Published 2025-05-24
tag(s): #reviews #linux #failures
So, two nights ago I installed Fedora Silverblue again.
That was quick, in January I said: maybe
in 6 months I will regret the mess this installation turns into.
That isn't what happened though. The tipping point was that DNS resolution stopped working
after a regular update.
This is the only time I recall having something not working in Fedora after like...4, 5 years?
of using it. So, I would still totally recommend it as a good compromise of a very stable
distro with latest packages.
Going back to Thursday night, at first I wasn't sure what was wrong. I had the brightest idea,
"I'll just reboot and get back to the previous, stable version. Easy peasy".
Except, that's how Silverblue works, not Workstation. There's no version rollback in the
"regular" distro.
I troubleshooted a bit, realized that only DNS was down, but WiFi itself was working. So I
connected the VPN, and boom, I had proper internet access again. And right there, without
second thought, I started downloading Silverblue and copying my keys, documents etc to an
external drive (it wasn't much, after only about 5 months of usage).
There's a lot more information about how to troubleshoot things. Installing new software is very simple, just use the package manager. I was relying more on Flatpaks because I got used to them, but if an app isn't in a Flatpak nor in the official repos, there's always COPR (and PPAs/AUR for other distros).
I guess if you have a GPU? or something else that requires some kind of custom driver? then using a traditional distro might be better, too.
It is annoying to reboot after installing a package (or "layering", since the process creates a new entire image for your system).
If it hurts, then don't do it: install via Flatpaks instead.
Or use containers: The Emacs I am using to type this, was compiled fresh in a container and I
am running it from the host system.
There are others alternatives, Dygma distributes their keyboard configuration software in an
AppImage for example.
And the same "it is just a reboot" philosophy applies to everything. And it
is great.
Minor update to the OS? Just reboot.
Major upgrade? Just reboot.
When I moved from Fedora 41 to 42 a couple weeks ago, I had to give it a while so the
installation completed. Every major upgrade I did in the couple years I used Silverblue
before that, was a matter of downloading the new version, and rebooting. In 30 seconds I was
running the next version of the OS.
I was recalling during the backup and install "fun" on Thursday[1], that I had some hiccups with Silverblue before. But no matter how bad it gets, you can always reboot and pick a previous snapshot, to seamlessly move between the last few configurations. It even works between major releases!!!
So I guess unless you hate Flatpaks...or need to use very specific proprietary packages that are only available as RPM...I recommend you try an atomic desktop.