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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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Arch Linux. Always very up-to-date and the AUR is huge. No dealing with PPAs or snaps or flatpaks or appimages. Just paru -S any-software-ever-made. Also very streamlined (systemd for everything lol) and well documented. I tried NixOS for a bit but it was very inconvenient in comparison and I felt like it was impossible to tinker with or understand if you weren't good at Haskell. Terrible documentation.
For servers it's definitely Debian + docker.
Debian. Several reasons:
The thought that Debian will continue into the future feels comforting. How cool it would be if in 5000AD kids on Mars or Europa are running Debian 100?
Fedora, because it just works and it ships recent software versions.
I also like Fedora Silverblue, and projects like ublue are very interesting in my opinion.
Could you explain what you find interesting about Silverblue ?
Updates can't really break anything, and if something would go wrong, I can simply boot on the previous image, which will still be there. They can also happen in the background, such that I don't even know it's updating. It just happens and never bothers me.
What's even more interesting is that you can rebase on another base image without having to worry. If I don't like it, I can just go back to the previous image. With ublue, you can even customize your own OS image.
I believe modern Android uses a similar concept. They use two partitions, and install an update to the other image while your phone is running normally. Then all you need to do is reboot, and you'll be on the new boot image.
NixOS everywhere (except for one server which I have yet to migrate from Rocky to NixOS)
I use Debian with a patched version of motif window manager. The 90s never ended:
I use opensuse with kde and I love it. Have been using it for 2 years now.
For server use at home I use Ubuntu Server and Alma Linux (mostly)
At work it is all RedHat.
Linux Mint. Nothing beats your computer just working when you have shit to get done.
I've been a daily fedora user for the half year. Initially I started off with ElementaryOS but it was so filled with bugs, and glitches, so it didnt last for more than a couple of months. While the fedora experience is way more streamlined.
Arch Linux everywhere. I'm curious about NixOS but I don't have the time to tinker anymore.
I use Arch Linux with KDE Plasma myself
Linux Mint with Mate DE.
I used to use Void as my main distro, but then the developer drama made me shy away from it (keep in mind, this was like forever ago and I haven’t looked at Void at all since). After that I floated around trying everything, from Gentoo to the BSDs (I know, not Linux). Nowadays I use OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. I got tired of doing everything manually and OpenSUSE just makes everything so much easier to use, IMO.
Using Arch everywhere (home, work, laptop). It's boring, but it just works.
Arch on everything, including servers. It's just so easy to install everything via the AUR & configure everything easily. Plus the wiki is amazing. Although it is a pain to setup sometimes
Mostly NixOS unstable. I have one machine still on Arch, but i plan to switch that to NixOS too.
At work we are mostly Rhel, so then at home I have some Rocky VMs and main system is Fedora. I used to run Arch, but then got lazy…
OpenSUSE Tumbleweed on my laptop, Debian on my server and SteamOS on the Steam Deck.
I use NixOS on all of my servers.
OpenSUSE, Tumbleweed on workstations (KDE) and Leap on my server.
I just recently switched to Arch and I gotta say, the AUR is indispensible! Also really like how fast pacman is.
Garuuuuuda. Love it. Been running it for the past few years. The devs come off as assholes, but they're actually just German;)
Fedora on the desktop. I got my start on Red Hat Linux so I've stuck with it since.
For servers I use Debian. Lightweight, widely used, and gets the job done.
Arch.
I've done a reasonable amount of distrohopping, but I always come crawling back because I've never found anything that can compete with the AUR.
Mint with Cinnamon is my daily driver on my desktop and laptop for almost 3 years now. I ran a company for a while using Linux and managed to find everything I needed for software to run administration. It was great. I still have a windows tablet for troubleshooting and equipment specific requests, but I always feel weird logging into it.
Been using NixOS for a couple months. It’s gotten easier to configure and change because of it, and new computers are super easy to setup because I can just change/apply the config and system wide changes will apply with one command!
I'm currently using a mix of Arch and Fedora, but I've been starting to look in to NixOS.
I'm a opensuse tumbleweed user on my desktop and laptop. I also have an ubuntu home server.
I really like tumbleweed, but I have been thinking of switching to an immutable distro like guix or nix. I've tried guix several times and found it pretty good, but never stick with it due to its lack of KDE plasma support. Maybe I should give nix a try.
I used to use Debian but after switching to Fedora Silverblue two years ago I've had zero inkling to distrohop. I love that it allows me to tinker without breaking my system (which I used to do with Debian).
SUSE
Kubuntu for me. Ive been an on again off again user of either Ubuntu or kubuntu for over a decade now, but that might have to change here soon. The integration of snap is driving me insane, so I've been looking into arch distros recently
Manjaro. I am a guy of habits, so I never really distro-hopped, I once tried to install Arch and failed to configure everything so I tried endeavour and failed too (which would mean I am not a tech guy either ;). Ultimately, I'd say that the distribution does not matters much once you are used to it, you can always get what you want from any of them. The only thing I really like in comparison with others is pacman :)
I use NixOS for everything. I have a Nix flake that defines my systems (two VPS, a desktop, a laptop and a little home server) and I can modularize the config snippets that apply to the machines so I can effortlessly reuse them. Add to that the atomic updates and reliable rollback and there you have it.
I like to keep things somewhat basic so I use Arch btw....
Servers: Debian Stable no DE
Desktop: Pop OS or Ubuntu
I've used everything from Arch and Gentoo to fedora and Ubuntu. But I found myself enjoying the stability of Debian but hating the lack of newer packages. The latter of which isnt usually a problem when it comes to single purpose servers.
Yes, 100% this. Debian stable, no GUI for servers. Never have a problem.
I've hopped distros in the past, chasing the holy grail of "optimization". Turned out I never noticed much difference with using plain Ubuntu. So I'm using that now for years. It works. Lots of people use it, so if I run in a problem, probably someone else already found the solution. And you can alwsys consult the arch wiki to solve Ubuntu problems... 😉
Debain - cuz my production VMs need to run all day, every day.