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What could your distro learn from another distro? (lemmy.sdf.org)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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For example, I'm using Debian, and I think we could learn a thing or two from Mint about how to make it "friendlier" for new users. I often see Mint recommended to new users, but rarely Debian, which has a goal to be "the universal operating system".
I also think we could learn website design from.. looks at notes ..everyone else.

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[–] [S] 3 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Would it detract from Debian if it had an installer which was more intuitive to new users? As long as they don't remove the options to configure, I see no harm, only benefits. To me, the thing about Debian is that it's a community. If a distro wants to be elitistic, sure, that's up to them, but I don't see Debian having that goal.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    There's already an gui installer on Debian, what do you want ? The system to install himself without asking for your preferences ?

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (3 children)

    I don't know. It's difficult for me to answer because I'm so used to the Debian installer. But, for some reason the general opinion is that it's difficult for many compared to some other distros.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (2 children)

    More difficult because Debian rely more on the terminal than mint. The terminal is not a accessorie like on Windows, it's part of basics Linux uses. In my opinion it's important to learn how to be familiar with

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    I think text based interfaces is a strength of unix-like systems, valuable tools to be used when the situation calls for it. It might be a lot to ask of new users to be familiar with terminals before they have even installed the system though. If Mint can get the same result with a GUI, I see no reason why Debian can't offer that option too, and let users discover bash and TUI when they have a working system.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    When you're beginner it's normal to not be familiar with terminal, that's why i recommend Mint as a first distro. What im saying is that We already have Mint as a beginner-friendly distro, we don't need Debian to be as simple as Mint, also they included non-free firmware in their iso it's pretty enough imo.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    You could check out Spiral Linux for an "easier" installer. It has the option to use the Calamares installer from the live USB instead of Debian's default. Also comes preloaded with back port repositories and, I think, Nvidia drivers.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago*

    I like that Spiral Linux is "plain" Debian, without extra repos. What I'm thinking is more along the lines of "why is Spiral Linux needed to begin with?" Sometimes downstream distros serve a niche function that warrants its own distribution, but sometimes I feel that if upstream improved, the need wouldn't be there to begin with.

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