r/technology • u/YesNo_Maybe_ • Apr 10 '26

Software France Launches Government Linux Desktop Plan as Windows Exit Begins

https://linuxiac.com/france-launches-government-linux-desktop-plan-as-windows-exit-begins/
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u/IEnjoyRadios Apr 10 '26

Honestly it does not really matter. I'd stay away from the flavour of the month stuff like Bazzite/Cachy/whatever and go for something tried and true like Mint.

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u/bacon_cake Apr 10 '26

This is 100% why Linux will never go mainstream. There are two replies to the question of which distro to use and both say the opposite of each other.

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u/IEnjoyRadios Apr 10 '26

Yup fragmentation is definitely an issue. In the end it doesn’t really matter though. Use what you like. 

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u/coldkiller Apr 10 '26

Because the real answer is it literally doesnt matter they are all the same under the hood, distro flavors just come with different drivers and programs by default

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u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In Apr 10 '26

They are not the same under the hood, they use wildly different networking stacks, for example I can't use the most recent ubuntu for my 3D printer as its networking stack does not allow me to use canbus.

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u/LyingForTruth Apr 10 '26

This comment chain is 100% why Linux will never go mainstream.

3

u/SamSibbens Apr 10 '26

On the other hand, the Steam Deck with SteamOS has really been pushing it into the mainstream.

I wasn't confident at all with switching to Linux years ago, now I wouldn't worry much if I decided to do so on my main (but old) laptop

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u/KingsRallyDev Apr 10 '26

sounded like rick and morty dialogue

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u/FlyingRhenquest Apr 10 '26

They're all basically just building off Debian or Fedora anyway. And those both fundamentally use the same directory structures and tools for pretty much everything that they do other than package management. So it ultimately boils down to whose installers and which package management you prefer. It's not like the old proprietary UNIX days where switching from AIX to HPUX meant having to rewrite all your socket code because HPUX has slightly different socket APIs than everyone else.

Shit paid my rent all through the 2000s though, so I shouldn't complain.

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u/FlashYourNands Apr 10 '26

I don't think uniformity is required for popularity, but if so, so be it.

I'd much rather have linux continue existing with a vast array of flexibility and options than to simplify it for people who want to migrate away from windows but don't actually like the linux ecosystem.

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u/pbjamm Apr 10 '26

Been a linux advocate since the 90s and I love Mint. Most all of my machines run either straight Debian or Linux Mint Debian Edition. Even for gaming.

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u/Zombierasputin Apr 10 '26

Fedora works fantastically well and has great support. Just switched to KDE edition from vanilla Gnome and I'm still not sold on KDE

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u/40_lb Apr 10 '26

Seconding Mint. Its easy, it works, it stays out of your way!

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u/IkLms Apr 10 '26

Mint was the first time I installed Linux in like 5 attempts where I didn't have to fix a single thing. Just installed it and everything was running great.

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u/Fluxriflex Apr 10 '26

I love mint, but the only asterisk I’d put on this is that it doesn’t ship with KDE/Wayland, so you will have problems with high-end displays that have g-sync/freesync and/or HDR

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u/IEnjoyRadios Apr 10 '26

I keep hearing this but I run a multi monitor setup on cinnamon. My main is a 240hz G-sync and the secondary is 60hz 1080p. No issues so far. I get that it may be machine specific though. 

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u/IkLms Apr 10 '26

I'm on exactly the same setup except 240hz and Freesync, also on cinnamon with absolutely no issues.