I am currently using Manjaro Cinnamon with the Unstable branch and enjoying the experience. I like to reinstall my OS a couple of times a year to keep it clean and fresh, and I have a script that automates the installation and configuration process. I chose the Unstable branch because I enjoy using new software as soon as it’s released, even if it means dealing with occasional bugs and issues.
I’ve had two nagging technical issues that I haven’t been able to resolve:
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The key repeat rate in Cinnamon keeps getting reset after my computer has been on for a while. I’ve set the rate with dconf but it reverts to default. Restarting Cinnamon fixes it temporarily. I haven’t been able to determine what is causing this.
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I have static crackling noise in my wired headphones. Reinstalling sof-firmware used to fix this but no longer works.
I’ve tried troubleshooting both problems but just can’t seem to find solutions. They’ve persisted for months now through reinstalls and config changes.
Because of these two ongoing errors, I’m interested in exploring other Linux distros that might provide a similar experience to Manjaro Cinnamon but without these technical headaches. I’m wondering if there are any other Linux distributions or operating systems that can provide a similar experience to what I have with Manjaro Cinnamon Unstable branch. I’m open to trying new things and would love to hear your suggestions.
Some key features I’m looking for in an OS are:
- Simple GUI installation process
- A very large package repository, similar to AUR in size
- Frequent updates and access to the latest software releases
- A clean and customizable desktop environment, similar to Cinnamon
- A supportive and active community for troubleshooting and assistance
I’d appreciate any recommendations you can provide, along with a brief explanation of why you think the suggested OS would be a good fit for my preferences. Thanks in advance for your help!
Try EndeavourOS.
Try arch or endeavor os. You won’t have to deal with manjaro bullshit anymore
Yes. Manjaro is a so unsable and garbage (for many reasons). Though Arch (EndeavourOS in my case) has been a lot stable for me due to my experience.
You know, distrohopping is overrated. If your distro works for you now, you don’t really need to switch. Other distros may have slight differences, but all in all it usually is just changing some problem for another. Most distros will be fine.
Having said that, I think Debian Unstable ticks your boxes. Most rolling releases will do what you want.
If your using Manjaro unstable, why not go with Arch or EndeavourOS directly? Manjaro has advantages through it’s slower rollout of updates, but unstable doesn’t have those. So EndeavourOS is mostly the same experience, except of reduced complexity since Manjaro has more custom tooling.
NixOS sounds perfect for your use case.
Of your key features it has:
- A simple GUI installation process
- A very large package repository (the largest, in fact)
- Frequent updates and bleeding edge software through nixos-unstable and nixpkgs-unstable channels
- The ability to try any desktop environment you like by editing one or two lines in your config
- A very supportive and active community
Additionally, if you like to reinstall frequently, NixOS negates the need for maintaining an installing/config script since the singular configuration.nix file that you edit to customize your system will rebuild the exact same system on another computer. For example, I copied my configuration.nix on my PC to my laptop and now they are exactly the same, packages and all.
NixOS may seem a little daunting at first, since it has often been referred to as an “expert” distro with a steep learning curve. Don’t let this fool you though–despite NixOS’ unique advanced capabilities–it is actually quite straightforward and simple to use as a desktop machine. Speaking from personal experience as a perpetual linux noob, it’s really not difficult and the benefits and stability of it far outweigh any small hiccups you might encounter initially.
If you really want the latest updates and technologies, you could use openSUSE or plain Arch. I heard Manjaro intentionally delays updates and I think in a rolling release cycle that would hurt the system. No idea about the size of repos on openSUSE but the other features are already there. Also if you think you can spend some more time to learn new things(nix programming language and more) I can recommend you to try NixOS or at least install the package manager( also called nix) on your current system. It is THE distro for reproducible builds. It has a huge repo too, rivaling AUR.
I use Arch btw.
I heard Manjaro intentionally delays updates and I think in a rolling release cycle that would hurt the system
OP is using the unstable branch, the unstable repos are synced with the arch ones.
Definitely could recommend NixOS here as well, it checks off a lot of the boxes that OP has mentioned. Installing Cinnamon would be as easy as enabling the option for it in your
configuration.nix.Nix/NixOS is definitely something that you need to be willing to put a little time into depending on what you’re planning on running (just getting a desktop up and running is simple, and something that installer will easily do for you though) and the documentation is definitely… confusing at times, but there is a pretty large community that is happy to answer questions you run into along the way.
The Nix communit(y|ies) on Lemmy isn’t super active from what I can tell, most of the Nix community is on their forums and Matrix space.
If you have the motivation and are looking for something new, you could try NixOS.
I’m extremely wary of Manjaro in general. I don’t personally care for their approach to package management (delaying the Arch core repository but still relying heavily on AUR seems like a recipe for instability to me), and the Manjaro team have shown themselves to be less than reliable.
All that said, if you’re mostly happy with Manjaro, then Arch or Endeavor might be the way to go. They use the AUR (Arch of course is where the AUR started, and Endeavor is based on Arch, but doesn’t delay or muck with the Arch repositories the way Manjaro does).
Endeavor is super easy to install. Cinnamon is one of the available DEs on the installer image, and their system tools are good. They also have an active community and haven’t (to my knowledge) accidentally DDoSed the AUR with an update, so they seem more competent than the Manjaro team.
Arch, of course, is the forerunner to Manjaro. It’s slightly more difficult to install than Endeavor, using either the archinstall script or the Arch Method, but kind of worth it for the level of control it gives you over your system. Since you make your own post install scripts, I don’t think you’d have much issue here. Cinnamon is (of course) available, and the community is extremely knowledgeable, although they do expect you to be able to RTFM and perform basic troubleshooting on your own. As an added bonus, you get to say “I use Arch BTW” with a sense of either irony or smug superiority. Both are good.
I use Fedora, BTW. It has Rawhide for bleeding edge, Copr for expanded packages, and a Cinnamon spin. I don’t think it’s a good match fr what you’re looking for, but it might be worth looking at.
An up side to all three of these is that you usually don’t need to reinstall your whole system multiple times a year to keep it clean and running smooth. That was my experience with Manjaro back in 2016 or so, though, so I can see why you do it.
Manjaro is always the problem, use EndeavorOS or Garuda.
you may find other repos a bit lacking compared to manjaro’s since they have a few things in there that are added on top of the arch ones, aur is the same across all arch based distributions and aside from ubuntu, most other distributions will have fewer useful package than those two.
you could try garuda wich integrates aur package in the system’s repository through the chaotic-aur repo, and they do have a cinnamon flavor
Not sure why you want to switch if Manjaro works for you. If you want to, you can try Arch (if you want to get your hands dirty) or endeavourOS which I have been using for over a year now and love it. You also have fedora, Debian unstable, opensuse tumbleweed. Moving distros in general is becoming useless honestly. You can replicate anything on any distro. I stuck with Arch and its derivatives because I am just used to it and how it works. Also, I like the AUR a lot, as I’m not a big fan of flatpaks/snaps and all that universal packaging (just a personal choice, nothing against those).
@penquin I have been using EndeavorOS for a while now. I love the AUR, but really when you install all of the package sources and protocols you have such a gigantic list of apps to choose from that it is dizzying.
I have bauh installed and it lists all the formats for ya in case you can’t find an app in the aur. I have appimages enabled for just in case. Very useful. You can enable snaps and flatpaks, too if you want. Only downside is it doesn’t allow bulk install. You can install one app at a time.
You said a bunch of things you like about cinnamon, and nothing that you don’t. Is there something motivating you to switch?
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Seems like what you like is Manjaro and what you have issues with is Cinnamon. Can’t you just switch the DE? I’ve been running Manjaro KDE for a while and have no complaints, I like KDE and I like Konqi
