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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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Official vs FOSS software? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

26 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask this, I couldn't find a linux-no-stupid-questions community lol.

I'm migrating again to linux, and working on Linux Mint for now to avoid a huge change due to my upcoming program for school soon where I won't have extra time to fiddle with things. So I'm trying to get everything set up, and download my most used applications, but I'm trying to figure out - should I be downloading the official software if it's available, or is it better to find a FOSS alternative instead? I plan to go with the apps that come with it like the libre office instead of Microsoft, obviously, but I was looking at Discord and there is what appears to be an official looking option in the software manager app, and below it a FOSS WebCord option. Or, if this one isn't the official, I could always go to the discord site and get it from them if they have it available.

Does it matter which option I go with? Is it better to go with official software if possible? Or is it better to go with FOSS for more control/privacy?

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask.

First, I don’t like calling proprietary software “official”. Proprietary software is just software with closed source code. What makes something official is someone deciding “OK, this is what we are going to use” or that it definitely came from a particular source. Getting Docker directly from Docker repositories rather from a distributions repository for example.

My general take is if FOSS can do the job, I use FOSS. If FOSS can’t do the job I need, then I will go with the best proprietary solution to my problem. If I go with FOSS, I tend to prefer using the repository of the project in question rather than my distributions repository. The projects repository tends to be more up to date and there are fewer opportunities for ba actors to play with the code. Downside is that these repositories may introduce changes that may bork your OS when/if you upgrade to a newer major version. FlatPacks and AppImages help to mitigate this.

Hope that helps.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

I think by official OP meant stuff like Infinity is a FOSS client and not the official reddit app instead of alternatives.