Linux Distributions
Every linux distribution has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the use case they were created for. The most significant differences will come from the bootloader, init system, display renderer (which is really more like a login manager), desktop environment, package manager
Arch
Arch has several useful properties:
- Arch uses the pacman package manager and constantly updates individual packages. So, unlike release-based distros like debian, ubuntu, fedora, or Pop!_OS, packages are generally far more up-to-date.
- Having this rolling distribution is particularly great if it suits your software release strategy. Regular, small updates are easier to manage and schedule that a giant distro and package update once every 18 months. You ought to have a good, immutable system, release mechanism with a robust test and validation pipeline that allows you to be confident in regular, small releases anyway.
- Arch is also a pretty minimalist distribution, so the chances are that if a software package is installed on your machine, you explicitly put it there, know what it is doing., and are able to monitor for security issues.
- A smaller distribution also means a small attack surface for vulnerabilities to be exploited.
Alpine
Alpine is a tiny distro, great for docker instances. See Alpine Linux.
Debian
The granddaddy. Mature, full-featured, but a bit slow. Packages can be months out of date.
Ubuntu
Another linux mainstay, Ubuntu is user-friendly, easy to use, well supported, great for a desktop, and everywhere.
Pop! OS
Apart from looking extra pretty, and having an interesting window manager option, Pop! OS is easy to install, makes a great desktop, and comes with out-of-the-box encryption. It has a rolling release schedule, and good GPU support if you are into ML or graphics-intensive tasks. Pop! OS replaces Ubuntu’s GRUB bootloader with systemd-boot.
Fedora
Fedora has more of a rolling update than Debian, but not as bleeding edge as Arch.
Therefore it is a nice compromise between stability and currency. It’s also easier to do a system update after 6 months than Arch. Arch will probably break at that point. Fedora should be fine.