DistroWatch Weekly |
| Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip. (Tips this week: 0, value: US$0.00) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Will not use Ubuntu (by BigMike on 2025-10-13 00:17:55 GMT from United States)
I have refused to use Ubuntu since the time they were sending local file searches to Canonical. Spyware OS? No thanks. Plenty of other options that work great.
2 • Re: Will not use Ubuntu (by Much Derper on 2025-10-13 00:34:00 GMT from United States)
It all depends on a use case and feasibility. At home - I'm with you, no Ubuntu for me. At work, where Ubuntu is the only InfoSec-approved alternative to Windows and macOS, the only Linux distro I can install on my laptop without getting fired? Thanks, I'll take it.
3 • Ubuntu Not Used Or Wanted (by LittleNickey on 2025-10-13 00:50:46 GMT from United States)
Why no option in the ubuntu opinion poll to answer that we prefer something else? At least that option was given in the previous poll for opensuse. The world does not revolve around ubuntu, ubuntu does not make the world go around, and in my opinion it just sucks compared to other distros available! Why settle for meh/boring when one can have something better such as Void, Arch, PCLinuxOS, RedHat or even Slackware? You all dropped the ball on this weeks poll!
4 • Ubuntu (by Slappy McGee on 2025-10-13 00:58:54 GMT from United States)
@1@2 @3 Ubuntu is also the base for several distros with names that do not rhyme with Ubuntu.
Watch out.. It's everywhere I tell you! ;o)
5 • No Ubuntu used here (by Pete22 on 2025-10-13 00:59:59 GMT from New Zealand)
Haven't voted this time as I am against Ubuntu too. No Leap 16 here either - had been hanging out for it to be released but it was a let down as you have reported so have hopped to Solus Plasma.
6 • @3 - Lack of 'Prefer Something Else' Option (by AdrienM on 2025-10-13 01:07:04 GMT from United States)
Perhaps maybe the goal is to see which is the preferred flavor of Ubuntu, among those who do, or have used it, without regard to any other distro? It isn't a general 'what distro do you like amongst all the possible distros' sort of question.
7 • Another "I don't use this" point (by AdrienM on 2025-10-13 01:12:53 GMT from United States)
I just saw the last SUSE poll. I disagree that it should have included that option. Now the math is skewed to see the true percentages of which config method is preferred, *by those who use that distro*. There's no point in answering you don't use it, just skip that poll. Yes, a viewer can still see the relative preferences, but the percentage math is now wrong because of that option. The same would happen if that answer were included in this flavor-preference poll.
8 • No use for buntu (by flyingalone on 2025-10-13 01:13:25 GMT from Australia)
100% agree with No. 1 *spyware* no thanks ever since the phone home back then and No. 2 *Ubuntu is the only InfoSec-approved alternative to Windows*, why use the Microsoft Linux disrto = ubuntu, plenty of other and better distros out there.
9 • Flatpaks on Ubuntu (by Pumpino on 2025-10-13 01:19:25 GMT from Australia)
Releasing a new version of Ubuntu with the installation of flatpaks being broken is ridiculous for a distro created by a company as large as Canonical. That said, I updated from Xubuntu 25.04 to 25.10 on my spare partition, and I can install flatpaks fine.
10 • Poll (by Jesse on 2025-10-13 01:19:49 GMT from Canada)
@3: "Why no option in the ubuntu opinion poll to answer that we prefer something else?"
This poll is for people who have used (or continue to use) Ubuntu. If you don't have a preference between the Ubuntu flavours then this poll isn't for you and there is no reason to vote in it.
"Why settle for meh/boring when one can have something better such as Void, Arch, PCLinuxOS, RedHat or even Slackware? You all dropped the ball on this weeks poll!"
This poll is about Ubuntu, there is no reason to drag other distributions into the discussion.
11 • Ubuntu (with variant) (by Redy Basuki on 2025-10-13 01:27:14 GMT from Indonesia)
Why I can't vote for the pool?
I am not using it at all, or any of Ubuntu based (such as Mint). I use something else better that suits my need, but not Ubuntu.
12 • ubuntu (by Dave on 2025-10-13 01:37:10 GMT from Australia)
I'm not Ubuntu's biggest fan either, but, I'm glad they exist. Maybe not as much as they used to, but they do innovate which is a good thing. Rpi support, experimenting with Snapdragon arm support, experimental riscv support, experiments with zfs in the installer, using Rust utils. I know some people hate this stuff, but it's good they do it because if nothing else something is learned or improved, even indirectly. Other smaller distros don't (or couldn't possibility) do any of this stuff.
Out of the *buntus, I like Xubuntu as a good all rounder.
13 • Kubuntu (by Arve Eriksson on 2025-10-13 01:47:09 GMT from Sweden)
I'm a happy Mint user, but I'll see what Kubuntu is like in VBox. I don't get as much KDE these days as I would like...
14 • Poll criticism (by Dave on 2025-10-13 01:58:21 GMT from Australia)
I wish people wouldn't always sook about the options in the poll. "Why don't they include an 'I don't use a ubuntu' option?"
If this was included, someone would complain, "Why include a non-Ubuntu option when asking about Ubuntu, it doesn't make sense?"
Just say nothing at all and don't use the poll if it bothers you that much.
15 • Poll (by Friar Tux on 2025-10-13 02:12:13 GMT from Canada)
Like a few others. I don't actually use Ubuntu per se. I use Linux Mint. I read somewhere that Ubuntu took Debian and improved on it and Mint to Ubuntu and improved on it. Seems true as I haven't had any issues in the decade I've used Mint. At least, none that have ever been touched on here. (I've tried both parent distros but they HAVE presented problems.) Kudos to Clement Lefebvre. Great work, mate.
16 • Leap review... that installer! (by thatguy on 2025-10-13 03:06:14 GMT from United States)
Really great review this week - pulling no punches, and for good reason.
I hadn't tried Leap in years so recently gave 16 a try. I have Tumbleweed installs so am familiar with the suse way of doing things, but I couldn't even make it through the truly awful installer for fear of nuking one or more of my other installed distros. Agama makes Fedora/RHel's anaconda seem like a miracle of logical user friendliness, by which I mean it really REALLY sucks. I can deal with some of suse's idiosyncrasies but not an installer this bad. Crazy that they think it's good enough for anyone, let alone those new to Linux.
I don't really care about yast being retired (aside from the software management components, which are weird anyway). This installer, however, may prove to be a deal breaker for many. Hopefully it improves before 2032...
17 • Ubuntu, Leap (by Dan on 2025-10-13 03:57:33 GMT from United States)
I haven't used Ubuntu (other than trying it out from time to time just because I'm a distro junky from a long time ago) ever since they left the debian repos and went to that Gnome unified thing back in 2009 or so. And now, this issue with flatpacks that they are "working furiously" on? Right. And Steve Jobs accidentally left out the floppy drive on Macs. This move to making Ubuntu a kubernetes-based thing that is immutable and uses snaps...fine, if that's your thing, go for it. Not for me. Canonical was awesome back in the brown days, especially for dial-up connections and ease of configuring drivers.
Suse was my go-to from about 2000 to 2004. Then they went to OpenSuse and it went to crap. And now they've gotten rid of Yast, leaving only 20 confusing ways to attempt installing software. The installer now absolutely BLOWS...I used to love the levels of configurability, but now...nope. And it's not gotten any lighter or more stable. Sad.
18 • For me, no Ubuntu anymore.... (by Torsten on 2025-10-13 03:59:35 GMT from Germany)
Ubuntu ONCE was a great and excellent distro. I started my Linux journey with Ubuntu....but then, Canonical became a bit "mad" and introduced snap - and since that time, I switched to Debian. Debian is a Linux as it should be without any unwanted and crappy software.
19 • UBUNTU (by Evan on 2025-10-13 04:37:41 GMT from Barbados)
Why all the Ubutu hate? If you don't use Ubuntu based distros why are posting here? I have Ubuntu, Debian and Arch based distros and they all work fine.
20 • Flavour of Ubuntu (by user on 2025-10-13 05:06:35 GMT from Bulgaria)
Canonical is the only distro creator that treats desktop flavours equally. It is difficult to chose one flavour over the other, they are so good all and polished. My answer to the poll is not very correct, my primary picks are two - Lubuntu and Ubuntu, installed in parallel and switching between them, double maintenance actually, but with pleasure.
21 • Ubuntu (by Brad on 2025-10-13 06:04:49 GMT from United States)
No longer using, but when I was still using Ubuntu, the pre-2009 flavor was my favorite (agree with Dan@17). I did try out other "flavors" from time to time after I left Mint - Xubuntu was a good one.
22 • Ubuntu (by Dave Postles on 2025-10-13 06:38:52 GMT from United Kingdom)
I disliked Ubuntu when it introduced the Amazon lens on the desktop. Amazon is anathema to me. I do now (perhaps temporarily) have Lubuntu on one of my desktops. I always prefer to have a Plank dock. I have different distros on the kit which I have accumulated. The main fault I discern in Ubuntu is its continuous increase in the size of the download file. My phone company has a higher rate for connection over an hour, so I tend to connect for short periods and we still do not have a fibre connection here.
23 • OpenSUSE and the Sisyphus complex (by Microlinux on 2025-10-13 07:35:01 GMT from France)
Some Linux distributions like OpenSUSE or Solus suffer from what I call the Sisyphus complex. Once everything reaches a state of perfection and usability, the project leaders decide to let that rock roll down the hill and start all over again, making things worse.
OpenSUSE Leap has been great until 15.2 and 15.3. And then some neurotic project leader decided that this state of stability was unacceptable and that things had to be wrecked.
24 • ubuntu (by Josh on 2025-10-13 07:57:01 GMT from United States)
Another hard pass on Ubuntu or any of it's derivatives. I'll stick with vanilla Debian or another distro directly based on it like LMDE or MX.
25 • Preferred Ubuntu editiion (by borgio3 on 2025-10-13 08:02:27 GMT from Italy)
Ubuntu is the Windows clone of the Linux world, that's why I don't use it even under threat of gunfire.
26 • Ubuntu "meh boring" (by Richmond Mathewson on 2025-10-13 08:57:39 GMT from Bulgaria)
It is only 'meh boring" if you are not dependent on it: I have been running my EFL school with Ubuntu/Xubuntu for 20 years without so much as a single glitch: and for that I am profoundly grateful.
Sometimes 'meh boring' = 100% reliable.
So, stop and think before you are so childish to write things such as 'meh boring'.
27 • pool (by hollyeodeureoga on 2025-10-13 09:43:19 GMT from Poland)
Since majority misses this: you aren't forced in any way to participate in this pool - you can totally skip it till next issue if you don't like choices. Jesse doesn't keep a knife under your neck...
Also what's this thing @1 talks about? Did Canonical introduced some data harvesting in 25.10 release? Or is just some late complain about lenses feature that doesn't exist anymore?
28 • Weekly Poll (by Jake on 2025-10-13 09:44:43 GMT from United States)
There is literally a hundred Linux OS's I don't use. I don't whine about that every time Jesse reviews one of them. Get over it.
If you put 5 Linux users in a room and asked a question you would get at least 10 different opinions
29 • Poll choices (by Jimmy the Geek on 2025-10-13 10:21:14 GMT from Mongolia)
The poll today was missing the following choices: 1) I don't use Linux 2) I don't have a computer 3) What the hell is an Ubuntu? Please fix next time. Thank you.
30 • Ubuntu and Leap (by Hank on 2025-10-13 10:21:25 GMT from Germany)
Which Ubuntu version do I use None, which would I contemplate using None.
I tried to like Ubuntu, gave up and left it forever.
Had been looking forward to latest Open SuSe Leap, sadly it was a bad experience from the start.
No live version for testing, near unstoppable install, did ms write the process, it felt so much like their buggy update process rather than well thought out software.
Dropping yast was maybe the reason, in any case the experince and resulting discussion left us Leap ing away. Debian based antiX, MX remains our local choice.
31 • Favourite Unbuntu Flavour. (by DachshundMan on 2025-10-13 10:34:07 GMT from United Kingdom)
I voted for Ubuntu Mate but I only use it on my Raspberry Pi and only because there is no Mint OS available for the Pi.
32 • Best Ubuntu... (by A hobbit on 2025-10-13 10:58:59 GMT from Chile)
...Is obviously Uwuntu. The lack of anime girls and cat ears in any official flavor shows Ubuntu is not a distro serious devs should gravitate towards.
Jokes aside, I have nothing but admiration towards the Lubuntu team. Even finding distros that offer an lxqt flavor is on the rarer side, let alone one where they actually polish the desktop experience. They also have gone against the grain where it made sense, as it was the case a few releases back with their choice of installer and not ramming essential desktop components inside a snap package.
I also really like Unity, but at this point I doubt the desktop will get enough work as to make it actually viable, which is a shame because it solves almost ll my grips with gnome.
33 • Ubuntu (by Ed on 2025-10-13 11:13:57 GMT from Sweden)
Ubuntu gets a lot of criticism these days and for good reasons. I don't use Ubuntu on the desktop. But Ubuntu is still a good server OS. Even if Canonical has taken many decisions that are very questionable they still offers good solutions for differing use cases.
34 • UBUNTU (by MK on 2025-10-13 11:27:52 GMT from Israel)
...interesting poll results with Kubuntu in the lead, and Xubuntu not far behind. ...good choice. ...and what happened to Ubuntu-Mate? ...no release notes, just a download link?
35 • Lubuntu 25.10 dekstop wallpaper (by Jeffrey on 2025-10-13 13:04:23 GMT from Czechia)
Am I the only one who, when looking at the Lubuntu 25.10 desktop wallpaper, cannot help but immediately think "what a piece of AI-generated fake junk"?
36 • Why Ubuntu ? (by OneHue on 2025-10-13 13:22:00 GMT from Mali)
Nowadays, I always use an Ubuntu flavor or an Ubuntu based distribution (Mint), the one that suits my needs of the moment. Nowadays I use Kubuntu 25.04. Very good, never crash. X11 is faster than Wayland on it, so I use X11. I did the minimal install to avoid snaps. I don’t like snaps not for philosophical reasons but because they start slowly. Why Ubuntu ? Because it has the best drivers support and I can install the NVIDIA driver through a GUI. Kubuntu flavor now, because it is more responsive than Mint Mate nowadays. That is the reason I don’t use Gnome. I don’t like waiting my computer after a double-click.In the past I used Red Hat Linux (2001), Suse (shipped on a HP computer), Debian and its derivatives like Knoppix, #!, Antix, MX 16, so I always prefer a fast OS that can print, scan, connect to many devices through all kind of slots (thanks to the work of Canonical Taipei Office on kernel drivers), and that support professional, commercial softwares for Linux. Many scientific softwares have Linux and Unix flavors..
People can hate Ubuntu, but Canonical is doing a good job for people who use their computer intensively for work and who are not developers. Maybe that use case is a minority.
Canonical added a good font (Ubuntu font), included drivers for all devices they know, added a GUI for drivers management and improved Gnome responsiveness (work of Daniel Van Vugt from Canonical). Many people forget that and support the claim that Canonical doesn’t support the Linux landscape. Without Canonical nobody will use Gnome 3 and it will be dead, Linux distributions will continue to be ugly, and many external devices won’t work.
After that, nowadays, I don’t understand the Rust things, so I value diversity. With the hundreds distributions, you will always find one that suits your needs. So thanks to developers and keep forking and developing, that is the only way to survive the software turmoil we are facing.
I really like the Mark Twain citation 😂.
37 • Ubuntu (by Just4fun on 2025-10-13 13:25:57 GMT from Sweden)
I abandoned Ubuntu when they started with the non-open source 'snap' and have never looked back. (But I miss the 'No Ubuntu at all' option in the poll).
38 • Preferred Ubuntu Edition (by Kevin on 2025-10-13 13:28:29 GMT from United States)
My preferred Ubuntu edition is Debian. If I'm going to run a Debian based distro, I prefer to just run Debian. At the moment, I'm only running Debian occasionally as a VirtualBox guest. My main desktop is running Slackware.
39 • Favourite Ubuntu Flavour (by j20 on 2025-10-13 13:32:57 GMT from United Kingdom)
I voted for Kubuntu. I use another distro, but my second choice would be Kubuntu.
40 • Snaps still sneaky (by Raphael on 2025-10-13 14:04:16 GMT from Morocco)
Forced transition of existing packages to snap makes apt completely unreliable. Im all for reducing mutability of the base system since thats what increases its reliability but snaps cause fracturation of the desktop and shouldve remained focused on servers and IoT since that was its prime audience anyway.
Whats absurd is that system asks you to confirm the installation of packages, but if an app is a snap, it will immediately (re)install snapd if it was removed and then that app without even asking you to confirm if thats what you wanted. Even worse, system upgrades between ubuntu versions reinstall the removed snaps and cause some loss of data since (very limited) migration of app data flows only from deb to snap and not the other way around at all
41 • OpenSuse (by Slappy McGee on 2025-10-13 14:09:17 GMT from United States)
Like many I've tried suse in its various iterations over the years and like said in the review did come away from it with a sense of its unique approach. My take on it was mostly neutral but with a slight lean in the direction of that distro feeling "off," for want of a better word. I remember liking 9.2 for a while.
YAST seemed kind of nice, but not as nice as some other maintenance and tweaking offerings by other distros out there. It was its own thing and a part of the suse experience.
Now that they've come around to making suse generic, so to speak, I'm a bit conflicted; there's a feeling disappointment of sorts along with "that's more like it, they finally got a clue."
If they're doing the changes as a sort of marketing strategy, it'll probably work; they'll likely get more users to stay with them. We'll see.
42 • Trisquel (by Dave on 2025-10-13 14:18:00 GMT from Ireland)
I used the free Trisquel derivative of Ubuntu for many years for ethical reasons, but have since abandoned distros of Debian ancestry and haven't looked back. Secureblue for me now.
43 • OpenSUSE (by David on 2025-10-13 16:15:22 GMT from United Kingdom)
OpenSUSE exists to develop and test material for SESE Enterprise Linux, just as Fedora exists to develop and test material for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Why does anyone expect such distros to make things comfortable for their users? If you use them, even if you actually like them, you are essentially a guinea pig — get used to the idea!
44 • Yet another I don't use Ubuntu anymore (by nekosama on 2025-10-13 16:34:13 GMT from Mexico)
Yeah, Ubuntu stopped being the "go-to" distro for everyone during the Amazon/Unity controversies that were deepened with the Mir and snap episodes. I'm using different distros in my 4 or 5 boxes, but none of them run *buntu anymore. At that time, I have to say Xubuntu and Linux Mint got my back. I still trust Xubuntu, therefore, my vote goes for them.
45 • @27 (by Tyler B. on 2025-10-13 18:34:07 GMT from United States)
The spyware still exists in ubuntu, stop spreading misinformation.
46 • Favourite Ubuntu (by Simon Wainscott-Plaistowe on 2025-10-13 19:18:34 GMT from New Zealand)
Yes, why indeed... why no options such as "I don't use Ubuntu" or "I use an Ubuntu derivative"? I use Linux Mint because I find it more stable than Ubuntu. I like the Cinnamon desktop and prefer Flatpaks to Snaps.
47 • Ubuntu Love (by mike on 2025-10-13 20:21:12 GMT from United States)
"I use Debian because Ubuntu sucks" is like saying "I hate Honda but love Acura." They are nearly the same.
48 • Faltpak on Ubuntu (by Tyler M. on 2025-10-13 20:58:39 GMT from United States)
Flatpak on Ubuntu isn't entirely broken. I maintain separate root and home partitions and install my flatpak apps for just my user and am apparently unaffected by the flatpak issue because of this.
49 • Lubuntu because it's light (by Johannes Rexx on 2025-10-13 21:18:38 GMT from United States)
My favorite edition is Lubuntu because it's a fairly light distro measured with `free -h`.
Alas, it seems that as time goes on, every Linux distro is getting heavier and heavier in terms of RAM use. For example, Voyager uses almost 2 GB RAM in live mode, again according to `free -h` which is rather on the high side.
My guess is that the Linux kernel is the culprit here. The kernel's lines of code just keeps on increasing. See https://www.stackscale.com/blog/linux-kernel-surpasses-40-million-lines-code/ for the data.
50 • Opinion Poll (by Marco on 2025-10-13 22:03:35 GMT from Italy)
I think this week's opinion poll should be understood this way: "if you were forced to use a Canonical distro, which would you prefer?" I use Kubuntu and voted for Kubuntu: a distribution that considers Canonical's interests but also the user's interests. It's not perfect, but the only one truly usable for beginners. Is Debian better? Yes it is, but not for all users.
51 • Yast (by Nate on 2025-10-13 22:52:05 GMT from United States)
OpenSuse dropping Yast? Now that's some...interesting? decision making? Yast was basically what made Suse unique and worthwhile. It wasn't perfect (no software is) and I'm sure that there was a technical debt burden, but I doubt that a ground up rewrite helps with the latter. More than likely what you wind up with is the sort of mess that occurred for both Gnome 3 and KDE 4. You get a few years of pain, alienate a *lot* of your user base, and then have to try to convince people to come back in a few years once things are sorted. Meanwhile the replacement takes even more years to reach feature-parity with what it's replacing.
I liked Suse. I used to recommend it to new users over Ubuntu or Mint because it was just really solid and conservative while still being up to date. Yast made it so that those types of users could configure things without a bunch of config file editing. I'm not going to be recommending it anymore I think.
52 • Trisquel - based on Ubuntu but without all the proprietary nonsense (by Andy Prough on 2025-10-13 23:42:43 GMT from Switzerland)
The Ubuntu-based distro I use is not on the list - it's Trisquel GNU/Linux, the FSF-approved, totally libre distro. Runs fantastic, even on modern hardware.
53 • Poll. The CCP achieves what western activists can't even dream of: usable Ubuntu (by Usability requires a clean UI on 2025-10-14 00:02:05 GMT from United Kingdom)
It pains me to say it, but of the "flavours" listed, (which are only a very small subset of all Ubuntu spins - oh sorry, "flavours" - out there,) the one that is the least unusable, is Ubuntu Kylin. Since UKUI is actually a well-designed desktop environment. Xfce and LXQt are also decent, but the way they have been implemented, respectively, by Xubuntu and Lubuntu, is rather poor and requires hours of tinkering and customizing to get in a usable state. GNOME and Cinnamon are even worse: they literally cannot be fixed natively, i.e. without installing Shell Extensions and "Spices", respectively. MATE is the same, but without even having the saving grace of Shell Extensions/"Spices" to make it usable. Budgie and Unity took one look at the disaster that was GNOME 3, and went "Hold my beer!" And KDE... Oh KDE... KDE, as always, manages to be just the worst of the worst desktop environments ever created. And it's somehow still getting more unusable with every update.
54 • OpenSuse, Ubuntu (by Keith S on 2025-10-14 00:39:31 GMT from United States)
I agree with @51 Nate on Leap. It's sad. I tried OpenSuse Leap earlier this year and found it to be surprisingly pleasant and stable and not as bloated as in years gone by. I actually considered making it my daily driver, but ended up going back to MX Linux. Jesse's review is great in the sense that I have a very good idea of what they have screwed up, so I don't have to waste time finding out for myself.
Regarding Ubuntu, I used Ubuntu Studio some years ago and found it to be pretty good but a little overly complicated for what I needed. Linux audio and video have become good enough for my needs on many different distros these days, including my go-to MX. Maybe it still fills a need for a niche audience that needs a realtime kernel, etc. I have not tried other flavors of Ubuntu for many years, but sometimes consider trying Xubuntu and Lubuntu because I really like Xfce and LXQt. But I haven't for quite a while.
Mint seems too much ... something, but I can understand why people would use it since it seems very reliable. That is probably the Ubuntu I would default to these days.
55 • Ubuntu (by nobita on 2025-10-14 02:01:58 GMT from Australia)
Question; is Ubuntu still relevant?
Why use such a corporatized distro even when you can just use Debian?
56 • Ubuntu (by Pumpino on 2025-10-14 03:44:40 GMT from Australia)
@55 Ubuntu is released every six months. Having a six-monthly snapshot of Sid provides more up to date packages than Debian, which can be up to two years old.
57 • Ubuntu (by The Catboy on 2025-10-14 03:53:29 GMT from United States)
Haven’t used Ubuntu since that time they made a deal with Amazon. Glad I don’t use it these days
58 • ubuntu (by Josh on 2025-10-14 04:56:36 GMT from United States)
@47 Yeah, that's not even close. Saying Debian and Ubuntu are nearly the same is like saying Google Chrome is nearly the same as Chromium. I mean one's based on the other, right.....?
59 • Unbuntu (by Bobbie Sellers on 2025-10-14 05:45:31 GMT from United States)
I am sad that many people will start using Linux with a Ubuntu distribution. i started with Mandriva 2006. I did not see Ubuntu until I tried to help someone who used Ubuntu as though it was Windows and had gotten it messed up.
The idea of sudo as seen in those days was a very bad idea and I could probably find an article about how badly it was implemented.
Mandriva had Dophin and Midnight Commander so that as I had done with AmigaOS 1.3-3.9 explore the file system and figure out the structure.
Ubuntu of the same time was far less well supplied with tools and installed without separate partitions for root and home.
Then the adoption of systemd by Ubuntu left it completely outside the realm of my hobbyist interest.
bliss- Dell Precision 7730- PCLOS 2025.10 Linux 6.12.51-pclos1- KDE Plasma 6.4.5
60 • Farewell Frugal! (by Alter Furz on 2025-10-14 08:05:06 GMT from Germany)
Thank you for your contribution. I used Frugal for a few weeks during the Rigel times, when I was still distro hopping.
61 • Ubuntu Version (by rhtoras on 2025-10-14 11:30:24 GMT from Greece)
Well i hate Ubuntu. It is not user friendly as some folks still believe (at least the flagship version) and has systemD and snaps. Also the code is not 100% free. What is to like ? For me personal nothing. Not to mention the need of ppa repositories for software that does not exist or simply does not work out of the box. If you like Ubuntu the old way then MX linux is the closest (sysV version tbh).
As for Suse Leap review. There is nothing that sets Suse Linux leap apart other distributions. I agree with Jesse on this. Even in the systemD side there are better more polished options.
62 • Poll (by Slappy McGee on 2025-10-14 12:41:17 GMT from United States)
@10 .. Well, maybe some here have had one of the many distros which self-describe as "Ubuntu-based." Most seem to be Ubuntu with a tweak here and there and a branding of their own.
That would have been a very long list of choices.
63 • "... very long list of choices..." (by Friar Tux on 2025-10-14 13:32:21 GMT from Canada)
@62 (Slappy) "... very long list of choices..." You're not kidding... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg/2220px-Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg.png
64 • Opinion Poll (favourite flavour of Ubuntu?) (by nobody on 2025-10-14 14:24:00 GMT from Germany)
Opinion Poll Which is your favourite flavour of Ubuntu?
My non voting answer is: None I did not vote
65 • Ubuntu with other names (by Slappy McGee on 2025-10-14 14:31:18 GMT from United States)
@63 Wow. Now we see why Jesse crafted the poll the way it is. "If you use Ubuntu, which version?"
Not which of the eleventy-billion Ubuntu inspired distros. And, the no-brainer, not for those who use other than Ubuntu.
66 • Ubuntu fav (by pepa65 on 2025-10-14 14:39:54 GMT from Thailand)
My Ubuntu desktop favourite was MATE (and before that Gnome2), until the snapd became too pervasive, then I switched to Mint MATE (which I love). On servers I always use Ubuntu LTS (except for a few cases of Debian) and Ubuntu is very comfortable on servers, especially with the ESP support (free for 5 machines). I wish Ubuntu well, also because Mint depends on it, but I am glad that Mint also has a Debian Edition that keeps improving, which is reassuring to me. Clem Lefebvre and team are doing an awesome job managing the Mint project wisely, and this is crucial for any good distro.
67 • ubun... (by jc on 2025-10-14 14:51:48 GMT from The Netherlands)
“ ’I use Debian because Ubuntu sucks’ is like saying ‘I hate Honda but love Acura.’ They are nearly the same.”
This is an absurd position. The thesis is that if a parent is loved then the child must also be loved. The world is filled with counter examples to disprove the thesus. A parent may be loved and the child despised, particularly wjen the chile may be a spawn of hell.
68 • Featured version is a best version (by Dhoni on 2025-10-15 03:33:17 GMT from Indonesia)
Even im not an Ubuntu user, i vote for the OG Ubuntu. Reason is simple, Ubuntu is the one that this distro featured as their main star.
When distro hopping, i always pick their main ISO with their recomended DE.
69 • Ubuntu poll (by @1,2,3,etc on 2025-10-15 04:02:55 GMT from United States)
Jesse is a long standing Ubuntu fanboi , for example he lists all the variations, but refuses requests to list the various spins for Fedora with flimsy reasoning. Nor does he list the variations of Linux Mint. Or Debian.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander . If you are going to Break Ubuntu into all the options, you should do the same for all distros.
You just have to accept the fact he is inconsistent, favors Ubuntu in this regard, and can not fathom anyone using anything else nor is he open to change.
70 • Ubuntu poll (by Alamedated on 2025-10-15 04:31:38 GMT from United States)
I have an old laptop in my greenhouse for reading kung fu novels and listening to music. Kubuntu works great for me. It is light weight and everything mostly works. Spotify causes system lockups every now and then. Puppy linux works on the computer but I am not tech savy enough to get spotify to run.
71 • Ubuntu Studio (by DaveT on 2025-10-15 09:46:21 GMT from United Kingdom)
I voted for Ubuntu Studio because of all the audio stuff it has. Getting JACK etc to play nicely can be ... difficult at times! It has given me many headaches over the years. Ubuntu Studio makes it easy.
72 • Ubuntu and other projects (by Jesse on 2025-10-15 12:41:37 GMT from Canada)
@69: "Jesse is a long standing Ubuntu fanboi"
You've never read anything I've written about Ubuntu, have you?
"for example he lists all the variations, but refuses requests to list the various spins for Fedora with flimsy reasoning. Nor does he list the variations of Linux Mint. Or Debian."
How we organize flavours of distributions is well explained in our FAQ: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=faq#ubuntusplit
it's not favouritism, it's just consistency. Arch spins are handled the same way and no one has ever complained about the way we handle Arch-based projects.
"What is good for the goose is good for the gander . If you are going to Break Ubuntu into all the options, you should do the same for all distros."
Again, read the FAQ, it explains how projects are organized and why. And we do handle all projects/spins the same.
"You just have to accept the fact he is inconsistent, favors Ubuntu in this regard, and can not fathom anyone using anything else"
This is just silly. As I pointed out above, the way we treat all projects i consistently. Also, if you've read anything I've written you know I don't use Ubuntu myself.
"nor is he open to change."
I literally use a different distro every week.
73 • just say 'no' (by Nobuntu on 2025-10-15 18:11:58 GMT from Canada)
Canonical is not a community; it's a corporation that puts corporate goals in the way of its users.
With the exception of Mint 22.2 (very recently), I haven't used anything based on Canonical products for years. Now that Gigi is out of the gate, it'll be LMDE 7 all the way (and Arch at home).
Real Linux is about user communities, not corporations. Why wasn't there a "no thanks, Ubuntu" choice in this?
74 • Ubuntu Poll (by Slappy McGee on 2025-10-15 21:14:22 GMT from United States)
@73 "Why wasn't there a 'no thanks, Ubuntu' choice in this?"
Gads, man.. BECAUSE THE POLL IS AIMED AT UBUNTU USERS. For gawd sake!
75 • Mobian headline (by That Mr B on 2025-10-16 11:51:00 GMT from United Kingdom)
Did anyone else read the headline about the Mobian 13.0 where it said "important hardware features (such as e.g. WiFi or audio) are not working?" Seriously, WTH? A mobile OS with no wi-fi or audio is as much use as a chocolate teapot or a motorcycle ashtray.
76 • Zorin 18 (by Geo. on 2025-10-16 13:41:55 GMT from Canada)
Bravo Zorin. My whole family is on Zorin now. I'm on Mint, but I love Zorin's simplicity so I may switch over after they're upgraded to 18.
77 • Happily Mint, but.... (by tom joad on 2025-10-16 16:30:53 GMT from United States)
Way back in the day as some say, I cut my teeth as it were on Ubuntu. After a few years or so I fled. Nope, I never went back.
Why? Remember back some years when Canonical just lost its collect mind? Remember that period? That lunacy drove me to distro hop and I landed on MX Linux. Later I moved on to Mint. I am Mint now in the hope it does not have a period when it, too, 'wigs out' as Ubuntu did.
I have 'tried' Ubuntu Mate, though, but I quickly kicked that to the curb. No more Ubuntus for me.
78 • Silly responses to an ordinary straightforward poll (by Buster on 2025-10-16 17:23:21 GMT from Canada)
The intent of the poll is obvious. Jesse, I would like to extend my sympathy that you face this sort of thing when doing such a harmless and enjoyable thing for us each week. Apparently some think monumental disruptions to civilization itself are at stake. Most of us skip automatically questions that don't concern us, such as restaurants in Iceland.
79 • Rational responses to silly responses (by That Mr B on 2025-10-16 17:37:28 GMT from United Kingdom)
@78 - There speaks the voice of reason.
80 • Ubuntu poll (by historyb on 2025-10-16 20:10:52 GMT from United States)
I like both budgie and unity though I use Mint
Number of Comments: 80
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
| | |
| TUXEDO |

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| *NEW* NovaCustom |

NovaCustom PrivacyGuard Laptops - Escape from Big Tech
The NovaCustom PrivacyGuard Laptop is ideal for anyone who prioritizes privacy. Comes with Dasharo coreboot open source firmware and Zorin OS Pro, free from influence of Big Tech.
|
Archives |
| • Issue 1169 (2026-04-20): Lakka 6.1, free software and source-based distributions, FreeBSD Foundation publishes compatible laptop list, Debian holds Project Leader election, Haiku progresses ARM64 port, Mint to extend development cycle, Linux 7.0 released |
| • Issue 1168 (2026-04-13): pearOS 2026.03, EndeavourOS 2026.03.06, which distros are adopting age verification, Arch adjusts its firewall packages, Linux dropping i486 support, Red Hat extends its release cycle, Debian's APT introduces rollbacks, Redox improves its scheduler |
| • Issue 1167 (2026-04-06): Origami Linux 2026.03, answering questions for Linux newcomers, Ubuntu MATE seeking new contributors, Ubuntu software centre is expanding Deb support, FreeBSD fixes forum exploit, openSUSE 15 Leap nears its end of life |
| • Issue 1166 (2026-03-30): NetBSD jails, publishing software for Linux, Ubuntu joins Rust Foundation, Canonical plans to trim GRUB features, Peppermint works on new utilities, PINE64 shows off open hardware capabilities |
| • Issue 1165 (2026-03-23): Argent Linux 1.5.3, disk space required by Linux, Manjaro team goes on strike, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA driver support and builds RISC-V packages, systemd introduces age tracking |
| • Issue 1164 (2026-03-16): d77void, age verification laws and Linux, SUSE may be for sale, TrueNAS takes its build system private, Debian publishes updated Trixie media, MidnightBSD and System76 respond to age verification laws |
| • Issue 1163 (2026-03-09): KaOS 2026.02, TinyCore 17.0, NuTyX 26.02.2, Would one big collection of packages help?, Guix offers 64-bit Hurd options, Linux communities discuss age delcaration laws, Mint unveils new screensaver for Cinnamon, Redox ports new COSMIC features |
| • Issue 1162 (2026-03-02): AerynOS 2026.01, anti-virus and firewall tools, Manjaro fixes website certificate, Ubuntu splits firmware package, jails for NetBSD, extended support for some Linux kernel releases, Murena creating a map app |
| • Issue 1161 (2026-02-23): The Guix package manager, quick Q&As, Gentoo migrating its mirrors, Fedora considers more informative kernel panic screens, GhostBSD testing alternative X11 implementation, Asahi makes progress with Apple M3, NetBSD userland ported, FreeBSD improves web-based system management |
| • Issue 1160 (2026-02-16): Noid and AgarimOS, command line tips, KDE Linux introduces delta updates, Redox OS hits development milestone, Linux Mint develops a desktop-neutral account manager, sudo developer seeks sponsorship |
| • Issue 1159 (2026-02-09): Sharing files on a network, isolating processes on Linux, LFS to focus on systemd, openSUSE polishes atomic updates, NetBSD not likely to adopt Rust code, COSMIC roadmap |
| • Issue 1158 (2026-02-02): Manjaro 26.0, fastest filesystem, postmarketOS progress report, Xfce begins developing its own Wayland window manager, Bazzite founder interviewed |
| • Issue 1157 (2026-01-26): Setting up a home server, what happened to convergence, malicious software entering the Snap store, postmarketOS automates hardware tests, KDE's login manager works with systemd only |
| • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
| Random Distribution | 
Linspire
Linspire is a full-featured operating system (based on Debian GNU/Linux and Ubuntu) like Microsoft Windows XP or Apple Mac OS X. Linspire offers the power, stability and cost-savings of Linux with the ease of a Windows environment. In addition, Linspire features exclusive Click-N-Run (CNR) technology that makes installing software on Linspire fast and easy. Note: Linspire was acquired by Xandros Inc. in July 2008 and discontinued as a Linux distribution shortly afterwards. Linspire was later purchased by PC/OpenSystems in 2017 and sold as an Ubuntu-based commercial distribution.
Status: Active
|
| TUXEDO |

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
|