this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024
482 points (94.8% liked)

Linux

48343 readers
429 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Ubuntu's popularity often makes it the default choice for new Linux users. But there are tons of other Linux operating systems that deserve your attention. As such, I've highlighted some Ubuntu alternatives so you can choose based on your needs and requirements—because conformity is boring.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 32 points 9 months ago (2 children)

The problem with going for alternatives is support.

Imagine picking a random Linux flavor, then trying to figure out how to change settings, only to get either hundreds of different answers.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 9 months ago

Depends on the alternative. E.g. Fedora and OpenSuse have very active communities and lots of help available.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (2 children)

You're not going to get a telephone number you can call, but the documentation maintained by Arch is far superior to that offered by Ubuntu. If support is your biggest concern, you're far better served by Arch.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

That's fine for someone willing to read documentation, the average user would rather read a forum post, which Ubuntu has a shit load of posts about using and fixing it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Lol I chuckled at that telephone number part