Fedora is the new Ubuntu - Fedora Long Term Review

Hey everyone, this is Nick, and I generally don't do distro reviews. I do cover the major new releases to just talk about what's new, but I don't do distro reviews per se. But this time, it's different. I've been using Fedora for a few months now, and the more I use it, the more I feel that there's something special about this distribution. Something that other distributions just don't have. Something that Ubuntu used to have. So exceptionally, here are my impressions, after using Fedora for a few months as my daily driver, and why I think it's the new Ubuntu. Speaking of new, today's sponsor isn't, but it's still amazing. Thanks to Linode for sponsoring this video. Linode is the best choice to deploy your own Linux or gaming server. Getting started is extremely easy thanks to their app marketplace. You can just pick from one of the many, many apps they offer, select a few configuration options, and just one-click deploy that server. It's super simple. It works for a development environment, but also for a Minecraft or Valheim server. Among the most notable apps, Linode has Moodle to create your own learning management system and teach and sell courses in minutes, but they also have stuff like Pyho to block ads. Even though Linus said it's piracy. From Focalboard, a Trello alternative, to RocketChat, which is the equivalent to Slack or Teams, Linode has everything you would want. Click the link in the description to get your $100 credits and get started. Ok, so just to be clear, when I say that Fedora is the new Ubuntu, what I mean is that Fedora now fills the space that Ubuntu used to fill in the Linux distribution world. Ubuntu used to be THE model for how to make a distro. Solid, well-stocked repos, a focus on user interface and user experience, a big community, an eye towards the future, and pushing innovation in the desktop space. Nowadays, Ubuntu has pretty much lost most of these advantages, but Fedora has picked up the slack. In short, Fedora being the new Ubuntu is a good thing. One thing that I really enjoy about Fedora is that they push the Linux desktop towards the future. Some call it bleeding edge, but it's not. It's cutting edge. You don't get the absolute latest, but you get the latest that's also stable. Fedora was among the first to adopt Wayland, the first to adopt Pipewire to push Flatpak, Portals, the first mainstream distro to push immutable file systems with Silverblue. They've always wanted to implement the latest technology without sacrificing stability and ease of use. Contrary to a full-on rolling release, which kind of feels like playing a Blizzard game. If you don't read the patch notes, you might as well not play the game, because your character or your system is now broken. This drive towards modern tech was what Ubuntu was doing back in the day. They were implementing the latest versions of GNOME. They adopted newly developed programs at the time, like Banshee or Fspot. They pushed to have better driver integration and more software available. By embracing all these latest technologies, Fedora makes sure that they're adopted earlier as well. Implementing Wayland early, for example, didn't hurt people who couldn't use it, who were defaulted to X11, but it also helped Wayland a lot by generating more user feedback on what worked and what needed more time in the oven. To help make hardware support better, they also pushed LVFS, which lets hardware manufacturers provide firmware updates in a seamless manner for users, where everything is handled graphically and easily. Same goes for Pipewire, OS3, Toolbox, or for any other tech that they chose to go with before others. This drive towards making sure that their desktop is as current as can be is really helpful to make the Linux desktop in general progress faster. And Ubuntu also did that in the past, although they tended to favor their own in-house developed solutions rather than contributing to what already existed. But both approaches are valid, in my opinion. In terms of using Fedora, it also often meant that I was using new technologies without even realizing it. I've been using Pipewire for a few months and I didn't even notice. When I update to Fedora 36, Wayland will be the default, even with my proprietary NVIDIA drivers, and I bet I won't even notice either. So I get to take advantage of all the new stuff, with the stability, with the security, without it breaking anything. Using Fedora, I got that same excitement I used to get when I was using Ubuntu. Every 6 months, there's a new drop of amazing updates. You get more modern technologies, you get improved security, you get new features right as they're being released, and you get that sense of really taking advantage of all that new stuff the Linux community talks about, or fights about. I don't really get that same sense of excitement with other distributions. ElementaryOS and Linux Mint do have this kind of same feeling of progression, but they also feel like they evolve at a slower pace. Other fixed releases generally aren't current. Ubuntu or Zorin OS don't get the latest and greatest GNOME, for example. You get features that were exciting 6 months to a year ago. And rolling releases bombard you with a stream of updates, without any real well-defined progression. If you're constantly moving forward a few inches, then you never get the feeling that you're moving at all. And that sense of excitement means that updates are no longer this, ugh, moment. They're actually something that I look forward to. Fedora is a current distro, which means that you get the latest release of all the interesting stuff, like the desktop environments, the Linux kernel, the graphics drivers, or Wayland. And they do this without sacrificing stability. And Fedora, in my experience with it, has been rock solid. In general, I didn't have many problems with any Linux distro that I daily drove, but all of them tended to exhibit small issues after a while. Manjaro often had issues after installing updates. Stuff wouldn't work anymore, or required reboots to be fixed, audio stopped working, or the microphone input volume was turned all the way down for no reason. On elementary OS, on my laptop, I have small issues that require a reboot. My email account shows as duplicated in the email app. Bluetooth shuts down and can't be re-enabled until you reboot. Some of my virtual desktops lose their backgrounds. On Fedora, the biggest problem I've encountered so far was after updating DaVinci Resolve. It wouldn't recognize my GPU anymore, and completely uninstalling it and reinstalling it worked without a reboot. And it was probably more due to the incomprehensible decision of DaVinci Resolve to provide a dot-run installer instead of having a deb, an RPM, or a flatpak. I also had the same issue with VirtualBox, which was fixed by reinstalling the app. I still get daily updates for a lot of system components, but my system never crashes, reboots, or displays any undesirable behavior. These updates are also applied when I reboot, so stuff doesn't get pulled from under my feet. All the system-related updates only happen when you restart your computer. And all the app updates, these are handled through Flatpak. And that's also what makes Fedora current, while remaining stable. The application updates are provided, if you so choose, through Flatpak, and either the Fedora Remote or FlatHub if you added it. And, as I already pointed out in a previous video, Flatpak is the future. A future you'll get dragged into, whether you like it or not. This means that all my apps, or at least all the apps that made the right choice, are updated independently of the distro, without risking anything breaking. My experience with Fedora has been stellar thanks to this. Flatpak is wonderfully integrated in GNOME software. It's all a one-click install, one-click update. My system updates are applied when I reboot, and I literally never think about my system. I just use it. And that peace of mind is something that I never really had with any other Linux distro. Ubuntu used to offer this as well, although they never really offered up-to-date apps. Their app versions never received feature updates, even back in the day. They did have a current-version desktop environment, though. Which they don't anymore. They have a weird mishmash of GNOME versions. Another thing I really like is that Fedora has the default experience. They ship the desktop as-is, without any meaningful extensions, themes, configurations, or tweaks. Some people might think it's a bad thing, but it's up to individual choices. I can see why you would want to have a tweaked KDE or GNOME version, but I don't. Not anymore. When I started using Fedora and Vanilla GNOME, I was a bit apprehensive. GNOME didn't work at all like what I was used to, which was a macOS-like version of KDE using LatteDoc. In the end, it took me a few hours to replace my flinging of the mouse to the bottom edge to reveal the dock, into hitting the super key and displaying the dock, or just typing the name of the app I wanted. After that, it was just productivity central. GNOME, for me, doesn't need anything else than the default experience. It is extremely efficient, once you wrap your head around how it works. And providing me with a crutch, like an always-visible dock or desktop icons, would just compromise that productivity. That's the way it is for me, at least. Don't get all offended. Your desktop icons might be a monstrosity, but you have every right to want to use them, you monster. That default experience contributes to Fedora being current. With a lot of extensions and more tools tacked on, you often have to delay your update to the latest version of GNOME, because you can't be sure that you've tested it enough. Fedora doesn't have that issue, and provides me with a more productive desktop as a result. That was what Ubuntu was doing as well. The latest and greatest GNOME experience, with all the bells and whistles and the default experience, except for the theme. And when they switched to Unity, it was the same thing. But obviously, it was because they developed it. So yeah, of course, they would have the default experience. Moving to Fedora also had me learn a few things, especially how to use DNF. I didn't need to use it, but I wanted to. And since I was a lot more familiar with Apt, I had no idea what I was doing. Turns out Fedora has a huge community as well, something Ubuntu has had ever since it began. And that's another checkmark on my Fedora is the next Ubuntu checklist. Fedora has very active forums, and a lot of online help available to learn about these things. Applications often have an RPM, and if they don't, they tend to have a flatback version. Generally, you're not left behind. At least, I never was. Everything I wanted to do, I could find a guide, a tutorial, or an application to do so, and it was extremely easy. So my experience with Fedora has been fantastic. I enjoy the great stability, the absence of issues, and the background updates at reboot. I love that I can get all my apps through Flatpak and how well it's integrated. I really enjoy the vanilla Gnome experience without added overhead or crutches that would detract me from Gnome's actual productivity, at least in my case. And I also love that it makes me excited to get updates again. Before, I just didn't really feel like they brought anything, or I even dreaded them because they had broken things for me in the past. Now I'm just updating every day, my apps get their fixes and new features right away, and my system will be up to date when I boot it back up in the morning. Could I get all of this on another distro? Probably, yeah. But I would have to do some extra work to remove stuff I don't need, like extensions, and I would also not get all the latest and greatest tech without sacrificing the stability. And that's why Fedora, to me, is what Ubuntu used to be. It's up to date. It gets new stuff regularly. It's stable. It's user-friendly. And it pushes the Linux desktop forward, which means that in the next few weeks, it will also replace elementary OS on my laptop. Yes, it's that good. Just like today's sponsor, Slimbook. These guys make Linux laptops and desktops from Valencia, Spain. They have all keyboard layouts. They ship worldwide. They have a wide range of devices at all price points, like, for example, the Slimbook Essential, their entry-level ultrabook. It's greatly designed. It's got a good screen, good internals, great keyboard, great build quality, and a low starting price. If you need a new Linux device, check the link in the description below and hit Slimbook up. They are really good. Now, thanks, everyone, for watching the video. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, don't hesitate to like, subscribe, turn on notifications, drop me a comment, whatever else works. If you didn't like the video or you disagree, you can also drop a dislike and tell me why in the comments. And if you really enjoy what I do and you want to help support the channel, you can join my Patreon subscribers or my YouTube members. Both get access to a weekly Patreon cast and the right to vote on the next topics I'll cover. So, thank you, guys, for watching, and I'll see you in the next one. Bye.