Hi all,

I have been using Linux for a few years now - first Ubuntu and subsequently Mint.

I am by no means an expert, but most importantly, I have gained confidence! I can experiment and sort things out when needed.

I don't necessarily enjoy this though.

So I was wondering - is there anything to be gained from moving on from Mint? I would assume Debian would be the most obvious. But there are also distros like Suse/Arch/or even Mint Debian edition?

As I said - I want a system to use, not to constantly fiddle with, but I now have the confidence to move up to something more "pure" - if (and only if) that will give me some worthwhile benefit.

So my question is this - is it worth moving to something else, or does Mint do everything all the other distributions do?

And secondly, if I move to something like Debian or Suse, what will I get?

Hello amey01, welcome to LQ,

install Slackware, we have a very helpful and knowledgeable community here at LQ http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/

With Slackware you will have a rocksolid system which works very good out of the box. Only difference to Ubuntu or Mint is that you will have to edit configurationscripts by yourself instead of using guitools. But for a user with a little experience this should be no problem. One advantage of Slackware is, that you will learn a lot about Linux (but you are not forced to fiddle with the system), one disadvantage of Slackware is as we say "once you slack you'll always come back", which means you will miss Slackware wenn using another distribution

Markus

I, like you have tried the easier distros and searched for more challenging stuff. I went as far as installing Gentoo, which took a lot of trial and error and making a fool of myself on the forums, but gave me a huge amount of satisfaction when I got it all running smoothly. Now I am running Slackel KDE on one box (which I don't particularly like, but it works well) and Aptosid XFCE on another (which I do like). Both of these distros are relatively easy, but I learned a lot from variation between distros, so maybe that's why it all seems easy. I suggest you try lots of different distros (most have live versions available) until you find one you feel really comfortable with.

If mint is working fine then I would say stay with it. It does everything other distros do but it does it the easy way

If you just want a working system without the necessity to learn the things under the hood Mint is just fine for you, no need to change.

I'm with TroN and Tobi; if it works fine, why change? Other distros basically offer the same.

I'm not!

Isn't curiosity the one of the basics of using Linux? who of us didn't install several distributions until he found "his" one? How many of us are are distrohoppers and still searchning for a distribution.

I would recommend (at least) to try out some live-CDs.

Markus

As the OP states, he has no joy in fiddling with things and wants a system that just works. So if he has no problems with Mint a change does not make much sense, IMHO.

TobiSGD, no hi didn't what I understand ist, that the OP wants a system which makes it possible to fiddle with it but where he's not forced to do it. That's also what the threadtitle says, he's no newbie anymore.

This is what I find with Slackware, when I want to try something new, it is possible, but also it's a very solid system which helps me to do my daily work. Therefore my suggestion in post #1

Markus

Even in Mint one can fiddle if one wants to. If Slackware has not changed too much since version 12, it is, under the hood, piece of cake, compared to Ubuntu and its derivates; ever tried to debug upstart?

Maybe, to satisfy everybody, a possible solution is to set up a virtual machine and install linux from scratch Enough fiddling if one feels like it and use the host for the normal work.

The fact that the OP wants to try something else suggests that he or he is not completely satisfied with the current system or feels other distributions might have more to offer. So amey01, by all means, check out other systems. The suggestion of using a virtual machine is a good one. So is the advice to use live CDs. The only problem with that is that they are slow, and therefore, do not give a true idea of a system's performance. In addition to a virtual machine, if you have an external hard-drive, you can install a system on it and dual-boot for a while.

My suggestion is to do a little research. Visit each distribution's website and read the details. Then look through their forum to see what problems people are and are not having. That will give you a good idea of which systems may be to your liking. Then try them out.

Correct. I don't want to fiddle if I don't have to. But I have the capability if need be.

So the question is - will Slackware give me something I don't currently have? Is it more stable than Mint? Is it faster? Are upgrades more streamlined? If there is a reason then I'll start experimenting.

But I'm not interested in switching if it is just doing things the hard way when I could just as well be doing things the easy way.

But if there is no reason then I'll stay quite happy with Mint!

That's a good question, Slackware is much cleaner than most of the other distributions. You'll always know what's going on and you will understand why the system works as it works. Slackware is the most stable distribution around. It is very fast, not only because it is relatively lightweight.
Upgrades are very streamlined, you'll only have to use the slackpkg program which keeps your system up to date.

Well, Slackware is not "Linux on the hard way" but to be honest, I'm using Slackware for a very long time now. I have difficulties with systems like Ubuntu or Mint because I don't understand what's going on on this bloated systems. So maybe it's contrary for you and Mint is the best for you.

BTW: Slackware will run properly in a virtual machine, so install Virtualbox and try it out.

Markus

Let the OP decide.........................

Debian
Slackware
Arch

Are all good next steps. I would recomend starting with Debian as you will have more familiarity since LM is originall based on this and has the same package manager. If you want a bigger challenge then Slackware or Arch is the next best step. I would avoid LFS or Geentoo as they might be to overwhelming comming from LM.


PS : Arh is my pick. I have been with it for about 14 months and love it. However I could see myslef doing some hopping in the future.

Arch is not as stable as Slackware and Debian.

Markus