On Ubuntu, even if you remove all snaps and snapd, apt commands are hijacked and will reinstall everything if you touch certain packages. The better solution is to not use anything from Canonical.
For me it was the entry point, I heard everywhere it is the “beginners distro”. That was about 4 years ago, now sentiment changed and people are recommending Mint instead.
TL;DR (Summary)
zr0 is expressing a flat rejection of Ubuntu as a valid Linux choice, likely due to Canonical’s decisions around Snap and other user-hostile defaults. They see no redeeming reason for anyone to run Ubuntu — especially with better alternatives like Debian or Arch available.
List all said “decisions and defaults” that would incur such an unfavorable verdict from a seasonned linux user ?
Snap Package System (snapd)
This feels to many like vendor lock-in — a betrayal of open-source ideals.
Data Collection (“Ubuntu Phone Home”)
Though anonymized, the default opt-in raised privacy concerns
Amazon Search Integration in Dash (Ubuntu 12.10–16.04)
Eventually removed, but left a lasting stain on Canonical’s reputation.
Abandoning MIR and Unity — Then Reversing
Bundling Bloat / Non-Free Software by Default
Canonical’s Commercial Focus
LTS-Only Philosophy in Flavors and PPAs
Centralized Development Model
Ubuntu is technically “open source,” but most decisions come top-down from Canonical.
Snap is developed behind closed doors, then pushed downstream.
System Resource Usage
Ubuntu’s GNOME desktop and background services (like Snap, Tracker, etc.) are heavy on RAM and CPU.
Difficulty Removing Canonical Components
Removing Snap, cloud-init, or motd-news (system message ads) often takes manual, repeated effort.
System update may reintroduce unwanted packages.
This gives a feeling of a system that’s working against the user.
Yup, it’s an Ubuntu thing.
No idea why someone would run Ubuntu and then be surprised that snaps are enabled.
It’s about Snap being an impurgeable rootkit on your machine. It’s the same as Onedrive or Copilot on Windows.
On Ubuntu, even if you remove all snaps and snapd, apt commands are hijacked and will reinstall everything if you touch certain packages. The better solution is to not use anything from Canonical.
It’s not that they’re enabled, it’s that they can re-enable themselves after updates even if the users disables Snaps and removes snapd.
Had this issue with Ubuntu on my Dads laptop before I switched it to Debian.
@fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com posted a how-to to get rid of snap permanently by using apt pinning:
https://lemmy.nowsci.com/comment/14911535
Sounds like something Microsoft would do!
You didn’t hear that Microsoft is getting into Linux? They’re going to call it mi-cux
Ubuntu is propped up by Microsoft (Azure)
No idea why someone would run Ubuntu. Full Stop.
From my experience it is people who used Linux 15 years ago and are just now coming back
They missed the part where Ubuntu enshitified
For me it was the entry point, I heard everywhere it is the “beginners distro”. That was about 4 years ago, now sentiment changed and people are recommending Mint instead.
work requirement 😔
Still better than windows.
absolutely
…needs of shoe-horning linux on to microsoft device :(
TL;DR (Summary)
zr0 is expressing a flat rejection of Ubuntu as a valid Linux choice, likely due to Canonical’s decisions around Snap and other user-hostile defaults. They see no redeeming reason for anyone to run Ubuntu — especially with better alternatives like Debian or Arch available.
List all said “decisions and defaults” that would incur such an unfavorable verdict from a seasonned linux user ?
This feels to many like vendor lock-in — a betrayal of open-source ideals.
Though anonymized, the default opt-in raised privacy concerns
Eventually removed, but left a lasting stain on Canonical’s reputation.
Ubuntu is technically “open source,” but most decisions come top-down from Canonical.
Snap is developed behind closed doors, then pushed downstream.
Ubuntu’s GNOME desktop and background services (like Snap, Tracker, etc.) are heavy on RAM and CPU.
Removing Snap, cloud-init, or motd-news (system message ads) often takes manual, repeated effort.
System update may reintroduce unwanted packages.
This gives a feeling of a system that’s working against the user.
Do you agree with that assessment user “zr0” ?
My surprise would be something like “what’s snap didn’t I remove whatever that was”.