Looking for a bleeding-edge, rolling-release KDE or GNOME distro
 

Hello everybody!

I'm currently looking to change distributions for my home computer which is currently running Ubuntu 12.10 and Fedora 18.

Even though both distros are great in their own way, the fixed-release cycle of both of them kind of annoys me any time a new version is released like it happened today with Ubuntu 13.04.

That's why I am looking for a rolling-release distro, which will automatically update every time new packages are released. The only problem is: I can't find any distro that is not only rolling-release but also bleeding-edge and relatively beginners-friendly.

I tried Arch, which is definately bleeding-edge and rolling, but not at all suited for newbies like me. ;)

Then I tried Sabayon 11, which is pretty newbie-proof and rolling, but not so much bleeding (after installing version 11 and fully updating it, I noticed that KDE for example was still at version 4.9.5... what is that all about with most fixed-release distros already using 4.10? Or did something go wrong during updates there? Is it supposed to use 4.9.5?)

I also checked out Chakra and Cinnarch: Well, Cinnarch is labelled "beta" right now due to them changing the default desktop from Cinnamon to Gnome-Shell and it didn't install on my machine because during install the "manpages"-package could not be fetched from the server... it also seems to be using Gnome 3.6 which is not so bleeding with 3.8 out. ;)

Chakra ran and looked fine as a live-CD but somehow it always failed to install on my PC. :(

According to Distrowatch there's also Manjaro but I was looking for something more mainstream, which is less likely to be dropped by the developers like it happened to Fuduntu recently.

I know I'm asking for the "Eier legende Wollmilchsau" as we say in Germany, but maybe there is such a thing in the Linux world? ;)

Basically what I'm looking for is Kubuntu but rolling with Fedora-kind of bleedingness if that makes any sense. ;)

I thank you all in advance for any suggenstions!

Greetings,

rokyo

ubuntu is going rolling release after this update they are doing today. Rumurs say it might be the last release of Ubuntu and from there will just go rolling. I dont know if the comunity supported versions like Kubuntu will follow or if they will just stick to LTS.

You can also check OpenSuse tumbleweed http://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Tumbleweed

That would be amazing! Kubuntu as a rolling-release would be perfect! :)

Tumbleweed sounds pretty good, too. I like openSUSE and have it installed on my laptop. Is it hard to configure it to use Tumbleweed?

Proof? Last I heard this was simply a rumor.

@OP- Go with Manjaro. It seems to be getting more and more popular, and is not based on Gnome2 (which is why Fuduntu went EOL). It's Arch, which is as rolling release as it gets, pre-configured especially for new users.
Either that or if you prefer to run something Debian based you could go with Vsido or Siduction.

Debian would be very good, too! I have not heard of Vsido or Siduction, are they based on unstable? Or are they even newer?


I hope if Ubuntu really goes rolling, Kubuntu will follow, because i really dislike the whole Unity-thing. :(

The link I posted has the instructions on how to convert your current OpenSuse installation to Tumbleweed

Good luck to you

That sounds like it's really hard. ^^ I will try it on my laptop first, because it already has openSUSE installed. ;)

There is a one click install method. Just like everything with OpenSuse, look in the instructions for how to try tumbleweed

I'm guessing you mist all the (many) anti-Shuttlewood/Canonical/Ubuntu/Mir/... rants from the KDE/Kubuntu team about this ;)

PS: You might want to look at Gentoo or Debian Sid (or one of it's derivatives).

Debian Sid would seem an obvious choice. It's a rolling release and pretty bleeding edge. You can get it with Gnome, KDE or both. You can mix in some "experimental" packages (apt-pinning) if you want something even more avant-garde.
ciao,
jdk

Slackware-current (or Slackel)
Aptosid/Siduction (Debian)
Calculate or Toorox (Gentoo)
PCLinuxOS
Foresight
Linux Mint Debian Edition

Ubuntu is not going rolling release. They still will have the interim releases, but with reduced support cycle (7 months instead of 18 months). They also will not release beta versions anymore, instead they build daily development releases. It should be possible to use those development versions as some kind of rolling release, but they are meant for developers, not the newbie or "average" desktop user, most likely at some time they will break.

If you liked the look of Arch, but found the installer (or lack of one) a nightmare, then Bridge is a good choice
http://www.linuxquestions.org/review...page/15/sort/7

PCLinuxOS and LMDE are not bleeding-edge, and LMDE is only semi-rolling-release.

If you realy want a "bleeding edge" rolling release distribution, go back to your F18, install the "rawhide" repositories, and run yum distribution-synchronization. Vola! Now you're (trying to) run Fedora 20.

Note, however, that this is, truly, bleeding edge, and you will spend about 50% of your time fixing problems. (Properly speaking, you should install the source code as well as the compiled files, and be prepared to fix problems in the source. And, of course, contribute your fixes to the development teams.)

Oh no, I meant the "good luck to you" part sounded as if it would be hard work. ;)

So no chance for Kubuntu-rolling? :( I love Kubuntu, but it's always a drag to completely reinstall the whole thing every 6 months. ^^

That sounds pretty good, as Debian is pretty much the last distro that I expect to be dropped by its developers anytime soon. ;) I'm still in shock from the end of Fuduntu, which was the perfect distro so far... rolling, cutting/bleeding and beginners friendly. ;)

Is there a downloadable image for Sid or does one configure it in a working Debian like with openSUSE/Tumbleweed? So, as far as I understood, Sid is even newer than "unstable", right?

Slackware and Gentoo are two Distros that I have never tried... well apart from the Gentoo-based Sabayon. I always thought they were too complicated to set up for a beginner, so I didn't check them out yet.

Bridge looks pretty nice, too, from the Distrowatch page. I'll check it out together with Sid! ;)

Oh no, I have tried rawhide before and it pretty much broke everything. ^^