Is that some hyperbole? Or is there a source to that? I’m out of the loop*, so apologies for my ignorance.

The ideas that Arch is scary and too complex are dated at this point with how some of these modern distros are packaged.

I get where you’re hinting at and its difficulty is definitely overblown in the sense that some newbies may actually thrive on Arch. Thus, if anything, I’d propose that (very) eager-to-learn newbies should perhaps even consider Arch.

However, as long as this convoluted mess continues to be the expected ‘workflow’ for updates^[1], Arch can not be considered beginner-friendly.

By contrast, a distro like Bazzite just defaults to care-free^[2] auto-updates in the background; a pattern every noob recognizes from their phones.

I’m not sure if that reasoning is true, though. The popularity over time of both Bazzite and Nobara can be viewed through many different ways, but the data seems to suggest that Bazzite overtaking Nobara in popularity happened long after both had received their respective Steam Deck images. Heck, even Bazzite’s own metrics seem to suggest that the hype is a very recent one. This is also reflected on social media platforms like Youtube:

• Bazzite’s most viewed videos were all created within the last year or so
• While Nobara’s most viewed videos were all created over two years ago

As for how or why Bazzite succeeded in overtaking Nobara? I actually don’t know. Perhaps it’s simply because it happens to be closer to SteamOS^[1] in design philosophy. Or, maybe its atomic/‘cloud-native’ (or whatever) nature makes it (somehow) more attractive to install for the crowd that (at least traditionally) never got into Linux.

FWIW -perhaps we may find the crux of the matter in here- if I had to pick a distro to use on my personal gaming rig, then I’d probs go for CachyOS^[2] for its (ever-so-slightly) superior performance. But…, if I were to install a distro on the gaming rig of a new-Linux user, then I’d undoubtedly go for Bazzite instead.

Regarding Pop!_OS, (at least historically) it was the easiest distro for Nvidia users. Add to that some neat stuff like a Recovery Partition^[1] and I can understand where (at least initially) the hype was (IMO justifiably) coming from. Unfortunately, erupting COSMIC DE from the ground hasn’t done Pop!_OS well for upkeeping its good name and reputation. I suppose they’re lucky that Linux users are seriously delayed when it comes to adjusting their recommendations. (Like how a chunk of peeps continued to proselytize for Manjaro till last year or so.)

It’s broken on selinux systems though

FWIW, it actually does work on secureblue; a Fedora Atomic derivative that ships with SELinux enforced.

run0

It seems we don’t have many AerynOS users on Lemmy. But based on the user reports found on “the platform that shall not be named”, peeps seem to be enjoying it so far. May I suggest that you take it on a test drive yourself and make a post on Lemmy with your findings 😜?

Thankfully, history informs us that whenever Ikey leaves a project he kickstarted, that the project’s remaining maintainers have shown to be competent and able to continue the effort, even in his absence. Look at both Budgie DE and Solus for reference*. So, I’m rather hopeful about AerynOS’ future. Especially as its rather ambitious goals also happen to align with the desires of many that are to an extent interested in what so-called ‘immutable’ distros are able to achieve but are not yet happy or content with the direction or design of the current offerings.

(Just ensuring OP is notified: @absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz)

Since the very recent 0.9.0 update of WinBoat, UWP app support has been added. So, that’s perhaps worth exploring.

I like secureblue the most, because it’s simply the best in class when it comes to bridging the difference between Desktop Linux and GrapheneOS in terms of security. As being secure is at the very top of my priority list, my preference for secureblue -therefore- follows rather naturally.

Gotta have to congratulate the folks over at Zorin OS for this succes. Mad props!

Though, I gotta wonder: Can we expect similar numbers for Linux Mint or Ubuntu? Or, has Zorin OS somehow won the post-W10 SEO-wars? And, if so, how?

is winboat and Winapps basically the same thing?

I’m not very familiar with either of the two. But, at first glance, it does seem so. Thanks for mentioning WinApps!

also that’s definitely not going to have adequate performance, you’d need something like looking glass and that requires a spare gpu or sriov/gvt-g. it’s probably easier to set up with a standalone vm

Unfortunately, I don’t have any personal experience with either of the two. As such, I can’t comment on this. Though, you’re probably right for any gpu-intensive software.

Accompanied with your input, if we look at the distros that are mentioned between Privacy Guides and PrivSec.dev; then Arch Linux, NixOS or a derivative of either of the two seem to be most suitable for you at first glance. As NixOS is rather infamous for its learning curve and you seem to have gotten a liking to CachyOS, I’d recommend a distro under the umbrella of Arch Linux. I suppose it’s rather unfortunate that I’m unaware of a well-maintained Arch-derivative that’s properly hardened; somewhat akin to what secureblue/Kicksecure/nix-mineral offer for Fedora Atomic/Debian/NixOS respectively. Though…, perhaps that’s actually what’s to be expected with Arch Linux 😅; I hope you may find solace at the fact that the ever-so-reliable ArchWiki got your back: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Security. Wish ya good luck 😉!

Thoughts on the info here: https://isopenbsdsecu.re/?

I’ve just had plenty of negative experiences with immutable distros that completely undo any customizations I’ve performed (SteamOS mostly)

To be clear, AFAIK this only concerns SteamOS and it’s related to how they’ve chosen to implement immutability. None of the other distros found here (or here) exhibit any such qualities.

I’d switch over completely if I wasn’t dependent on the Adobe CS (another problem I plan to fix in time, I know there are alternatives).

If you insist: WinBoat

I highly value Madaidan’s input on the matter and also their work on projects such as Kicksecure and Whonix. Furthermore, it’s clear that Desktop Linux hasn’t been able to combat all the pain points that were mentioned in the article. However, we’ve definitely come a long way since and there’s lot to be optimistic about; secureblue to name a thriving project.

But, while I appreciate how the article continues to draw awareness to the fact that Desktop Linux isn’t as secure as some like to think, the write-up is ultimately bound to be (severely) outdated at some point. And, perhaps, we might already be past the point in which it does more harm than good…

Anyhow, I’d like to take this opportunity to promote a platform that actually continues to deliver up-to-date articles about security on Linux: https://privsec.dev/posts/linux/