I DID IT!!! I got rid of all flatpaks on my system.
I managed to get .deb files for every flatpak I had.
Xournal++ (in the repository of Linux Mint).
Zoom (a <sigh> manual .deb download).
Spotify (they have their own repository… so no worries for updates).
And the cherry on the cake:
NovelWriter was available on LaunchPad (used a manual .deb install from the official website), so I don’t need to manually update that anymore.
Are you sure?
I thought that installing a .deb file with dpkg led to a package that would not be updated
How did you install the .deb file?
How is the system going to know when a new release of the .deb file happens?
I thought the only way to get detectable updates was to have their repo listed in /etc/sources.list
Correct me if I am wrong
I added a repository for that specific package.
Good for you - but…
What have you actually achieved by doing so?
In a number of cases (like Firefox for example) the .deb file remains in the clutches of the distribution whereas the Flatpak often marches ahead with better updates…
Just my experience.
Well, it saves disk space and it’s a native install, not some containerized thing.
You beat me to it by asking, and disk space does not cut it for me as a saving with todays big disks as a standard
Agree. Can I add it puts all updates under contol of one package system.
A possible minus is that there is more chance of a dependency or version clash than with a flatpak… if you use more than the default set of repos, dependency protection is not guaranteed.
The latest is not always the greatest.
Besides, I prefer the official .deb files as opposed to the unofficial flatpak which may very well be built by some rando.
hmmmm very many Flatpaks are Actually built by the original developer and supported by them - just a Firefox is.
Of course there are some which are not and address a need not otherwise offered but isn’t that the point of having a choice?
If saving space is your aim - don’t AppImages come with that feature?
You may be interested in reviewing these comparisons.
Taking the point made by @callpaul.eu about space, on my Debian 12 system daily driver I have a mix of Debian and Flatpaks. I have ~50 Flatpaks installed and lord knows how many deb packages (including local data storage and local cloud syncs) on a 256GB Nvme and I’m only using 49GB of it so no storage problems here.
Still you paid for your disk space, why not use it?
I have a 2 tb hard disk so no big deal don’t use that much
I have clients on old SSD with 60 GB where every bit is important so much so had to remove windows to install Linux as they could not do any updates never mind work. Linux took 30 GB.
with the advent of better options (VM’s GNOME-Boxes et al) I really don’t get why people insist on retaining two (in some cases, more) OS’s on the same PC.
Of course its possible to dual boot but that doesn’t mean it’s the most efficient use of hardware.
Personally (and in >10 years using Linux) I’ve yet to find an occasion where I was hampered from doing something because I wasn’t now using Windoze. You only need to lightly scour the Ubuntu help forums to see the number of people with issues when trying to maintain their old rig with both OS’s.
I have only got ~430GB. Not much. I hope this computer will last me a while.
After that, I’m getting a computer from Tuxedo.
That’s huge!
Keep in mind, you also need some space for backup.
Usually, this is true, unless you attach a repository that supplies updates for this package.
One of the issues for me originally was the size of ssd offered in the laptops, that and 4gb memory plus they think windows is going to run, ok it will just but then throw in apps and even a dog has a limit.
Not the same issues with linux even on 2 gb runs ok but not fast
Thanks, I need to be clear on that.
So if you attach a repository containig the .deb file, you would install it with apt, rather than dpkg. Correct?
One disadvantage of using unofficial repos is that if you do an inline upgrade it does not cope with them. It usually asks you to temporarily remove them. … It does not cope with hand installed.deb files either. … I can vouch for that.
I have two linuxes on my computers, one is rolling release with all my data and the other is Debian based, just for chrooting if something goes wrong with updates on the main os. I learned this when I was using Arch. With Gentoo it’s not needed too often but a Debian minimal without DE isn’t taking too much space from my SSD. Only my Pinebook Pro is only having Gentoo because the disk is too small.
If I would use Windows for something and Linux for something else I think I would have them on separate hardware.
My view entirely (if I was still interested in Windoze, that is 
)
Has anyone else tried removable/swappable hard drives? I can put a Linux distribution on one drive and Windows on another. I just swap out my drives and reboot. That way I can use the same hardware for multiple operating systems and distributions. The only thing that changes is the drive.