this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2026
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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ontop of other user comments where it boils down to trust in the maintainer and code reviewers of the project, another reason depends on the use case that you plan on using your Linux system. for example, if I were to setup a nextcloud server, i'd generally go with alpine for it's lightweight design, or Debian for it's stability. I wouldn't necessarily use Kali Linux, because with those features it also uses a lot of resources for it to function, and I don't need that for a server.
in terms of my personal device I generally build those from the tty and add other modules (like DE, utils, etc...) to give it more functionality. Much like my servers I like to have my laptop optimized -- take as minimal resources as possible -- which is a rather controversial take after seeing users bash at me that I'm not taking advantage of all my memory. anyways, I don't think there is a specific distro that has everything that I want. I want a system that works that doesn't use 2 GB from the DE alone and that is accomplished by adding the modules myself.
I don't trust any other sub-distro other than myself. I generally go with one of the corporate base tty installer (arch) and I build the system from that. I'm not going to switch to say cachy OS for it's aesthetics, or ease of use, I couldn't really care less.
Why would you want your OS to use you're memory? My browser already takes too much, and I really push my system trying to run dev-builds of games built for desktops.
so people reasonings are, that if you don't use all memory then it's just going to waste. which is true, but you also need to take into account the applications I use, some of which take 6, 7, or 8 GB or about ~10 GB with vivado/vitis synthesis and bitstream.
the second thing i was going to add is, Do you know what also makes ram redundant? when the laptop is fucking dead. Which is ultimately why I'm trying to optimize it resource wise to extend battery life.
that said I do find it fun to mess around and reduce the resources I use, i've optimized it to where I can beat the m1 macbook on idle. again, not something that is a benchmark, but to say an engineering student beat a trillion dollar company. I continue to smear that in apple fanboys faces as just a massive "fuck you."