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Valnet on GNU/Linux Distributions and Operating Systems: MX Linux 25, the ‘Big Three’, and "4 derivatives of popular Linux distros that are better than the originals"
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XDA ☛ MX Linux 25 may be the best distro for old PCs that nobody talks about
Windows 11 is a fairly heavy operating system, and it's spurred a wave of people breathing new life into old laptops using Linux. And while there are many Linux distros that can be great for an older machine, a truly old, low-power laptop may need a little bit of extra help. Recently, I tried to revive a Windows laptop with antiX Linux and that went alright, but there's another option that doesn't get discussed nearly as much.
MX Linux is another great distro with a keen focus on older machines. It's actually a collaborative effort with antiX Linux, but it comes with some changes of its own. And truth be told, this may be the best distro for an old PC that just can't quite handle the more "modern" options out there.
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XDA ☛ I configured my entire home lab with a single Nix flake, and I'm never going back to shell scripts
I sometimes view my home lab like a Factorio playthrough. It must grow, but in a way that's easier to manage with each iteration and change. Just like a combinator, some belts, and a few splitters can transform a line in Factorio, using shell scripting or even Nix flakes can completely change the way you approach and manage the home lab. This is precisely what happened to mine as I started to transition to more deploy-friendly solutions. The thing is, you can take Nix flakes as far as running your entire home lab from a single config file.
That's pretty wild, right? But it's much easier than you'd initially assume. Scripting can be terrifying for those with little previous experience. It's one thing to get GitHub and other integrations working on Home Assistant, but to dive into YAML files and create your own scripts that handle things outside of deploying Proxmox community code and hoping for the best is where things can quickly get scary. I'm here to calm your nerves. Take a breather, and by the end of reading this, you'll be wanting to create your own Nix master flake.
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XDA ☛ Why I’m tired of the ‘Big Three’ Linux distros and what I’m using instead
Linux is a buffet, but most of us end up eating the same three plates on repeat. Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch have become the gravitational center for a lot of guides, memes, and “just works” advice, and I get why. They’re popular for good reasons, and they’ve pushed the ecosystem forward in meaningful ways. Still, living in that orbit starts to feel less like a choice and more like a routine.
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XDA ☛ 4 derivatives of popular Linux distros that are better than the originals
There will always be a dedicated group of people that think the original is better than the spin-off, and that's true with Linux distros as well. The big names like Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, and others have played a massive role in the creation of other distros, and as a beginner, you wouldn't be blamed for thinking that using one of the originals should be better because of their ubiquity.
Sometimes that's true; there are distro derivatives that purposely strip down a base distro for lighter usage, like Xubuntu is to Ubuntu. Those distros serve a specific purpose, but they're not necessarily better. Other times, a distro brings a lot more to the table in the form of kernel modifications, changes to package management, preloaded applications, and sane defaults. These four distros take what's already a good foundation and improve upon it with these things, making them worth using over the originals.