# get me away from ubuntu! another distro thread...



## digibucc (Sep 4, 2014)

Ok... after a few months, and feeling much more comfortable with the transition from windows (haven't needed it in over a month, full workflow most days ) - now i'm ready to move on from ubuntu.

I don't like unity, I don't like the bloat. I like debian, I like apt-get. I was looking at Linux Mint, as that seems to be the go to choice for buntu emigrates. any thoughts on the matter? do you have a better distro of choice?

I would say my skill level is intermediate at this point. I am very comfortable in the shell, though I do want full availability of graphical/gui enhancements. It's a powerful machine, I want it to be strong but also look pretty


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## Aquinus (Sep 4, 2014)

Personally, I don't think Mint is much of an upgrade from Ubuntu, they're one of the same thing that just puts a different spin on things out of the box. I personally would either do a command line install of Ubuntu and install just what you need, use Ubuntu Gnome, or do a CLI install of Debian and install just what you need. Otherwise I don't think you'll find anything too different by moving away from Ubuntu. Ubuntu does everything any other linux distro can do. If you just want a different look and feel, just install a different Window Manager in Ubuntu.

If the latter is the case, describe what you want because changing what OS you're using to "match your skill" is an absurd way of looking at it imho.  I would change it if there was something specific I was trying to accomplish. I'm experienced with linux but I'll still use Ubuntu, just not like most "average users". So don't hate on Ubuntu because you *think* you've outgrown it.


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## digibucc (Sep 4, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> Personally, I don't think Mint is much of an upgrade from Ubuntu, they're one of the same thing that just puts a different spin on things out of the box. I personally would either do a command line install of Ubuntu and install just what you need, use Ubuntu Gnome, or do a CLI install of Debian and install just what you need. Otherwise I don't think you'll find anything too different by moving away from Ubuntu. Ubuntu does everything any other linux distro can do. If you just want a different look and feel, just install a different Window Manager in Ubuntu.
> 
> If the latter is the case, describe what you want because changing the OS to "match your skill" is an absurd way of looking at it.


thanks for the reply ... I wasn't trying to change to match my skill, but rather I'm not opposed to changing. I went with Ubuntu out of fear that I may lack the ability to be productive in a less ease of use focused distro, and I don't have that fear anymore. I have been trying a few different managers and I like gnome-shell the most I think.

So other than paring down my install, there's no advantage to any other distros really? I Was thinking of a straight debian install and then adding my software, so I may go that route now. thank you


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## Guitar (Sep 4, 2014)

I prefer yum. 

Try Fedora. I hated it..but that's because it annoyed me coming from Windows and I tried to switch cold turkey. I switched to Mac like that..but IMO is better than that. Fedora has a lot of niggles for me that I couldn't get past, but it'd be worth a try.


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## pigulici (Sep 4, 2014)

I use Mageia 4...


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## Easy Rhino (Sep 4, 2014)

Well if you are up to it I would suggest installing the latest Debian using the minimal install disc and then installing a lightweight windows manager. From there you can install whatever packages and drivers you need. I think at this point a jump to Fedora may be a little bit too daunting since you would have to learn a different file directory and hit a lot of third party repositories. Also, sudo setup is a bit different i believe.


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## Aquinus (Sep 4, 2014)

Easy Rhino said:


> Well if you are up to it I would suggest installing the latest Debian using the minimal install disc and then installing a lightweight windows manager. From there you can install whatever packages and drivers you need. I think at this point a jump to Fedora may be a little bit too daunting since you would have to learn a different file directory and hit a lot of third party repositories. Also, sudo setup is a bit different i believe.



This is what I would recommend if you were hell-bent on reinstalling in general. Otherwise you can easily install another window manager and just use it when you login. The only real benefit to doing what Rhino suggests is that you'll have a system with a smaller memory footprint and just packages you need.

The real question is: What do you not like about Unity? What exactly do you want in your window manager? I personally like minimalism, so something like i3 is good option, but on the other hand having a "point and click" GUI like GNOME is useful as well depending on what your goal is.

So tell us what you want to be able to do easier or better and maybe we can give you a better, more targetted suggestion. Otherwise you're only going to hear what *we* like, not what you want or like. So lets simply start with your needs that Unity doesn't satisfy.


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## Naito (Sep 4, 2014)

I personally like me some cinnamon; maybe try Linux Mint in that flavour. Otherwise yeah, just change your window manager in Ubuntu...


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## Liquid Cool (Sep 7, 2014)

I think ER is offering sound advice here...Debian is very stable and runs fluid and I've tried the minimal install, it's not too tough.  I plan on switching to Debian Gnome this fall when I get a 'more permanent' system together, right now I'm just using what I hope is a temporary.  Until I switch over, I'm currently just using Ubuntu Gnome.  If Gnome isn't your thing my second choice would fall in line with Naito...Mint Cinnamon is coming along nicely and is very customizable.  If I get a laptop, I think that would by my distro of choice.

Liquid Cool


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## Solaris17 (Sep 7, 2014)

Debian for you chief. It has what you need and you can customize. Later if you decide to leave the debian code base you can move on to  Suse and Fedora. and finally after a year or two and your comfy you can check your gear and make for the raid boss he will be on your linux roadmap as Gentoo. After that you can lick your wounds and hold that for a year or two and once youve prestige classed to a bearded elder you can move to freeBSD as your intro to unix. then talk to the NPC that teaches you how to install java on BSD and after you've successfully done it she gives you the unix roadmap IIRC I think it ends with systemV

You can also elect to take a side quest at this point and run Solaris


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## remixedcat (Sep 7, 2014)

Redhat distros are most stable. There's a reason most servers use them.


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## Aquinus (Sep 7, 2014)

remixedcat said:


> Redhat distros are most stable. There's a reason most servers use them.


Traditionally. Nothing is stopping an Ubuntu or Debian server for having 1000 days of uptime. I also have a huge problem with RHEL who keeps bumping their prices for it. So I will agree with you if you're using RHEL, but as an individual, CentOS is a much more likely option, in which case, I would still recommend Debian because CentOS is basically a cutting edge RHEL and doesn't really offer much above Debian/Ubuntu.

I should also note that in recent years, Ubuntu and Debian and surpassed RHEL and CentOS when it comes to how many web servers they're running on. All in all, I would recommend the OP stick with what he knows (Debian-based distros,) and just keep working off that. There is no reason to confuse him with a different flavor of Linux.

```
$ uptime
04:37:14 up 908 days, 14:19,  6 users,  load average: 0.66, 0.44, 0.32
```


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## Easy Rhino (Sep 7, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> Traditionally. Nothing is stopping an Ubuntu or Debian server for having 1000 days of uptime. I also have a huge problem with RHEL who keeps bumping their prices for it. So I will agree with you if you're using RHEL, but as an individual, CentOS is a much more likely option, in which case, I would still recommend Debian because CentOS is basically a cutting edge RHEL and doesn't really offer much above Debian/Ubuntu.



Just a correction. CentOS is a mirror image of RHEL with the licensing stripped out. It is 99.999% the same release. I think are you thinking of Fedora being the bleeding edge RedHat.



> I should also note that in recent years, Ubuntu and Debian and surpassed RHEL and CentOS when it comes to how many web servers they're running on. All in all, I would recommend the OP stick with what he knows (Debian-based distros,) and just keep working off that. There is no reason to confuse him with a different flavor of Linux.
> 
> ```
> $ uptime
> ...



Debian/Ubuntu servers have surpassed RedHat because more and more people are hosting their own content either at home or on a VPS or in a cloudspace somewhere. It doesn't diminish RedHat's quality or Debians very strong user base and robust server code. It just needs to be pointed out.

Finally just keep in mind that most people would not recommend RedHat or CentOS as a desktop system. (Not saying anyone here is saying that but it is worth repeating) Since it is enterprise class, you really will be hard pressed to get the things you want to work without in many cases writing your own software drivers.



Solaris17 said:


> After that you can lick your wounds and hold that for a year or two and once youve prestige classed to a bearded elder you can move to freeBSD as your intro to unix.



I actually started on FreeBSD. Well, I installed RedHat in 1999 and thought it was OK (not that I knew enough to judge) so I tried FreeBSD and loved it. I actually found it easier to understand.


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## Solaris17 (Sep 7, 2014)

Easy Rhino said:


> I actually started on FreeBSD. Well, I installed RedHat in 1999 and thought it was OK (not that I knew enough to judge) so I tried FreeBSD and loved it. I actually found it easier to understand.



he's already been tainted by debian dont push unix on him easy! WE have to wean him off


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## remixedcat (Sep 7, 2014)

When I said that I meant all redhat based distros.

Cent/fedora/rhel.


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## digibucc (Sep 7, 2014)

I say I don't like Unity but like the rest of it, I probably don't know enough to be accurate in that statement. I think instead of saying what I don't want I will say what I do and hopefully you guys can help me get it.

I like Unity's integrated application menu at the top of the screen, I don't like the bar. I like gnome-shell's "Activities" screen and not the Unity dashboard. I want the 3d cube effect of compiz as well. reading about that it seems that it will be easier to have with unity than shell... I didn't like mate or cinnamon at first glance, but to be fair I didn't spend much time in them. I'm using gnome-shell now. that being said, I'm open to whatever manager will be configurable enough and still have eye candy. It doesn't need to be super simple just possible.

*specifically, I want a "dashboard" that zooms out and shows all running programs, along with an application menu and search box rather than just a search box... I'd like the manager to also have the integrated application menu. those are really the main things. once I understand HOW to do that I am sure I will think of more though 
*
I do want to stick with debian, mostly because I have been able to find replacement software for everything I need and I don't want to learn a new os and new software at the same time. Also as Rhino said, although I work from my computer it is still very much personal. I'd rather spend weeks digging and coding to make it so that day to day use is easy and pretty   I spend so much time here I want it to be aesthetically pleasing.


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## fisheater (Sep 10, 2014)

Take a look at* this* true Debian-based distro.  It is very open to customization. 
Especially using the post-install script *smxi*, which has an award from Distrowatch.
Both will open up to you the power of Debian (as the title of the first link suggests)!


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