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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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Anyone else starting to favor Flatpak over native packages? (lemmy.one)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I am currently using Linux Mint (after a long stint of using MX Linux) after learning it handles Nvidia graphics cards flawlessly, which I am grateful for. Whatever grief I have given Ubuntu in the past, I take it back because when they make something work, it is solid.

Anyways, like most distros these days, Flatpaks show up alongside native packages in the package manager / app store. I used to have a bias towards getting the natively packed version, but these days, I am choosing Flatpaks, precisely because I know they will be the latest version.

This includes Blender, Cura, Prusaslicer, and just now QBittorrent. I know this is probably dumb, but I choose the version based on which has the nicer icon.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Yeah, that's what I mean. You can use flatpak (or snap if you swing that way) but you can also install applications via containers. They're still not installed on the OS-- even "native" applications get installed via the container. So if the application you want is maintained for arch in aur, you can add the --aur tag to the apx command and it will install that version instead of the default, which is ubuntu. This also works for fedora applications.

Edit: More info here: https://handbook.vanillaos.org/2023/01/11/install-and-manage-applications.html

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Doesn't that result in a lot of wasted space from duplicated dependencies? Don't get me wrong, this looks great on paper, which is why I desperately need to find fault with it before I start distrohopping again.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Just let some bees loose on your system for a while and they'll sort that out.
Also depending on how good your CPU is btrfs compression would also save a fair bit. AFAIK shared libraries are pretty well compressible.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I'm sure it does to some degree, though I don't know if it's enough to matter on modern computers, and isn't that what flatpak does, too? (duplicating dependencies)

In any event, if you don't need an application from a specific distro there's no reason to create that container. The non-ubuntu ones get created when they're needed. (And I think the next version of VanillaOS will be debian-based, not ubuntu; in case that matters.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

That sounds cool. Thanks for the recommendation.