I've been exploring daily Linux use for around five years, and Fedora 36 really caught my attention.
I've been exploring daily Linux use for around five years, and Fedora 36 really caught my attention.
Really! I’m not sure why I didn’t give it a shot sooner, but it’s just amazing to mention somewhere. Here are my quick thoughts so far: The setup was straightforward, though the person helping wasn’t very friendly. Anaconda seems a bit heavy compared to Ubuntu, Manjaro, or Solus. I respect their focus on free software, but having the ability to add extra drivers during installation would have made it more appealing. Still, there’s a plus side: getting my Nvidia drivers was super simple by including the nonfree repo in the Software Center and installing via a GUI. Secure boot support is a nice touch that lowers the barrier for some users. Fedora uses a clean GNOME, which is new to me—I chose it because of Ubuntu’s style but found vanilla GNOME faster and more streamlined. It made me dislike the sidebar from Ubuntu, which took up too much space. Installing games was effortless. There were no problems with Steam, Overwatch, League of Legends, or even newer titles like Vermintide 2. EAC support is solid. Wayland is impressive. As someone with a basic grasp of system basics, the difference is noticeable—no annoying lag when moving windows, high refresh rates work perfectly. Flatpaks came out of the box nicely, and adding Flathub to the Software Center expanded my options greatly. These tools aren’t tied to any one distribution; finding apps like Déjà Dup or Boxes & Bottles from the center made me feel comfortable. I also appreciate having a file manager named “Files,” a text editor called “Text Editor,” etc.—no need for weird names like “Dolphin” or “Gwenview.” KDE’s interface is clean, and it’s not too complicated. Fedora feels modern without being cutting-edge, offering fast updates and stability while avoiding major crashes. It’s been my fourth try across Kubuntu, Ubuntu, Solus, and now Fedora—each step was smoother than the last. I didn’t have to reinstall often and avoided major issues. This was my progression from Kubuntu to Fedora. I’m not sure about Solus despite its concept; getting it up was a real hassle. I can’t imagine anyone out of tech experience struggling with app names. I value simple, honest design choices. Also, Fedora is solid but not the latest—great new features at a steady pace without breaking things. All in all, I’m really enjoying this experience. Have you had similar excitement with your preferred distro? Share your thoughts! If you haven’t tried Fedora 36 yet, it might surprise you.
Mint offers a solid text editor and file management tools. Numerous applications are available at no cost. It includes a web browser and an office suite, LibreOffice, which comes pre-installed. Setup takes roughly eight minutes; consider updating occasionally and start using it. For creating or burning ISO images, right-click the option and select "Make Bootable USB Stick" from the menu. I've used Mint for about ten years now.
Vanilla GNOME appears appealing. However, the developers have taken away app icons from the top bar, and restoring them needs an extension. I plan to overcome this issue long after it’s gone, but being able to quickly check and adjust my VPN connection is more valuable than a tidy interface. Asking for a desktop extension to bring basic features back feels unnecessary. There’s one extension that lets me bypass GNOME’s odd design choices, but the moment I can’t fix it with an add-on, I’ll consider switching desktop environments. Ignoring this problem isn’t an option if it stops me from moving forward.
Mint is quite pleasant to use, and I've enjoyed its features, though I often wished for faster updates compared to Ubuntu. Debian Edition seems to address that concern. A system tray by default is intuitive, which is unusual in GNOME. I value the appearance and feel of Mint but acknowledge some drawbacks, particularly with built-in software that comes bundled with Fedora. I remember Fedora used to be quite unstable, so changes might have improved stability. If you're open to testing it in a virtual setup, it could turn out more comfortable than your last experience. What do you typically use now?
This focuses more on the characteristics of Red Hat distributions rather than their initial setup. For instance, SELinux often triggers error alerts automatically when installing Oracle Linux. Once you upgrade Oracle Linux, the issue typically disappears, highlighting a general rule: the more intricate a system is, the higher the likelihood of mistakes. FreeBSD remains the most stable OS overall. While setting up these systems can be more involved than user-friendly ones, alternatives like GhostBSD, helloSystem, NomadBSD, RavynOS, and Void Linux offer options if you prefer a different command-line experience. In my view, Void Linux is currently the top choice for workstations. It requires some effort during installation and configuration, but the process is straightforward, particularly with XFCE and glibc. You can leverage XBPS packages, Flatpak, and Nix.
Fedora functions smoothly yet has some issues. A recent spin caused the repos to crash, which wasn’t ideal. With IBM now owning the company, there’s uncertainty about future support and updates.