this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Void is rolling release IIRC. The package manager is quite fast and gets the job done. The pain point is that Void has a lower selection of package in its repos compared to say, Arch. Some good stuff is there (for example I was looking for a third party Spotify client ncspot? Back in the day and it was packaged in Void's repos) but if someone uses niche stuff a lot, there can be issues.
Of course there is Flatpak support. And the system itself is comparatively lean and fast. I don't think my installation of Void came with plenty of pre-installed apps.
It ships in two builds : glibc or musl. The latter one is less favored because it only makes life tougher honestly. Runit support is a strong point of it though personally I don't have any anti systemd qualms.
The documentation is basic and okayish. I still often go to Arch Wiki since that's honestly the most detailed. Also, I just found that it's the highest rated distro on Distro Watch. I have distro hopped a long time and Void is decent. I still hold Debian in higher regard since it's slightly easier for a novice to get used to (though it's repos can be hold often old versions of software) and also because it was my main entry point to the Linux world.
That's what I thought, but the main website says Void focuses on stability over being cutting edge, which would imply some sort of release cycle. Or, maybe they just update packages less frequently.
It's hard to beat Mint as a novice distro, for sure.
I mean I guess there are more noob friendly distros than Debian [ there was a time when all I saw was Ubuntu around me and it's ubiquitous Unity DE was instantly recognizable to my eye] but chances are many of them are ultimately based on Debian itself. Mint's main ISO is based on Ubuntu [and indirectly Debian] whilst they also release a LMDE [Linux Mint Debian Edition] as a fallback variant directly based on Debian. I guess Zorin OS or elementary OS are also decent but they also seem more like heavy reskins to me than anything else.[Zorin has a Windows like feel to it].
Mint eschews all of the Snap crap, though, doesn't it?
Jesus, please tell me it does. I've been recommending it to beginners. I thought it was sanitized.
Yes, Mint does not have any Snap stuff. It was Canonical's idea to put in Snap and I think Ubuntu Is one of the only mainstream distros to use snap instead of flatpak.
Probably the reason why I avoided Void yes ik it's a independent distro