Ask HN: Arch Linux vs. Ubuntu, Thoughts?

  • Use Debian Testing. Packages up-to-date. Compare the latest Ubuntu and Debian Testing:

    https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?firstlist=debian&secondlis...

    And I repeat what I said before: don't be fooled by the name of the release - "Testing". The name "Testing" exists due to an orthodox approach of Debian community that only the Debian stable can use "stable".

  • I've been using Arch for over a decade at this point. It's broken on me a handful of times and needed a live USB to recover, but overall has been incredibly robust.

    My advice is to try everything out and then use what you like. Ubuntu is great and stable.

  • I don't have any experience with Arch but I can tell you that I've had tiny servers run Ubuntu for a whole year straight with no issues (except one incident where apt couldn't pull updates from internet because some files got corrupted somehow, but the solution was easy and I didn't lose anything).

  • Desktop arch and servers debian stable. Works for me. dualboot was often broken by windows, so i have moved only signleboot linux. I only occasional use windows in a vm which i download when i need it.

  • Neither of those, frankly.

    Have used Ubuntu for years, got really fed up with they constantly changing their stuff and messing my setup. Snap was the last straw for me.

    I tried Arch briefly, was not impressed at all. It doesn't look like a reliable system at all. All of my friends using have had multiple major issues, almost routinely. I'm not a teenager anymore so I can't waste my time fixing other people's poor choices in systems development.

    I've switched to Fedora on the desktop (XFCE) a couple of years ago and it's been a dream so far. The system is rock solid, it's routinely updated, it's fast and light.

    On my home server I'm moved from RHEL 8 (developer subscription) to RockyLinux 9 (RHEL derivative). I've discovered RHEL for work and it's been a pleasure... Rock solid, reliable system.

    Try fedora, you won't regret it.

    > Also have you faced boot issues when dual booting with windows? as in a blank screen and pc not POSTing?

    Haven't used Windows in ~15 years, can't say.

  • Arch, rolling release is just superior stuff for everyday use.

  • i haven't had any big issues with arch, i use it on my laptop and i use ubuntu lts for servers.