New to Solus, Why i should use it?

unkus

Hello, i'm using arch linux like 2-3 years. But i was looking something stable and independent distro like debian, gentoo and etc. I tried void linux and gentoo, but these distros not what i looking for. So i find solus and it looks nice, clean. But why i should use it? Is repo's are good? Is package manager fast?

v6277

I can answer this, I've been switching between Arch and Solus for the last few days.

Arch is a great DIY operating system. In the words of their one wiki, they don't aim to be user friendly but user centric. In order to use Arch without any issues, you'll have to rely on the well built wiki provided by them. This goes from building to configuring your OS and troubleshooting it. It's easier to break your Arch installation for this reason, you have to mess around with the system often to get the configuration that you want and works for you. I'm sure you know, but it's not common for updates to break an Arch install, it's usually the user's fault.

Solus is another amazing OS but with a different approach. Solus provides an it just works^tm Linux operating system. When you have a system like Arch you'll without a doubt have to spend a lot of time reading the wiki and messing with the configuration to get stuff done, whereas on Solus you'll install and go straight to getting stuff done, which is a huge time saver. The package management in Solus is robust and very fast, and the software center simply blows out any other software repo you can think of.

On the topic of software available, it's true that the repository on Arch is much larger, especially with the AUR (the aur is less secure btw), but Solus doesn't aim to have a larger repo. While the number of packages is a lot smaller, it provides quality software that actually works without having to mess with the configuration most of the time. If you want specific software in Solus but can't find an alternative, you can suggest it in the dev tracker and it'll be considered. If no better alternative is found in the repo, you can bet it'll be included. I've honestly found all essential software that I've needed so far in Solus, and it just works^tm amazingly.

Try it out, you won't regret it.

unkus

v6277 Well, i just installed it. My first impressions to budgie desktop 😃 , i like it but i personally can't used to DE, i will install dwm and my configs. I hope everything will works fine.

I'll give a chance Solus, looks good but i can't understand that in 1-2 days i need a week atleast 🙂

Andril I hope so 🙂

Andril

It will make all your wildest dreams come true, good community, stable and it just works. VM's allow you to explore and tinker without loosing your workflow. Been a users since the 1st release.

Justin

Try it and find out. It has a live environment and can be installed next to your current OS.

smittyvanilli

I'd like to offer my 2 cents worth, if I may!

Many times I've been off and on with operating systems and some of them were pretty stable times.

My last effort was with Windows 10 and had even bought their Windows 10 Pro edition and was happy for awhile...until they kept updating my system. Not to mention, they reset the telemetry every time you upgrade and, in fact, there were times I would come home from work and my system would crash and I even know the reason why! It was basically trying to do a significant upgrade, whilst I had other things in the background. After experiencing this several times, I switched to Linux Mint. Of course, I read many articles on the state of Linux Mint and what direction they were going, why others like the distro and so on.

The main vibe I got from Solus, mainly is that it is similar to what v6277 stated, "it just works". And most people added "out of the box," meaning you don't have to look up how-to articles to fix issues. Also, if you get the "Cinnamon Edition," which I have right now, it is closer to a "Windows feel". Of course, there other desktops within Mint that are geared to "MacOS feel" and "Minimalist feel" galore!

So, what am I saying? In contrast to Solus Linux, which I will myself be changing to once I get my hard drives that will be on sale soon, I will probably opting for the Budgie Edition, only for my personal needs. Basically, I'm saying Solus is unique and not a "this is based off of this distro" distribution, such as Linux Mint being based off of Ubuntu, which, if I am correct, means they used the development code of that distro, however forked off with their own code to make it the "out of the box" experience you may experience.

Prior to Windows 10, I tried Linux distros by "distro hopping". I've tried Slackware, Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Frugal Linux, Arch Linux, and even Gentoo for short periods of time. I was curious to see what these systems do! I still remember my first experience of not "logging in as root," as you can do bad things if you run yourself as root, which is why, at least with Linux Mint, you have "sudo <command>" and then prompts you for your account password. This is much more stable, however it does mean you type 5 extra letters each time!

Having said that, your decision will be a personal one and depends on what you are looking for. I've watched many YouTube videos and even some really great videos that enlighten me in the world of Linux. This is another reason I like Linux for me, is that I learn something new all the time.

I wish someone just tapped me on the shoulder and said "just try it out and see for yourself". This is the only true way to know what you'll enjoy. When I buy a car, I like to test them out and see if my experience is more enjoyable in one than another and then make my decision based on what's important. Just try a few and see what you enjoy. If you are coming from a Mac, or Windows there's things like running "Virtual Box" and you can experiment with these Linux distros without installing them on your physical machine. There are YouTube videos on this, as well.

As for me, I've seen other Youtubers install Solus and I love the things it will do for me. Even as a geeky developer guy! It seems to be also great for desktop users, which is another thing I love and can rave about. Gone can be the days of using the command line all the time!

Just so you know, I'm not a distribution centric user. I am a "good experience" centric user.

In fact, I love what v2677 said, "...whereas on Solus you'll install and go straight to getting stuff done, which is a huge time saver." For me, that's why I don't like fussing with command-line, or getting a hack to get something to work. I'm a productivity kind of user!

If you're on YouTube, I recommend subscribing to "Chris Titus Tech". He was a former Windows 10 user and a good Microsoft Solution Provider / Specialist, so I believe he still has to work in Windows for some projects, however he documents his whole experience migrating to Linux and also gives good tips, in my opinion. He mentions in one video, other recommended Linux Tubers to follow, as well. I haven't even subscribed to them all! Check out his "Linux Distros Don't Matter", "What Makes a Linux Distro | Why Distribution doesn't matter," and especially later "Which Linux Distribution? | Understanding Linux Distros," which which can break up confusions with different distros to choose. Having said that, he hasn't mentioned Solus in that last one. I don't think he tried it, so I would take it with a grain of salt. However, I like that he breaks down all the other distros and gives you information on how to make an informed decision, if you go the other distros route. His videos had me change back over to Linux Mint, as he was having similar issues with Windows.

Another one I started with is "Switched to Linux". Somehow I must have clicked a link to get to his channel, however he's been a good source for me, as well. He seems to be more a previous Mac user, if I'm correct, and one of his favorite distros is Ubuntu Mate, which has a "Mac OS X feel". Again, it all depends on your preferences and what you feel comfortable with.

I hope this helps! 🙂