To be fair, Ubuntu (or to be precise, Xubuntu in my default case) was doing the job for me up until 15.10. There is also a rather comprehensive Wiki that solves a lot of the performance problems with a tutorial that can be done once (and takes about 10-15 minutes to complete). Some of that also applies to Debian. It just is not the default set of settings for a reason that I can't fathom. In the end, all distributions have some problems. In terms of the Debian-derived ones: - Canonical did some shitty stuff with Ubuntu (Amazon, forcing Unity, recent and mentioned above 'fuck you' to people with AMD hardware) and only recently made it inactive by default (but to my knowledge it is still within Unity) - Mint ISO repositories got hacked (more info here) so for sake of security you might want to wait for a day or two after downloading ISO from site. Bit shit if you want to install it right after download. - Bunsenlabs (successor of CrunchBang Linux) left me with an impression of being just Debian with preconfigured OpenBox window manager. Following 'review' comes with a caveat that I have used Bunsenlabs for less than a month to see what's the hubbub about. It carries a version problem from the opposite end of Debian normal repositories. Instead of being on the safe and stable side it goes the Arch way and uses some of the cutting-edge/experimental versions. It's not impossible to work and have a fairly stable system out of it, but when something crashes you might get boned and a lot of the Debian/Ubuntu support will be outdated for you. As was in my case when I have plugged my USB camera into it and system went full retard on me.Nope, not just you. I've tried Ubuntu a few times, but it's consistently been unstable (once requiring a complete wipe and reinstall when upgrading to a new version failed).
I didn't know Mint got hacked. That's scary. I'm almost 100% positive I was running a clean version, but still, damn. That really is worrying. It's sad to hear you're not liking BunsenLabs much. CrunchBang was my first Linux rodeo, filled with curse words and Google searches galore. Maybe I really will just look into straight Debian this time.
Don't worry, the problem was found out at the very same day, properly disclosed and dealt with in a professional manner. Truth be told the advice I gave for dealing with downloaded Mint ISOs should be extended for every single distribution out there. It's uncommon, but we live in a world where anyone can spot security problems (hell, I have one imo serious found on Hubski itself, and I am by no means an expert when it comes to IT. It was solved almost instantly, thanks to mk's awesomeness and quick response.) and it can be hard to resist temptation to exploit them. Seeing how Mint team dealt with the problem, I would count it as a mixed blessing. On one hand, they got hacked due to lax wordpress configuration. On another hand, looking at their response they probably hardened their servers and will keep a much closer attention to security measures. That could turn out to be a major plus for them in the long run. Possible bias as a Mint user notwithstanding ;). I would not say that I don't like it, but it did not leave me 'wowed' afterwards. It was advertised to me as mix of the best things that both Debian and Arch have to offer (and I do like both of the philosophies behind them)… and basically got a Debian with OpenBox and one driver problem. It was by no means bad, but suffered from severe case of overhype. I would compare it to one place with Chinese food close to my dorm. Everyone was telling me that the food is more than filling and so tasty that you should watch out for suddenly jizzing in your pants ;). After giving it a go I got a solid and fulfilling meal, but by no means best I ever had when it comes to Chinese. Different strokes etc.It's sad to hear you're not liking BunsenLabs much.