@@ 3,7 3,8 @@ title: Picking a GNU+Linux distribution
layout: guide
authors: [
"Patrick 'tyil' Spek <p.spek@tyil.work>",
- "ShadowM00n <shadowm00n@airmail.cc>"
+ "ShadowM00n <shadowm00n@airmail.cc>",
+ "Winston (winny) Weinert <winston+fglt@ml1.net>"
]
---
@@ 80,16 81,25 @@ A free distribution based on [Debian][debian].
The netinstaller for Debian is the most minimal version you can start out with.
It's stable, produces a very small OS once done installing is incredibly
stable. Be aware that Debian by default does not allow non-free software in the
-main repos, so not all hardware may be supported out of the box.
+main repos, so not all hardware may be supported out of the box. An amd64
+Debian netinstall is about 1 Gigabyte in size.
#### [Lubuntu][lubuntu]
Lubuntu's LXDE desktop environment is made specifically to be usable on systems
-with low resources.
+with low resources. A Lubuntu install is about 4½ GB.
#### [Xubuntu][xubuntu]
While not as lightweight as Lubuntu, it's lightweight enough to run on most
machines. It's a little more polished than Lubuntu by default, but this is
-ofcourse subjective to your tastes.
+ofcourse subjective to your tastes. A Xubuntu install is about 5½ GB.
+
+#### [Alpine][alpine]
+A standard Alpine install is less than 1 Gigabyte. Installation is dead
+simple, however, it defers additional software configuration to the user.
+Alpine is flexible enough for server, basic desktop, and embedded use. Alpine
+is also widely used for Docker and virtual machines. Due to a reduced package
+selection, a small tight-knit community, and use of the Musl libc, Alpine may
+not be as stable as enterprise-grade distros.
### Stability
#### [Debian][debian]
@@ 147,6 157,7 @@ distribution. I'd greatly appreciate any help in maintaining this list, and
that includes suggestions for other distros in the list. You can have one
added by sending in a MR on the repository.
+[alpine]: https://alpinelinux.org/
[archlinux]: https://www.archlinux.org/
[debian]: https://www.debian.org/
[devuan]: https://www.devuan.org/