Best Linux OS

[spanky]

No offence but they have to be the dumbest reasons I have ever heard.



It's popular for a reason. I know people who have used Linux for years, they've tried Ubuntu wanting to see what the fuss is about and have decided to swap their current distro for it because they are that impressed.

Amazing....I'm not one of those people. In fact, I've decided I'm not going with any of the forementioned ideas. I'm going to try StartCom Linux. I also want to try out SUSE and PClinux later on...later when I have more HDD space.

 

[patrickv]

No offence but they have to be the dumbest reasons I have ever heard.

It's popular for a reason. I know people who have used Linux for years, they've tried Ubuntu wanting to see what the fuss is about and have decided to swap their current distro for it because they are that impressed.

hey simon come on mate don't be hard on him, it's not like ubuntu is god and we to like have bow to him, i respect the descision he made, it's not like it's the end of the world for him, probably he'll try it later

 

[spanky]

Yeah, so in order of the different linux platforms to try, SmartCom first, openSUSE second, PClinux third, Fedora Core fourth, Ubuntu fifth. Oh man, ubuntu has a long wait.

 

[EGS]

Ubuntu is popular for its ease of use. Debian is widely known for its stability and security (though all Linux feature this but I guess Debian updates more), and Fedora is known for its community. CentOS is rising up too, with its own user-driven community.

 

[spanky]

Ubuntu is popular for its ease of use. Debian is widely known for its stability and security (though all Linux feature this but I guess Debian updates more), and Fedora is known for its community. CentOS is rising up too, with its own user-driven community.

Well thank you, that's actually some useful info.

EDIT: Has anybody tried out Elive yet?

 

[_simon_]

hey simon come on mate don't be hard on him, it's not like ubuntu is god and we to like have bow to him, i respect the descision he made, it's not like it's the end of the world for him, probably he'll try it later

Don't mean to be hard on him, sorry if it came across that way. You have to admit, those were silly reasons not to try Ubuntu.

 

[lovely?]

just try ubuntu first, why wait for the best last? you might never get to it. its the best known for a reason, because its the best lol. thats like going through all the windows selections and trying xp last, and windows 3.0 first. makes no sense

 

[patrickv]

Apparently this thread would turn out to be a poll which obviously had been done time and time again,hopefully this won't be close very soon if the debate goes on

 

[bluedishwasher]

i like slax

 

[spanky]

just try ubuntu first, why wait for the best last? you might never get to it. its the best known for a reason, because its the best lol. thats like going through all the windows selections and trying xp last, and windows 3.0 first. makes no sense

Because a lot of these other distributions look a lot more suited to my way of using a PC. and it if is the "best" which rather seems to just be the most popular really, then it can wait. Haven't you ever heard the saying "save the best for last"?

 

[Le GoogelGuRu]

I like ubuntu.

 

[tlarkin]

there is no best Linux distro.

I personally prefer redhat based distros, but the reasons I prefer them is nothing that any other Linux OS can't do. You will run into caveats and problems all over the place. You may hate your package manager.

I recommend you download and install one distro on your computer and then download some virtual machine software and start installing and running virtual machines of each distro, then figure out which one you like best and go with it.

 

[spanky]

I"m wondering now if I should even bother.

 

[_simon_]

As i just said in another thread to someone else - pick a distro and try it, if you don't like it or it doesn't support your hardware then pick another and try that...keep going till you find one you get on with or decide Linux isn't for you...

 

[Shane]

pick a distro and try it, if you don't like it or it doesn't support your hardware then pick another and try that...keep going till you find one you get on with or decide Linux isn't for you...

yeah i agree,I first tried Ubuntu and i didnt realy like it...Then i tried SUSE and loved it,Then next i tried Kubuntu,DSL etc.

 

[thetux]

As far as distros go, I would have to go with Debian. The hardware and networking configuration is top notch. Not to mention the package management system is such a breeze. I switched to Debian about 6 years ago and I never looked back.

I guess I like a distro that allows me to get up and running smoothly, with minimal configuration. I am a Debian guy

Honorable mentions: Gentoo, Ubuntu, Knoppix.

 

[tlarkin]

Debian has its down falls but I agree it is a pretty solid OS. But try using a package that is not designed for debian or doesn't meet it's strict licensing policies, like how fire fox became ice weasel.

It is a great OS though I like it as well and its great for servers because most server packages are already there for debian, and APT is a great tool as well.

For first time Linux users I recommend redhat based distros running KDE because it is the most "like windows" version of Linux I have used and makes the switch easier. Then once you learn how to work with Linux you can easily (sometimes) migrate into another distro.

Like I mentioned before hand, just get one up and running like ubuntu since it seems to get super hyped and then start installing and running virtual machines of different distros via VMware or virtual box or what not and see which one you like best, then go with it.

 

[spanky]

I'm running Elive off a LiveCD.

 

[thetux]

Debian has its down falls but I agree it is a pretty solid OS. But try using a package that is not designed for debian or doesn't meet it's strict licensing policies, like how fire fox became ice weasel.

It is a great OS though I like it as well and its great for servers because most server packages are already there for debian, and APT is a great tool as well.

For first time Linux users I recommend redhat based distros running KDE because it is the most "like windows" version of Linux I have used and makes the switch easier. Then once you learn how to work with Linux you can easily (sometimes) migrate into another distro.

Like I mentioned before hand, just get one up and running like ubuntu since it seems to get super hyped and then start installing and running virtual machines of different distros via VMware or virtual box or what not and see which one you like best, then go with it.

Some good advice there, tlarkin. I also recommend Knoppix(as mentioned in my honorable mentions), simply because it is quite effortless, especially if you dont want to install to hdd. Knoppix will get you up and running in only a few short minutes, with KDE as well. I think Knoppix is worth exploring as well, and if you choose to install to hdd, it's very simple.

I think everyones preferences are slightly different when it comes to distros, it really comes down to what you want it for, tlarkin pointed out Debian in a server environment, and I agree completely. We run dozens of Debian servers here, and a few gentoo(I wont get into that right now ). I would say it would be best to experiment with a few of the mentioned distros on this thread and find what best suites your needs.

Good luck, whatever you choose.

 

[tlarkin]

I'm running Elive off a LiveCD.

Live CDs perform like crap compared to virtual machines. They give you a basic feeling but nothing close to real world. I would still recommend you physically install one distro and then start downloading ISO files of other distros you want to try and start making virtual machines. Pick which one you like best and go with it.

You can even do this right now, for free, from windows. MS released VPC for free for windows, you can download Linux OS ISO files and run them as virtual machines on your windows box. This will allow you to try out everything you want to try with out physically installing the OS onto the hard drive. Once you picked one you like you can even configure it and migrate it to a real partition on your HD (if the virtual software allows that, a lot of them do).