For a long while, I was enamored with KDE desktop. No longer. I’ve tested a few distributions of Linux of late in virtual machine with the KDE desktop and it’s pretty much made my decision to leave the KDE camp for good. Two of those distributions were Fedora and KDE Neon. Both use the Discover package manager exclusively (other than command line tools). More on this later.
The past several years Linux distributions have come up with various “stores” to make it easier for “new” users to install or uninstall applications for use. These still haven’t replaced command line tools or what I’ll call power user graphical applications for application installation/removal. And I’ve actually used some of these tools as well as command line tools for installation and removal. Of course, many have their preferred tools for package management. Even me.
As far as the best store I’ve seen on any desktop, it would have to be Manjaro’s pamac. It’s relatively easy to use and it’s easy to learn (even how to set up AUR in Arch). Other “stores” are Gnome Software, Discover, and Cinnamon Software Manager are but a few. Discover has by far become the worst. Especially for power users and there are distributions of Linux such as KDE Neon and Fedora’s KDE spin that use it exclusively and attempt to copy Microsoft Windows with their forcing a reboot for all updates.
Linux in and of itself should NOT have to be rebooted unless there is a kernel update. And in some distributions they have kernel updates that can be done while the system is live. Most other updates to the desktop software (libraries and actual applications using such) don’t need a reboot to be using the newer version (update). At most, all you need to do to make an update to the desktop and the libraries used for it is simply log out of the desktop and log back in. Forcing a reboot for updates puts excessive wear and tear on computer systems (server, desktop, and laptop alike). It also drains the BIOS battery unnecessarily forcing the user to replace this small battery all too frequently (especially bad for laptop users which there are more and more people using laptops now than ever).
Now there are package management tools for those that still like a graphical “front end” for package management and are more knowledgeable in Linux to the “power user” who doesn’t want to deal with command line tools for such. My preferred graphical tools for package management on a Debian based distribution are synaptic and muon. Yes, these graphical tools are rather dated but are still extremely worthy tools. Of course there are others like Apper, Octopi (used in Arch), Bauh (also Arch). Then you have the various command line tools like apt, dnf, pacman, and entropy to mention a few. Some are easy to use, others more complex. Syntax for each of these tools are different and some can be a bit daunting to learn.
When I started on Linux I was using Fedora Core 3 which used the predecessor to dnf command line tools which I never took the time to learn. As time went by, I moved over to Debian based distributions, many of which were based off Ubuntu which of itself was Debian based. Debian uses apt for command line package management. Syntax for apt is relatively easy to learn though I still don’t do package searches using the command line. However, for managing Ubuntu’s many PPA’s, it’s relatively easy to add these to your sources.list via the command line. Linux Mint which I use today makes it even easier via a graphical front end.
The choice is yours like any other application in Linux. Use what you like. I’ve made my choices.
The Touring Frog 