You don't need to distrohop

With microslop's recent foray into optimizing for the worst possible user experience, there's been a lot of new interest into linux from previous dabblers and tech enthusiasts alike.

Something that a lot of people seem to find daunting about linux is the sheer amount of customization that is available to them. Having options is a good thing, however, a newcommer might think they can pick "wrong".

I'm here to tell you that is not the case.

What's up with all the distros anyway?

Only five linux distros exist:

• Debian
• Fedora
• Arch
• OpenSUSE
• Nix

Every other distro is just a skin as well as some bespoke optimizations or included packages on top of the first three I listed.

For example:

"Beginner distros"

• Ubuntu -> Debian
• Linux mint -> Ubuntu (which is debian)

"Gaming distros"

• CachyOS -> Arch
• Nobara -> Fedora
• Bazzite -> Fedora

I'm by no means putting down the existence of these projects. What I am trying to do, is highlight the fact that the pool is not quite as deep as one might think.

So does it matter which distro I pick?

No.

Or at least not as much as you might think. When you choose a distro like Ubuntu, CachyOS, or Bazzite, what you're really choosing is the "out of the box" experience you get.

Most people think of a "distro" as what they see in the screenshots. That's just the desktop environment.

The GUI you use to interact with your system can be changed, and quite easily at that, just like every other part of your system. So don't let a distro not "looking right" deter you from trying it.

Any "distro" can be made to "look" like any other distro at the end of the day. Both in the UI as well as the internals.

So how do I choose?

One of the most beautiful things about linux, is that, with time and a little effort, you can turn your computer into whatever you want it to be.

When choosing a distro, just pick the one that will give you the easiest starting point.

Gaming is your main focus? CachyOS or Bazzite

You just browse the internet and want things to just work? Ubuntu or linux mint, whichever one you think looks better.

As you use your linux machine, if you find something you want to change or wish it worked a little different, then you can change it. No sweat.

So what actually matters when picking a distro?

Most distros are based on:

• Debian
• Arch
• Fedora

The main thing that matters is the type of release cycle a distro is on:

• Rolling release (Arch): There are no "versions" of the operating system. Every time you update, you get the latest packages.
• Standard release (Debian, Ubuntu): What most people are used to. Think windows 7, windows 10, windows 11. Generally more stable.
• Middle ground (Fedora): Interesting middle ground. Not quite as hardcore as rolling release, but on a six month release cycle.

Release cycle pros and cons

Rolling release

Pros

If your main interest is gaming, this is for you. Gaming, by nature, requires having the latest versions of drivers and other supporting packages so the latest games work.

Even if gaming isn't your main use case, having the latest version of everything lets you have access to new features or improvements early.

Cons

Things might break.

Your system won't be broken all the time. For the most part, rolling release distros have good processes for making sure something that's completely broken doesn't make it to the end user. But it can happen. It's the tradeoff you make for being on the bleeding edge.

Standard release

Pros

Very stable. If your use case doesn't require having the latest of everything all the time, picking a standard release distro will give you the least amount of headaches. It's pretty much guaranteed that your computer will work every time you turn it on, and that updates are security patches and other small updates that won't break your system.

Cons

The only real con of standard release is that if you're doing something niche, or something that requires constant support (like gaming), then you might find yourself facing an issue that has already been fixed, but you have to wait until the next OS release to get that fix.