Linux ​distributio​ns of choice

With the wide variety of Linux distributions around here which one are your favorites, I like Ubuntu/LinuxMint 2.0, and Foresight.  Red Hat seems to be popular among softies that work with Linux.  Linspire is OK.

Ubuntu's my distro of choice, combines the versatility of Debian with the "out-of-box" experience of distros like Fedora or SuSE.

I like the concept of booting up from a USB-stick and then installing over the net. I use linux on servers and the ability to bootup from a small flash-stick and install the features/packages needed from the net is a big win in my book.

/Dave

When I first started getting into linux (kernel 1.2.13 days)  I used slackware for a while, then moved over to Redhat, didn't like them much so I tried mandrake, not them either, moved over to debian.  Debian was a nice distro, I liked their packaging system, but something was missing, i couldn't put my finger on it.   So I switched yet again, and have settled on Gentoo!

I've been using Gentoo for a year or so now.  Its the longest i've ever used any distribution.  I like how I can customize the build process with the "USE" flags and only install what I want.  Sure, it takes a long time to compile everything, but in the long run, everything gets compiled to fit "ME" and my CPU.   I've got it running basically as a server/firewall.  Its got all my music on there along with some movies lately.  Apache, Firehol, Squid, Samba, oh, my own DNS/DHCP server too. Overkill for 3 computers?  Yes.  But who cares.   It works nicely..  And I can at least say I have somewhat experience setting up DNS/dhcp stuff.  I've now started installing VLC and playing with that stuff too. 

Has Gentoo gotten better at keeping apps updated? Back when I ran it in 2005 it either kept breaking apps during upgrades or had very old versions in portage.

Haven't used linux on the desktop for ages and I'd rather stay away from the linux forums. Can't take the constant "M$ sucks, Lunix r00lz" or constant freedom-speeches so an answer here instead of "check out forums.gentoo.org" would be greatly appreciated.

/Dave

I used to use Gentoo a few years ago, but it always felt like I was finding excuses to compile my system and work on config stuff instead of getting real work done haha.  Although it was a solid distro and definately felt more customized to my liking.

Recently I use Ubuntu.  It is definately one of the best distributions out there.  Kubuntu is for the KDE fans, of which I am not.  If you really like KDE you might want to check out openSUSE.  It is a great distro (although now getting flamed into oblivion due to MS deal).

Anyways, while Ubuntu is nice I have to say the complaints on Vista are laughable in comparison to the crap you have to put up with on Linux.  Some enjoy it more than ohters though I guess...

ddewbofh wrote:

Has Gentoo gotten better at keeping apps updated? Back when I ran it in 2005 it either kept breaking apps during upgrades or had very old versions in portage.

Haven't used linux on the desktop for ages and I'd rather stay away from the linux forums. Can't take the constant "M$ sucks, Lunix r00lz" or constant freedom-speeches so an answer here instead of "check out forums.gentoo.org" would be greatly appreciated.

/Dave

Honestly, I really don't know.  I keep to those apps/server things and thats about it.  I've never really done a emerge world/system in a long long time (update).  usually if I want to update something to a newer version I just update the app itself.  I've used Gentoo and X before too, didn't have much luck upgrading from 6.8 to 7.0.  Things got broke.  but now, 7.1 (Xorg) is niiice. 

My preference is Windows. But being limited to the amount of money I can put out, I'm stuck with Linux.  At least with the Vista betas/RC2.. I have the chance to "stay" in a Windows environment and enjoy it while it lasts. 

My choice is Fedora Core 6. Feels really solid distro lots of nice features included, like SELinux, Xen, etc.

And here's some interesting articles to read...

Xorg/Ubuntu:
Ubuntu Developer Summit report: X.org improvements, driver controversy, and bling

Cairo:
Cairo 1.3.2
Performance measurement (II)
Zack Rusin: Benchmarks

nightski wrote:

Recently I use Ubuntu.  It is definately one of the best distributions out there.  Kubuntu is for the KDE fans, of which I am not.  If you really like KDE you might want to check out openSUSE.  It is a great distro (although now getting flamed into oblivion due to MS deal).

Anyways, while Ubuntu is nice I have to say the complaints on Vista are laughable in comparison to the crap you have to put up with on Linux.  Some enjoy it more than ohters though I guess...

I'm not a KDE fan at all.  I'm more of a gnome/metacity kind of guy.

As for Windows vs Linux.. they both have their qualities.  Windows. "It" just works and works very nicely too.  Linux, at first "you" have to make it work, and once things are configured alright, "it" works for you.  I haven't had to touch a single thing on my linux box in months.  (Aside from the newly installed VLC app thing thats about it)

Edit: Wow, my mind just ran away from me there. It started out as a reaction to nightski's line here: "Anyways, while Ubuntu is nice I have to say the complaints on Vista are laughable in comparison to the crap you have to put up with on Linux.  Some enjoy it more than ohters though I guess..."


Preface: I'm not trying to instigate or get some flamewar going

I'm all for freedom of choice, my choice is to not use linux on the desktop for a few reasons. The major one is probably that I don't think it's wrong to make the choice of not providing source for any applications you might code. It's a good thing if you do, but I'm not going to force you.

I think that's what turned me away from linux, it's a little too much of the idea that "freedom is ok, if it's our freedom". I should have the freedom to do as I please with any code I create, if I want it closed I should be able to have it closed. And I have a thing about forcing others to do what I think is right, like with the GPL.

Noone's forcing me to keep my app open but the general idea amongst the more vocal parts of that community is that closed source is inferior. For that reason I like the BSD licenses, it's more laid back. Kind of like "If you like my code and want to use it, fine by me. But please keep me in the changelog. kthx"

Freedom to all, the freedom to do whatever they want. If you like the GPL and FSF's ideas go for them, I'm sticking with BSD and MIT because that's what works best for me.

/Dave

Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its derivative, CentOS.   SUSE is a pretty good product also.  I'm not a Linux fan, but I prefer those over other distros. 

My OS of choice is Windows XP Professional.   I am now using Windows Vista Ultimate and I love it.  It will surely become my OS of choice.

My Linux distribution of choice is openSUSE.

I'm trying to convert my dad to openSUSE 10.2 from XP Home, once it's released. The reason is because he constantly worries about adware, malware and trojans.

He thinks he's securing himself by running a quick scan of Adaware every couple of days. Wrong. Upgrading to Vista isn't an option ATM; he isnt interested in a new computer right now or paying for a box copy. Expensive property taxes and credit card bills get in the way.

I just proved to him that all his peripherals work without any trouble:

Digital Cameras
----------------------
Gateway DC-T50
Nikon CoolPix 775
Fujifilm FinePix E550

Display
----------
Samsung SyncMaster 940mw LCD TV/Monitor (native 16:9 resolution works too)

Scanner
-----------
Canon CanoScan LiDE 50

Printers
----------
HP Photosmart 7660
HP Deskjet 895Cse


As for X.Org Server... Just look whats coming for v7.3 :

Here


Regards,
Vincent

@ddewbofh: agree with you. Which BSD do you use? (I was looking at openbsd and pc-bsd)

@Xaero Vincent: Well, I am running WinXP and till now I haven't had any virus (besides two which I got only because of my fault)... It's probably time someone makes 'emoticons for gaim' so there will be no excuse switching to linux for security. And that stupid dads could crash os even in linux. (note to me: start learning posix)

Slackware is my Linux distribution of choice.

I like Ubuntu, both 5.10, and 6.06. I have recently reformatted my Fedora Core 6 install, however, I did like it while I used it. Other than that I have only ever used Puppy Linux, and that was only for an extremely short time, so I don't really know much about it.

I like Ubuntu and Fedora Core as they are pretty easy to use, and fairly like Windows, so I don't have to search for hours to get things done. However, my main criticism of both these distributions is exactly that I have to search for hours to get some (more obscure) things done.

For instance, I spent about 4 or 5 hours setting up dual monitors in Fedora Core 6, and even after that time my solution was a work-around. (I wanted my primary monitor to be on the VGA output [I don't like it being as sharp as the DVI], and my secondary monitor on the DVI output. I tried everything I could find, but nothing seemed to work.)

I must say though that I found the Ubuntu community much easier to find than the Fedora Core one. (By "find" I mean: if I search "editing xorg.conf in Ubuntu for dual monitors" I will get something on Ubuntu Forums, whereas if I search: "editing xorg.conf in Fedora Core 6 for dual monitors" I usually got something that wasn't an official forum, or even a site that could help me that much [I generally had to look quite far down the search results for something like Fedora FAQ].)

Angus Higgins

Angus wrote:

For instance, I spent about 4 or 5 hours setting up dual monitors in Fedora Core 6, and even after that time my solution was a work-around.

Did you tried "setup" -> X configuration
screenshot

Angus wrote:

As for X.Org Server... Just look whats coming for v7.3 :

Yeah, lots of nice stuff coming... Next year will be extremely interesting.

Erisan wrote:



Angus wrote: For instance, I spent about 4 or 5 hours setting up dual monitors in Fedora Core 6, and even after that time my solution was a work-around.

Did you tried "setup" -> X configuration
screenshot

Yeah.

That was what I tried first, and then I resorted to editing xorg.conf.

Angus Higgins

I like tinkering with Linux at times, and usually come back to SuSE.  But the issue for me is that Linux doesn't really do anything that I can't do on Windows (that I need anyway), and it can't do a lot of the things that I do need, like running VS2005, developing on .NET 2.0 and .NET 3.0 etc.  For surfing the web and doing email its alright but I don't need another OS for that.

When I'm bored and want to play around with something thats when I usually start messing with Linux again.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

I'm trying to convert my dad to openSUSE 10.2 from XP Home, once it's released. The reason is because he constantly worries about adware, malware and trojans.

This is laughable.  Why not run XP Home in limited user mode?  I'm sure you're not going to suggest he run as root on openSUSE.