View Full Version : Your favorite Linux distro and why?
Modzilla
02-11-2008, 10:19 AM
I'm looking to try a linux distribution for basic desktop functions (word processing, email, internet) and crunching. What would you recommend and why? Any other advice for linux newbies? Thanks
babalouj
02-11-2008, 11:06 AM
Ubuntu, its very easy and the newer distro comes with everything you need.
yankee
02-11-2008, 07:31 PM
Do you shy away from the CLI and hashing out solutions on your own? Linux might not be for you. I've used linux on and off for about 4 years, and have found this consistently to be the case.
I've used SUSE, Fedora, and Debian. Of the 3 I've found that once you get the right repos into YUM, Fedora is quite usable.
MentholMoose
02-12-2008, 12:09 AM
I use Gentoo on my desktop PC, mainly for the completeness of the package repository (portage). Virtually everything I need is in it. I've used other distributions, but I hated having to search around for 3rd party packages, and hoping they would work and be trustworthy. Also, most packages are updated very soon after a new release, whereas other distributions sometimes take longer.
Ubuntu or Fedora might be better choices for a newbie, because they seem to hold your hand through more tasks.
AriciU
02-12-2008, 01:26 AM
Arch Linux.
It's optimized for i686 so it's as fast as Slackware 12 (my 2nd favourite distro) and Gentoo and faster and snappier then Ubuntu.
It's very easy to use once you get it installed and configured. The arch linux wiki will tell you everything you need to know to get it going. Basically you just need to manually edit some files with a text editor and change a few lines... very easy and all is explained in the wiki.
The PACMAN package manager is the best there is IMO, no need to compile every single thing like with Gentoo (very time consuming IMO, i gave up on it 3 times after an "emerge -auDN world") and also faster and better (IMO) then Debian/Ubuntu's APT.
It's bleeding edge, you will always have the newest versions of packages available and quickly installable, including the latest stable kernel's.
It's a rolling release. This means that even if you installed some old version of Arch 2 years ago a simple Pacman -Syu (total system update) will get everything up to date. What this also means is that you never have to install Arch again, ever. No matter how many versions come out in the next years... Pacman takes care of that and always keeps you up to date with everything.
It just works and it follows the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) philosophy.
apt403
02-12-2008, 05:19 AM
I've been using Ubuntu as my primary OS for a while now, only boot into Windows for gaming and benching. Easy to use, eye candy that beats Vista with Compiz Fusion + Emerald and all that good stuff enabled, and Debian based (gotta love apt-get.).
Arch Linux is definitely worth mentioning though, very snappy OS.
I'd try a few different distros, never can tell what you'll like best until you've played around for a while.
masterpain
02-12-2008, 05:40 AM
i like debian etch, runs fine on my r52. no problems
See this http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major
I'm a fan of Debian based distributions DEBs are so much more convenient than RPMs. All distributions are equally of the same speed, it depends on what arch packages were compiled for and how much crap is installed. Gentoo is no faster than Ubuntu, but i686 is faster than i386. x86_64 based GNU/Linux are the fastest dist. becomes they do not support older cpus that might not support features such ass floating point or sse instructions. x86_64 based packages are compiled will all optimizations that particular program can offer. If you have a 64-bit cpu I recommended amd64 arch dist. If you are Linux veteran you will probably choose to run Slackware based dist., the are clean and simple. If you want a dist. that just works I would go with Suse 10.3, other than that I strongly recommend Ubuntu.
Fujimitsu
02-12-2008, 08:56 PM
For a linux newbie?
Ubuntu
It's the hardest to break :p:
AriciU
02-13-2008, 12:40 AM
Ubuntu hardest to break? You probably never been in APT-HELL before (try apt-get -f install or specify a solution manually). That's the main reason i gave up on Debian based distros :)
Ubuntu or Debian. They are the same thing under the hood, but Ubuntu has a nicer installer and updater.
Don't touch Fedora. If you think apt is bad you haven't seen their crap, and instead of fixing it they always rewrite it.
However, with Debian and Ubuntu you don't want to mix 32 and 64 bits, they really suck at that. Either decide to live without any 32 bit (that means no flash plugin, no video playing with Win32 codes etc.) or install the 32 bit version.
Myself I use FreeBSD when I can but it's not the right thing for a casual user.
Newblar
02-24-2008, 10:56 AM
For a linux newbie?
Ubuntu
It's the hardest to break :p:
tee hee hee
fordf250
02-24-2008, 11:20 AM
ubuntu in my laptop and fedora 8 in my desktop both are awsome and easy to use.
@AriciU was acutally right, the Arch Linux is much snappier than Ubuntu, I'm loving this distro so far. GNOME in Arch is basic and much faster, the use memory of is minimal. It literally feels like Xfce on Ubuntu. Anybody seeking fast GUI, be it KDE or GNOME, Arch Linux is a perfect choice.
MotF Bane
02-28-2008, 07:12 PM
I'm new to Linux myself, and have only tried Fedora 8 and Ubuntu 7.10 so far. I prefer Fedora so far, as it seems faster than Ubuntu, particularly during start-up.
TRF-Inferno
02-28-2008, 09:30 PM
Pardus Linux. This one is financially backed by the Turkish government, but the English language support is excellent. It is also the most 'Complete' Linux distribution I've seen so far, and it is extremely beginner friendly.
rintamarotta
03-09-2008, 09:25 AM
Kubuntu 7.10, its simply best i have used so far.
Giacomo
03-14-2008, 04:56 PM
Strange to notice very few Gentoo recommendations here on XtremeSystems. Well, that's my choice: if you're a newbie it's surely harder to learn, but while you proceed, you get more and more astonished by Portage.
If you're in trouble, and you have an another "stable" platform to access mIRC, you can join #gentoo on irc.freenode.org and be quite helped.
Giacomo
kiikkuja
04-01-2008, 04:18 AM
Ubuntu or Debian. They are the same thing under the hood, but Ubuntu has a nicer installer and updater.
Don't touch Fedora. If you think apt is bad you haven't seen their crap, and instead of fixing it they always rewrite it.
However, with Debian and Ubuntu you don't want to mix 32 and 64 bits, they really suck at that. Either decide to live without any 32 bit (that means no flash plugin, no video playing with Win32 codes etc.) or install the 32 bit version.
Myself I use FreeBSD when I can but it's not the right thing for a casual user.
That's not entirely true because I and many others have used mplayer with 32-bit codecs for a long time...theres lot of work to be done but things are getting better all the time but depending on usage i'd say the compatibility issues with 64-bit Ubuntu are gone.
To make long point short I would recommend firstly Ubuntu 7.10 or the 8.04 version. But as mentioned earlier Gentoo is a great choice too...it just takes
a bigger geek than I am to configure and install it.
Modzilla
04-01-2008, 05:40 AM
I got Kubuntu up and running, seems to have everything I need, easy install on older hardware. Thanks to all for the input.
Chipp
04-01-2008, 04:27 PM
I'm personally fond of Debian. I am willing to trade some bleeding-edge tech for overall stability and massive package selections. (I just migrated my systems to Lenny last weekend)
[XC] NetburstXE
04-01-2008, 05:50 PM
Kubuntu. Very fast even on older hardware, regular updates, KDE is great, and easy installer.
SmaKKed
04-02-2008, 08:58 PM
Im a big Archlinux fan
Pacman is awesome and it is completly modular install, only install what you want nothing more.
www.archlinux.org
karbonkid
04-03-2008, 05:29 AM
Bluewhite64 - It's a port of slackware to 64-bit hardware (although it can still run IA32 apps with the IA32-emulation modules). It's unbelievably fast.
Simple and easy-to-use, and a great way to learn Linux without being hindered by the silly hand-holding that Ubuntu gives you. And fast. Fast fast fast.
www.bluewhite64.com (http://www.bluewhite64.com)
Did I mention that it's fast?
enteon
04-05-2008, 09:20 AM
i prefer sidux.
sidux is 99% debian sid and likely to be the only fully debian compatible derivate distribution.
updating ought to be done by a sript called smxi in init3. but apart from that, it's like having debian but with bleeding-edge software. never had any system related crash for nearly one year now. the only thing that can happen is that something goes wrong while updating, happened two times, but repaired itself after a couple of days.
i like debian.
i like new software.
i like updating 3 times a day :D (32Mbit rulez :woot:)
i like sidux :)
EDIT: http://www.sidux.com/
s0lid
04-05-2008, 12:32 PM
I've Ubuntu 8.04 on my cruncher.
It's stable as hell and fast to set up :)
Now running 8th day in row nonstop :)
Gig4moller
04-15-2008, 05:53 AM
Arch for me.
Xel'Naga
05-11-2008, 11:38 AM
Ubuntu or Debian. They are the same thing under the hood, but Ubuntu has a nicer installer and updater.
Don't touch Fedora. If you think apt is bad you haven't seen their crap, and instead of fixing it they always rewrite it.
However, with Debian and Ubuntu you don't want to mix 32 and 64 bits, they really suck at that. Either decide to live without any 32 bit (that means no flash plugin, no video playing with Win32 codes etc.) or install the 32 bit version.
Myself I use FreeBSD when I can but it's not the right thing for a casual user.
Never had a problem with yum (that's how the "crap" is called ;)).
I have used Fedora 8 for quite a long time an now I am beta-testing Fedora 9 (it will be released very soon, for those interested). Frankly, is the best OS I have ever used. Ubuntu left me very disappointed. Not as bad as Suse, the most unstable crap I have ever laid my hands on, but still bad.
Serra
05-11-2008, 12:30 PM
Debian. For a new user though... start with Ubuntu. You'll have enough of a headache getting hardware compatibility to work that it's easier to do on a system which helps you out a bit, then you can replicate it on a system that doesn't.
I've Ubuntu 8.04 on my cruncher.
It's stable as hell and fast to set up :)
Now running 8th day in row nonstop :)
Maybe for cruching. I set up Ubuntu because I needed a quick setup-and-work for a project awhile ago and have left it up because things have gone on longer than I hoped... and after using it for a few weeks, I've got to say I'm less a fan than I used to be. Basic setup is pretty smooth, but it's no-where near "bug-free". In just regular usage I've seen more bugs in it than I've seen with Windows for a long time (or maybe I just don't notice them in Windows anymore, that's possible).
Logos
05-11-2008, 12:47 PM
PCLinuxOS, although I'd rather that they'd use something else than Synaptic. I like Kubuntu Adept very much, but I always found, release after release, that Kubuntu was unstable. Ubuntu was never an option for, I just don't like Gnome.
So again, PCLOS and not Mandriva (note for newbies: PCLOS is based off of Mandriva), because of easy root access in PCLOS (just when needed). I know a little bit of hacking would solve the issue in Mandriva. Also, PCLOS is very well updated, and seriously updated: which means not just often, but after testing phases. This distro is incredibly stable. Honestly I can't find a good reason to switch to any other distro. OK if for any reason PCLOS was discontinued (anything can happen, they're a very small team), I'd probably switch to OpenSuse...
Oh forgot to say PCLOS, like Mandriva, has got a really nice control center.
http://www.pclinuxos.com/, main site and forum.
and only for advanced users: http://hack.mypclinuxos.com/ (careful there, the guys at hack.mypclinux.com won't teach you how to install a distro, they'll send you back to the main site :D)
oh, if you're on KDE, don't forget to check that: http://www.kde-look.org/
p2501
05-16-2008, 12:17 PM
I would recommend Gentoo for main desktop use/crunching. Beginners with NO prior linux exp should choose a stage2/3 install and all is well. They have very good support in form of a wiki, knowledge base, active forum and irc, with nice people willing to help.
Why do I recommend it? I used Suse, Caldera, Debian and whatnot, but I learned the most from my Gentoo experience. It's just too fun. For starters I would not go the unstable way for the whole install, things break too easily/change too fast there.
Just don't expect to be crunching faster on gentoo than on other distros, do it for the fun! :)
Volkum
06-17-2008, 10:44 AM
If you're willing to take time to learn, I'd wholeheartedly recommend Gentoo. Portage (thus far) is the best package manager I've worked with yet. I also love having complete control over what is installed which isn't quite the case with many distros. Additionally, the community is great and support is very thorough via forums and mailing lists.
P.S. I run Gentoo on my T60 (work) and home pxe server and workstation. My home file server runs Debian (I was too lazy to setup Gentoo for something as simple as this).
ARC1450
06-17-2008, 01:07 PM
I'm going to actually have to say that Gentoo, in its former glory, was awesome. Lately however, it has begun to completely suck.
I haven't updated my main server (the only thing I run on Gentoo anymore) because all Gentoo has a tendency to do anymore is break things left and right. Either they play with configs and move them all over the place, or one package won't compile because it depends on another that doesn't compile because there's a known issue with it in the first place.
The best debacle I can think of is when they slip in upgrades to GCC. Good luck, and I hope you have time to sit with your thumb up your butt to make sure libstdc++ doesn't shatter *and* that the old version of GCC gets unlinked.
I gave up on using it for a desktop. It sucked. Just. Plain. Sucked. Of course, that install is back from. . .2001? Before Robbins left, Gentoo was top notch. Anymore, it's just grab-asstic.
p2501
06-18-2008, 12:55 AM
ARC1450: I have to admit that my gentoo experience ended over two years ago and running unstable (on both server and workstation, for about two years) I did notice breakage mostly when they messed up gcc or baselayout. What I didn't expect is that it got this bad by now, I really hope they will recover because portage is/was just awesome.
Arch seems like a viable choice for gentoo runaways. Any user reports on that?
kiikkuja
06-18-2008, 02:46 AM
Arch-x86_64 has been nice thus far. I've been using it a week or two.
I know I talked about liking Ubuntu earlier in the thread but things have changed
since then. I just got fed up with the unused software and depencies which tended to come back with the next update after removing them with synaptic.
I haven't been using many distros but Synaptic and Ubuntu repos really rocked!!
So far thats the only complaint about Arch that there's not so many packets to
install as Debian/Ubuntu had...but a Arch install with xfce4 is so light and responsive that it makes up for it!!
However, with Debian and Ubuntu you don't want to mix 32 and 64 bits, they really suck at that. Either decide to live without any 32 bit (that means no flash plugin, no video playing with Win32 codes etc.) or install the 32 bit version.
Ubuntu Hardy 8.04 installed Flash for me automatically through Firefox. Went to Youtube, tried to play a video, told me I needed a codec, downloaded and installed, then worked perfectly. And yes, I was running the x86-64 kernel.
ARC1450
06-19-2008, 05:24 AM
ARC1450: I have to admit that my gentoo experience ended over two years ago and running unstable (on both server and workstation, for about two years) I did notice breakage mostly when they messed up gcc or baselayout. What I didn't expect is that it got this bad by now, I really hope they will recover because portage is/was just awesome.
Arch seems like a viable choice for gentoo runaways. Any user reports on that?
When I had my desktop on unstable, that I completely understood breaking, and I helped with that and reporting bugs. I stopped using it when ~x86 was completely unusable. My cflags were rather loose (I just use march=AXP in use flags and let those set cflags), and things still broke like crazy and stopped working. I expected unstable to be, well, unstable, but it started seeming like 30 monkeys were just pound on keyboards and dumping code into the unstable branch. I switched to stable, and it still wasn't great. When I started having to spend 2 or 3 hours fixing GCC upgrades because it would be either overzealous or not do enough, that's when I had it. I knew it wasn't just my box either, because of the amount of threads I found just doing a search on "libstdc++ gcc". After reading some of the threads on fixing it and the devs acting like their crap didn't stink, I just said forget it.
The devs used to be really helpful and check into packages and ensure it wasn't something they glitched. Now it's like a lot of them think they're gods and poo perfect code 24/7.
Hopefully soon I'll have the time and motivation to switch my Gentoo server over to FreeBSD. Of course, that means loosing my 200 days of uptime. :(
p2501
06-19-2008, 10:50 AM
Arch-x86_64 has been nice thus far. I've been using it a week or two.
So far thats the only complaint about Arch that there's not so many packets to
install as Debian/Ubuntu had...but a Arch install with xfce4 is so light and responsive that it makes up for it!!
Yup, trying Arch is tempting I think, nice to hear that's been a nice experience for you until now. About the small repository, wasn't it so that Arch is stems from Slack? Either you try to get Slacks repo running or you could try build scripts for Slack... :shrug:
When I had my desktop on unstable, that I completely understood breaking, and I helped with that and reporting bugs. I stopped using it when ~x86 was completely unusable. My cflags were rather loose (I just use march=AXP in use flags and let those set cflags), and things still broke like crazy and stopped working. I expected unstable to be, well, unstable, but it started seeming like 30 monkeys were just pound on keyboards and dumping code into the unstable branch. I switched to stable, and it still wasn't great. When I started having to spend 2 or 3 hours fixing GCC upgrades because it would be either overzealous or not do enough, that's when I had it. I knew it wasn't just my box either, because of the amount of threads I found just doing a search on "libstdc++ gcc". After reading some of the threads on fixing it and the devs acting like their crap didn't stink, I just said forget it.
The devs used to be really helpful and check into packages and ensure it wasn't something they glitched. Now it's like a lot of them think they're gods and poo perfect code 24/7.
Hopefully soon I'll have the time and motivation to switch my Gentoo server over to FreeBSD. Of course, that means loosing my 200 days of uptime. :(
Gentoo seems to have gone down the drain man! :eek: Devs were usually friendly with some exceptions of course, but what you're saying sound like major league bullsh*t going on. I remember those fun libstdc++ errors, but if thats what's basically happening all the time now... pffft. That's just sad, I really liked gentoo for portage. I didn't have too many problems even with more agressive flags, the only thing that was annoying was 9:30~ish hours for OOo on a dual xp machine... :ROTF:
kiikkuja
06-19-2008, 05:32 PM
Yup, trying Arch is tempting I think, nice to hear that's been a nice experience for you until now. About the small repository, wasn't it so that Arch is stems from Slack? Either you try to get Slacks repo running or you could try build scripts for Slack... :shrug:
I have no idea.:shrug::rofl: There's this aur thingie where you can find more packages that didn't made into the community (yet?).:up:
P4rD0nM3
06-29-2008, 05:15 PM
For normal usage, I prefer Fedora especially F9 right now since I consider Fedora to be bleeding-edge.
For servers without too much tinkering, I prefer CentOS.
And then for breaking stuff and then fixing it by reading, researching and learning! Genty and Archy, lol.
Currently 'trying' to like FreeBSD and Solaris.
m411b
07-10-2008, 06:00 PM
Mandriva PowerPack, Slackware, or Dreamlinux 3.1.. All of these are really easy to use and have great support for software. Mandriva has some bugs still with Wine but everything else is sky's the limit! Slackware is a little more complicated, as you will have to learn shell but even just a basic working knowledge of shell will get you going. Here is a link to a site that will help you in finding the right Linux distro to fit you --> http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/. It will ask you all kinds of questions about the computer you will use and your working knowledge and at the end will suggest several distro including live distros..
Hope this helps,
Lee