this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2026
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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).

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Ubuntu is the leading distro, if I'm not mistaken. It's also compatible with Mint, Zorin, Xubuntu, etc, which are another leading distros than Fedora. Is it only for redhat users or secondary distro?

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[–] Limeade3425@lemmy.zip 40 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Personally, I really like dnf over apt, SELinux over apparmor, and firewalld over ufw, but it's all personal preference.

[–] mrnngglry@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 weeks ago

I second all of this.

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[–] overcast@lemmy.zip 33 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)
  • the corporate side of Red Hat is far less evident on Fedora than Canonical’s on Ubuntu

  • vanilla UX

  • Atomic editions

  • fast yet stable updates

  • more lightweight ISO

it also has disadvantages, specially for nontechnical folks

  • Free Software Policy (NVIDIA drivers and some codecs not pre-installed)
  • non LTS version available (Atomic desktops are easier to manage if keeping un-updated for very long periods)
  • it uses RPM packages which are good, but there might be some software only offering DEBs (containers and extraction tools can help with that)
[–] jollyrogue@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 weeks ago
  • non LTS version available (Atomic desktops are easier to manage if keeping un-updated for very long periods)

Fedora is a semi-rolling release distribution, so this isn’t really a problem for a desktop or laptop. It’s really an advantage for desktops and laptops.

  • it uses RPM packages which are good, but there might be some software only offering DEBs (containers and extraction tools can help with that)

A lot of software is packaged as a Flatpak image, so less of a problem then it used to be.

[–] voytrekk@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 weeks ago

If you want LTS, you would pick something like RockyLinux. They offer support for 10 years per release.

[–] danielfm123@lemmy.zip 27 points 3 weeks ago
[–] ohshit604@lemmy.halstead.host 26 points 3 weeks ago

Ubuntu is based off of Debian, just use Debian instead.

[–] mrnngglry@sh.itjust.works 24 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Another user mentioned a handful of benefits. I would add that Fedora is more secure than Ubuntu or any of the derivatives you mentioned out of the box. In fact, it’s more secure than most other regular Linux distros.

I also like that it uses vanilla versions of Gnome and KDE. They leave the customization to the end user.

Speaking of KDE, if you prefer it, there are few distros that do it better. Maybe OpenSUSE Tubleweed or ~~Open Mandriva ROME~~. For me, Fedora KDE Plasma fits my needs almost perfectly.

Finally, I think the installer is way better. Ubuntu’s has become less flexible over the years. Fedora’s is still super easy but offers a lot more options.

The one potential drawback I can think of is that official versions of some software are only available as a .deb. That’s more and more rare in my experience.

[–] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 18 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I recently learned that OpenMandriva's president (warning, lunduke link as evidence) has declared the project "non-woke" and "anti-DEI", which has resulted in it attracting a hard right community. IMO, a good reason to avoid it.

[–] mrnngglry@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Ahh good to know! Such a shame.

[–] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

There's at least Mageia still carrying the Mandrake/Mandriva torch without that baggage :)

[–] kuiskaaja@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 weeks ago

i lost a lot of brain cells reading through that second link and i'd like them back

[–] ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)
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[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 18 points 3 weeks ago

Ubuntu is the leading distro

Leading in what? By most users? With that argument we should install Windows, because its the leading platform.

[–] chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world 16 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Go ahead and try Ubuntu and let me know how much you love their "App Store" experience. So many broken apps in their Snap store.

Fedora just works. Ubuntu is like the Windows of Linux. They think they know better than their users and, as such, try to force feed you the things they think are better, even when they're worse.

[–] Neptr@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Avoid Fedora Flatpaks (their repo, not Flathub) because of broken apps. OBS got pissed at them a while back for user reporting bugs that were only present in the downstream repackaging by Fedora. Broken af.

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[–] SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 15 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Ubuntu (which is based on Debian) can be too slow to adopt newer software.

Arch on the other side is too quick.

Fedora is a good balance in-between.

Nearly all other distros are derived from these 3 families.

That and Ubuntu's obsession with Snaps is unhealthy. So many people recommend Debian or Mint over Ubuntu, if you want something very stable.

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 weeks ago

I was going to say, Fedora is not trying to push a bunch of snap apps up the users ass.

[–] dashdanw@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago

Interesting I would have assumed it was slower than Ubuntu in comparison given it's association with RHEL but looking it up it's sort of their "tip of the spear" when it comes to release testing. TIL

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I think Ubuntu is a popular distro. Not necessarily leading in any way. There's other popular distros out there, distros with good documentation, simple to use or beginner friendly, distros which are fast or have a lot of software available. And I'm -personally- not a huge fan of Canonical's business decisions and what they're trying to push on a given day... So I pick different Linux distros. YMMV.

[–] CarlLandry357@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Maybe you mean Cachy OS or Tumbleweed?

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Sure. I've heard a lot of praising words towards Cachy OS. Tumbleweed might be your thing if you're looking for an easy rolling release distro... I didn't mention any specific ones since we all use computers differently, we all have different use-cases, levels of expertise... And I also don't just use one distro. I have a different one on the server than on my laptop, I use yet a different one for retro gaming... There's just so much out there and depending on what exactly you do, could be any of a dozen or so different options and they're all good (or there's reasons to pick or not pick them...)

[–] anon5621@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Leap nice too actually in direct comparing to Ubuntu LTS, I like leap cause it bases on suse enterprise

[–] verdare@piefed.blahaj.zone 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Biggest benefit to Fedora over Ubuntu would be more up-to-date packages. Debian-based distros tend to run much older versions of everything. Fedora brings you closer to upstream releases.

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[–] RodgeGrabTheCat@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

How do you feel about an AI agent being in the distro? There is no privacy with a free AI agent.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/the-future-of-ai-in-ubuntu/81130

[–] p03locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

There is no privacy with a free AI agent.

Depends on where the AI is hosted. If you're running a local LLM, all of that data is stored in-house on your PC.

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[–] AnnaFrankfurter@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago

The only reason is f*ck snap and Ubuntu for forcing it onto users

[–] Kirk@startrek.website 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I think Fedora Kinoite is the best distro for someone coming from Windows due to KDE's flexibility and similarity to Windows and it's immutability. Default Ubuntu is great for people familliar with MacOS, and it can even be themed to be basically indistinguishable.

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[–] Remy@lemmy.today 7 points 3 weeks ago

I prefer Fedora over Ubuntu because they are more up to date and put Flatpak over Snap.

But the real reason I originally switched was that the Ubuntu installer crashed 5 times in a row and then I tried Fedora and liked it

[–] OccasionallyFeralya@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 weeks ago

Not enough people in here mentioning how nice a base vanilla DE experience is. I love vanilla gnome and it’s so refreshing to set up a fresh fedora install and have it so clean.

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 weeks ago

Fedora does good work on security and it doesn't have snaps. But personally I prefer the stability of Debian (not that I daily drive it).

[–] Mertn33@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

#Ubuntu has snaps which are a really annoying way to distribute software updates. I was a long term #Ubuntu user but have moved to #debian, with #Kde if I need a GUI instead of that horrid #gnome rubbish. All the third party software I use works just as well on debian as it did in ubuntu.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

with #Kde if I need a GUI instead of that horrid #gnome rubbish

Well it's not like you cannot use KDE with Ubuntu. There is Kubuntu for that, if you don't like GNOME.

[–] waigl@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

I'm currently maintaining a laptop with kubuntu (for someone else), and I honestly cannot recommend it.

They have kind of messed up the updates in their Plasma flavor, Discover routinely just fails to do the updates with a completely meaningless error message. I suspect the underlying issue is lock contention with the background service "unattended-upgrades.service", but I'm not sure, because, again, that error message is ridiculously unhelpful. Also, said unattended-upgrades service does not seem to actually be doing any upgrades.

On the last install, also, the attempt to upgrade from Ubuntu 24 to 26.04 LTS, the upgrade failed in a spectacularly fashion that left the system mostly bricked in ways that could only be solved by a fresh reinstall. During the process, a few error messages made it look like the problem was hardware faults on the SSD, except when I then tested the SSD from a rescue disk using dd, smartctl, and iotester from https://github.com/guidow/iotester, I could find absolutely no indication of any faults on that drive whatsoever…

Granted my opinion on kubuntu may be a bit colored, because right this moment, I'm quite frustrated with it.

Also, installing massively important software like Firefox or Thunderbird through snaps instead of packaging them properly is just asinine.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

I see. Need to read more about the current state of Kubuntu, because I don't want recommend something that might be not in a good state. Kubuntu was a good choice in the past.

Granted my opinion on kubuntu may be a bit colored, because right this moment, I’m quite frustrated with it.

I don't think your opinion is less worth just because you experience problems.

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[–] VanRado@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

You are right, the app management philosophy for Kubuntu is not quite right. Canonical put their effort towards providing Ubuntu with Gnome.

I had very similar issues, and since I wanted KDE (so many machines in my house already using KDE and I'm starting to get really comfortable with it) and I needed to use a specific app without containerization and the developer only makes a deb and rpm, I ended up trying Fedora with KDE. The DE bundled there is quite unadulterated, it's basically a near latest stock KDE desktop. It was very seemless, you almost need to know nothing specific about Fedora, just use you muscle memory navigating the desktop.

[–] NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

That's the canonical promise! Half ass and breaks on update. Funny thing is Kubuntu is more stable than Ubuntu and yet here we are.

[–] SatyrSack@quokk.au 2 points 3 weeks ago

Is there a reason you are using hashtags like you're on Mastodon or something? Just curious. I don't think I've ever seen a Lemmy account do that.

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[–] NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Ubuntu is the most broken distro I have ever used. From when it first came out until today.

Pick anything over Ubuntu.

I do really like fedora. If you want the latest stuff as fast as a rolling distro, with zero update issues, you want fedora.

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[–] ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 weeks ago

Canonical sucks.

[–] iusemybrain@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

If you are comfortable using fedora or if you are fine learning about fedora, use fedora.

I personally wouldn't use Ubuntu with it's recent controversy in specific the "explicit AI features" planned to be implemented within ubuntu. I'd suggest avoiding it out of privacy concerns even if it runs locally on your system.

the general trend for AI adoption, is to make it accessible for anyone to onboard, and then slowly control the users by (for example) making users connect to their servers to use their chatbot which then they can train, and have a better profile of you.

Canonical never mentioned that, in fact they mentioned quite the inverse. but any implementation of an AI chatbot, Tech companies aren't doing it because of how revolutionary AI is. The AI is the product and your data is what they want.

I'm not saying canonical is pursuing that initiative, but that's generally how it goes for most tech companies. Don't take my word for it, ask yourself, "what service does Ubuntu provide? what financial backing (sponsorships) do they have?" I've looked far and wide and the only thing I've found is, they offer a free OS install as their consumer grade product, and a subscription service to their enterprise network that is clearly not a sustainable business model (from an engineering perspective) for a multi-thousand employee company.

[–] nitroemdash@lemmy.wtf 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It's also compatible with Mint, Zorin, Xubuntu, etc, which are another leading distros than Fedora.

What do you mean? Any distro is compatible with any other distro.

Ubuntu forces Snaps (app packaging format) down your throat that take up more space and RAM than Flatpaks, were developed with powerful servers in mind first and common user second and are less commutity-developed standard. Also, last time I checked it had some sponsored bloatware.

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[–] core@leminal.space 1 points 3 weeks ago

I just switched from PopOS (Ubuntu) to Nobara (Fedora) and I fucking love it. Its a perfect middle ground between bleeding edge Arch and slow to adopt Ubuntu. Also, flatpack.

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