I have been using Linux since 2017, and since then, I have hopped between Linux distros many times—so many that I've lost count. This frequent switching is a common behavior among Linux enthusiasts. The point here is that the quest for the perfect distro is never satisfied; we continue to hop indefinitely.
Starting with Ubuntu: The Gateway to Linux
I landed on Ubuntu initially, just like every Linux newcomer. The APT package manager is one of the best package managers available, also back then Ubuntu did not force to use snaps.
As my interest and curiosity grew, I gradually switched to Linux Mint just to try out it's custom desktop environment the Cinnamon. Mint is based on Ubuntu itself but there are many differences. For instance Ubuntu is managed by Canonical while Mint is community driven project. Ubuntu uses modified gnome as their default desktop whereas Mint has their custom made Cinnamon desktop environment.
Discovering Arch Linux: The DIY Distro for Power Users
Later in 2022 I discovered Arch, the legendary linux distro. Arch has pacman one of my favorite package managers, Arch has the AUR, Arch makes you to DIY the whole linux distro not actually from scratch but kind of. One has to setup Arch all the way dowm from the tty to any DE of your choice. This is when I got into tiling window managers viz. i3, qtile, dwm and a few wayland compositors like sway and hyperland.
I had only scratched the surface of this whole linux world, many challenges were yet to come. I build a complete working system in Arch using i3 and xfce tools. This helped me learn about the available options for various programs such as thunar, nemo, ranger. Now there was no turning back, I was completely into the customization of the OS to suit my needs and visuals.
Challenges of a Minimalist Linux Setup: The Cost of Customization
But as they say, "You can only keep on tweaking the system until you get purpose" - anon (or me i guess). For example, I had to set the keyring, network manager, bluetooth manager, system tray, panel, workspaces, keybindings, multi-screen, nvidia support, and many other stuff on my own and these small small errors keep on appearing one by one. There is no problem in doing it thyself, but this distracts you from the main purpose which you are using linux for. In my case I am a web developer, building full stack web projects is my primary work. These bugs and errors won't let you focus on your work.
So I stopped using minimal window managers and switched back to complete desktop environments. For the next few months until 2023 KDE plasma was my new home. I dwelled there comfortably without any worry of setting up everything from scratch.
The Dreaded Kernel Panic: A Developer’s Nightmare
But then happened something, which got me the most headache. In middle of December 2023 one afternoon my laptop experienced a kernel panic. The screen freezed, input devices stopped working and the capslock key kept on blinking. I didn't understand what it was, neither anyone near me did. The only solution was to hard reset the device by draining the residual power. I was very confused as everything was going smoother, then what could have caused the kernel panic?
This panic kept on happening again and again, finally I discovered my bluetooth hardware is loosened and it keeps disconnecting everytime I move the laptop significantly. Thus making the kernel to panic.
Switching to Linux Mint: Finding Stability and Comfort
Resolving such issues is not a big deal, but in a tight daily schedule where you need your laptop for other crucial tasks, it becomes impossible to debug and find solutions. Hence, I decided to leave Arch for a while and switch to a more robust and stable distro. Ubuntu was a good option, but I didn't want to use snaps. This led me to the reliable Linux Mint.
I have been using Linux Mint for the past 2 to 3 months, and I haven't encountered any of the issues I faced before. Plus, I love the Cinnamon DE; it feels like home, and here I am, comfortable and relaxed.