Distrohoppers’ Digest
- Episodes
- 62
- Released
- irregularly
- Latest episode
- Oct 30, 2026
About the podcast
“We are a couple guys who love Linux and trying out new stuff, we thought it would be interesting to share our experience of trying new Linux and BSD distributions and how we found it trying to live with them as our daily driver for up to a Month at a time, by recording a podcast about how we got on.”
License: CC-BY-SA 4.0
Episodes 62
62 – RakuOS and Omarchy
In episode 62, Dale and Majid are back with another round of distro hopping. In “Beautiful Failures,” Dale finishes his highly customized Xfce desktop on Debian stable. He also makes the case for using AI …
Show notes
In episode 62, Dale and Majid are back with another round of distro hopping. In “Beautiful Failures,” Dale finishes his highly customized Xfce desktop on Debian stable. He also makes the case for using AI sensibly: it helped him find failed systemd units on his old ReadyNAS, write a Syncthing update script, and track down a file with a hidden line feed in its name. His rule is to trust but verify, and to be careful what you paste in. Majid fits a trip to India and a conference in Spain around some local LLM experiments on Fedora. He also tells the story of his third attempt to make an iPad work for him, which ended after two days with a profit on eBay. In the updates, Majid reports on a buggy Kubuntu 26.04 LTS install, and Dale explains how an MX Linux boot partition filled up.
This month’s reviews cover two very different distros. Majid takes on Omarchy, the Arch-based, Hyprland-powered setup that installs in under four minutes. It looks great and has AI agents built in, but he found it overwhelming as a non-developer, and he and Dale discuss how much the project’s high-profile creator affects its appeal. Dale reviews RakuOS, an atomic Fedora spin built on a bootc container image. It keeps DNF packages and Flatpaks, and it has its own package manager, Rum. He covers the long installs, a bad update that he fixed with a quick bootc rollback, and whether this could be the future of Linux.
Link To Full Show Notes Link To Full Show Transcript61 – Odyssey
In episode 61, Dale flies solo while Majid is away and shares a month of Linux tinkering—starting with an unsuccessful attempt to install PicaOS on a Dell Inspiron 13. He also highlights useful discoveries …
Show notes
In episode 61, Dale flies solo while Majid is away and shares a month of Linux tinkering—starting with an unsuccessful attempt to install PicaOS on a Dell Inspiron 13. He also highlights useful discoveries, including LuckyLUKS for quickly opening encrypted containers, XFCE’s Docklike Taskbar, and positive early impressions of the Liquorix kernel on MX Linux.
The main review focuses on Odyssey Linux, a new Void-based rolling-release distribution that aims to make Void more approachable. Dale finds its installer, polished welcome screen, GUI package manager, service-management tools, and Control Center impressive for a first release, while noting a few quirks in defaults, window controls, browser syncing, and XFCE configuration. Overall, Odyssey Linux earns a positive recommendation for users who want Void’s performance and flexibility with less reliance on the command line.
Link To Full Show Notes Link To Show Transcript60 – Elementary OS 8.1, and Void Linux Base ISO
In this episode of Distrohoppers’ Digest, Dale and Majid dig into two very different Linux experiences: the stripped-down, do-it-yourself world of Void Linux Base ISO and the sleek but opinionated desktop of …
Show notes
In this episode of Distrohoppers’ Digest, Dale and Majid dig into two very different Linux experiences: the stripped-down, do-it-yourself world of Void Linux Base ISO and the sleek but opinionated desktop of elementary OS 8.1. Along the way, they also share what they’ve been tinkering with lately, from replacing Pi-hole with Technitium DNS to hopping back to Debian Xfce, plus a few monthly mishaps and surprises that remind us Linux experimentation doesn’t always go to plan.
They also revisit past distro experiences, including Firefox oddities on Zorin OS and a recovery story involving Fedora after CachyOS trouble. The episode wraps with listener feedback, more thoughts on Bodhi and MX Linux-style system rescue options, and the usual appreciation for the tools, people, and open-source projects that keep the Linux community thriving.
Link To Full Show Notes Link To Full Show Transcript59 – Pika OS, MX LInux Plasma, Dale’s Server Farm, and Waydroid
We reviewed Pika OS and MX Linux Plasma Edition. Dale tends to the server farm and Majid takes on Waydroid. Link To Full Show Notes Link To Full Show Transcript
58 – Puppy, TrixiePup, grub, and QEMU
Jim from mintCast joins us to review Puppy Linux TrixiePup 64 Wayland. Along with Jim’s grub issue and Dale’s adventure with QEMU/KVM. Link To Full Show Notes Link To Show Transcript
57 – CachyOS, and Arch, BTW
Majid reviews CachyOS, Bill from mintCast, and Linux OTC joins us to talk about Arch Linux. Link To Full Show Notes Link To Full Show Transcript
Episode 56
In this episode Dale uses his iPad as a laptop and Majid fights with Windows 11 and bought a new to him Lenovo Chromebook. We review Ubuntu Budgie 25.10 and Pop!_OS 24.04 with the new Cosmic Desktop. Link To …
Show notes
In this episode Dale uses his iPad as a laptop and Majid fights with Windows 11 and bought a new to him Lenovo Chromebook. We review Ubuntu Budgie 25.10 and Pop!_OS 24.04 with the new Cosmic Desktop.
Link To Full Show Notes Link To Show TranscriptEpisode 55
This episode was recorded on the 20th of December, 2025. For this show, we will be reviewing Ultramarine Linux Plasma Edition and Ghost BSD. Link To Full Show Notes Link To Full Transcript
Episode 54
The pod is being rebooted. We discuss our activities during the past year. Our experiences with Fedora, LMDE6, Debian 13, and more. Link To Full Show Transcript
Episode 53
This month Eric reviews Bluefin Project and Dale reviews Archman. In Monthly Foibles, Dale had a productive month setting up Nextcloud, Pi-Hole, Ubuntu Server, and various other systems, while Eric discusses …
Show notes
This month Eric reviews Bluefin Project and Dale reviews Archman. In Monthly Foibles, Dale had a productive month setting up Nextcloud, Pi-Hole, Ubuntu Server, and various other systems, while Eric discusses his experience setting up a drawing tablet for his wife using a Dell Active Pen and Windows 11. In Updates, we cover Debian’s adoption of Tmpfs for its /tmp folder and upcoming changes to APT. Beautiful Failures covers challenges encountered by Dale during while attempting to move a hard drive to a new system. Reviews focuses on Archman and Bluefin Project distributions, but specific information is not included in the excerpt. We also cover some New Releases and get some Feedback.
Full Show Notes Here- 00:02:09 – Monthly Foibles
- 00:48:07 – Updates
- 00:51:54 – Beautiful Failures
- 00:54:36 – Reviews
- 01:50:24 – Feedback and Errata
- 01:56:10 – New Releases
- 02:01:17 – Announcements
- 02:02:03 – Acknowledgements
Chapters
Loading chapters …
Episode 52
Welcome to Distrohppers’ Digest Episode 52. In Monthly Foibles, Dale recounts a month of balancing rest and productivity, from exploring Linux Mint's Backup Tool to diving into Sway customization. Eric shares …
Show notes
Welcome to Distrohppers’ Digest Episode 52. In Monthly Foibles, Dale recounts a month of balancing rest and productivity, from exploring Linux Mint's Backup Tool to diving into Sway customization. Eric shares his quest for the perfect headphones for podcast editing. Updates cover Solus' vibrant community growth and Ubuntu's latest LTS release, while our 'Beautiful Failures' segment explores Dale's dual-booting mishap and Eric's journey through various distros, landing back at Ubuntu 24.04. Eric reviews Ubuntu 24.04 LTD “Noble Numbat” and Dale covers Tuxedo OS. (edited)
Chapters
Loading chapters …
Episode 51
On this episode we talk server upgrades, WiFi woes, Xebian and Fedora fails, and review BunsenLabs Linux Boron and KDE neon User Edition featuring the recently released KDE Plasma 6.
Episode 50
Moss and Dale are back for another episode. This month we are reviewing Sparky Linux 7.2 OpenBox/E25, and Zorin OS 17 PRO. Updates Solus, Redcore, Slackel, DeBodhi 32- and 64-bit, Ubuntu Beautiful failures …
Show notes
Moss and Dale are back for another episode.
This month we are reviewing Sparky Linux 7.2 OpenBox/E25, and Zorin OS 17 PRO.
Updates Solus, Redcore, Slackel, DeBodhi 32- and 64-bit, Ubuntu
Beautiful failures OpenMandriva 5 ROCKEpisode 49
We took a break from our reviews to do a year in review. We reflect on our favorite distros, activities, and what we look forward to in 2024.
Episode 48
Synopsis Distrohoppers' Digest Episode48 Introductions Hosts: Moss Bliss, Dale Miracle, Eric Adams Monthly Foibles Updates: Slackel 7.7, Budgie Desktop Beautiful Failures: Reviews: Linux Mint Debian Edition 6 …
Show notes
Synopsis
Distrohoppers' Digest Episode48
Introductions
Hosts: Moss Bliss, Dale Miracle, Eric Adams
Monthly Foibles
Updates: Slackel 7.7, Budgie Desktop
Beautiful Failures:
Reviews: Linux Mint Debian Edition 6 “Faye”
New Releases
Feedback
AnnouncementsEpisode 47
Moss, Dale and Eric are Back. The Reviews this Month are: Bodhi 7.0.0, Garuda Sway, Manjaro 23 "Uranos" Cinnamon Edition
Episode 46
Moss, Dale and Eric are Back. This time they discuss blend OS, Bodhi 7, OpenMandriva ROME 5, Regolith, Pardus, LMDE 6 Beautiful Failures: Rhino Linux, PCLinuxOS The Reviews this Month are: Linux Lite 4.4, Rhino …
Show notes
Moss, Dale and Eric are Back. This time they discuss blend OS, Bodhi 7, OpenMandriva ROME 5, Regolith, Pardus, LMDE 6
Beautiful Failures: Rhino Linux, PCLinuxOS
The Reviews this Month are: Linux Lite 4.4, Rhino Linux 1, Lubuntu 22.04.3 LTSEpisode 45
Moss, Dale and Eric are Back. This time they discuss Linux Mint 21.2 “Victoria” Beautiful Failures: Surprisingly none this month The Reviews this Month are: peppermintOS, blend OS v 3, Pop!_OS 22.04 Cinnamon
Episode 44
Moss, Dale and Eric are Back. This time they discuss Bodhi 7, Mint 21.2, BlendOS 3, Debian 12. Beautiful Failures: Debian 12 LXQt, Polydock, NotesNook The Reviews this Month are: Debian 12 Cinnamon, Debian 12 …
Show notes
Moss, Dale and Eric are Back. This time they discuss Bodhi 7, Mint 21.2, BlendOS 3, Debian 12. Beautiful Failures: Debian 12 LXQt, Polydock, NotesNook The Reviews this Month are: Debian 12 Cinnamon, Debian 12 Mate, Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon
Episode 43
Moss, Dale and Eric are Back. This time they discuss Blend OS, Bodhi, Solus, Void, Debian and Xero Linux. Beautiful Failures: blend OS, Jelly Comb trackball, Void The Reviews this Month are: ArchCraft, Feren OS …
Show notes
Moss, Dale and Eric are Back. This time they discuss Blend OS, Bodhi, Solus, Void, Debian and Xero Linux. Beautiful Failures: blend OS, Jelly Comb trackball, Void The Reviews this Month are: ArchCraft, Feren OS and Kubuntu 23.04
Episode 42
This Month Moss and Dale are Joined by Eric our new host and discuss BigLinux, OpenMandriva, ROME, Slackel, FreeBSD, Void, Voyger, Ubuntu Budgie and Xubuntu in updates. Reviews are Elementary OS7, Zinc 22.04.2 …
Show notes
This Month Moss and Dale are Joined by Eric our new host and discuss BigLinux, OpenMandriva, ROME, Slackel, FreeBSD, Void, Voyger, Ubuntu Budgie and Xubuntu in updates. Reviews are Elementary OS7, Zinc 22.04.2 and Fedora 37
Episode 41
We review Endless OS 5.0, PCLinuxOS. Updates on Ubuntu 22.04.2, Bodhi 7 alpha5, Mint, Trisquel, Garuda, Bluestar, openSUSE, Redcore, Xero, StormOS, Debian, Solus. Beautiful Failures on, BlendOS
Episode 40
We review, CachyOS, BigLinux. Updates on OM “ROME”, Void, Bluestar, Debian, OpenSuse, Netrunner, XeroLinux, Storm-OS, Voyager, Ubuntu Budgie, Pardus. Beautiful Failures on. BigLinux, Armbian. New Releases and Feedback.
Episode 39
Welcome to Distrohopper’s Digest, Episode 039, recorded on January 3, 2023. For this episode, we will be reviewing wattOS R12, Q4OS, and Garuda. By the end of 2022, Distrohoppers’ Digest had been downloaded …
Show notes
Welcome to Distrohopper’s Digest, Episode 039, recorded on January 3, 2023. For this episode, we will be reviewing wattOS R12, Q4OS, and Garuda. By the end of 2022, Distrohoppers’ Digest had been downloaded (and, we hope, listened to) almost 31,000 times, according to statistics kept at Archive dot org. We hope you had a good holiday season, and on we go with what makes us happy: Distrohopping!
Episode 37
Moss, Dale and Josh are back talking about their Linux journey over the last few weeks. This time they review Pardus 21.3, KDE Neon user Edition and TrueNAS SCALE
Episode 36
Moss, Dale and Josh are back talking about their Linux journey over the last few weeks. This time they review Regolith, Peppermint and Drauger Linux Distributions
Episode 35
Moss, Dale and Tony are back. In updates we talk of Mint, Debian, Ubuntu 22.04.1 and Ghost BSD. Reviews are Spiral Linux and Makulu Shift.
Episode 34
Moss, Dale and Josh are Back. For this show, we reviewed Xubuntu 22.04, OpenMandriva Rolling LXQt, and Ubuntu 22.04 (Gnome).
Episode 33
Moss, Dale and Josh are back with reviews of some of the Ubuntu 22.04 flavors. Unity, Cinnamon and Studio.
These are the latest 40 of 62 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.
Similar podcasts
More Technology podcasts
Is this your podcast?
Confirm it with an entry in your feed: you get a code here, add it as podcast:txt to the channel of your feed, and we check it. Your podcast is then shown as “verified” on SoundNode.