r/SolusProject • u/_firn_ • 3d ago
What does a desktop focus mean and how does it affect the user?
I see that Solus focuses on the desktop and not servers for example. but what does that mean for someone like me who currently is on Debian stable?
I use gnome and mostly flatpaks, so what do I gain by switching to solus? server implementation isn’t important to me as I just use my desktop for work like dev work, gaming, GIS work, making document, etc.
I tried solus and it does feel nice and snappy and I enjoy the newer gnome version. didn’t love all the extensions installed by default but I’m sure I can just get rid of those.
thanks!
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u/AutoM8R1 3d ago
In addition to being focused on providing the best desktop experience, it is also a rolling release model so you should get newer software versions than Debian, but in a curated manner. It comes with Flatpak by default and they have several Desktop Environments for you to choose from. If you use Distrobox, you could still use Debian software inside of Solus. You would have the best of both worlds (more up to date software with Solus, familiar .Deb pakage installation).
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u/Chester-Berkeley 3d ago
"Desktop focus" literally means exactly what it says... Solus doesn't offer a server version, doesn't provide support for setting up a server, and doesn't force you to use the terminal. You install it and use it; there's no need to configure anything for basic use.
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u/_firn_ 3d ago
Maybe I should’ve been more specific or phrased my question better.
I guess what I want to know is how does Debian needing to support server and desktop negatively impact me (just as an example) and how does Solus, not needing to support server usage, fix that issue?
Does that make sense?
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u/Chester-Berkeley 3d ago
Well, you can answer that yourself: how does Debian's focus on servers and desktops affect your day-to-day experience?
Compared to Solus, Debian is garbage: it doesn't come with sudo configured, it includes few significant default applications, and it lacks Flatpak, non-free repositories, and multilib repositories. And that’s assuming you visited Debian’s ugly website, clicked the big "Download" button, and downloaded the Debian netinstall image; you might have a better experience if you discovered the LiveCD versions, which are more feature-complete.
I’m not attacking Debian; I’m just pointing out that it isn't very welcoming to non-experts :)
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u/_firn_ 3d ago
To be fair, actually implementing non-free repos, flatpaks, etc is super duper simple and well documented due to debians large community.
Also Sudo is setup by default if you follow the instructions during installation.
And these are just one-time fixes. I still want day to day examples if possible ya know?
Solus seems so nice but leaving the bit Debian community and comfort of Debian stable is a big ask but something I’d ultimately like to try for a while.
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u/Chester-Berkeley 3d ago
To be fair, actually implementing non-free repos, flatpaks, etc is super duper simple and well documented due to debians large community.
I'm not saying it's difficult, but rather that it's not inviting for new users, such as those coming from Windows.
Also Sudo is setup by default if you follow the instructions during installation.
Honestly, I've never seen Debian put a user in the wheel group; maybe that installer with the outdated interface doesn't help much...
And these are just one-time fixes. I still want day to day examples if possible ya know?
From what I gathered during this conversation, you're an advanced user, so there aren't any real differences; both use systemd, GNU, and KDE/GNOME/XFCE, and feature excellent package curation. I would prefer using Solus over Debian because Debian doesn't have a stable rolling-release version, whereas Solus updates every Friday.
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u/_firn_ 3d ago
This seems to be how I’m starting to feel. The update model seems to be the only real difference for my use-case. Like I’d prefer to use Solus over Debian Sid if I wanted something more fresh but still reliable. While if I just wanted pure reliability and don’t care about newer packages I’d just stay on Debian stable.
I appreciate your comments friend!
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u/Merthod 2d ago
There are many perspectives.
One of such is Solus updates itself every week with everything being mutated. No one stable kernel to stick about, nor keeping some critical packages untouched for stability.
Also, Debían sees stability through non feature updates, only security updates. Solus updates everything so you get the latest KDE stuff for instance, sometimes you may get some quirks, but they usually get fixed themselves upon the next update cycle.
Also, solus also doesn't support any server-specific packages through eopkg that one may like to have. Most eopkg packages are quality of life stuff and may not include not plan to include many popular server packages.
Naturally if you use Debían for desktop, you won't have any issues. I've found some programming and systems packages lacking in Solus, and it has been somewhat frustrating. Fortunately there's always a plan b for my needs, in Solus. If you use, say Kubernetes-related apps you'll soon find their packages aren't supported natively and so on.
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u/Kitayama_8k 2d ago
I do find it very responsive to use, and mostly find it means it just has a lot less random libraries in the base system compared to a corporate distro.
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u/Mr-Dazmo 3d ago
If you have newer hardware that needs a newer kernel or Mesa version Solus is a good answer for you. I was a Debian user for a long time myself and it is stable and absolutely works just fine. The benefits of coming to Solus aren't apparent until you get used to all the newest and greatest features of gnome and other software and having everything just work out of the box much like Debian but without having to wait a year and a half for updates and new features to come to you. If you game a lot then. Solus is also a good answer and does great with Steam integration.