First, thanks for reading and commenting.

I would appreciate any\all feedback from all of you, if there are recommendations for a stable, consistent setup - both hardware and OS. Or comments that I am asking for something unrealistic. Either a desktop or a laptop connected to a docking station.

a. I would like to suspend the machine at night and continue working in the morning.
b. To be able to support three monitors. c. VM app to test stuff - virt network to test varied apps\code on different clients and servers. d. Libre Office to create docs and presentations. e. LTS.

Currently using a System 76 laptop w\ Pop OS and a docking station. The first laptop was warrantied to poor construction (keyboard and bezel weren’t flush, they separated and you could see the motherboard…) and now the second one is having the same issue - let alone sporadically working with suspend or the docking station (will have to reconnect the docking station, most times rebooting).

I’ve distro hopped for years, so I would consider myself a beginner\intermediate user. I am more than willing to pay\donate for consistency, and right now that leans towards MS and Windows (sigh).

What are corporate users using? I think that is my standard, as I’ve worked at places that were primarily windows shops, And it is pretty easy to come in in the morning and resume from yesterday. “RH for workstations” ?

Thank you!!

  • joojmachine@lemmy.ml
    101·
    2 years ago

    Fedora Atomic for the win, it’s been my one and only ever since I first used it.

  • f00f/eris@startrek.websiteEnglish
    6·
    2 years ago

    Debian Stable, in my experience, can stay online for months, even over a year, with very little attention, and still work as well as you left it. You can also install RHEL or a rebuild, like AlmaLinux, RockyLinux, or Oracle Linux, as a workstation distro.

    As for the device, my use case is fairly different so I’m not sure what to suggest. Maybe an Intel NUC, or a Framework laptop.

    • BobbyShmurda@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      2 years ago

      ooo, I went to the Framework website. When I get a some ‘disposable’ cash, I will get a framework lappy.

    • Fuck u/spez@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      2 years ago

      Second the NUC suggestion. I’ve got a 10th gen i7 model that I use primarily as a media server. It draws <6W at idle so it runs 24/7 and barely makes a blip on my electricity bill. It’s been rebooted exactly twice so far this year after switching from Windows 10 to Arch (BTW), once after a planned upgrade and a second time unexpectedly when my cheap UPS’s battery died. It works fine with the two docking stations I’ve tried and two different USB-C displays. I think my model might need a small adapter to support a third monitor but I’m not sure that’s the case with newer generations, though you may have to look beyond the Intel-branded hardware if you do want a more recent edition since they sold the brand to ASUS.

  • superterran@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    2 years ago

    Another vote for Fedora. I’m a docker user so I find regular ol Fedora Workstation 40 to be a damn near perfect Linux distribution

  • Presi300@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    2 years ago

    I’d say that if you want a stable, “just works” experience, try fedora. It’s the only distro I’ve had truly 0 issues or complications with…

    • BobbyShmurda@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      2 years ago

      I’ve always liked Fedora. I think I messed up in the past by trying to ‘tinker’ with different WMs instead of just doing my work. My next install will mostly be Fedora.

  • Ulu-Mulu-no-die@lemm.eeEnglish
    3·
    2 years ago

    What are corporate users using?

    Windows on PCs, Linux is used mostly only on servers (RedHat/SuSe), hardware brands are usually HP, Dell and Lenovo.

    I think that is my standard

    Why? Do you expect companies to ask you to use your own PC for work instead of providing the tools you need? Be wary of those who do, using whatever personal PC for company work can lead to data breaches and that’s a very serious problem.

    • BobbyShmurda@lemmy.worldOP
      2·
      2 years ago

      Sorry, I should have elaborated when asking about ‘corporate users’. I was thinking what does Red Hat or Ubuntu or System 76 employees use? and I thought that was a ‘standard’ that I just didn’t know about that I would adopt.

      As for companies asking to use your own pc - I’ve run into it a couple of times now since working from home/remote, that companies will ask you to sign in to some cloud apps to start onboarding before they send you hardware. Also, contracting / small gigs on the side!

  • GravelPieceOfSword@lemmy.ca
    1·
    2 years ago

    Linux Mint Debian Edition would be a pretty solid, pre-customized distribution.

    I’ve had great experiences with Linux on Lenovo over the years: would be my first recommendation.

    I currently use a Dell Inspiron, while it’s works great, I had to do some extra work occasionally. I love that I can get fingerprint login with it on Linux though.

    • BobbyShmurda@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      2 years ago

      I have a fondness for Mint. I was able to build a desktop and a laptop with Mint for my parents. They’ve been using them for years now, at least over 5. It just works for them.

    • BobbyShmurda@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      2 years ago

      Thank you for the reply. Many moons ago I tried to spin up a Arch lappy, but failed. I haven’t tried since (complaints about no free time and such), but I kinda took that fail that I always wanted to go back and try again!

    • BobbyShmurda@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      2 years ago

      I was mostly using Fedora desktop with CentOS servers many years ago. Though, will soon spin up Fedora again.

  • png@discuss.tchncs.de
    1·
    2 years ago

    I personally run Pop! on a thinkpad for school and its rock solid. I’ve rebooted it maybe 10 times over the past 2 years, mostly when it ran out of battery in my backpack. I’ve never had any issue with it, I even installed KDE in addition to the standard GNOME and it worked just fine. If you’ve liked Pop! so far, I absolutely recommend it if it works on a non-System76 machine for you.

    • BobbyShmurda@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      2 years ago

      I’ve wanted to like Pop!. I think I tried it too early, being with it for years now. I will take a look again when Cosmic comes out.

    • BobbyShmurda@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      2 years ago

      I feel like you are being a little snarky, but well given because of my post. I will admit I had to spin up Win 10 to finish up some projects as I have so little free time lately.

  • pr06lefs@lemmy.ml
    22·
    2 years ago

    nixos is great - as long as the software you need is in nixpkgs, and it usually is. reinstallation is almost never necessary. You can switch your system to the unstable channel, and if you get tired of that, back to stable again, no problem. Experiment with software and remove it without a trace left in your system. If you mess up your config, you can roll back to the previous config in the bootup menu. Your system config is in a text file which you can put into source control if you wish, which allows you to replicate your config onto another machine, or revert to what you had 6 months ago, etc.