Is Distro Hopping Over Yet? - My honest Journey That Led me to Fedora

Summary

In this video, the creator shares their journey through various Linux distributions, including Debian, Arch, and Pico OS, before finally settling on Fedora. They explain how Fedora offers a balance of stability, customization, and ease of use, with a streamlined setup that avoids unnecessary bloat. The creator highlights their preference for building systems from scratch, avoiding unwanted preconfigured packages, and using Fedora's DNF package manager for its clarity and speed. They also discuss their gaming experience and the advantages of Fedora's up-to-date, stable environment over other distributions like Arch and POS.

Takeaways

• 🖥️ The creator has extensive experience with multiple Linux distributions, including Debian-based, Arch-based, NixOS, Void, and Pop!_OS.
• 🎯 They value having full control over their system and prefer minimal setups without unnecessary preinstalled packages.
• 📦 Pop!_OS provided a convenient, ready-to-use experience but included a lot of bloat (~3,000 packages), which led to dissatisfaction.
• ⚙️ Arch-based distributions offered full customization, and the creator used Cachyos the longest, valuing the control and consistency.
• 🛠️ Inspired by NixOS, they developed a tool called DCLI for declarative package management on Arch-based systems.
• 🔥 Fedora was chosen for its balance of up-to-date packages, stability, and minimalism, allowing the creator to build their system from scratch.
• 🐍 DNF, Fedora's package manager, is praised for its readability, speed (especially with DNF5 and parallel downloads), and simplicity compared to APT or Pac-Man.
• 🎮 Gaming performance on Fedora matches that of Pop!_OS and Arch-based setups, with proper Nvidia driver configuration ensuring smooth gameplay.
• 🎨 The creator maintains a customized desktop using Mango + Noctalia, along with personal dotfiles, themes, and scripts for installing packages and drivers.
• 💡 Fedora allows an Arch-like experience of full control without the constant risk of breakage seen in Arch or AUR packages.
• 🔄 Concerns remain about future kernel updates (e.g., kernel 7.0) potentially causing Nvidia driver issues, but the current setup is stable and functional.
• 📈 Overall, Fedora provides a clean, efficient, and flexible environment suitable for gaming, streaming, and content creation.

Q & A

Why did the creator switch to Fedora after trying multiple Linux distributions?

The creator switched to Fedora primarily because it allowed for a more personalized and bloat-free setup. They appreciated the ability to start from scratch and install only the necessary packages, unlike previous experiences with more pre-configured distributions like Picos, which had excessive bloat.

What were some of the distributions the creator tried before settling on Fedora?

The creator had tried several distributions, including Debian-based distros (like Ubuntu, Mint, Pop OS, and Picos), Arch-based distros (like Arch, Endeavor OS, Archcraft, and Zero Linux), and other distributions like Void and Nixos.

What was the creator's experience with gaming on Fedora compared to other distros?

The creator reported no significant difference in gaming performance across Fedora, Cash OS, and Picos. Despite using different setups, including Nvidia hardware, the gaming experience was consistent across all the distributions.

What did the creator dislike about the Picos distribution?

The creator disliked the bloat in Picos, as they ended up with over 3,000 packages despite using a minimal setup. The creator felt that the excess packages were unnecessary and caused inefficiencies, leading them to seek a more streamlined solution like Fedora.

How did the creator handle the setup of Fedora on their system?

The creator opted for a minimal Fedora installation, selecting the 'Fedora Everything' option without any pre-installed desktop environment. They then created a custom install script to install specific packages and set up the system according to their preferences, including installing Nvidia drivers for optimal performance.

What tool did the creator create to manage their system setup?

The creator developed the 'DCLI' tool, which allowed them to declaratively manage their system configuration, inspired by the Nixos approach to system management.

What does the creator think about DNF, Fedora's package manager?

The creator is fond of DNF, particularly for its clean and easy-to-read output when searching for packages. They also highlighted DNF's speed and its ability to perform parallel downloads, which makes package installation faster.

Why does the creator prefer Fedora over Arch-based distributions like Arch or Endeavor OS?

The creator prefers Fedora over Arch-based distributions mainly because of the stability and ease of use. They dislike the AUR (Arch User Repository) due to the risk of breaking packages when installing from it, whereas Fedora's official repositories and package management are more reliable and less prone to errors.

What specific concern did the creator have about future Fedora updates?

The creator expressed concern about the upcoming Fedora 7.0 kernel update and whether it would cause issues with their Nvidia drivers, as they had experienced problems with hardware support during earlier Fedora kernel updates.

How does the creator feel about the overall experience with Fedora now?

The creator is very satisfied with Fedora, feeling it strikes a balance between stability and up-to-date software. They appreciate the control they have over their system configuration, and they find Fedora to be a more sensible, stable environment compared to Arch, with fewer worries about breakages during updates.