I just tried to upgrade Ubuntu and I suddenly see that new packages want to be installed; snapd and firefox. I don’t need Firefox because I’m already using Firefox-ESR as a deb and I certainly don’t need snaps.
Why is Ubuntu doing this? I get it you like snaps but I don’t, so don’t try to force install it. I had to use apt-mark hold to block the install of snapd and firefox. This is also not an isolated incident. I just checked Reddit and someone made a thread 8 hours back regarding the same issue.
This thing is giving me Microsoft vibes.
My advice: time to move on. Ubuntu has been like that for a while and they have plans to go even further, so move to Debian, which is basically Ubuntu without the issues. Even Firefox-ESR is the default in Debian.
I don’t get these posts saying “Debian is basically Ubuntu”…? It’s the other way around, Ubuntu is literally built from Debian, with Debian itself being the second oldest linux distribution. I had nothing but problems with Ubuntu, but everything has been rock-solid since I moved all my machines to Debian about 15 years ago.
If you want bleeding-edge crap that’s going to break, choose Ubuntu. If you want a machine that always just works and doesn’t ignore your preferences, choose Debian. Yes I have strong opinions on the subject, I have servers that sometimes run for a year between reboots and I don’t put up with crap like security updates completely breaking all networking on all my machines in the middle of the night.
You can use testing (or sid, if you feel lucky) to get newer packages. I have been using testing for a year and I feel great.
One downside of testing is that it isn’t monitored by the Debian security team. Combined with the fact that updates are delayed compared to unstable, it can take many weeks to get important security updates.
If you are not setting up a server I don’t think it matter that much.
I would recommend Mint for an easier transition, its what I jumped to from Ubuntu due to Canonical’s behavior and I’ve been happy. It is definitely simpler to use than Debian - which is not to say anything bad about Debian. It’s just less hand-holdy. I like it for servers.