Trouble Picking a Distro...

DannyT

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So, recently I built a PC, and made the decision that I'd like to run Linux, and only use a Windows VM if absolutely necessary (or iOS VM, as the case may be). I want to use it for gaming, video editing, and web browsing. I mainly decided to take the plunge because I'm just so tired of seeing scandal after scandal come out of major platforms like Windows and OSX where they collect some kind of personal data that they didn't tell you about, and only came forward with after the public twisted their arm about it, and then they change it because they know they were being invasive and collecting way too much data.

That being said, I first started looking at distros like Qubes, Tails, and Whonix, but then I figured they were overkill. Besides, running multiple VM's in Qubes would potentially hurt my performance by a substantial margin. I built what I've heard is a fairly powerful system. Not bleeding edge or anything, but definitely around (if not slightly above) a typical gaming PC, but it would kind of defeat the purpose if the VM's take up so many resources that I wouldn't be getting the performance I'm looking for. And, distros that go through TOR are probably not a great fit, considering my connection to the internet at the best of times is me getting swindled by my ISP, so I don't need to make it even slower.

So, I settled on Ubuntu GamePack, but I had some privacy concerns. I read about the controversy with Ubuntu and how you have to opt out of data collection, a few more times than I felt comfortable with. Of course, it's giving me flashbacks to all the Microsoft stuff I'm trying to get away from.

Does anyone know if I should stick with Ubuntu, or if I should pick a different distro? Tails and Qubes seems a bit overkill to me... especially because one of the base advantages of Linux in the first place is that you don't have Microsoft or Apple breathing down your neck. So, I figured I'd pose the question to the Linux community and see if privacy on Ubuntu is really something to worry about or not. Or, I suppose, if the performance from Qubes and/or Tails is something to worry about or not. You know how the internet is; you google something that can be answered with a clear "yes" or "no" but you find an even split of people giving either answer.

Just let me know if you need my PC's specs or any more information. As a side-note, I'm not against paying for a distro of Linux; I'm not here because it's free, I'm here because of my privacy concerns, mostly. So, if you want to recommend a different distro, don't be afraid to recommend distros that you have to pay for.
 


Ubuntu has the option to opt in or out of telemetry on its installation menu. Tails is designed for flashdrives, running in a live environment with the option for persistent storage (storage which won't be erased after shutting down the operating system). Whonix is designed to run on two virtual machines. You can run Whonix on any operating system using a virtual machine such as QEMU/KVM or VirtualBox.

I wouldn't recommend Ubuntu Gamepack due to it still using the 18.04 LTS base for its latest release. That might change in the future, but as of now it seems a bit oudated. If you want something similar to it but without the base of the operating system comprising of Ubuntu, I would recommend SalientOS (based on Arch Linux) which is more up to date (due to the bleeding edge nature of Arch) or if you are willing to keep Ubuntu, you can try out PopOS, as it cimes with most of the components preinstalledninto the operating system or are available once you download a package through its GUI package manager known as the PopShop.
 
G'Day Danny, Welcome to linux.org

On the subject of Ubuntu Gamepack......how does it perform ?....does it met your expectations?

if so.....keep it.
Opt out of their telemetry
You could also stay clear of their "snap" packages. That really does sum up the dramas associated with Ubuntu.

If the above suite you, then download jareds suggestion/s onto a usb stick and have a play around with them at your leisure. They could be interesting to you.

I would not get too wound up about Ubuntu and privacy.....they are not in the same league as m'soft.....and hopefully never will be.
 
I use Ubuntu 20.04 minimal iso.



The only info Ubuntu wants is a first time optional send hardware info and nothing else.

You don't have to send it if you don't want to and I never do so no worries.

As for Snaps unless you install them they won't be a bother.

Code:
hp-compaq:~$ snap list
No snaps are installed yet. Try 'snap install hello-world'.
hp-compaq:~$
 
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You can save a tiny amount of boot time by removing snapd entirely, as it loads some daemon/process during boot. If you're not going to use snaps, you might as well remove the process. (It's one of the first things I do with a new Ubuntu-family installation.)

Code:
sudo apt remove snapd

See also:
 
TAILS has Tor by default, so that's a no-no for your situation.

I run Ubuntu daily. I have had some issues with instability and I don't know if it's just the quirks of my system or if it's a problem with the distro. (Maybe it has to do with the fascinating set of PPAs that I added to my system. :D)

As @Condobloke mentioned, play around with various options via Live USB. You won't regret it. I also recommend reading up on the differences between distros to see what suits you best.
 

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