What's Your Favorite Linux Distro?

[Guest]

I live at Kubuntustan.

Larger image: http://i1.wp.com/blog.woralelandia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/linux-world-map-large.png

[52midnight]

Gentoo for me! Have tried several others; PCLinuxOS was a long-time favourite until KDE 4 trashed it. KDE 3.5 was probably the zenith of full-featured desktop development, and I fought long and hard to have it retained. RIP!

Now using LXDE/Openbox and have the most powerful setup ever, including Blender, video apps, and music software. Am looking to add video conferencing.

[JimShortz]

Mint with the cinnamon interface is growing hugely in popularity, surpassing Ubuntu, depending on what figures you look at... And I like it VERY MUCH.

I have been an Ubuntu user for about four years, along with all staff and students at our school. This year we are due an OS upgrade and are switching to Mint school-wide as an Ubuntu upgrade would involve the use of the Unity interface. We trialled it but it is so flawed and clunky that we couldn't inflict it upon our users... Mint has been greeted with universal smiles. It is very easy for Windows users to migrate to, but actually combines many of the best features of Windows, Osx and Linux.

Mint with Cinnamon is a must-try for Linux users. A great operating system...

[JSixpack]

Mint with the cinnamon interface is growing hugely in popularity, surpassing Ubuntu, depending on what figures you look at... And I like it VERY MUCH.

I have been an Ubuntu user for about four years, along with all staff and students at our school. This year we are due an OS upgrade and are switching to Mint school-wide as an Ubuntu upgrade would involve the use of the Unity interface. We trialled it but it is so flawed and clunky that we couldn't inflict it upon our users... Mint has been greeted with universal smiles. It is very easy for Windows users to migrate to, but actually combines many of the best features of Windows, Osx and Linux.

Mint with Cinnamon is a must-try for Linux users. A great operating system...

I don't like Unity either. I tried to like Mint with Cinnamon, but then the Cinnamon proved a bit buggy on my machine. I switched from Cinnamon to Xfce; it's good 'nuff and can be pimped out. No further issues.

Recent very promising light distro I played with and decided to put on a spare netbook I happened to acquire: Lubuntu Life Extension

Yeah, guess I favor Mint XFCE, LXLE, or Xubuntu these days, the first two partly because they come w/ essential apps. They're light, stable, have lots of info and help available, and work well w/ a minimum of hassle (don't have time for much hassle). I like #! except that I don't want to edit config files (had enough of that). Seems to work well on difficult machines where an Ubuntu-based distro will give up. Played with SolydXK, ran into a vid issue. Installed PCLinuxOS LXDE on a friend's machine recently; lot of goodness about it, plenty of apps, but idiosyncratic, has its own repositories. Installed Debian on another old machine, worked well, but very much just a base distro.

Still have Puppy on my emergency flashdrive.

[innerspace]

Used all sorts and now between mint lisa at work and ubuntu rating at home.

10.04 gnome2 was perfect for usability but is now falling behind on modern hardware and security updates.

Installed 10.04 on my latest home reinstall but couldnt get wifi card running. Upgraded to raring and am not hating unity as much as I did. Hud is quite nice, doubled up with guake.

Tried cinamon on mint a while back but quit and switched to mate within a day. Been using mate comfortably for a year or 2.

Tried pure debian and was good and stable...but some software in the repos was too old and couldnt be bothered switching them all around or installing source.

Touched on centos...but I know deb and apt more than yum.

[52midnight]

I tried Mint as well, but like all 'buntu's found it too constricting. Unity is dangerous, IMHO. Low-level graphics code is so fundamental that it should never be allowed into proprietary hands; those who remember the shenanigans with XFree86 will know what I'm talking about.

At the risk of being banned from this forum for a heinous sin, I'll say that the main reason I find many of the latest distros too constricting is that i run as root. Yes, yes, I know, it's a major security risk, I'll damage my machine, the NSA will arrest me, yadda, yadda, yadda ... I've been doing so for more than a dozen years without a single problem, and will continue doing so. It's MY machine, so I do with it as I like.

[jpinx]

...............................

Tried pure debian and was good and stable...but some software in the repos was too old and couldnt be bothered switching them all around or installing source.

..................

Adding the backports repo and getting more up-to-date software is trivial and worksforme

[User3]

On my Raspberry Pi I've used most of the 'approved' distro's and for my purposes at least Pidora (Fedora port) seems most suitable. But Arch is likely the best one. One thing that I am noticing with this newest little project is how much I dislike Linux. If only the people involved in developing it could somehow suppress their ego it would make a much nicer experience. Remembering back to the Slackware distro I got in 1986 or so (it came on something like 12 720k 3.5" disks) and how interesting and exciting it was to see something like this appear, then to look at the fracturing and compartmentalizing that has happened since.. well- it's a shame.

It's like the Apple vs. Windows fanboys but everyone in the Linux world is supposed to be on the same 'side'. Seems somehow really incestuous to me.

Oh for the good old days of RSX-11M+.

[52midnight]

> If only the people involved in developing it could somehow suppress their ego it would make a much nicer experience.

This is worth a thread of its own. I'm a former electronic hardware design engineer, and over the years I've seen hardware move to the background as software took centre stage. There was always a distinct personality difference, but during the last decade there has emerged a very distinct set of personality traits associated with the typical code-cutter.

I've long had an interest in Buddhism, and therefore in human psychology and personality, and I'm of the opinion that an excessive focus on pure technical abstraction, such as is essential for creating and writing program code, is poisonous to the psyche unless balanced by the contentment that can only be found in arupa meditation, or similar relaxing introspection.

[OldChinaHam]

Opensuse of course because I like German cars and German software like SAP

Any SAP software will run on SUSE Enterprise Server.

I think.

I have loved Suse since the year 2000.

I like green Suse logos and mascots like that lizard.

In the splash screen on start up you can sometimes see the lizard's beady eyes move.

I will always be true to OpenSUSE.

[handSumMan]

raring ringtail is fine

[jpinx]

On my Raspberry Pi I've used most of the 'approved' distro's and for my purposes at least Pidora (Fedora port) seems most suitable. But Arch is likely the best one. One thing that I am noticing with this newest little project is how much I dislike Linux. If only the people involved in developing it could somehow suppress their ego it would make a much nicer experience. Remembering back to the Slackware distro I got in 1986 or so (it came on something like 12 720k 3.5" disks) and how interesting and exciting it was to see something like this appear, then to look at the fracturing and compartmentalizing that has happened since.. well- it's a shame.

It's like the Apple vs. Windows fanboys but everyone in the Linux world is supposed to be on the same 'side'. Seems somehow really incestuous to me.

Oh for the good old days of RSX-11M+.

Agreed with the comment about egos. Too many people want to be a "dev" but don't have the attitude to carry it through successfully. There's an increasing amount of applications which are released in beta, but only maintained for a short while - until the writer gets bored and moves on to his latest "project". That does not make a good experience, and does not improve the quality of linux as an OS no matter what flavour you choose.

I read somewhere that apple have something like 80% of their apps labelled as zombies for reasons of the same mind-set.

[jpinx]

duplicate post removed

Edited July 19, 2013 by jpinx

[A1Str8]

I prefer KDE over GNOME and so far my favourite distro is Mint.

For sure every system has its flaws but to me its such a smooth one and suits my needs perfectly.

[Khunmanoun]

Linux Mint has been my favorite for several years now. Very polished. Works flawlessly out of the box, drivers included. It is based on Ubuntu.

[OldChinaHam]

I hear so much about Mint, now it is a toss up if I will try it.

I have my computer being sent from Taiwan this week.

I need to install a new linux OS installation.

I guess it will be the same old same old, because I have no complaints whatsoever about SUSE, that I would not have about another.

But just thinking about Mint also makes my mouth drool a little.

No, I must stick with SUSE because this is for serious work and I don't know the others.

(Of course I still will keep KNOPPIX on my stick) (My USB stick I mean) (My bootable USB stick, I mean)

[jpinx]

I hear so much about Mint, now it is a toss up if I will try it.

I have my computer being sent from Taiwan this week.

I need to install a new linux OS installation.

I guess it will be the same old same old, because I have no complaints whatsoever about SUSE, that I would not have about another.

But just thinking about Mint also makes my mouth drool a little.

No, I must stick with SUSE because this is for serious work and I don't know the others.

(Of course I still will keep KNOPPIX on my stick) (My USB stick I mean) (My bootable USB stick, I mean)

Set up a few vm's to run different distros to see if you like them.

[OldChinaHam]

I hear so much about Mint, now it is a toss up if I will try it.

I have my computer being sent from Taiwan this week.

I need to install a new linux OS installation.

I guess it will be the same old same old, because I have no complaints whatsoever about SUSE, that I would not have about another.

But just thinking about Mint also makes my mouth drool a little.

No, I must stick with SUSE because this is for serious work and I don't know the others.

(Of course I still will keep KNOPPIX on my stick) (My USB stick I mean) (My bootable USB stick, I mean)

Set up a few vm's to run different distros to see if you like them.

Great Idea, I am using Oracle's opensource Virtual Box which is running on my SUSE 12.3 super duper computer.

I am having it sent over to CM by courier from Taipei.

The thing has 16GB of main memory so I suppose I should be able to keep a few different linux distos plus one copy of Win8 all running at the same time.

It is so nice to have linux.

And to think it might not have been possible without the efforts of many people like Linus and also this bearded and brainy wonder:

The laptop I have been using for 5 months has only Win8, so I am just about sick of having to use a computer without Linux.

One week to go til arrival of my components, then I will just buy a power supply and be back in business.

Tks for reminding me what I need to do.

[lapd]

I tried Mint as well, but like all 'buntu's found it too constricting. Unity is dangerous, IMHO. Low-level graphics code is so fundamental that it should never be allowed into proprietary hands; those who remember the shenanigans with XFree86 will know what I'm talking about.

At the risk of being banned from this forum for a heinous sin, I'll say that the main reason I find many of the latest distros too constricting is that i run as root. Yes, yes, I know, it's a major security risk, I'll damage my machine, the NSA will arrest me, yadda, yadda, yadda ... I've been doing so for more than a dozen years without a single problem, and will continue doing so. It's MY machine, so I do with it as I like.

I also run as root but I always work headless with command lines so it makes more sense.

The idea that it's more secure to sudo all the time is rubbish. After awhile you just do it instinctively so you are not in any way doing things more securely. I think its become this commonly believed myth. Doesn't make much sense for what I do which is always admin type things that more often then not require root.

Edited September 8, 2013 by lapd

[A1Str8]

I installed Mint 15 Cinnamon not long ago.

I swear this is one of the best op sys I have ever seen.

Sent from one of my devices using the internet

[anthonyc12]

Hi everyone,

I recently upgraded my PC and in the process installed Windows 8. After playing around with it for a short while, trying to figure out how to explore without the start menu, attempting to familiarise myself with the "tiles" interface, and trying to play a DVD, I quickly became less and less enthusiastic about Microsoft's new OS.

I figured this would be a good time to try something new, and move on to a Linux OS (or at the very least have the option of dual-boot). I've been looking around and noticed a lot of good looking Linux distributions, and was wondering if anyone has a favourite? I'm not much of a programmer, I'll just being using it for day to day use and possibly gaming, depending on whether or not the game is supported on Linux, but that's when the dual-boot will come in handy!

So far Mageia 3, Linux Mint 15, or openSuSE look to be the most stable and user friendly for a new Linux user.

Edited September 20, 2013 by anthonyc12

[Ivan the Terrible]

puppy 5.6

[Teddy1]

My Favorites would have to be Lubuntu and Ubuntu, depending on the resources the system has available, and I usually recommend Lubuntu to people starting ou with Linux since LXDE is similar to the Windows 7 GUI.

[JSixpack]

My Favorites would have to be Lubuntu and Ubuntu, depending on the resources the system has available, and I usually recommend Lubuntu to people starting ou with Linux since LXDE is similar to the Windows 7 GUI.

I like Lubuntu, though LXDE reminds me more of Win2000 than Win7, and have it on my netbook. But a few months ago I inherited yet another netbook and installed the LXLE variant of Lubuntu on it. Very nice; I recommend it now: http://lxle.net/

[dharmabm]

My Favorites would have to be Lubuntu and Ubuntu, depending on the resources the system has available, and I usually recommend Lubuntu to people starting ou with Linux since LXDE is similar to the Windows 7 GUI.

I like Lubuntu, though LXDE reminds me more of Win2000 than Win7, and have it on my netbook. But a few months ago I inherited yet another netbook and installed the LXLE variant of Lubuntu on it. Very nice; I recommend it now: http://lxle.net/

just popped that one into a VM and must admit it's pretty slick! still a bit bloated for my taste though (my 6 year old doesn't need gimp or libreoffice). although i am a pretty diehard arch user on my own machine, i have been playing with things like mint's LMDE, crunchbang, antiX and others for the rest of my house, but now i've pretty much settled on a minimal LXDE on top of ubuntu server as a standard installation. don't need or want ANY extra crap, i can install what i want just fine myself, thank you very much. ;>}

[Teddy1]

My favourite is Crunchbang http://crunchbang.org/

[ChristianBlessing]

Ubuntu 13.04 on a desktop and laptop, 12.04 LTS on three servers. I run VBox on my desktop for the occasional dip into Windows 7. Mandriva and PC Linux OS were favorites for years.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[JSixpack]

My favourite is Crunchbang http://crunchbang.org/

I also like Crunchbang; good style, and it handles a variety of hardware well. It won't even blink when Ubuntu will throw up its hands and die.

What I don't like is that I have to get and install most of the apps I want. More important, the menus have to be configured via text files. Such is Openbox.

I'm bored and tired of menu editing. Life is short and getting shorter.

[Khunmanoun]

About the apps you like, why don't you create a command line to install all of them at once ? Then no issue at all. Sudo apt-get install xxx yyy zzz. You take time to write this line only once on your short life ... Then you can switch distros easily. I use Mint because of the proprietary drivers.

Sent from my Find 5 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Guest]

About the apps you like, why don't you create a command line to install all of them at once ? Then no issue at all. Sudo apt-get install xxx yyy zzz. You take time to write this line only once on your short life ... Then you can switch distros easily. I use Mint because of the proprietary drivers.

Installing the applications is just one part. After that the apps need to be configured.

I would like if there would be an general purpose configuration backup system, which would remember all the applications and their configurations and store somewhere on the cloud or home NAS.

Nowdays I just want working system. Once selected which I liked, I like to keep in that, unless there is some significant benefits to change.