The majority of Linux distributions out there seem to be over-engineering their method of distribution. They are not giving us a new distribution of Linux. They are giving us an existing distribution of Linux, but with a different distribution of non-system software (like a different desktop environment or configuration of it)
In many cases, turning an installation of the base distribution used to the one they’re shipping is a matter of installing certain packages and setting some configurations. Why should the user be required to reinstall their whole OS for this?
It would be way more practical if those distributions are available as packages, preferably managed by the package manager itself. This is much easier for both the user and the developer.
Some developers may find it less satisfying to do this, and I don’t mean to force my opinion on anyone, but only suggesting that there’s an easier way to do this. Distributions should be changing things that aren’t easily doable without a system reinstall.
Name a single popular distro that follows op’s description that isn’t a novelty/fad.
Kubuntu
I disagree. On one laptop I had Ubuntu, and then installed
kubuntu-desktop. It became a bit of a mess with the login screen, and it isn’t that easy to uninstall the previous Gnome stuff – had to leave it there. On another laptop I installed Kubuntu directly, and the problems above don’t appear.kubuntu is already literally just a package.
if you just install kubuntu-desktop (or something similar) from any buntu flavor you get it.
And that’s exactly my point. You get the same experience by just installing a package rather than having to “distro-hop”
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But if you start with Kubuntu then it’s not exactly hopping, it’s just more convenient.
If people wanted to do it by package installation, they would!
In the end it’s just more user choice, which is good.
Sure, you’re right! But here’s a proposition: it would be easier on both the developer and the user (without sacrificing user choice) if it was a package, or better yet, an option to check on the installer. It is still just the same amount of choice.
In the current state, they usually can’t. Maintainers do not provide these as packages, so you’re forced to install a whole distribution just to try out their configuration of KDE
I’m with you that it would be awesome to have more options to explore big changes like that.
I just don’t see maintainers putting the effort into it. I don’t think these DE-only distros are going anywhere anytime soon, and I’m glad they’re filling a gap for the users that want it.