jcr

I agree : I ran Void with joy for 2 years, very stable and usable, makes you learn how the init/daemon system works in a very sensitive and easy way (runit).

However, if you try to find GNU packages or Gpl packages, it just does not exist (Exim, Mailutils, and some others).

So dumped it and back to Devuan/Debian

We need more GNU projects

Monopoly is when you purchase other actors of the industry to extinction, and annihilatr competition this way. It has never been about having big market share due to superior service.

Ah ha ! Well it was a stupid joke then 😅 my first grievance is still about not packaging GNU software though (exim, mailutils, just on top of my head but etc.)

Devuan now

I had a very good ride with Void for 3 years, a polished distro which taught me to play with init.

But a lot of GNU packages are not packaged, and lastly I saw a news regarding the distro being split between pro and free version so …

I used Antix after that, but AntiX can really get behind on package and kernel version, so I stumbled back on Devuan, and voilà ! With backport, Devuan is really like Debian without the hassle of never knowing if your system us really shut down when you close your laptop (systemd ! 🫵)

Pip work outside venv, you need to add the -break-system-dependencies command option to pip though. However for this kind of utilities I did not encountered issues even when doing it like a savage (pdf2image was the latest one I installed like this. On Devuan (Debian 13/Trixie eqv). Note though: you really first need to check available libraries through apt/system installer first, because these have been packaged for a reason. Only use pip install -break-system-dependencies when all options have been spent.

The first item on your list should have been to try Gimp ?

Libreoffice suite allows you to export any document in pdf. Libreoffice Draw I use to edit pdf content. PdfArranger is a very nice tool to change the structure of a pdf (like adding a pdf file to an existing pdf, or deleting pages, you see all the pages at once on the screen and can see the content when you zoom, very intuitive). When I need to add signatures or raster pictures with transparency, I open the required page on Gimp and “File->Open as layer” the picture. Usually it works with Draw directly.

I have been working several years like this and it is pretty much a no-brainer now.

Yes you are right, usually linux users that are not in IT have no choice but using bad microsoft computers (or Apple for designers/upper upper management) when they are employees.

But if you are general manager, or an independant contractor, you do whatever you want, and I have been on Debian, Void since 3 years now and it is just great.

People complain that “your files are not compatible” (i.e.: their excel version can not open a moderately complex xlsx file), and you use stupidly dumb webapp for Outlook and Teams, but otherwise if you don’t need to commit for a specific software (built for windows or mac, like Adobe suite, 2D or 3D CAD softwares, some kind of old school ERP or CRM), you are all good. Basically everything done by management staff can be done using LibreOffice.

The “cloud revolution” at least has given us this good result : you can have basic business utilities solved through a webclient, hence GNU/Linux OS is ok to work with.

Antix , a debian, should be a good one for you. Base configuration is good, you may have issues with wifi connecting on startup, but otherwise it is enjoyable.

https://antixlinux.com/download/

What is a better choice for python dev please ?

Using void linux because it has no systemd init system (it uses its own “runit” init system) ; and it is a natutal development after using Debian for a long time and wanting to understand more about gnu/linux system.

Also, it is very reliable with a lot of packages. It is standard enough so using info from arch, debian or other distro works.

But the origin was I could not understand how systemd was managing the system and it felt really contrived to go around it, so I began using void and that’s the story.