Why do people have such an unreasonable bias against Ubuntu?

Ubuntu
83

I use the sysvinit version of MX… it is the default… no problems there, it has gui package manager and gui updates… or you can use apt with the CLI.

Antix offers sysvinit or runit. Antix even offers a gui for service management.

Artix and Void are CLI, but not difficult.

Yes and no. Devuan is almost identical to Debian in that respect.
MX and Antix are very easy
Artix and Void are moderately difficult
Gentoo requires dedication, unless you use the binaries

I think you will find the non-systemd list spans the same range of difficulty as the systemd list.

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84

Hi Neville

In Void, do you know anything about octoxbps?
A GUI for the xbps package manager.

Looks and works similar to the synaptic package manager.

Good or not I don’t know but installed it with these commands.

sudo xbps-install -S octoxbps

sudo xbps-install -S kde-cli-tools

octoxbps-notifier

It seems to work ok for me.
Would be interested if you have any thoughts on this.

Screenshot_2025-05-02_17-46-08
Screenshot_2025-05-02_17-46-08923×629 102 KB

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85

Thanks Gary.
Never used octoxbps. I am happy with the CLI.
but
I like to know about these things. … people criticize non-systemd distros like Void for not having GUI. Now I have at least one counter-example.

Another case is Antix… it was actually the first distro to have a GUI for services management… MX and Mint copied it.

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86

There’s a lot of distributions which have something like a GUI front-end for their package manager, nothing new about that. However, quite often, with those non-systemd distributions, you’ll often have to install them manually - that is, by using the CLI. This goes for Arch as well as Void and several others.

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87

Thanks for getting back.

I understand not everyone favours GUI all round.
It was just something I noticed whilst searching for info on Void.

I’ve been trying many different distros as VM’s for quite some time to learn about them and what would suit my regular use and MX is topping the bill at the moment.

I know any mainstream distro will do what I want but am also looking at others.

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88

Yes. Only a very few distros try to have everything you would ever want available as a GUI and pre-installed.
I think non-systemd users are generally more at ease with a CLI install. Trying to cater for users wanting full GUI is not something that non-systemd distro developers try to do… that is what you originally meant, I think.

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89

I have phases of doing that, but I limit myself to non-systemd distros.
Seeing some variety helps with learning… Void is quite different and it taught me a lot about init systems.
MX is my top too.

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90

This has been my experience so far. I really want to use Debian but I always have issues with video drivers, bluetooth drivers etc. Especially if you have some cheap 5-20$ hardware sometimes they just don’t work with Debian for me (this was the case with my Wifi adapter and bluetooth adapter).

I did have problems with snaps tho. They are not good in some cases. I also find the whole experience of having 2/3 software managers to be confusing - I have one for debian packages, one for flatpack/snaps I think.

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91

In Debian, make sure you have the non-free and non-free-firmware repos enabled in /etc/apt/sources.list

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92

If I’m going to express my feelings, I definitely don’t hate Ubuntu, it’s what I use. Also, I have NO problem with Snap packaging.
Maybe I’m from another planet… rs

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93

I am sure there are lots of users who agree with you.
An Ubuntu system makes a fine desktop.
It is all about preferences… and ‘hate’ is too strong a word.

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94

Perhaps we should change the title ?
I dont like the word and cringe each time I see it

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95

Not my words. It was the title of the Reddit post I was commenting on.

I don’t like to use it either, but there is an unreasonable bias against Ubuntu. How does that sound?

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96

Here is the editor’s opening greeting to the latest issue of Linux Format. I think we can all get behind this attitude.

Spring Ahead

It’s that time of year when the flowers start to bloom, the lawn needs cutting again and Ubuntu gets updated. We might be on an odd year, so no LTS edition, but with Ubuntu still being a key Linux distribution, it points the way many will follow. We’ve got a packed issue ready to get you up to speed with the latest Ubuntu version. Turn to our review on page 22 to discover the new and exciting features, or if you’re new to Linux, we’ve got a quick-start guide in our feature on page 32 that can help you try out the new Ubuntu in seconds.

There’s no doubt that Ubuntu has lost some of its desktop leadership over recent years. Its onward push for Snap integration and standardisation on the Gnome 3 desktop has led to many Ubuntu-based distros to head off in their own directions, and that’s no bad thing. It lets Ubuntu focus on its corporate-funded necessities and enables desktop users to go and support projects that better meet their needs. We’re looking at you, lovely Linux Mint.

Many seem to hold this up as some sort of end-of-times event, while it’s simply open source at work. It’s why we can help people try Ubuntu in multiple different ways. It’s why you can install Ubuntu on multiple different machines without licence, activation or hardware limitations and none of those pesky adverts or nagware. Which is why I started enjoying using Linux many moons ago, and I hope you do, too.

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97

Sounds right to me.
Do you want to change it?

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98

Yeah… let open source do its job… taking sides does not help.
I noticed you fixed the h-word in title.

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99

I like to think of my desktop Linux as similar to MacOS…

I just want the shortest path to a GUI / DE… that will get me a terminal window and a NIX shell…

Once I have that - I do a whole bunch of stuff in a terminal… Same on MacOs believe it or not - i.e. I have most of the core-utils stuff in HomeBrew on MacOS (e.g. brew install ____)… That said - full MacOS applications that ship as DMG - get installed via GUI…

I NEVER use the graphical app installers in Linux - I mostly use Pop!_OS - which for all intents and purposes is just Ubuntu - and only ever use apt and dpkg, in a terminal, to install stuff…

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100

Me too.
I like to see what it is doing, and , in some cases, to script it.
It is a matter of whom do you trust to put your packages together.

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101

Just like magic, its changed… well done that man, much better.

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102

Me three. There have been exceptions, but I use apt/snap/flatpak to install software and do updates. I like to see the pieces of all the packages that will be updated. I don’t always understand it all, but if it’s all hidden behind the scenes, I never will.

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