Looks like it's time for distro hoping!

So my hard drive failed, and I can't boot my distro anymore. Looks like a good time to try out something new.

I started with Mandrake, when it first came out, and I have used Ubuntu and Mint for many years now. I also tried Arch for some time, and also Puppy linux.

But I have an itch for NixOS. I think the universe is telling me to go for it.

The only thing that concerns me is that I don't have much time to spare, and I am not some linux guru either.

I think I could document my progress on the way in case anyone finds it helpfull, and or interesting.

Help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

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tracker

I've been using Guix System as my main OS for almost a decade now. I really enjoy the elegance of the declarative configuration model, and when my laptop finally kicked the can a few years ago, I was able to replicate it quickly on a new machine by just applying the same Guix System and Guix Home configurations to it.

A pretty great site to get started with Guix, Emacs, and all things Lisp is System Crafters. They have an active community and a nice collection of video tutorials and written guides to get you set up.

https://systemcrafters.net/

Good luck and happy hacking!

a1sound

You should give Gentoo a go, it's the only distro I've managed to stick with. It seems a wee bit frightening if you only read about it, but you only need to follow the instructions in the handbook. My only tip is to make sure you install from a live USB like Linux Mint instead of the official image, makes for a nicer experience.

Happy computerizing :)

walk

I tried NixOS but for desktop use, the declarative configuration is not worth the effort (at least for me).

I tried Void and I stuck with it. It is very stable, even if I update a machine with an old install it just works.

runit is very simple to use once you get it.

pandion

Is runit here to stay on void, or is it going to loose support in a couple of years? I can't claim to know enough about init systems to have an opinion on the whole systemd debate, but I have the sense that it is inevitable, so I should just "get with the program" is development continuing in those alternative init systems?

walk

runit is here to stay

"This allows Void to support musl as a second libc choice, which would not be possible with systemd."

I don't know a lot either. I use runit in void and openrc in alpine and both are fine.

The last stable release of the program was in 2014. However, since it is a simple program that only performs one task and is nearly complete, it requires minimal development. In void some patches are added to runit occasionally.

last patch was added 10 months ago (Apr, 2023).

If you want to try void I recommend to check if the programs that you want are available

https://voidlinux.org/packages

After you have installed void, install 'xtools' and 'vsv'

sudo xbps-install -Su xtools vsv

This allows to install anything using the 'xi' command. 'xlocate' allows you to see the name of the package that contains any file (even if you haven't install it yet). 'xls' allows you to see the files of any package.

sudo vsv

Displays all active services.

zampano

I finally settled on OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and have been quite happy with it. It's got the benefit of being cutting-edge/rolling release, but has been better about stuff not randomly breaking (looking at you, Plasma on Arch).

pandion

Hm! OpenSUSE? I know that I need to migrate from Ubuntu and derivatives, but SUSE from what I have heard is into some shady business with micro$oft.

Anything about microsoft feels icky.

All other things considered, Tumbleweed looks like a very good distro

zampano

I'm not aware of anything shady between SUSE and MS. They've definitely worked together on some stuff, but that was mostly about improving Linux compatibility with things like Azure, as far as I can tell. See, e.g., this article from 2017:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/when-microsoft-met-suse-this-windows-linux-partnership-gets-stronger-every-day/

There of course may be going on, but that's all I could find.

Question: is this system your tool, does it have to work always? Or is it more of a toy, wasting considerable time and brain cycles along the way?

My answer: Debian stable for tools. Anything else for toys. :)

Well, the anything list has been shortened in the last 20 years of course. I wasted too much time on suse (sorry ~sherlock) and too many cpu cycles on gentoo. But it has always been interesting. alpinelinux is interesting for me. I did play with nix (the package manager) on a debian stable box a few weeks ago. But well, I ended with > 50000 files in /nix in no time. And who knows, where they come from? Are they signed? Do I get an error message if the signature can't be verified? Hmmmm. Toy? Maybe. Tool? Nope. Then I'd prefer compiling from source.

#nosimpleanswer

pandion

Not a tool. It's my home computer that I also use to play and learn, but what I expect is after a steep learning curve, to have stability. Also what I find interesting is the single file configuration.

beefox

if its your primary computer, i'd consider it more a tool then a toy, however i can agree it is def both. i would still suggest debian and then maybe dual boot nix so that you have a stable and play enviroment

pandion

You are probably right! I have enough space to dual boot, or use a VM to play around. Or perhaps I could just start with the Nix package manager to get the feeling. I don't have much time to spare, and I do need a working computer!

beefox

yeah! even though i experiment a lot with my computer, i also use it every day and need it available every day, even being out of commission for one or two days while i fix a problem can cause me issues so backups and stability are important to me!

pandion

I am exactly in the same situation, although I find myself lacking time to experiment anymore. Unfortunately I mostly use my phone nowdays.

sherlock

Not a fan of Nixos. More a fan of slax or suse.

arinbasu

Nixos is actually very good if you have a bit of patience with it. As everything is containerised, nothing fails in the system if you figure it out.

pandion

This is part of the appeal. A thing that concerns me though, is that it is very different from classic linux and any knowledge I obtain, will not tranfer!