Do Linux distributions still matter? - VLOG #5

The first 1000 people who click the link will get 2 free months of Skillshare Premium: https://skl.sh/thelinuxexperiment4 People have really divided opinions on distros. Some think there should only be one, some are all for diversity and choice. Distributions have been the main word to define the Linux landscape for ages, and new ones seem to pop up every day. Most distros look and feel different to use, but are the differences really meaningful, or are they skin deep?

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Ok, so most distros pride themselves on their branding. logos, themes, icons, colors, everything is often customized and tweaked to make the distro look like something unique out of the box. They are recognizable and distinct, but these differences can be replicated anywhere else, so these don’t really matter.

The desktop environment isn’t a defining feature either, since most distros can install all major DEs easily to replace the one they ship with, and most distros also provide their own spin-offs with these major desktops.

The customizations and tweaks the distros bring to their DEs are also generally very easy to replicate on other systems and are not a specifically defining feature. While the looks of a distro might be their most prominent difference, its the one that matters the less, since you can duplicate that anywhere else.

In terms of packaging systems, we’re starting to see some interesting differences. The package managers and the way the distro ships its software definitely makes it unique. First, users get used to a specific packaging system. I almost exclusively used deb based distros, and anything using rpms makes my skin crawl with unfamiliarity and differences.

Second is the repositories. These contain all available software for your system, and there are some big differences there. Feodra only includes free software by default. Ubuntu has more, but it might not be as up to date. Manjaro has very up to date software, and access to the Arch User Repository, where virtually all Linux software is available. Some distros offer easy ways to extend these available repos, like Ubuntu with ppas.

But, for experienced users, these differences don’t really matter. You can learn quickly to use another package manager, and you can add ppas or other repositories on your distribution to extend the range of what you can install.

There is also Flatpak and Snap. As more and more apps will be ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DswHOpLSAY