Why don't more people use Debian Linux?

Debian is one of the best and most stable Linux distros out there. The question being, why don't more people use Debian Linux as their desktop daily driver?

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[UltimateByte]

Debian's download pages are an IQ test in order to see if you deserve using the distro.

[TechHut]

Sorry for the delay in uploads. Finals have been rough... Almost done.

[Nexus_KD-.]

Debian is one of the only actively maintained distros that still supports 32-bit procs (that I'm aware of anyway). That alone is reason for some to use it.

[BiserAngelov]

90% of said above, does not apply for the newly released Debian 12. If you need safe and bleeding edge applications, you can get it from the perfectly supported Flatpak. The non-free drivers are automatically enabled if your hardware requires it. Otherwise, you will end up with 100% open source system. The old and ancient Debian 11 is still newer than the new and not quite mainstream Windows 11. And guess what OS is used on Mars and in space? ;-)

[jesse]

I was against using Debian in the past just because of the outdated everything on it, including the kernel, GNOME, all the apps in its repository, etc. Now that Debian 12 is out, I am running it, and it is working great.

[MrChristosathens]

Debian is not for everyone. Generally speaking, that is the beauty of Linux. It gives everyone the option to select what best fits your needs. As an old-timer, I've been using Debian on my laptop for practically most of the years. I've also experimented with Mint & Ubuntu but at the end of the day, Debian is what makes things comfortable and operational for me. It gets my job done and that is what counts to anyone's choice!

[joelviolinpiano]

I switched to debian 12 yesterday. Its not bad, a major improvement since the last time I tried it several years ago. I haven't had any issues yet, running my apps like boxes, telegram, brave browser, kdenlive ect. So far so good.

[deersakamoto]

Jesus the Debian site looks terrible - it's night and day compared to the Linux Mint site. It's almost like they don't want people to use it

[seventripple]

For me, debian's slow and steady release cycle isn't conducive to what I want out of my desktop...

But If I ever run my own server, it's totally using debian.

[rmcellig]

I use Debian after installing with the net installer. I installed all the desktop environments as well as everything else. It's all I use on all my computers including a 2008 HP mini computer. I love it!! It's very fast with all kinds of options to keep me happy!!!

[digitalizeddeath]

Dude your channel rules, really enjoy your outlook on things.

[bertnijhof]

I did use that net-installer, because it was so easy to find and use for me. I installed Debian 12 without major problems and it worked. At the moment I attempted to install Virtualbox Guest Additions from the 7.08 ISO, like I always do. I did run into a major show stopper. The installation failed and afterwards it was impossible to boot Debian 12, it just hung. Even in rescue mode it only hung. So my decision has been between giving up or reinstalling, despite being late I chose reinstall.

I had to dig deep in my experience with installing Virtualbox with at least 30 other distros, so to be sure I installed make; gcc; perl and the Linux headers and went back to the the 7.08 ISO. Now it worked, hurray! I never had these type of hanging problems with the other distros nor with Debian 11.6. Other distros did always detect the missing dependencies and cancelled the VBox Guest installation. Debian warned for the missing Linux headers in one line, but left me with an unworkable system.

I had to solve the desktop sizing issue, since I always use an non standard screen size, say 1550x1010, caused by my setup of the Host screen. After a reboot it did not return to that size, so I did select in the display settings say 1440x900 and afterwards re-select 1550x1010, now it rebooted on the right size. Another minor issue was to find my preferred keyboard during the install; the US keyboard with Euro sign. I only solved it after the installation.

Afterwards I was looking for a handy program, that would allow me to start my standard Conky script during login. I keep and run that script in a VBox shared folder so I have to maintain only 1 version instead of 30 versions of that script. I could not find such a "settings" program, so I had to add a desktop file to Home .config/autostart. The remaining issue is, that it does not display the used VBox release in the Conky display, because of the root privileges of the VBoxService command in /sbin :) I have to copy that file to another more useful location or change the group privileges of the file to say "vboxsf". Maybe I also want to add the support for snaps.

This explains why Debian is not used very frequently, for slightly different situations you could need the added experience of a system software developer (1969-2010) and a retired Linux hobbyist (2008-2023) :) :)

[taylorkoepp]

I switched from Ubuntu to Debian on my old Macbook Pro. I prefer Debian because it's a less bloated distribution but it was definitely more work getting up and running. Ubuntu was pretty easy, I don't remember having to do too much and I think that's why it's popular. It pretty much runs on anything.

[toddpark]

Thank you. I am a new user. I use Debian Xfce. I am very happy with it. There are many great videos on YouTube that taught me how to install it. Good day 😊

[ryank]

I just installed deb12 and my wireless wifi usb won’t work, desktop is laggy as hell. Not sure how to fix it other than go and buy an Ethernet cable, move my whole pc and attempt to fix it

[jacklibelle]

Been runnin' Debian Testing on a Zenbook for the last year or so, and have been pretty happy with 12 so far!

[beautifulislam]

I switched to debian 12 with kde today, so far its going nicely.

[psychedelicnarwhal]

I love how the thumbnail is my computer exactly and is also running debian

[SapienSRC]

I've recently gone back to using Linux and decided to give Debian 12 a try. The out of box experience was amazing, very little setup (compared to Windows anyway). Everything is working flawlessly.

[uujuu]

I love that when you move your cursor to top-left corner you can move to another window with a mouse click.