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Comment by Google234 | Hacker News Reader

Why install Ubuntu when you could install the vastly superior Arch Linux?

Because not everyone wants to live on the bleeding edge. Because typing ‘pacman -Syu’ 7 times a week gets annoying. Because you want to use the apt/.deb package ecosystem. Because Ubuntu is easier to install, and doesn’t require you to make a huge number of choices about what packages to install. Because you want to use Proton, Lutris and Steam without needing to patch things. Because most $BIGCORP orgs don’t realize that there are ecosystems besides .deb and .rpm. Because Ubuntu is what you already know.

Don’t get me wrong: I am a big fan of Arch, but there are a lot of reasons to not prefer it over Ubuntu.

Is it irony, then, that ChromeOS is based on Gentoo? :v

Not really; Gentoo isn't "bleeding edge" the way arch is (unless you explicitly configure it that way), and Google builds it into a "final product" that's ready-to-use without configuring.

ChromeOS isn't based on Gentoo at all. They might share some underlying code. But they're not related at all.

More than just underlying code; it's directly based on Gentoo and it uses Portage. See the first line of the Wikipedia article on Chrome OS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_OS

That's not what I meant. Sure, underneath it shared tech. But when people think of Gentoo, they think 'build from source' and get every kernel dot release etc.. ChromeOS isn't related in that sense.

> Because not everyone wants to live on the bleeding edge. Because typing ‘pacman -Syu’ 7 times a week gets annoying.

I think I can solve both of those with one stone..!

As someone who started w/ Ubuntu, distro-hopped around for 6 years of my childhood, and has for the past 4 years used Arch: Linux describes a spectrum of experiences, and .DEB-based systems are the soda and potato chips of the gourmet linux feast. Fedora is a sandwich, Manjaro might be steak. Arch is kind of an empty kitchen with a ton of stuff in it, and Gentoo is a legendary chef on top of a mountain someplace.

tl;dr - it's fine to snack on potato chips, but don't expect people to all want to eat the same thing. Variety is powerful.

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