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    Moved to Manjaro....

    After 14 years of kubuntu, I've moved to Manjaro KDE for my main desktop.

    Why? I'm not happy with the direction of travel for desktop Ubuntu. I don't think it's a priority for Canonical, who don't make money from it, and I don't think they care if they make a technical decision that breaks something in the spins like kubuntu e.g. snap firefox breaking plasma integration. I know there are work-arounds for firefox, but I expect we will see more core desktop apps like libreoffice and thunderbird getting the snap treatment in due course.

    The good news is I'm entitled to a full refund of every penny I paid for it

    In case anyone is interested, carry on reading about my manjaro experience:

    I downloaded the recent iso and booted it in live mode just to check all hardware was recognised, which it was. I then did a trial install with the / partition on a spare sata ssd, but mounting my existing separate kubuntu /home partition (without formatting, but after doing a backup). Booting and logging it worked flawlessly, and all my data and settings including plasma desktop settings just worked out of the box. I'm apparently one of the last people left on this earth still using kontact/kmail and have a lot of old emails in there, as well as calendar and contact data synced via caldav. Like kubuntu, the default manjaro kde install gives you thunderbird rather than kontact, but it was easy to install from the software centre, and once I did it worked immediately with all the data, accounts and settings carried over from kubuntu.

    I ran it that way for a few days to check for problems, then re-installed with the / partition on my main nvme hard drive.

    I have been very impressed with the manjaro experience. It is quick and responsive, and boots to the login screen noticeably faster than kubuntu. Firefox of course starts much quicker than the snap version in the latest kubuntu, and plasma integration works. Kontact/kmail also starts up to a functional state quicker than the kubuntu version (although I can't see why that should be). I've learned the 'yay' helper for the Arch User Repository (AUR), and have found all of the more obscure, proprietary or niche programmes there that would require a manual install or adding a ppa on kubuntu.

    The rolling release means frequent updates, but fortunately I'm blessed with fast fibre broadband. My install onto an existing home partition requires a good understanding of partitioning and how your hard drives are identified, and if you are tempted to try it then make sure you take a backup first to avoid data loss.

    Of course some future update might break my manjaro, and I could be back, but I'm finding it a pleasant experience so far.

    #2
    I use Arch Linux as my main OS; Manjaro is essentially Arch with a graphical installer and preconfigured package mgmt. I keep Kubuntu around as a backup OS and boot into it to update and see which versions the newer packages are. I prefer the bleeding edge updates and newer kernel choices in Arch. As soon as something is available upstream, it is in the Arch repos much quicker than any other distro. I prefer apt so I have aliases setup for pacman so I can still use apt commands to install and search for packages. In addition to Manjaro, EndeavourOS has done a great job of making Arch easy to install and setup.

    I agree with you about Canonical not caring about whether things break or not. They are focused on their profit and users are just a testing base for their corporate products. I am not a fan of apps lugging around their own copies of libraries instead of using shared system libraries. I also do not like the direction they are going with Snaps and I too think they are going to become more invasive and less of a choice than they already are. My security needs do not require the use of sandboxed apps. There is too much overhead and poor performance for my liking.
    I notice the package management is much faster on Arch than *buntus. I have not had any issues and am much happier with the package selection.
    You are right about availability of software in Arch based distros vs Ubuntu. I have a lot of manually installed packages and PPA's just to get what I need on my Kubuntu. It takes a lot of extra time to manage manually.
    Unfortunately, these days the Linux ecosystem is filled with Wayland, Flatpak, Snap fanatics who eager to adopt anything new. Their way is not necessarily better and should not be forced on everyone. In the 20 years I have been using it, Linux has usually promoted choice. Not so much these days.

    Thank you for sharing your journey and Good Luck to you.

    Comment


      #3
      Good luck with Manjaro. Linux is Linux after all.

      I'm wondering why you chose Manjaro over EndeavourOS though, I've been considering replacing a Linux Mint install with it on an oldish laptop.
      Constant change is here to stay!

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        #4
        Originally posted by Beerislife View Post
        I'm wondering why you chose Manjaro over EndeavourOS though, I've been considering replacing a Linux Mint install with it on an oldish laptop.
        Mainly because it has a well established KDE Plasma flavour, which is essential for me. I wanted a distro that has a good focus on KDE, rather than treating it as an afterthought. See also Fedora!

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          #5
          I used Fedora before it was Fedora (RedHat back then) Then went to back to Mandrake and then on to Fedora 5. I like the distro but I want a LTS release with the latest software which is why I'm currently on KDE Neon. I am looking at dabbling with an Arch based distro though...
          Constant change is here to stay!

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by bendy View Post
            Mainly because it has a well established KDE Plasma flavour, which is essential for me. I wanted a distro that has a good focus on KDE, rather than treating it as an afterthought. See also Fedora!
            True! If you want Fedora, stick to their Gnome version; they care for it. Rest are spins. If you like rolling distros, Manjaro is a good choice for KDE. I heard nice things about Tumbleweed (Suse) but not tried it myself.

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              #7
              I've been running EndeavourOS-KDE for a while now. Tried all the rest. Like their auto updates. BUT, I'm not satisfied with KDE anymore. I also have EndeavourOS-XFCE which is also very good.
              Boot Info Script

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                #8
                I'm still satisfied with Kubuntu KDE but I threw Mozilla Firefox "under the bus" long ago. I'm using Palemoon, a Firefox clone and have been satisfied for a couple of years.

                Canonical remains a problem, as noted in the OP above. I used to run Mint on my 32bit desktop, but that is no longer an option. My 64bit laptop still works well with Kubuntu, so no reason to change (yet). Much depends on what Canonical does for their users...
                Kubuntu 24.11 64bit under Kernel 6.11.0, Hp Pavilion, 6MB ram. Stay away from all things Google...

                Comment


                  #9
                  Mainly because it has a well established KDE Plasma flavour, which is essential for me. I wanted a distro that has a good focus on KDE, rather than treating it as an afterthought.
                  I would like to point out that this does not apply to EndeavourOS. They have a fantastic grip on the KDE Desktop. From the login screen theme (SDDM) to the default wallpaper and grub splash. It is very cohesive. I will say that Manjaro feels more Fedora like in that it has tons of bloat - default programs installed, many of which I would never use. The updater is in the task bar and menu is pre-loaded with tons of software.
                  EndeavourOS on the other had stays out of the way of the Arch installation, the KDE install is lean and has not added software pre-installed for the most part. They leave it up to the user to add to their desktop what they need.
                  They both appear to do an excellent job at the Default KDE. Id say if you want a leaner KDE, are an advanced user who knows what programs you need, then try EndeavourOS first. It is basically Arch with some added admin apps on top. If you want a little more handholding, with a lot of apps installed and don't mind a little more OS influence over the Arch Linux base, try Manjaro first.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I think moving from Kubuntu to something like MX-Linux KDE is a more "natural" move.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I think moving from Kubuntu to something like MX-Linux KDE is a more "natural" move.
                      Yes, If someone was looking to make a "natural" move. Personally, I think moving from one Linux distro with KDE to another Linux distro with KDE is a "natural" move.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I've been using KDE as my DE since Sept of 1998.
                        My requirements for a Linux distro are:
                        1) KDE as the DE
                        2) BTRFS as the rootfs and the ability to merge @home with @ to make just one subvolume.
                        3) Ability to remove snap and flatpak, if they come preinstalled.
                        4) Works with my WiFi, my HP p1606dn duplex laser and my Intel IRIS xe GPU.

                        Since Feb of 2009 I have been using Kubuntu, mainly the LTS, but last fall I decided I didn't want to wait for the latest and greatest Plasma release, so I switched to KDE Neon User Edition. When I got this new HP-17cn10054gu laptop last Christmas I had problems getting its built in rtl8821 chip to work reliably. I fixed that by replacing that chip with one that did. My Buffalo 600N DD-WRT router died and reverting to the wifi built into the cable modem I have been unable to get my Hurricane IPv6 tunnel to work. The problem was located at the ISP end and it can't/won't be resolved. I used the miredo tunnel for a while but it hangs the browser on certain websites so I've dropped it and no longer have any IPv6 connection. That's the only bad part. Hurricane's tunnel appeared "native" to the Internet and was very fast.

                        Over the last few years I have played with VM's of several distros. Of all the ones I've tried, the one I like the most is mxlinux.
                        But, as long as Canonical treats Neon right I won't be switching.





                        "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
                        – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I've been trying out Archman, an Arch-based Turkish distribution, on the QEMU Virtual machine, and I am surprised at how snappy it is for KDE. The updates are particularly rapid, much more so than on Kubuntu. This is something I have found to be true on all the Arch-based distros I've tried virtually, and I don't know why Ubuntu-based distros update so much more slowly in comparison. On the other hand, rolling releases require too many frequent updates for my tastes, and even semi-rolling ones like Neon can bork a system, as GreyGeek pointed out in a post from today. I like the Arch-based distros I've tried so far, but am sticking with Kubuntu for the time being, upgrading it every six months. Archman is a nice distro, though, quite easy to install and work with. There is an English version (I don't speak Turkish) and other desktops as well, with Xcfe being the flagship version.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I just replaced a Mint install on an older laptop with Pop-OS! Not a Snap package in sight, just like Mint. At the moment I quite like it but I'm sure it will be replaced eventually!
                            Constant change is here to stay!

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