https://spirallinux.github.io/
BTRFS, GUI Flatpak manager, Theming, nonfree codecs etc., printer support, timeshift preconfigured
Their goal is to make vanilla debian usable, with only debian tech. It is just a config, no “small distro dies and users need to switch”
Might not be the most secure (loose printer configs, preinstalled drivers for random stuff that is not normally a problem)
Does the UX suck? Genuine question. Debian is where I moved after I outgrew mint and I’ve never had a problem with it or felt like it was cludgy
It is VERY manual. It is simply universal, and doesnt adapt to dedicated uses at all.
They build great core tech, but no adaption to use cases.
This means that all users need to do that themselves, which results in a million different ways on how to automatically update, etc.
I suppose that’s true. I also don’t install the predefined GUI options. I always install my GUI manually after disabling recommended packages. Recommended packages are my biggest Debian gripe. They’re great for users that don’t know what they’re doing but for power users I find it kinda bloated. I should probably try flatpak again but last time I did it was just annoying and in the way and gave up.
I fixed up a bunch of youth center machines.
ps
?)I guess they are still running today. I was a bit newer to Linux back then.
I personally like to start with a debloated install and then install gnome on top rather than the other way round. Honestly to point 4 it slightly baffles me that people use vbox on Linux, KVM with libvirt/virt-manager is so much more powerful while still allowing for fairly straightforward basic setups without introducing 3rd party modules. Seems like a no brainer to me but apparently it isn’t.
Cool that they’re still running though. I’ve never setup a Linux system that I then had to turn over. They’re all systems I maintain, I’m not entirely sure what my plan would be for a maintenance free machine that I expected other people to use.
VBox has really easy Windows integration. To this day I have not managed to have a shared folder and especially clipboard with any guest, let alone Windows.
This may be easily possible, but not just a few clicks
Shared folders are easy with Linux guests, you just set it up in virt-manager and then mount it in Linux. With windows it’s possible and I have done it but you need to install the virtiofs driver alongside winfsp and then make sure the virtiofs service is running. So the setup is definitely a bit obtuse. I haven’t done clipboard sharing deliberately as I don’t love the idea of that being synced but I should at least try it so I know what setup is like. The file sharing isn’t hard once you learn how to set it up but figuring it out the first time is a challenge for windows guests.
I will see if this is documented and maybe try to improve it.
Docs are important!