Windows XP -> Windows 7 -> Windows 10 -> Linux Mint -> Manjaro -> ArcoLinux -> Arch -> Arco -> Arch -> Arco -> NixOS -> Arch -> Ubuntu (beginning of 2023) -> NixOS -> Arch -> NixOS (summer 2023) -> Debian (for a month when beginning University), -> NixOS -> Arch -> NixOS -> Fedora (in Jan/Feb 2024, seems like it could be the one) -> Void (wanted to love it but I hated my few days in it) -> Arch (temporarily, waiting for the COPR repos on Fedora to update its packages for F40) -> Fedora 40 (where I still am)
Going from Windows XP to Linux Mint took over a decade. Going from Mint to Fedora 40 took about 2 years.
Can I ask what do you dislike about both NixOS and Arch, since you’ve been switching between them? I thinking about trying out nixos but I’m afraid it:s too much of a hassle
NixOS is immutable, so I can’t compile from source (I needed a specific Assembly Editor for university and it only supported full system installation, I could not get it working on NixOS). I desired a static release, so I was switching to NixOS, but then there’d be something I can’t be bothered to figure out or weird issues, so I’d switch back to Arch. But then my desire for a stable static release would return.
So on and so forth until I figured out Fedora is perfect. It lacks the 1337 Haxor feel of an advanced distro, and dnf is super slow (First thing I do on a new Fedora install now is get dnf5), AND my SDDM theme broke on Fedora but worked everywhere else (something to do with qt5-qtgraphicaleffects), but I rewrote the theme, aliased dnf to dnf5, and I still get the 1337 haxor feel by using my own scripts, including a bemenu logout script, which makes me feel like a boss when I use it, for some reason, probably because I wrote it myself.
Windows 98 -> Vista -> 7 -> 8 (long time)
Attempted Linux Mint for a day or two
Windows 10 (long time)
Windows 10 + Pop OS (June 2021)
Windows 10 + Tumbleweed (Switched after couple months of Pop OS)
Tumbleweed (Dropped Windows after not using Windows for 6+ months)
I’m not the biggest distrohopper but I have tried a few, both on my laptop and desktop. I still keep windows around on a dual-boot but I’m basically only using it for the odd game or two and also onenote (obsidian + excalidraw comes close but nothing really has a seamless transition between pen and typing text like OneNote)
Early 2018 and before:
Windows only
2018-19:
Ubuntu 18.04 (desktop),
Ubuntu 18.04/18.10/19.04 (laptop)
2019-2022:
Manjaro w/ KDE (desktop),
Arch Linux w/ GNOME (laptop)
2022-2023:
NixOS (laptop, for literally a day because it didn’t have a package I needed to make my laptop work correctly)
EndeavourOS (kde on laptop, qtile on desktop)
2024:
No changes to the desktop setup,
NixOS w/ KDE and also a half-functioning hyprland setup on the laptop now that the package got added.
Future?
Maybe if I can get my NixOS config to a point where I’m happy with it I’ll switch my desktop setup to that as well, in theory it should be pretty painless since i’m already using a flake setup split across multiple modules. I do really like that I can experiment with my setup without the risk of actually breaking anything since NixOS is semi-immutable.
If I don’t stick with NixOS I’ve also been thinking about trying fedora, opensuse, or an immutable distro, or otherwise just moving my laptop back to either Arch or EndeavourOS since that’s what I’m familiar with.
Windows 95 - Windows Vista - Windows 7 - Ubuntu - Fedora - back to Ubuntu Think that’s it, can’t recall the years exactly The switch to Ubuntu was like in 2014 or something
Windows for a long time before I knew what OSes were. I never liked how locked down MacOS is so I’ve never used that. Then I tried Ubuntu in college, mostly to play with. Then tried Arch, fucked up my system a couple times and reinstalled, then tried Manjaro because I’d heard it was more stable and less fuss. And now I’m back on Arch. I think I’ve finally mostly figured it out over the last decade lol, I haven’t had a problem with my install in years.
I played with linux a bunch between 2014-2019 but I was not ready for the commitment of learning a new operating system. In 2020, I started to get annoyed at how bad windows 10 was getting, and at some point I saw the insider previews of windows 11 and put my foot down.
I fully switched to linux in 2021, I started with a brief spell of manjaro. I hated it.
2022 I had alot going on in my life and didnt use a computer very much at all because I did not have internet access.
Towards the very end of 2022 I moved and got a laptop which I put Fedora on. I used this daily until the first half of 2023
Sometime mid 2023 I switched to opensuse and I used that for a few months before finally switching over to Debian which I still use now.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer LTS distros. I very rarely need new software besides for maybe WINE, but I can get that from the winehq website easily enough so its not a big deal. If I could get drivers to play nice out of the box, I would unironically put alma linux on my laptop and run it the full 10yrs.
linux
Top
This magazine is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.