[NTLUG:Discuss] Distribution Alternative to Ubuntu

[Steve Litt]

On Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:18:49 +0000 (UTC)
Leroy Tennison <leroy.tennison at verizon.net> wrote:

> Part of the last meeting discussed alternatives to Ubuntu.  Right now
> I'm running Kubuntu 24.04 LTS (Ubuntu with the KDE desktop).  I would
> like to test something as similar as possible (definitely stay within
> the Debian realm).  Mint doesn't automatically support KDE (although
> it can be installed), I'm downloading Devuan right now.  Are there
> other suggestions based on what I'm looking for?  Thanks for your
> help.

Devuan is certainly a fine choice. It has a very nice, intelligent and
helpful community. With the small amount of information you've given, I
recommend Devuan.

Some additional info might refine things:

* Why don't you like Ubuntu anymore?

* Why is it so important to have KDE automatically supported, as
  opposed to installing it after OS installation?

* What level of "user friendliness" (also called "training wheels") do
  you want, and how will that change as you continue using Linux?

* Do you have any weird or linux-hostile hardware, such as Nvidia video
  or Broadcom wifi?

* What's your opinion of systemd? Sysvinit? Runit? S6? OpenRC?

* Do you prefer installing via package manager, or do you prefer things
  like snaps, flatpak, appimage, etc. Did you know that snaps restricts
  you to systems using systemd for init?

* What kinds of things do you do with your Linux machine?

A little bit about myself: I started with Red Hat 5.0 in 1998, then
experimented with Caldera and Corel Linux in the remainder of the 20th
century. When I switched my business to Linux in 2001 I used Mandrake,
which I used until the mid 00's. When Mandrake (renamed Mandriva)
became a little too glitchy, I switched to Ubuntu. In 2014 I became
exasperated with Ubuntu's user-friendliness (I call it training
wheels), which seemed to get in my way at every turn, so I switched to
Debian. Six months later Debian decided to change their init system
from sysvinit to systemd, so I switched to Void Linux, which inits with
runit. I've been with Void Linux since early 2015, and love its lack of
training wheels. I can MacGyver Void Linux any way I want.

Today my user interface/workflow is mostly home grown using programs
and shellscripts of my own, such that I can easily switch to any
non-systemd distro or BSD and effortlessly keep my same workflow. Why
not systemd? Because as a practical matter, all the other init systems
are easily swapped out for the others, but as a practical matter if your
computer uses systemd, you're stuck with it, and it interferes with my
ability to modify the way my machine works.

Although I've used Void Linux for 11 years now, I don't necessarily
recommend it for you, because it's at the other end of the training
wheels spectrum from Ubuntu; bearing more resemblance in that regard to
Gentoo, Slackware and Linux From Scratch. I think Void is something you
work toward, not something you jump into.

My wife, a 30 year veteran of Windows and MS-DOS before it, has
requested that I convert her old, win11 intolerant laptop to Linux
because of the mess created by Microsoft's demand for a Microsoft
account. She wants to try it out to see if she might like Linux better.
I'm giving her Devuan, with either an LXDE or XFCE desktop environment,
and my home-grown UMENU2 menu system, which she really likes because I
once made something similar for MS-DOS. I'm also going to make her a
program launcher using fzf. With dozens of distros to choose between, I
chose Devuan because of their great community, making me confident I
can get help. When you've completed your download, I suggest you join
the Devuan email list.

HTH,

SteveT

Steve Litt 
Featured book: Troubleshooting Techniques of the Successful
Technologist http://www.troubleshooters.com/techniques