I’m your regular end user. I use my computers to edit text, audio and video, watch movies, listen to music, post and bank on the internet…
my main computer uses now debian 12.5 after abandoning xubuntu.
For my backup notebook I have several candidates:
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Simply install debian 12.5 again, the easiest choice.
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Install linux mint, so I get ubuntu but without them throwing their subscription services down my throat. I’m unsure about other advantages, as ubuntu is debian based, maybe the more frequent program updates? Kernels are also updated more often than with debian as far as I know. Do you know of other advantages?
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Go for FreeBSD: this might require a learning curve, because this is an OS I’ve never used. Are commands that different from debian?
other more niche linux OSs seem too much a hassle and I guess won’t be as supported as the main ones.
Honestly just do Debian again. It’s one of the most stable distros for a reason. If anything, it’d make more sense to use Debian for a backup computer.
is there anything which actually bothers you about Debian? what impedes your workflow? what edge cases with hardware and updating affect you?
is there really a reason to switch? do you care about unburdening developers from dealing with systemD?
Go for FreeBSD: this might require a learning curve, because this is an OS I’ve never used. Are commands that different from debian?
Both of them are, at the very least, unix-like, so the core command set is mostly the same, albeit with sometimes large functional differences.
Simply install debian 12.5 again, the easiest choice.
You are familiar with Debian. This is probably the choice I’d go with.
Kernels are also updated more often than with debian as far as I know.
That’s why Debian has backports.
Simply install debian 12.5 again, the easiest choice.
Good choice.
Install linux mint, so I get ubuntu but without them throwing their subscription services down my throat. I’m unsure about other advantages, as ubuntu is debian based, maybe the more frequent program updates? Kernels are also updated more often than with debian as far as I know. Do you know of other advantages?
There’s LMDE, Linux Mint Debian version.
Go for FreeBSD: this might require a learning curve, because this is an OS I’ve never used. Are commands that different from debian?
Yes, commands are different (For example ifconfig and not ip. And watch on Linux is something different on FreeBSD) and you can expect several things to not work out of the box. Also, mounting removable devices is different. Documentation is very good though unless your reached a niche problem. I’d suggest to first toy around with FreeBSD in a VM (Qemu or VirtualBox) if you want to sneak preview it and learn more.
I’d go with Linux Mint Edge Edition (not the default Mint). Better support for hardware than either plain Mint, or Debian, and more optimizations for laptops and battery (ubuntu might be hated, but they have lots of kernel patches). Also, for some weird reason, Mint with Cinnamon uses less RAM than Debian with Cinnamon. Also, easier support for third party non-free drivers.
I love BSD, but I wouldn’t want it on a laptop. They’re just not optimized for such usage with batteries etc.
Linux Mint Edge Edition
is Edge a desktop environment or a system that lets you use other DEs later? I’m partial to xfce.
I thought every DE gets the same kernel patches.
Edge is Cinnamon with a newer kernel. So, since you like XFce, try install the XFce version of Mint, and see if it works with your system. If it mostly works and boots, but not completely, you can always install the newer kernel found on Edge using the Update app (there’s a menu option to install newer kernels after installation). But if it doesn’t install/boot, but you’re confident that Linux should support your laptop, then consider the Edge version with Cinnamon.
