r/Ubuntu

I genuinely enjoy using Ubuntu. It feels like a really solid middle ground. It’s not as rigid as Debian, but it’s also not as bleeding edge as Fedora.

I was a Debian Stable user for about three years. It was rock solid, and I loved that about it. But after upgrading my hardware, I started feeling the limitations of the older kernel. Switching to Ubuntu honestly made a noticeable difference on my machine. The newer kernel alone improved things in ways I wasn’t expecting.

That said, there are a few things that still bother me.

For example, the App Center. I actually don’t mind Snaps at all. I think curated app ecosystems can be a good thing. But not being able to manage and install .deb packages and Flatpaks directly from the App Center feels like a big oversight. It makes the experience feel fragmented. Yes, I know I can just install GNOME Software and solve the problem that way, but then that’s yet another background process running. It feels like a workaround rather than a clean solution.

I really want to fully love this system. I genuinely do. Because aside from these details, Ubuntu feels so close to being nearly perfect for my use case. And maybe that’s why these small things stand out so much.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I used Arch Linux for a long time, updates and changes are very tiring. The OS is constantly changing. Having to keep a backup or separate the system into volumes to do a clean reinstall. It's a laborious thing. Debian is totally the opposite... It's too frozen and apt sometimes updates weekly with some fix.

Then I discovered a server version of Ubuntu. The desktop version never appealed to me because of Gnome. I installed the standard server and configured it as I do in Arch; Sway, flatpak in the home directory. I disabled netplan and networkd with NetworkManager by default. The experience I'm having with the system is one of pure control, easy to configure when needed. Really solid.