/open partition
- Slackware -current, installed once, upgrade from time to time
- OpenBSD -stable, usually a fresh installation over the existing one with each new version (every six months), but I have also done sysupgrade
- elementaryOS, fresh installation, either over the existing one or onto a spare/open partition (upgradability between major versions has not been an option, but is under consideration)
- Arch, rolling release (most recent new Linux distro for me, installed onto a hard-to-"retrofit" 32-bit ARM Chromebook. Arch because the instructions were the most straightforward, and it was still a bugger to get working on this hardware.)
I also download new Puppies and TinyCore from time to time to have a copy of recent releases in my back pocket, but haven't installed any onto a USB in awhile.
TKS
10 • a new version? (by JeffC on 2022-11-14 04:07:10 GMT from United States)
The poll would be better if it allowed to pick two, I would then be able to vote use a live 'disc' (actually USB) and wait for a point release.
Not having the Must have New Shiny Syndrome I see no need to upgrade to the newest immediately.
Let someone else find the bugs and give the devs time to fix them.
11 • RedCore and Upgrades (by Andy Prough on 2022-11-14 04:15:36 GMT from United States)
RedCore sounds like it's in shape and that I need to try it soon, thanks for the review!
As far as upgrades, I use them in a VM for awhile AND wait to see what troubles others report on the forums. A multi-pronged approach.
Except for antiX, I don't usually try any other distros on a live USB. Only a very few distros like antiX and the Puppies give you live persistence out of the box. If I'm going to give it a test drive as a live USB, why would I not want to save any changes I make? The fact that it's 2022 and the vast majority of distros still don't give you default persistence options on live media is just awful.
12 • I'm an elite guinea pig (by Matt on 2022-11-14 05:11:47 GMT from United States)
My laptop and desktop are running rolling releases (Devuan testing and Void). If something breaks terribly, I keep backups.
13 • Changing terminal font size (by Roger Brown on 2022-11-14 06:21:31 GMT from Australia)
@7 An easier way is to change your desktop file in /usr/share/applications.
For example, for xterm, change your exec line to something like
Exec= xterm -fa monotype -fs 14 -bg darkgreen -fg yellow
14 • Rolling Release Elite? (by Bobbie Sellers on 2022-11-14 06:43:36 GMT from United States)
Only if standards for "Elite" are pretty low.
I used to use Mandriva and it was 2 releases per year and updating the
system with this need to replace the whole OS at once was a chore I
was not looking forward too. When 2011 would not run on my laptop I
decided to change distributions. Remember with Mandriva I at least
paid for Power-Pack updates which had licensed codecs for video.
No one in support could give me a clue Then Mandriva went bust on
the consumer front at least.
Mageia 3 would not boot on my laptop. I tried PCLinux 2014 and it was
satisfactory then I went to the next Mageia distribution because EFI was
not yet clearly understood by my PCLOS packager and from the problems
I had neither was Mageia totally on board.
Since then i have learned it was probably the Windows install of new kernels
which overwrote the boot loader. But in 2016 PCLinux was onboard with EFI
and new ways of partitioning or not. I have stuck with PCLinuxOS and its,
bliss of "Rolling Releases." Not an elitist but a person willing to update frequent
running Linux 6.0.8 and KDE's Plasma 5.26.3. Also the <https://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php> provides much support for the users from people who know their
stuff.
15 • @13 (by rb on 2022-11-14 06:43:50 GMT from United States)
I think @7 is referring to the terminal output during boot sequence and the tty, not a terminal emulator application like xterm, which is very easy to configure for font sizes. On some, like Konsole, you can dynamically change it by using ctrl with +/- keys. However, the terminal (tty) font size is not as intuitive and many of the vga= are no longer supported by newer kernels. I found setting the font size by choosing a different in consolefont , at least for my use case, was not an ideal solution either. The font does not kick in immediately, so you have the initial kernel font that then changes during boot sequence to your chosen font. Rather choppy and ugly solution. I decided to just leave it be and now use quiet splash as boot parameters so i don't even have to see any of it. I turn that off on the rare occasion I want to troubleshoot something and want to watch the boot messages progress in the terminal.
16 • A new release (by Alexandru on 2022-11-14 06:57:46 GMT from Romania)
I have 2 partitions for Debian. As soon as a new release is out (sometimes even just before it), I install it on a separate partition and keep installed the current version together with the new one for some time (I have separate home partition accessible from both versions). So, when I am confident new release satisfies my necessities, I start using it exclusively.
17 • Release (by 0323pin on 2022-11-14 07:12:36 GMT from Sweden)
Rolling but, the "elite" thing is a missconception.
18 • Testing (by penguinx86 on 2022-11-14 07:23:06 GMT from United States)
Most distros work just fine in Virtualbox, but I like to test them by burning the ISO file to live bootable USB flash drives. That's the only way I'll know if the new distro is 100% compatible with my hardware or not. No Wifi? Can't get my preferred video resolution? Audio problems? In the past, I burned ISO files to CD/DVD's to install new distros, only to find out they didn't support my hardware. I wasted SO many blank CD/DVD's that way. Then I scrambled to reinstall Linux Mint, to get my Wifi and video working again. Hardware incompatibility is why I stopped distro hopping and stick with Linux Mint now.
19 • New Releases - but mind your wording (by Dr.J on 2022-11-14 07:27:13 GMT from Germany)
"Rolling releases" are simply a way to install updates. I like this approach very much. That's all. This has nothing to do with "elite". But this wording doesn't make the arguments in the Linux community any better.
To the point: I update my Arch distro every day. It runs in a virtual machine and for difficult things (kernel, runit, Xorg, Virtualbox etc) I make a snapshot. If there are problems (which is very rare), I'm back in a minute.
20 • @19 the term rolling 'elite' in poll (by rb on 2022-11-14 08:03:29 GMT from United States)
@19 re: "has nothing to do with 'elite'. But this wording doesn't make the arguments in the Linux community any better."
I think that is how you interpreted it. I did not interpret it that way. I think elite in this case is not intended in a negative way, such as an elitist personality. I think it is simply referring to a luxury, a person who can afford to run a system that updates constantly, deal with breakage on occasion, has the skills to fix it and manage it themselves. Most rolling distro users by numbers are either using Arch or Gentoo, including the derivative distros. Many Linux users cannot even write a bash script or build/install/remove a program from source code. Many cannot build or configure a kernel. The few who do know how to do these things could be considered the elite.
I think elite in the use of the term "the rolling elite" used in the poll refers to the lower number of users; fewer users overall are running a rolling release distro, therefore the elite.
It is a luxury to run a rolling release distro, you have the latest and greatest software. Using a rolling release is not intuitive. It takes time and skill and knowledge which many do not have. They may not be able to afford the extra time or resources to attain or maintain a rolling release, therefore elite. Not elite as in better than or of a higher class. Elite as in fortunate, do not have to deal with reinstalling every six months. Your interpretation is your own, but that is not the only interpretation.
21 • Current and Stable for Slackware (by Livestradamus on 2022-11-14 11:00:56 GMT from Saudi Arabia)
Already running the current (development) branches on daily driver, so the main stable release on the servers is of little to no surprises.
The stable releases are years apart so thats nice.
22 • Upgrading (by Peter Hayward on 2022-11-14 11:22:55 GMT from United Kingdom)
I run EndeavourOS on a rolling release. Very rare to have a problem upgrading automatically, but if I do need to I reinstall. Important stuff is in the cloud so I never lose that. I have a very simple config so not a problem to set it up again.
23 • New releases (by fox on 2022-11-14 12:41:24 GMT from Canada)
I use Ubuntu, and I upgrade as soon as a new release is available. My safety valve is that I have the latest Ubuntu LTS on a partition on the same internal drive. So if there was a problem with the new release I would simply move back to the LTS. I have never had to do this yet, and I have been using Ubuntu since 2007.
24 • Upgrading (by seacat on 2022-11-14 12:59:35 GMT from Argentina)
I use Linux Mint and I use the Mint standard procedure to upgrade to the next version, using mintupgrade tool.
25 • I upgrade immediately? (by Low Tech Jim on 2022-11-14 13:28:12 GMT from United States)
I marked that I upgrade immediately, but the Ubuntu-Mate that I use releases on Thursdays and I upgrade my laptop on the second weekend after release. That gives 9 days to correct major bugs in the new release.
26 • No one size fits all (by John on 2022-11-14 13:59:49 GMT from Canada)
After way too many years distrohopping, I've come to the conclusion that running linux as either rolling or LTS, or which distro is "best" depends on the hardware you're using.
I've never been able to get the same distro to perform flawlessly on all my hardware. Some work great on one computer and horribly on a different machine. So I've stopped trying to fing the "ultimate" distro and use it everywhere - I just use the distro that works best for the particular computer.
Currently running Linux Lite on an old Dell, LMDE 5 on a Huawei Matebook X Pro, and Fedora on a Microsoft Surface. Each one works flawlessly, but definitely not a one-size fits all.
27 • Distro updates (by CSRoad on 2022-11-14 14:56:15 GMT from Canada)
I'm writing this on a Devuan Ceres machine, so I'm in the daily "rolling" group.
I typically give cursory eyeball to the updates for anything that seems wrong.
I also have a full backup, that is always there, but I can't remember the last time I had to use it. That is probably a reflection on the stability of both Debian and Devuan "unstable" branches and the good work of the Devs of both.
28 • New version testing (by Alloy on 2022-11-14 17:11:43 GMT from United States)
Mandatory 'I use Arch btw' comment
29 • Two world collide (by Jyrki on 2022-11-14 17:26:40 GMT from Czechia)
As for Linux, I run rolling release distro...but I do not use it everywhere, and on most machines I run OpenBSD and I do upgrade straight away without any doubts.
30 • @17 (by Panther on 2022-11-14 17:35:51 GMT from United States)
Agreed I do not believe rolling release users are in any way "elite" .
31 • update (by thym on 2022-11-14 17:49:44 GMT from Greece)
When a new release comes, i adjust the very next days the sources and that's all. Worked for me for many years now with zero problems so far. Having said that, i am not running distros with two releases per year.
I found rolling releases to be more time demanding to administer. Plus they are offering questionable benefits. I do not need for example the newest kernel for my projects.
The everlasting quest for the latest and greatest it's a hobby on it's own, not a real, practical need for the majority of the users.
32 • Fonts auto configuration (by DevaJu Sans on 2022-11-14 18:06:45 GMT from Moldova)
Is there any automatic solution for fonts configuration on UltraHD displays ?
Can X(or wayland) server automatically figure out that font should be scaled ?
Or if it is the case even in command-line only mode, can systemd(openrc etc) figure out that font should be scaled ?
Or maybe bash could be more clever though...
While setupcon is nice, most of end users will wanna switch back to windows/mac if they have a UltraHD laptop.
33 • Upgrade... (by Vukota on 2022-11-14 18:57:09 GMT from Serbia)
I used (and will use) all of the strategies mentioned, though, I try to avoid rolling these days (it gets old too fast).
- If I upgrade immediately, I have a backup first.
- If I would like to check if a distro is worth using or how something specif work on it (like file system, boot loader, etc.), I use virtual machine
- If live disc is available, I always test distro on target hardware first.
- Sometimes If I have spare computer, and I would like to test drive different (new) distro, I install it first on that "available" computer.
- If distro is not stable right away after a big release (Ubuntu comes to my mind), I may wait for point release or until I hear it is stable enough.
34 • Upgrading (by Robert on 2022-11-14 19:18:26 GMT from United States)
I primarily run rolling, mostly Arch. I rollback using snapshots if I need to.
When I do run fixed releases, I upgrade when I get to it. That might be right after release or months down the line. No testing, if it blows up I do a reinstall. If it's still broke, switch distros.
35 • @19 Elite (by Justin on 2022-11-14 20:25:32 GMT from United States)
I took it as a joke. Rolling release users like Arch users have this stereotype reputation of being elitists. To me the poll played on that. I thought it was hilarious, especially since nowadays you don't have to really know what you're doing to run a rolling distro.
I use a rolling Arch release on a dedicated laptop because I wanted to experiment and learn Arch. I thought it would make me an elite Linux user but it didn't. For my main machine, I usually wipe and install the newest LTS when the old one hits EOL. There is a one year overlap, so I said I wait for a point release.
36 • @19 Elite (by eznix on 2022-11-14 21:39:13 GMT from United States)
The "elite" was an obvious joke, poking fun at the immature Arch users who hold themselves in such high esteem for being able to copy and paste some installation instructions. :-p
37 • Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' - with apologies to Clint Eastwood (by brad on 2022-11-14 22:35:37 GMT from United States)
Yep - I'm as 1337 as they come...
: - )
Seriously though, if we were talkin' Windows, I would have chosen "let others beta test". I have a couple of "production" machines that run Windows (because my job...), and I will not be coerced into "upgrading" to Windows 11, until I can be d@$n sure that the applications will work, and that I won't lose any W10 functionality...
38 • @36 - c n' p (by brad on 2022-11-14 23:04:58 GMT from United States)
Funny you should mention copy and paste - I experimented installing Arch a few times, using the c 'n p method - failures each time, because of some important missing instructions.
I probably could have fixed the errors, but these were experiments, where I was pressed for time.
It made me look askance at the Arch fanbois who insist that their documentation is the best - it's better than most, but "no one's perfect".
39 • Terminal font size (by LiuYan on 2022-11-15 01:35:12 GMT from China)
In case of displaying Chinese (or non-ASCII) characters in terminal, I use `fbterm`, the config file of fbterm is ~/.fbtermrc .
40 • Console fonts in Debian (by Head_on_a_Stick on 2022-11-15 06:45:30 GMT from United Kingdom)
Debian users are advised to take advantage of the supplied abstraction to change the console fonts:
apt install console-setup
dpkg-reconfigure console-setup
No need to mess around in /etc/defaults/console-setup like some kind of cave person :-)
41 • Microsoft/Intel Roadblocks... (by Jim Mulkey on 2022-11-15 09:11:12 GMT from United States)
Last week Lizard questioned my comment on difficulties in installing Linux on refurbished Microsoft/Intel machines. He said he had no problems with Linux with dual-boot Windows. I was surprised he's using Windows and he apparently didn't know I was talking about running Linux only, no Windows. I haven't used Microsoft in over 20 years! The difficulties are mostly around Intel's BIOS being tightly integrated to Microsoft's Secure Boot.
42 • @41, Microsoft/Intel Roadblocks... (by Harry the Lizard on 2022-11-15 09:37:24 GMT from United States)
"I was talking about running Linux only" I have removed and reinstalled Windows several times on this machine. Right now it has Debian and Windows 11, but I have run Linux by itself and dual booting with other Linux distros. I have 2 laptops with 8th and 10th gen. Intel running just Ubuntu and Debian. At no time have I had any problem with installation or running. For those distros that don't work with secure boot, it can be easily disabled in bios/uefi.
43 • Testing (by James on 2022-11-15 12:23:42 GMT from United States)
I test on a USB drive (live disc) to see if my hardware is supported out of the box or there are easy to find and install divers (i.e. Broadcom wireless on Debian). If a never used before OS I look that my required software is available.
44 • testing distros (by Otis on 2022-11-15 21:33:54 GMT from United States)
It's always been the live disc thing for me, which can admittedly be misleading at times. I've seen bugs in the live environment that don't show up once installed, and vice versa; no bugs live but cropping up after installation. Overall I'm with post #1 as one of the huge advantages of linux/bsd over Windows is being able to do that.
45 • testing new version (by agn on 2022-11-16 02:02:37 GMT from Taiwan)
Currently a Debian testing user. Never test any new version, but apt-listbugs help me pin the packages whose new version have grave bugs so I seldom encounter bugs.
46 • testing new releases (by John on 2022-11-16 02:52:37 GMT from Canada)
I use Slackware and have been for a very long time. I upgrade instantly when a new release comes out. The last time I had an issue with a Slackware upgrade (and use) was with version 3.4, which cane out around 1997 or 98.
47 • Do you do any testing before installing a new version of your distribution? (by Wallijonn on 2022-11-16 06:23:43 GMT from United States)
Always. I will install onto a spare disc drive. I will try to make it look exactly like the old, if possible. (We all have our own favourite icons, splash screens, colours, etc., no?) KDE upgrades can blow away themes, styles, icons, colours, or the distro update or upgrade re-arranged where they are, renamed them, hid them, or become incompatible, icons deleted, a browser no longer works, audio may no longer work, if nVidia, video problems are common, programs can be dropped & new programs installed to replace them, or old features no longer available in the new program version, libraries retired and then certain programs, fonts changed, etc.; a kernel update could munge the wireless (nothing like regressions to brighten anyone's day), BT, printers may no longer work, downloaded user supplied login screens may no longer work, etc. Or a distro drops the Desktop Interface (MInt Dropping KDE, Parrot dropping KDE, etc.) Mint upgrades never worked for me.; the system always blew up. It taught me to always do a clean install and transfer my data.I prefer Rolling Distros because of that. But, every now and then even that can blow up (usually Arched based distros, for example.)
48 • Rolling release (by bgstack15 on 2022-11-16 15:35:12 GMT from United States)
I use Devuan Ceres, i.e., the unstable release. I originally needed it for the freeipa packages which were only in unstable but now have made it to a named release but I'm hooked on the shiny, new packages. Occasionally I've run into issues like wicd (a sane network manager) getting removed because it was python2 (although I hear a python3-based wicd is somewhere out there), so I had to choose connman. Other issues have happened but are generally smaller. I get what I pay for, as well as what it says on the tin: unstable!
49 • Topics (by Cheker on 2022-11-16 23:01:51 GMT from Portugal)
"I am part of the rolling release elite" LMAO you didn't have to do us like that.
I was a little disheartened the last time I tried a recent PinePhone release (think it was Mobian but perhaps not). It felt like there was no progress in like a year. Please don't make me duck for the default pin, slap that thing in a very visible, obvious place. You'd think that'd be obvious but so many PP distros fail right here, step 1.
50 • Redcore Linux (by FRC on 2022-11-17 01:42:23 GMT from Brazil)
When I installed Redcore last June, Live session inverted "sda" (Sata #1 slot) and "sdb" (Sata #2 slot) -- and after installed, it keeps inverting my disks sometimes. No problem, as I could see my Labels, so I didn't do any mistake while installing Redcore; and my mountpoints use Labels, too. Just pay attention to it.
When using "sisyphus", always use the "--ebuild" parameter (or just "-e"), so it will find / install / upgrade non-binary packages from Gentoo, too. If no "ebuild" is needed, "sisyphus" will prefer its own binary packages.
I had high CPU usage, too, so I disabled "Intel Turbo Boost" (I don't use it, anyway). Redcore used to start with 3900 MHz (as my Slackware does). Now it starts using 2900 MHz; and when "sisyphus" deals with "ebuilds" it doesn't get 100ºC anymore. All my other distros (all with KDE) use to start using about 800 MHz and go high when needed, only.
Also, Redcore is the only distro which increases RAM usage if iddle after startup, as far as I know. All other tend to decrease RAM usage after boot, if you do nothing for a few minutes.
Redcore's Documentation is only about "sisyphus". For all other things, use Gentoo wiki.
I had to learn a little and deal with "USE flags" because of Dolphin didn't show "Info Panel" (F11), until I enabled “semantic-desktop” USE flag and recompile it.
51 • Testing before installing a new version of your distribution (by FRC on 2022-11-17 01:56:41 GMT from Brazil)
I have marked "I install the distro on a spare machine/partition", because that's what I have done with MX Linux 21. It didn't use to offer version upgrade. When I saw everything working fine, I have replaced old MX Linux 19.
Fedora and KDE Neon, I just wait a few before upgrade them to the new version.
openSUSE Tumbleweed, Debian testing, Arch, PCLinuxOS, Void, Redcore, are rolling-release.
Mageia, I used to replace (reinstall) with Beta or even with Alpha, so I had a "rolling-release" for a few weeks, before it reaches its point release.
52 • Ready for my upgrade (by CS on 2022-11-17 20:38:04 GMT from United States)
I use Yggdrasil and as soon as the new release is out I'm ready to upgrade!
(Posted from Lynx)
53 • @47 mint upgrades ymmv (by dave on 2022-11-17 23:55:57 GMT from United States)
Yeah I have a friend who had the same experience with Mint upgrades (and Ubuntu upgrades) in the period of time he was using Linux. On the other hand, my mother's computer uses Mint and hasn't seen a fresh install since 2017 and I don't recall having a single upgrade-induced problem along the way. Maybe it just likes the combination of hardware.. or maybe it's because my mom's Mint install is mostly stock/default programs with little-to-nothing extra added. It's one of the great mysteries of the universe.
54 • release varieties (by lost in the Dark Web on 2022-11-18 00:27:47 GMT from Singapore)
shouldn't a rolling release be called a "rollease" :)
55 • Upgrading and Testing (by Andy Figueroa on 2022-11-18 05:13:11 GMT from United States)
On my main desktop and several servers I run Gentoo and update them daily. Being truly rolling, there are no releases in the usual sense. However, I support desktop machines at a school using MX-Linux which has traditional Debian style releases. I extensively test new releases as follows:
1. Boot ISO in a VirtualBox as a virtual machine.
2. Later, I will create a live-usb with persistence and do more extensive testing including installing software and customization, being attentive to changes in workflow and errors.
3. I will subsequently install onto a spare partition on my testing machine and work with the desktop primarily in X2GO remote sessions. Once I'm happy with the system, I'll create a new ISO using MX-Linux's snapshot tool. The ISO will then be installed as a new Live-USB.
4. The new Live-USB will be used to install upgraded systems onto spare partitions on the school's desktop computers while preserving the older installation keeping it untouched. User files will then be restored to the new installation.
56 • Poll on upgrading (by Hoos on 2022-11-18 06:03:14 GMT from Singapore)
I didn't participate in the poll because I have various distros on my machines and I approach each differently.
For fixed release Debian-based distros, I test the new release in VM or just create a new partition to install it to. I don't tend to use the upgrade path provided as I prefer to install clean. With my data stored elsewhere, any new installation can access the same easily. Any settings in dot config files can easily to copied to the new partition once I'm satisfied the new release is working fine.
For my Arch and Arch-based distros, I just upgrade roughly every 10 days. I have Timeshift restore points so I don't worry too much.
For Fedora, I use their upgrade path, but I only upgrade to my current system +1, immediately after current system +2 is out. Thus, with Fedora 37 just out, I'll be upgrading from Fedora 35 to 36 this weekend. That way I'm using a release only after any issues are sorted out. In particular, I like to use a Gnome version only some time after its release so that the shell extensions I use are mostly upgraded to work on the release. I already run latest Gnome in Arch and while it is generally problem free, it's inconvenient at times when an extension is temporarily out of commission.
57 • Microsoft/Intel Roadblocks... (by Jim Mulkey on 2022-11-18 16:22:30 GMT from United States)
Lizard and I disagree on whether Microsoft and Intel deliberately make it difficult to remove Windows and run Linux only. My experience is that Microsoft does everything it can to make using anything else difficult. I have Xubuntu 22.04 working on my newest Dell 7060 i7-8700, but it boots slower with an NVMe ssd than my older Dell 7010 i7-3770 with a SATA ssd and the same OS!
Number of Comments: 57
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| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
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ArchLabs Linux
ArchLabs was a distribution based on Arch Linux and featuring the Openbox window manager as the primary desktop interface. ArchLabs was a 64-bit, rolling release distribution which provides a live DVD. The distribution can be installed using the AL-Installer system installer.
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