I have been using Mint for about six months now and while I am not going to start distro hopping, I slowly want to start exploring the rest of Linux.

Originally I was looking at Arch based distros such as Manjaro and EndeavourOS, during which I found out Manjaro is somewhat pointless because you pretty much should not use the AUR on Manjaro or else you will break the system inevitably. EndeavourOS looked solid though.

However, I got a few suggestions regarding OpenSuSE Tumbleweed as a better alternative to Arch based distros and just wanted to know what are the pros and cons of OpenSuSE compared to Arch based distros from your experience?

  • daco@lemm.ee
    2·
    1 year ago

    My experience with openSuse Tumbleweed has been mostly great so far.

    I’ve used linux the last 20+ years (Debian, Ubuntu, manjaro, elementary os, fedora and so on).

    For me the best ones so far have been Debian and Ubuntu server edition (for servers), Linux mint and openSuse (for desktop use).

    I tried openSuse because I didn’t want to upgrade my system every 6 months (for Ubuntu) nor every many years (for Debian). I like the idea of having a stable main desktop system which I can rely on and it just works. I’m hoping openSuse Tumbleweed is that system.

    I’ve used primarily openSuse with KDE on my main machine the last year and I’ve had the folllowing issues:

    • some VPN connections do not work but the same one does work without problems on Linux mint. (For example the Fritz-box VPN) I’m still researching this.
    • most tutorials are made for Ubuntu and other distros, so you have to search a bit more to find answers. (I’ve written a few on my site) You need more time and knowledge to do some stuff on openSuse, because the defaults are more secure (or less permissive). For example sharing a folder on a network or adding a network printer means configuring the firewall rules, which on Linux mint, Ubuntu and many others is not required (which also means that the required ports are open and the required packages are pre installed).

    What I’ve liked

    • there defaults are more secure and that means I’ve learned what some apps need and I’ve understand a little bit how they work.
    • zypper dup is great and I love having a rolling distribution. (I also love apt-get btw)
    • I feel openSuse is more stable (as a desktop, I haven’t tried it on servers yet) although I don’t have any basis to say that. I have another machine with linux mint and I feel I have more problems with stability there. (Again, this is just a feeling)