- Hardware: Lenovo ThinkPad T430s; CPU 2.60 GHz Dual core, RAM 8 GB and SSD 250 GB. 14 inch screen with 1366x768 resolution.
When Debian 11 was released around September 1st, 2021, I installed it with Cinnamon desktop: Exploring Linux OS: Debian part #2 (Bullseye). My first Debian article: Exploring Linux OS: Debian, part #1
I was interested to try Cinnamon desktop, as I have Cinnamon as first choice for Linux Mint. When I had Debian 10, I tried KDE Plasma desktop. However, Debian 11 does not use the at the time of release latest Cinnamon - not strange considering Debian has a "conservative" approach favouring stability and lead time from project start to release.
Therefore relatively soon I reinstalled Debian 11, but this time with Xfce desktop. Debian 11 has the latest Xfce version (4.16). I am familiar with Xfce, I have it on one Mint installation as well. To me Debian and Xfce are a good combo; they are both giving releases in slower pace, they are solid and built with quality.
Both in the Cinnamon version and the Xfce version, I have not found any included software that alerts me about updates and present them in anything similar to the Mint Update manager. The Mint Update manager also can help with maintenance like cleaning older Linux kernels. Possibly there exist some tool to install in Debian, I have not investigated further. Else, it works with the Synaptic GUI software, or for that matter the Terminal. Debian 10 with KDE Plasma had a tool resembling to the Mint Update manager, but if that came from KDE Plasma or Debian, I am not sure.
Like I have stated before, I like Debian although not as much as Mint as per today. And for me, the Xfce version of Debian appears to be a good or the best, choice for the desktop.
Finally, if you are interested in other Linux distributions, I recommend listen to the podcast Distrohoppers Digest. They try and review distros and talk about their views and findings. The currently latest episode 28 (Dec 2021) was more of general talk about preferred distros, Debian was one of their favourites. Listen to learn more!
Henrik Hemrin
14 January 2022
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