I found out that xubuntu spams users including me, which to me is a no go.
I’m looking for a linux based ad free distro that lets me work with libreoffice, vlc, tbb, transmission, okular, pdfarranger, hexchat, gimp and ocr.
I’m going to use it to edit text, watch movies, download multimedia, chat and edit audio with audacity.
it’s not going to be a server and I’d like to work with the terminal as much as possible. At the same time, I’m a newbie.
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How do you mean they are spamming?
Mint is a good alterative. It has an xfce edition.
OP answered this in another comment: They are getting prompted to sign up for Ubuntu Pro whenever they upgrade.
Ubuntu what now
Pro
Linux Mint Xfce Edition should be right up your alley.
Just use Debian. Why use the inferior downstream distros when you can go right to the OG? You are already halfway there.
Debian doesn’t have a corporate sponsor so there is no risk of getting spammed or giving someone your personal information.
They do have corporate sponsors. It just that the corporate sponsors do not want to see ads anymore than you do. They are have strong community leadership that is powered equally.
There is a reason there are tons of Debian distros. They all make a difference.
just go stock debian xfce, keep it simple.
It’s what my 70 year old mother is perfectly happy with for several years since I told her to drop lubuntu.
install flatpack +flathub f you want even more app convenience.
MX > stock
Would you mind elaborating?
I’m aware that MX works on a lot of excellent GUI tools that are shipped with it. Which is great, but perhaps necessary; because they ship a systemd-less distro. Which, in the end, might cause more work than it should. (I’m aware this is in part caused by software just assuming that systemd is installed by default.) And while I think it’s a noble endeavour to maintain a relatively easy systemd-less distro, I don’t think it’s enough to justify a recommendation to a relatively new Linux user. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on this?
sysVinit is only the default, it comes with systemd as well.
The tools are useful no matter the init system, and make life easier, especially for beginners.
In essence MX is just Debian with tools to make desktop use easier.
TIL. Thank you!
This is the answer. Current stable Debian already has the latest release of Xfce (4.18); and for recent gui apps there’s flatpak.
For packages like syncthing you can enable official apt repos to get the latest versions.
Other packages for which the latest versions are desirable though the flatpak versions get a bit too finicky (like vim & emacs), you can compile from source. It’s not hard, even for a newbie.
Can I ask what you consider “spamming ads” to be? That could be relevant to suggesting alternatives.
I need to use one of these https://github.com/Skyedra/UnspamifyUbuntu not to get an invitation to join ubuntu pro each time I upgrade.
this never happened before. To me this is invasive, but otherwise it has worked well so far.
according to the github readme, you can just run
sudo pro config set apt_news=falseto disable thoseif you have things set up the way you like on xubuntu, it’s maybe worth it to just do that rather than start fresh
thats just a short term fixes too though. the ads will get more intrusive and annoying. and at some point pro ads will just turning themselves back on. because this is a company and it wants to sell things.
Afaik you will get this message because you use Ubuntu LTS. Which ships outdated, “stable” packages.
The solution is not just silencing that message and continuing to use them, but some way to get updates OR security backports for them.
Who needs stable anyway. We all should just use Arch. (Not an excuse Ubuntu showing ads)
Edit: this is a joke
Stable means randomly cut off package updates.
Continuous testing and integration is the best way for normal usage. With the iterations “bleeding edge” “fresh” “slightly tested” and “tested”
I disagree
Fedora works way better than Arch ever will and requires much less upkeep
Yes but Fedora is semi-rolling, something in the middle. This is about Ubuntu LTS, a traditional LTS version that cuts off packages on some random version.
This should really only be done if
- The programs have a supported LTS/ESR version (Linux Kernel, Firefox, Thunderbird…) (btw GNOME, Chromium etc. dont have one)
- The packagers have a lot of time, the users pay money and the packagers actually make those versions as bug free and secure as possible, while keeping the feature freeze
Ubuntu is trying to do 2. but have this separation in there to get money.
I would use Debian way before I would use Ubuntu. If 3 years of support isn’t enough I would use something RHEL
Mint XFCE
Debian Stable
Lots of xfce distros. My favorite is Zorin Lite
Btw, OP, I foresee a switch to Linux Mint Xfce Edition. Please consider writing about your experiences in which you compare Xubuntu to Linux Mint Xfce Edition. Thanks in advance!
Any distro can do what you need. Others have suggested Pop, Mint, Debian, Endeavour, and more. I’d agree with basically all of them. Really it comes down to what you prefer most.
Personally I’d lean more toward Debian as it’s a basic distro with very little extra bloat, loads of documentation, incredibly stable, etc. I always prefer a spartan, basic system I can add pieces to as I please, rather than a bunch of preloaded defaults that may or may not be to my taste. Again though, that’s just me.
Endeavour is great, but if you aren’t used to Arch, and how to maintain it, things can get sort of messy after a while (definitely need to make a good habbit of cleaning your package managers cache, as well as read up on what’s called a “pacdiff”. In general, Arch and its derivatives require research). It’s worth trying if you’re interested in rolling distros though.
Another might be OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. From what I hear, it’s a bit more stable and curated than Arch so it may be a better option if you’re inexperience with a rolling release. I’ve never personally tried it, but have heard lots of good things from causal and power users alike.
I’m in the same spot and 95% settled on moving to debian.
xubuntu has been good to me the last 10yrs. But its been about xfce, ubuntu got be part of the relationship because it was easy when i knew very little about linux. that and it can run well on a potato with a bunch of computer parts just duct taped randomly onto it. which is basically what my dumpster dived laptop was 10 yes ago.
Linux mint
PeppermintOS everything you need and nothing you don’t. Debian based with extra on top. Runs on 2gb ram , fast. Click install and setup but all the terminal stuff you want.since everyone mentions mint , it was a while since I used it. Felt bloated , perhaps better now. I stil say peppermint even for someone coming directly from Windows
Any software that is in the Xubuntu repositories will also be available in other Ubuntu derivatives, and most likely Debian and all its derivatives as well. Only the official spins are likely to advertise Ubuntu Pro.
Mint XFCE is a good replacement, but I’m also partial to KDE Neon, which keeps preinstalled software to a minimum and is by far the most performant KDE distro I have tried. I myself use regular Debian, with KDE, though you can choose XFCE during the install.
