DEBIAN 12: more relevant than ever as a Linux desktop
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Check out TuxCare's newsletter for news about Linux security: https://bit.ly/3N2POWc Grab a brand new laptop or desktop running Linux: https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en# 👏 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: Get access to a weekly podcast, vote on the next topics I cover, and get your name in the credits: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thelinuxexp/join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thelinuxexperiment Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/TheLinuxExperiment/ Or, you can donate whatever you want: https://paypal.me/thelinuxexp 👕 GET TLE MERCH Support the channel AND get cool new gear: https://the-linux-experiment.creator-spring.com/ 🎙️ LINUX AND OPEN SOURCE NEWS PODCAST: Listen to the latest Linux and open source news, with more in depth coverage, and ad-free! https://podcast.thelinuxexp.com 🏆 FOLLOW ME ELSEWHERE: Website: https://thelinuxexp.com Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/web/@thelinuxEXP Pixelfed: https://pixelfed.social/TLENick PeerTube: https://tilvids.com/c/thelinuxexperiment_channel/videos Matrix: https://matrix.to/#/#the-linux-experiment:mozilla.org Discord: https://discord.gg/XMuQrcYd #Debian #Linux #bookworm 00:00 Intro 00:38 Sponsor: Check out TuxCare's newsletter for news about Linux security 01:24 Debian 12 Stable 02:17 Not completely FOSS anymore 04:24 Desktops: not that outdated 09:16 Apps and packages 11:14 Who it's NOT for 13:02 Debian 12 is a great desktop 14:33 Sponsor: Get a PC that runs Linux perfectly 15:25 Support the channel KDE Plasma 5.27 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onPUaAKoGIM GNOME 43 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wefK40cjz9s GNOME 44 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HZIHvACggs So, to begin with, Debian 12 moves away from its pure "FOSS" roots. Debian 12 now enables the non-free firmware repo by default IF Debian detects you'll need it on your computer. Just know it's possible to disable this during the boot process. Debian 12 actually splits non free software into 2 different repos: non-free, which is for packages and apps that don't conform to Debian's guidelines on free and open source software, and non free firmware, which is the same thing, but specifically for drivers and firmware. Debian isn't generally known for shipping the very latest and greatest desktop environments, but Debian 12 isn't far off. For Plasma users, you get the very latest, KDE 5.27, with all its bug fixes and updates, which means you're not missing out on anything. If you were using Debian 11, you were using KDE 5.20, so you're jumping a full 7 versions ahead, which means your experience will be drastically better, whatever your use case. If you're a GNOME user, you'll get GNOME 43, which isn't the latest, but GNOME 44 wasn't a huge update by any means. If you were using Debian 11, you were on GNOME 3.38, which means you'll get a whole 4 new versions worth of features, support, performance improvements. Of course, Debian 12 also updates virtually every single package and app they ship. You get the LTS kernel version 6.1, and you get the Mesa drivers 22.3, and the nvidia drivers 525. All in all, 67% of packages were updated from Debian 11, and the repos now include 11000 new packages as well, for a total of more than 64 000. Of course, Debian 12 isn't a desktop for everyone. If your use case is "I like using the very latest thing", then obviously, it's not for you. If you want the most beginner friendly distro, while Debian isn't a bad choice; it's also not the easiest. If you want to game on Linux, Debian will also not be your first choice. In the past, I would never have recommended Debian Stable as a desktop for most users. It was too old, too outdated, the older applications in its repos were just not a great experience, and Flatpak wasn't super well supported. Older desktop environments were also lackluster, as each new release brought some crucial improvements that you really couldn't do without. With the maturity of formats like Flatpak, snaps or AppImages, you don't have to care about what versions of apps are in your repos. If you need something newer, you can get it, without adding a third party repo that might mess up your system's dependencies and shared libraries. And desktop environments on Linux are now very mature, which means using a 6 month to 2 year old desktop isn't a dealbreaker anymore. And of course, Debian stable won't be for everyone. Tinkerers, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and people who like to game won't find what they want in Debian 12. But for anyone who just wants a computer that works reliably, day after day, without failed updates or stuff that randomly breaks, Debian 12 is an obvious choice. In terms of combining stability, software availability, and now, hardware support, nothing comes close.
    • The Doctor@lemmy.mlEnglish
      7·
      1 year ago

      Not having them pretty much makes Debian a non-starter for many home users. It’s a thing that one really only runs into when they get serious about using Linux.

    • ludothegreat@lemmy.ml
      6·
      1 year ago

      I recently started using Linux again after a 15+ year hiatus. The Debian installer looks exactly the same as it did when I stopped using it. I’m not hating, just stating why it might look outdated for some people.

      • nik282000@lemmy.ml
        9·
        1 year ago

        It’s kinda why I like it. No surprises, it asks you the same dozen questions in the same order and installs your new system.

        • ludothegreat@lemmy.ml
          3·
          1 year ago

          Yeah, there is nothing wrong with it. It functions and it’s very straight forward. But I can see why someone would say it looks outdated.

          • nik282000@lemmy.ml
            2·
            1 year ago

            Totally, it reminds me of the W95 installer if you go for the gui or good old MsDOS if you stay on the CLI.

        • constantokra@lemmy.one
          2·
          1 year ago

          I love that it doesn’t change. I don’t like that when I boot from a ventoy disk it doesn’t install a boot loader. Took me like 5 installs to figure out what was going on.

    • borlax@lemmy.borlax.com
      4·
      1 year ago

      Debian’s “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy is why I use Debian for all my servers. I would rather have something look old and be functional every time.

    • nik282000@lemmy.ml
      2·
      1 year ago

      The beauty is, once you install it, you can go years before you need to install clean again.

      I last re-built my home server in 2019 with Buster and it still has LTS for another year. That’s more than enough time to prepare for a rebuild and adjust any of my own custom crap for the latest release.

      As an alternate to Flatpack, I have been using LXC to run the latest and greatest while still keeping a stable and predictable host. It’s awesome because you can operate an LXC container exactly as if it were a VM or physical machine compared to the more rigid platform of Docker.

  • InverseParallax@voyager.lemmy.ml
    2·
    1 year ago

    Its my main workstation and it’s pure debian: everything you need, and it just works.

    Using an amdgpu and it was probably the easiest install I’ve ever done. No snap bullshit either, kde came up first go.

    Debian is taking the unique approach of “not shooting themselves in the dick by trying to push features everybody hates”.

  • sukuna@lemmy.one
    2·
    1 year ago

    Debian sid(testing) is better for regular desktop usage because of security patches and bug fixes but debian stable is good for servers

  • Zymars@lemmy.ml
    2·
    1 year ago

    I have been using Debian 11 as a my daily driver for the past couple years, sure it may be old and outdated and doesn’t get as great of performance on games due to the old kernel, but I would rather have stability than the newest software. Everything I need works great. I will soon upgrade to Debian 12!