Linux Distro Hopping

Tagged with cinnamon, kde plasma, linux, ubuntu on July 11, 2024

Distro (short for “distribution”) hopping only applies to Linux. It applies to the process of switching Linux distributions until the “right one” is found, if that even happens. Windows is a single distribution of an operating system, as is macOS. Several operating systems are based on BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution), but they are not considered distributions.

Distro hopping is such a thing that there are forums dedicated to it, such as the Reddit subreddit titled “DistroHopping”. As that forum states, distro hopping is for people that can’t make a decision.

While I’ll test Linux distributions on occasion, what I’m really testing are desktop environments. Most of the Linux underpinnings are the same, regardless of distribution. I dislike distro hopping, which is change for the sake of change.

KDE Plasma

When I want to see the latest (or almost the latest) version of Plasma, I have to fire up something I’m not used to using, like EndeavourOS. It’s a distribution based on Arch. I’m not fond of any distributions based on Arch, including Manjaro. I don’t like rolling updates.

KDE neon, the distribution maintained by the KDE organization, always has the latest version of Plasma. Unfortunately, I can’t install it in a virtual machine. I must not be smart enough, or something. I don’t want to install anything on another drive just for testing purposes.

Although I’m not in a rush, I’m thinking of replacing the Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition with Kubuntu, while still using the Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition in a virtual machine. I’ve been testing Kubuntu in a virtual machine and I like it, even though its version of Plasma isn’t up-to-date.

Kubuntu

There are a lot of Linux distributions that support KDE Plasma as a desktop environment. Most of them are based on Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, or Arch. I prefer the Debian ecosystem. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, which itself is based on Debian. Kubuntu is an Ubuntu “flavor” (called a “spin” in other distributions).

I don’t like Ubuntu snaps, so I use a script called “Kubuntu get rid of Snap” to remove everything associated with them. Since it removes Firefox as well (it’s a snap version), I have to download another “non-snap” web browser before I run the script. Some people dislike Google Chrome, but I’m okay with it. I don’t have to enable flatpaks because I don’t require any applications that come in that format.

If I decide to switch to Kubuntu, and that’s a big if, I’ll also do this:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
sudo apt-get full-upgrade

Kubuntu is currently on Plasma 5 in version 24.04. Plasma 6 will be included with version 24.10, which won’t be a long term support version. Enabling backports will allow me to upgrade to Plasma 6 in October without changing to another Kubuntu version.

No More Testing

I’m already using virtual machines for Windows 11 Pro and Linux Mint Cinnamon. In fact, I’m using the Linux Mint Cinnamon virtual machine right now, while writing this article. I only have Kubuntu in a virtual machine for testing purposes.

My days of distro hopping, if you want to call it that, will be over when I install Kubuntu on bare metal. Even sooner if I decide not to install it. I’m very comfortable with the Cinnamon desktop environment.

Image by [email protected] Larry Ewing and The GIMP, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons