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  3. Hi friends, I could use your input

Hi friends, I could use your input

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Linux
linuxlaptoplinuxpolldebianvoidlinux
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  • ruben@kedara.socialR This user is from outside of this forum
    ruben@kedara.socialR This user is from outside of this forum
    ruben@kedara.social
    wrote last edited by
    #1

    Hi friends, I could use your input!
    My mom has asked me to install Linux on her laptop, which distro should I pick?

    - Dell Latitude 7320 Intel Core i7-Gen 11 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD
    - Has to be stable, good hardware support
    - Sysadmin tasks will be performed (remotely) by me, so doesn't have to be "beginner friendly" per se in that area (she won't be added to the wheel group 😅)
    - Support for Xfce desktop (I guess most distros have that)
    - Ideally support for encrypted root on ZFS

    No: Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL (or derivatives) please.

    Given my recent fascination, I'd go with FreeBSD, but I'm afraid the hardware support isn't quite there yet. Voting and boosts are appreciated!

    What should I pick?

    #Linux #LaptopLinux #Poll #Debian #VoidLinux #AlpineLinux #ArchLinux

    ruben@kedara.socialR grahamperrinG 2 Replies Last reply
    0
    • ruben@kedara.socialR ruben@kedara.social

      Hi friends, I could use your input!
      My mom has asked me to install Linux on her laptop, which distro should I pick?

      - Dell Latitude 7320 Intel Core i7-Gen 11 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD
      - Has to be stable, good hardware support
      - Sysadmin tasks will be performed (remotely) by me, so doesn't have to be "beginner friendly" per se in that area (she won't be added to the wheel group 😅)
      - Support for Xfce desktop (I guess most distros have that)
      - Ideally support for encrypted root on ZFS

      No: Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL (or derivatives) please.

      Given my recent fascination, I'd go with FreeBSD, but I'm afraid the hardware support isn't quite there yet. Voting and boosts are appreciated!

      What should I pick?

      #Linux #LaptopLinux #Poll #Debian #VoidLinux #AlpineLinux #ArchLinux

      ruben@kedara.socialR This user is from outside of this forum
      ruben@kedara.socialR This user is from outside of this forum
      ruben@kedara.social
      wrote last edited by
      #2

      Thanks everyone for voting and the super helpful advice!

      This is my current game plan for Saturday:
      - Debian root on ZFS with xfce
      - She'll be a regular user with no privileges, but can install Flatpaks via the Warehouse app (https://flathub.org/en/apps/io.github.flattool.Warehouse )

      Some open points:
      - I'm not sure whether I'll use grub (using the openzfs guide https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/Getting%20Started/Debian/Debian%20Trixie%20Root%20on%20ZFS.html ) or zfsbootmenu (https://docs.zfsbootmenu.org/en/v3.1.x/guides/debian/uefi.html )
      - Related to ZFS DKMS: to unattended upgrades or not? I don't know how high the risk is of breaking the system via a botched kernel upgrade.
      - On another SSD, she'll keep Windows. I'm a bit hesitant if I should synchronise files two ways somehow between windows<->zfs, or just provide the windows share in Linux (so she can just copy files she'd need incidentally in Windows)

      As much as I'd like to experiment with NixOS or e.g. Chimera Linux, it's a bit too risky for this project, since I have no experience with those yet.

      Anyway, just for the fun of it, here's a follow up poll re: my open questions. Voting/boosting/commenting with feedback is highly appreciated!

      #Debian #Xfce #ZFS #ZFSbootMenu #poll

      menel@snikket.deM 1 Reply Last reply
      1
      • ruben@kedara.socialR ruben@kedara.social

        Thanks everyone for voting and the super helpful advice!

        This is my current game plan for Saturday:
        - Debian root on ZFS with xfce
        - She'll be a regular user with no privileges, but can install Flatpaks via the Warehouse app (https://flathub.org/en/apps/io.github.flattool.Warehouse )

        Some open points:
        - I'm not sure whether I'll use grub (using the openzfs guide https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/Getting%20Started/Debian/Debian%20Trixie%20Root%20on%20ZFS.html ) or zfsbootmenu (https://docs.zfsbootmenu.org/en/v3.1.x/guides/debian/uefi.html )
        - Related to ZFS DKMS: to unattended upgrades or not? I don't know how high the risk is of breaking the system via a botched kernel upgrade.
        - On another SSD, she'll keep Windows. I'm a bit hesitant if I should synchronise files two ways somehow between windows<->zfs, or just provide the windows share in Linux (so she can just copy files she'd need incidentally in Windows)

        As much as I'd like to experiment with NixOS or e.g. Chimera Linux, it's a bit too risky for this project, since I have no experience with those yet.

        Anyway, just for the fun of it, here's a follow up poll re: my open questions. Voting/boosting/commenting with feedback is highly appreciated!

        #Debian #Xfce #ZFS #ZFSbootMenu #poll

        menel@snikket.deM This user is from outside of this forum
        menel@snikket.deM This user is from outside of this forum
        menel@snikket.de
        wrote last edited by
        #3
        @ruben@kedara.social
        I don't know how xfce does it, with KDE we have updates as gui popup. If thats a thing, I would use that over unattended.
        1 Reply Last reply
        1
        • andyA Offline
          andyA Offline
          andy
          wrote last edited by
          #4

          openSUSE perhaps? Never let me down in 20 years. Void Linux also sits nicely with zfsbootmenu (but will consume the whole weekend probably).

          1 Reply Last reply
          1
          • ruben@kedara.socialR ruben@kedara.social

            Hi friends, I could use your input!
            My mom has asked me to install Linux on her laptop, which distro should I pick?

            - Dell Latitude 7320 Intel Core i7-Gen 11 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD
            - Has to be stable, good hardware support
            - Sysadmin tasks will be performed (remotely) by me, so doesn't have to be "beginner friendly" per se in that area (she won't be added to the wheel group 😅)
            - Support for Xfce desktop (I guess most distros have that)
            - Ideally support for encrypted root on ZFS

            No: Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL (or derivatives) please.

            Given my recent fascination, I'd go with FreeBSD, but I'm afraid the hardware support isn't quite there yet. Voting and boosts are appreciated!

            What should I pick?

            #Linux #LaptopLinux #Poll #Debian #VoidLinux #AlpineLinux #ArchLinux

            grahamperrinG Offline
            grahamperrinG Offline
            grahamperrin
            wrote last edited by
            #5

            @ruben@kedara.social said:

            Sysadmin tasks will be performed (remotely)

            Maybe difficult with OpenZFS-encrypted root-on-ZFS. Will your mom be prepared to enter the passphrase when a task requires a restart of the OS?

            ruben@kedara.socialR 1 Reply Last reply
            1
            • grahamperrinG grahamperrin

              @ruben@kedara.social said:

              Sysadmin tasks will be performed (remotely)

              Maybe difficult with OpenZFS-encrypted root-on-ZFS. Will your mom be prepared to enter the passphrase when a task requires a restart of the OS?

              ruben@kedara.socialR This user is from outside of this forum
              ruben@kedara.socialR This user is from outside of this forum
              ruben@kedara.social
              wrote last edited by
              #6

              @grahamperrin yes, I think I'll just schedule the admin sessions with her and have a chat afterwards, since I'd have to ask her to turn on the laptop anyway. But it's a fair point, we'll see how it works in practice.

              1 Reply Last reply
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