I'm now running Debian
I installed Debian 11 on my computer the last weekend. I have come to the conclusion that I want to try something that’s both super simple to use and maintain. Something that works more like a classic binary based operating system, and not like a meta based operating system that’s designed to be a set of tools to help the user build their own operating system.
The reason I want something that’s as close to zero maintenance as possible, is due to the fact that my time will be—to say the least—limited next year. Not that I’m complaining! The next phase of my life doesn’t have room for me spending time tinkering with Gentoo as I used to.
More on what’s going on later in another post, but you can probably guess what’s up anyway. :)
Why Debian?
Debian has been around for a long time. It’s actually one of the oldest Linux based operating systems. And with Debian, you know what you get; a mature, stable and reliable operating system that value libre software that respects your freedom.
The Debian project is moving slowly with very few to no surprises. If you want the “latest and greatest” software, you should probably look elsewhere, but if you value stability and reability, then Debian is an excellent option for you.
I don’t really care about the “latest and greatest” software. The application stack that I use doesn’t see many changes anyway. My window manager i3 is feature complete and doesn’t see any new features anymore. My email client Mutt is 26 years old and I highly doubt that they’ll come with any new shiny futures that I must have on a regular basis. And while I use ‘modern’ software like NeoVim, all the basic features is already there for me.
Debian is also supported by everyone and everything! If there’s anyone that supports a Linux based operating system, you can be confident that Debian is the one. And while I was okay making my own packages for Gentoo, it’s nice to be able to quickly install some package, as well as not having to care about the burden with maintaining them yourself.
Mullvad VPN
One thing that I did miss quite a lot while running Gentoo was the Mullvad VPN client. With Gentoo, I had to use the Wireguard client—while it’s an okay client that works as a basic VPN client—it lacks the extra features that makes the Mullvad VPN client the best VPN client out there.
With the Mullvad VPN client you can get up and running with two simple commands, without ever needing any super user permissions. Other things that I like with the Mullvad VPN client is the setting that allow you to deny any traffic (both wide and/or locally) without a VPN connection. You can also easily do things like using a custom DNS server and split tunneling.
And in addition to the regular graphical client, they also provide a CLI based tool, which is perfect for users like me who prefer using text-based interfaces.
systemd
Contrary to what some seem to think; I don’t hate systemd and I don’t think it’s the evil end of Linux as we know it. It’s just not my cup of tea. With that said, I used to have rather strong feelings about systemd. Partly because I had a lot of issues with it in the past, but mostly because I don’t like changes and that I had turned into a majorly old grumpy person. Let’s just say that ‘life happened’ the past two years or so. I had major issues with stress and it ended up making me into a rather negative person in general.
That’s past me now though! I have now decided to get back to being that annoyingly positive person that I used to be. To succeed with that I have decided to make multiple changes. A few of them is to just not care about things as much as I used to, to be more pragmatic and to use social media a lot less. I think I need a healthy break from it, for now at least.
That’s why I have decided that I’m not only okay with systemd, I’m even okay using it myself! Well. As long as it makes my life easier, stays out of my way and just work.