If you're running Debian Stable all you're going to get are security updates anyhow. I make my living on Debian and some Ubuntu and I will tell you confidently the Debian folks are pathological about stability. Thankfully. With that said, when they issue "point" releases (12.1, 12.2) there'll often be bug fixes; but not package version updates: That would not be "stable"!
Why I like Debian. I value stability above the latest wiz bang newest features.
Gloriously, "boring" is the worst part of using Debian Stable.
Indeed but an OS is a tool not an entertainment center.
"Stable" means does not change. The behaviour of the system ought to remain as predictable and unchanging as possible through the support cycle of the release. If there was a bug and I accommodated that bug with workarounds in my bash scripts and cron jobs and then the bug is fixed, the behaviour of the application has changed and now all of my automations are broken; and that will in all likelihood affect the other networked systems. In that case the release of a bug fix is the problem.
I wanted to run Debian on my newer HP Envy laptop but it didn't play nice with sound for some reason so I had to go with Fedora w/KDE Plasma. Now the latest release of Debian 13 might work with this setup, I might have to revisit Debian.
Mint is an excellent second choice for me except it's based on Ubuntu which is a commercial OS with a spin off free version which could dry up at anytime. Even Mint knows that and has an LMDE Debian based version I tried but talk about slow updates/upgrades...I don't disagree, but often people forget that "stable" doesn't mean "it works". It just means it doesn't change
Another good option for those seeking more stability in a desktop OS is something like linux mint, based on a solid/stable foundation but does get updates to core apps and cinnamon etc.
Ubunutu is going to suddenly stop releasing a free version after 15+ years because of what, exactly?
I thought that comment was a little off-base, too; but this perfectly illustrates the chaotic balance between a lack of central control and central control. Distros come and go; and it's worst when one of them was counted on by millions of people, organizations and businesses who were trusting in it. I am looking at you, CentOS.
The other thing that is rarely mentioned with the Mint/Ubuntu relationship is that a large, large majority of Mint's packages just come directly from the Ubuntu repositories. This is a considerable drain on Canonical's resources and I have read a few times in the past that they do not appreciate that drain.
