Foo - Favorite Linux distro?

Got the chance to play with Ubuntu for a bit last night. Ran it off of the CD that I had burned. Real close to installing to the HD and have the option to dual boot. Before I do so, is there a consensus on which of the Linux OS variants would be the most favorable? Like would Fedora be considered better than Ubuntu, or is it just basically different UIs of the same code, and just go with whichever appears more shiny to me?

Personally, I like the completeness of Ubuntu. It's relatively easy to install, and generally, you don't have to tweak it a lot, and the GUI is quite intuitive to a Windows User, with the good aspects of Linux as well, to boot.

Desktop: Ubuntu

Server: CentOS / RHEL

ubuntu.
because I really hate trying to get everything to work.

Does anyone else find linux self defeating? I mean, unless you know a lot about linux, you're going to need ANOTHER computer, most likely running windows, just to get your computer running as you sift through all the guides of how to install the various drivers and getting wifi working.


I remember wifi being particularly hard to setup and only being able to use WEP instead of the more secure WPA2.
I also recall installing ubuntu perfectly on two laptops, both of which were a PITA to get working perfectly and both owners deciding they wanted windows instead. Well, at least I got paid to do one of those.

3 out of 3 state Ubuntu. What Tom said about it was spot on- it has a certain Windows feel to it. I'm going to install to the HD. I'm not ready to kick Vista off just yet- a bunch of websites still require IE, and the IE tab extensions to Firefox and Chrome don't always work. Now if I can only figure that Pointing Device app out, so that I can turn on mouse trails...

ubuntu

debian squeeze now because it's relatively easy, i used to install gentoo, that was the 1st distro i tried and used for a few years.

+1 for Debian Squeeze (6.0). I have three machines running it. I will also vote for Crunchbang Linux, but it's basically Debian with a different package selection and theming. I often install straight Debian and then add the Crunchbang repositories.

On the servers at work, we run RHEL because that's what Oracle supports and has a campus-wide license for updates.

I have a lot of love for the Slackware-based distros, too, namely VectorLinux and Salix. But Vector is a slow mover, even for being Slackware-based.

On the other end of that spectrum is Debian, upon which Ubuntu was originally based, which values Stability Über Alles. Some of the software is ancient, but it's a tank as a result. I use this on my netbook, since it can be set up to be very light on resources. Not for the faint of heart, however.

I do run the backports kernel on this machine for better support of my wireless USB device. But another biggie for Debian/Ubuntu is the repositories. If it isn't proprietary, it's in there. No compiling, no libraries, no guessing, no nothing. Just apt-get install blah and it's done.

It took a bit of doing, but I've finally got Ubuntu to play on my HD.

Note to anyone who may be tempted to experiment with this OS- go straight to their site for the download. Do not bother with CNET's Download version.

One thing I'm not liking so far is the display- the graphics are nice and rich, but I've got real estate on both sides of the window that aren't being used. Gotta figure how to resize if I'm going to stick with it.

Ubuntu switched window managers on this release. There is a fair amount of hate from the old-schoolers about it.

I personally don't like linux at all because unless you are really good at computer programming, there isn't really any benefit in using it. It was designed for computer programers to be able to experiment and make the computer do what they want it to.

But if you insist on trying it out, I would highly suggest into looking into this https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide. Wubi allows you to install ubuntu without having to partition your HD or anything so there is no risk in corrupting your files from partitioning. I look at Ubuntu as a novelty thing and like many other people have tried it and many other forms of Linux and like many other people decided after a couple of months when the novelty wore off I really wanted to delete it and this also makes that easy.

Just look into it. It will make your life easier in the future if you decide to remove it and it is also easier to install.

Most people do only a couple simple things on their PC: word-processing, web-browsing, email, some basic accounting, etc. In which case, Ubuntu will be simpler and much faster on any given piece of hardware than any other OS. For businesses, cost-of-operation for a year is much, much lower for these tasks than using other OSes that require A LOT more maintenance due to viruses and malware. I like Ubuntu with the Gnome interface. I'm not sure what they changed, but version 10.04 and later seems to run a little slower than previous editions.

On servers, I prefer Oracle Enterprise Linux. Has all the libraries for OracleDB/RAC and Peoplesoft with simple installation.

Ubuntu is a completely decent desktop OS. I started on Slackware 15 years ago and it's pretty impressive how automated Linux has become.

But Windows 7 is the best choice, unless you just like spending your free time trying to be different.

Yeah, honestly, win7 is a killer OS.

If I build a new desktop, then I'd use win7.

geez, who let all of the haters into this thread?

Linus Disco?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G8XH4WDxP4

Burn them!!!

I have it on good authority that they do, indeed, weigh less than ducks.

Hey, I weigh about as much as a penguin!

Linux turned me into a newt!

I'd say Fedora, but back in the early 2000's I trained as an IT guy on redhat so I'm biased. It really comes down to which distro suites your needs and user style.. any linux can be configed too be the best for you personally if you know how.
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050417223807/uncyclopedia/images/8/8d/Good-evening,-Mr.-Gates-800x600.jpg

Ubuntu is a completely decent desktop OS. I started on Slackware 15 years ago and it's pretty impressive how automated Linux has become.

But Windows 7 is the best choice, unless you just like spending your free time trying to be different.

My experimentation with Ubuntu was covered in this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/752161-Booting-OS-via-USB). Linux based OSs are free (as far as I can tell), but Windows 7 would cost $$ that could be used elsewhere.

Ubuntu 11.04 was pretty slick when I ran it from the CD as a trial. But any changes that I made were lost after that session ended. It took some doing, but I finally got it installed after downloading Wubi- I'm not comfortable with re-sizing/moving partitions manually.

Biggest gripe so far is how when I ran off the CD, my entire display was utilized. Now that it's on the HD, I've got some real estate on the sides that aren't being used. Think of as going back to an old CRT format after using wide screen LCD's for a few years.

Unless I figure out how to resize the window, I'm planning on removing it from my HD. However, my experience so far has given me an idea- I'm going to make the kids use that CD whenever they want to use my laptop. They won't be able to mess with any of my settings or access any of my files when I'm not looking.

As automated as things are these days, sometimes you still have to put the sysadmin hat on and fix stuff by hand. My machine at home is using a DVI-VGA adapter to use my 17" LCD with the video card. X Windows (in Debian Squeeze) would not auto-detect the monitor at all whatsoever. I was stuck in 1024x768 until I sat there and wrote my own xorg.conf to get 1280x1024 like it was 1997. But then, I am a sysadmin... technically, I am always wearing the sysadmin hat. :)