looking for half-stable Linux distro

Hello, i am currently looking for a Linux distribution with these criteria:

-it should be more or less stable, comparable to Ubuntu with or without LTS //
-it should not be related to IBM to any way (so no fedora/redhat) //
-it should not feature snaps (no Ubuntu or KDE neon) //
-KDE plasma should be installable manually (best case even installed by default) //
-no DIY Distros //

I've been thinking about using an immutable distro, but if anyone can recommend something to me, I'd be very grateful //

Edit: I'm sorry for the bad formatting, for some reason it doesn't register spaces

Flaky ,
@Flaky@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

What about Pop!_OS? It fits all the criteria. It's an Ubuntu distro by System76 (known for their computers that run Linux) that foregoes Snaps for Flatpaks, so you get Ubuntu's reliability/stability without the Snaps. It does default to its own spin on GNOME, however you can install an alternative desktop environment just fine.

Starfish , (edited )

Debian Stable as base OS, then activate unstable repos in a sandbox/container. Maybe even Distrobox for newer Apps.

ExtremeDullard ,
@ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

I've been running Linux Mint Cinnamon for years. It's the stablest, most dependable distro I've ever run. I've installed it, updated it and major-version-upgraded it many times on many machines and it never broke.

It's basically Ubuntu with the features that make Ubuntu shite removed (basically Unity and snaps) and a no-nonsense, GTK-based Win95-like desktop environment tacked on.

ButtBidet ,
@ButtBidet@hexbear.net avatar

Came here to say this

rat-salute

clif , (edited )
@clif@lemmy.world avatar

I've been on mint for ages but when I updated my RAID this year it originally wouldn't recognize it. I eventually got it recognized but it capped the 16TB drives at 999GB for some reason. For fun, I went up the chain to Ubuntu... Same thing

In frustration I went to Grandma's house with Debian and it worked perfect out of the box. I'd spent hours researching it but the best I found was a potential RAID related bug (lvm, specifically, I think) introduced in Ubuntu that, of course, filtered into Mint. Even fdisk reported the physical drives as 999GB in Mint/Ubuntu.

I still don't know the exact cause but I got it up and running so I'm a Debian guy now, I guess.

Granted, my use case isn't super normal since I'm using a BIOS RAID1 (and we all know how fun BIOS RAID can be) with full disk encryption.

Worked out in the end but it made me sad to ditch Mint

Vilian ,

can be a bug in your bios too

Vilian ,

kde neon don't use snaps

flx ,

Debian

sentient_loom ,
@sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works avatar

Yeah go straight to the source.

OsrsNeedsF2P ,

What does a DIY distro mean? Is typing archinstall out of the question?

Luffy879 OP ,

With diy distro I meant arch, gentoo, and nixOS
The distro is meant to run on a PC which is mainly used by non tech sawwy people. And even tho I will be doing all administration tasks on it, I would like it to be as easy to manage themselves as possible, so they become familiar with Linux more.

glibg10b ,

If it will be used by non-tech savvy people, why do you care about snap and IBM? Do the people care about that?

INeedMana , (edited )
@INeedMana@lemmy.world avatar

My mom and grandma are using Manjaro. With grandma I'm the only one doing the updates of course, but with mom she usually can do it herself just using pamac-tray. If that fails a phonecall is usually sufficient. Once in a few years I have to come and do something by myself

And when that happens I work with a distro that just works, instead of some broken crap
EDIT: I tried having Mint on their computers. Big mistake, it's as broken as Debian and Ubuntu

EDIT: Xfce is very nice in such cases. It looks familiar for them while being manageable for me

Dirk ,
@Dirk@lemmy.ml avatar

The distro is meant to run on a PC which is mainly used by non tech sawwy people. [...], so they become familiar with Linux more.

In this case I always suggest trying out Linux Mint. It is not "too heavy" and not "too specific/niche". It's a good all-purpose distribution for desktops/laptops where basic maintenance can be performed by the user.

thoughtsinuserspace ,
@thoughtsinuserspace@mastodon.social avatar

@Luffy879 If someone comes from Windows and has little experience with Linux Mint LTS with XFCE4.
https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=313
With MX Linux (Debian based) you can create a live ISO with all packages and flat packs and then create a live USB stick with persistence (requires double memory on the Linux partition For the ISO)
https://mxlinux.org/
you can make installs from the usb after creating it.
Distrochooser
https://distrochooser.de/

ncln222 ,

disable repositories, updates https://github.com/aarnt/octopi,
https://ctlos.github.io/,
https://endeavouros.com/.

bionicjoey ,

Regarding your post formatting, you need to put a space between the bullet point and the first character of the line:

  • Like this (hit view source/view markdown on my comment to see)
Snoopy , (edited )
@Snoopy@jlai.lu avatar

Sorry, the closest i came up aren't good solution but may help in your search.

  • Vanilla OS 2 (based on Debian) but it is under Gnome DE and in beta phase. Very begginer friendly. Maybe once it go out from beta it will supports other DE ? So check it around 6th month later or 1 year ?

But the problem is that their community is very small. If you want something stable, it's better to look for bigger community so you can benefit from their support and user's problems

There is fedora kinoite but you don't want anything related to IBM. That was the best compromise i can found.

  • NixOS but i don't know it. I'm affraid it will be a DIY distro at the beggining with the config file. But it will probably meet all your criterias.

Or the same OS from my steamdeck :

  • Steam OS ? It's an immutable OS based on Arch and support KDE by default. Full support of flatpaks. Only downside, i dunno if it supports other machines than the steamdeck. Nor if it uses the latest linux kernel. Maybe some variants ?
afunkysongaday ,

Solus. Snaps optional.

banazir ,
@banazir@lemmy.ml avatar

OpenSUSE is good. If corporate scares you off, there's OpenMandriva Lx or Mageia.

Dehydrated ,

Opensuse Tumbleweed is pretty stable, even though it's a rolling release

MyNameIsRichard ,
@MyNameIsRichard@lemmy.ml avatar

Stable as in reliable and not as in unchanging

Veidenbaums ,

I second opensuse, there is also a non-rolling release option, i think.

My tumbleweed has been exceptionally stable, updates without problem.

tiny ,

Debian testing or debian testing

glibg10b ,

When you start getting super specific about which distro you want, I think you should start looking towards a DIY distro.

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