Best Linux Distribution

[deroba]

CentOS all my life. Reliable, fast, secure.

 

[carl6969]

Guess I have had some unusual good luck with my Ubuntu. Have upgraded several times, currently using 10.04, and never had any issues. Also, Ubuntu starts and runs faster than any version of Windows I had up to Vista. Nvidia card is another story. It had to be manually configured on first Ubuntu install and has to be manually configured on every upgrade. But, I am very comfortable with Synaptic Package Manager, Terminal Window, and command line, so that little annoyance is not a big deal for me. I am not very pleased with Nvidia anyway. If I try to do anything that puts heavy load on video, such as movies, the temperature goes critical very fast. Laptop was shutting itself off due to extremely high temperatures until I started using a good cooling bad.

 

[meskarune]

Hi, have you tried ubuntu 9.04 or 9.10 or 10.04.All these versions of ubuntu are superfast.

I have tried them. (on my test server) And they aren't as fast as arch linux. Ubuntu 10.04 is very slow compared to most other linux distributions actually. (slackware, puppy, etc) I've been using linux for a very long time and first tried out ubuntu when it was version 5 (the second release)

Also upgrading is easy in ubuntu too.For upgrading from 10.04 to 10.10 you only need to have alternative install cd of 10.10 or you can upgrade using update manager.

Upgrading is supposed to be easy, but in practice its very buggy and unstable.

How to be up to date in arch linux, no matter how long ago you last updated:

$: pacman -Syu

Now the system has the very latest stable version of all libraries, kernels and packages. And the computer didn't crash as a consequence of the upgrade/update. Arch linux is rolling release. That means it is always the latest and most up to date and consequently more secure and featurefull. (bsd also has this model) No waiting for Release candidates.

I have learnt one thing from my experience that bugs are not due to the distribution but they are due to the embedded softwares used.

You mean hardware drivers? The only reason ubuntu has problems with hardware devices is because the auto hardware detection isn't always right or optimized, as you found out with your bluetooth device. Its a works for most, not for all system. Good enough if all you do is browse the web and chat online. But not if you want to do graphics or audio editing or other more hardware specific tasks.

Another problem with auto-detection:
For auto-detection to work, you have to have drivers installed on the system from many many different vendors, whether the hardware is connected to your computer or not. This uses up a ton of space on the harddrive and increases boot time. (you can go in and delete all this stuff, but if someone doesn't know what they are doing , they could bork their system)

The other problem with ubuntu is that if you do try to configure things manually, (as I would prefer to do) you cannot because the configuration files have all been changed, hidden or deleted or the configurations are automatically created during boot. I myself would perfer to use a system like Arch linux which allows the use of graphical configuration OR the editing of text files to configure the system.

BUT if you need further proof of Ubuntu's problems, just look at their release notes. Each release lists 40+ bugs. Thats not normal for a linux operating system. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LucidLynx/ReleaseNotes

Ubuntu is fine for windows users and people who don't know much about Linux and don't have the time to sit down and configure a computer. But its very far from the best all purpose Linux distribution. There's a reason most college programing labs and companies use red hat or centos.

Ubuntu does have some innovative ideas, but unless they get their bugs under control I can't use it as anything other than a testing system. http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7600

If ubuntu works for you thats great. But I prefer other Linux distributions.

 

[bhupendra2895]

Ubuntu is fine for windows users and people who don't know much about Linux and don't have the time to sit down and configure a computer. But its very far from the best all purpose Linux distribution. There's a reason most college programing labs and companies use red hat or centos.

Ubuntu does have some innovative ideas, but unless they get their bugs under control I can't use it as anything other than a testing system. http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7600

If ubuntu works for you thats great. But I prefer other Linux distributions.

Yeah, I agree ubuntu is easy to use and that's why it is very popular as desktop OS and that is the reason ubuntu has long list of bugs and Ubuntu community is always there to support users.

Reason behind cent os and redhat being used in colleges is that because they are server operating systems and you can't have too much GUI on server OS, therefore you need to know command line and shell scripting.

As I said

We all people have different tastes and different choices based on our nature.When it come to Linux you have so many flavors to taste.Which we call distributions of Linux.Each distribution have same thing called Linux's kernel, but what makes them is different is, their features.

You love arch linux, I am comfortable with ubuntu.That's all based on our tastes and experiences.But best thing about it is that we love linux and more specifically free and open source.:smile:

 

[meskarune]

Yeah, I agree ubuntu is easy to use and that's why it is very popular as desktop OS and that is the reason ubuntu has long list of bugs and Ubuntu community is always there to support users.

Actually, centos and redhat can both be used as a desktop operating system. Here's a screen of cent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CentOS_5.3.png

Default GUI is gnome. The reason most corporations like those operating systems is because they are stable and have corporate support systems in place. Companies like to be able to call up tech support 24/7 and get a trained, certified person to help them, and red hat has a certification program in place for their operating system.

They also have great IP tables support and lots of built in networking tools. That makes them very secure for both desktop and server use. Most colleges FYI use linux for programing and not as web servers. My school's physics department uses linux to do computations.

Opensuse is also a desktop oriented linux distrobution. Its nearly as popular as ubuntu. Even debian is pretty nice after initial install.

centos can have some outdated packages (more stable) while ubuntu is more up to date but less stable. Debian is stable and has the huge package repository, but it has less gui tools installed by default.

For me, the greatest thing about linux is being able to try out all the different distributions and see the different ways people do things. Its easier now too because many of the big name companies give out live cd's for free.

 

[threedee]

I'm using Ubuntu on most of my servers. Although I have VPS's that run on Fedora and CentOS, I still find Ubuntu more convenient to use especially for users who don't have much Linux experience.

Guess it also depends on what you're using your OS for and certain compatibility issues that come with it.

 

[akhlesh]

For me ubuntu is best, I am a new bie in linux and I find it easy to use.I think ubuntu can replace windows in desktops what it needs is that hardware companies develop drivers for it and some best softwares and game are designed for it.

 

[phoenixreviews]

I'm using openSuSE at home and work as my desktop operating system. It's really nicely integrated, great attention to detail and some powerful administration tools as well. I think SuSE is often overlooked due to Ubuntu's success on the desktop, but from my experience it's certainly a valid contender for the best desktop operating system title.

 

[aminnurdin]

I love Mandriva. Mandriva is the best for me!:biggrin:

 

[dbdbdesigns]

By far Ubuntu

 

[maximus942]

ultimate edition ubuntu is all set up for the quick and easy desktop install.

 

[kefka_asylum]

problem: ubuntu is noob friendly
solution: create more bugs

problem: servers need stability
solution: enterprise class linux

problem: linux cant run windows programs
solution: write your own derivatives of windows programs

problem: not enough good program x on linux
solution: virtual box and hacked windows os


basically i have to support windows because "everyone else does it"
and constantly i fight the price tag and bloat

same for adobe
pdf doesnt need to have 5000 buttons
it needs scroll up and scroll down...


my preferred Linux OS: slackware
my preferred Server OS: centos


basically when i hear people say ubuntu i ask them how to access the super user
and they dont know what i am talking about
so i ignore them with some better firewall software

 

[bhupendra2895]

@kefka_asylum Most of the things you wrote is true, especially about virtual box and hacked windows.Most users do that, but you forgot wine. :-D

I guess you find ubuntu very easy to use, but I don't think so.There are lot of problems a linux desktop user face related to hardware and software bugs.Normally a linux desktop user (including a ubuntu user too) at least once uses terminal at their linux usage period, while a windows user normally don't use CMD.

Example:- For running any program with root privilages you need to open terminal and execute it as root.There is no right click 'run as admin' option unless one have created/installed such thing.So there is lot of potential for geeks to explore.While in windows only advanced users open command prompt to do such things, most of the users uses GUI.With ubuntu I am not comfortable without my browser with internet connectivity, because everytime I need to find a solution to the new problem created using internet and same applies for all distros.For example bluez stack's new version don't support my bluetooth dongle
and this applies to all distros because all of them use bluez as bluetooth stack.Most of the problems in ubuntu's bug site @ http://launchpad.com are of such nature.
I don't believe in getting certified by redhat to tell the world that I know how to use linux.If I were a developer of linux os than I won't like a noob user of my operating system to search google for super user on internet or search for a command to complete a certain task, It should be easy to use and at the same time it should be secure and has the capability to accommodate the noob to enterprise users.That's why ubuntu and most of the popular distros looks noob friendly and they should be, otherwise they will always be a alien thing for a normal desktop user and hence won't be popular.

 

[krofunk]

it would seem Knoppix is FTL

 

[dWhite]

Ubuntu.

No competition.

 

[masshuu]

I use Ubuntu for both Desktop and Server systems.

Using http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php
it recommended(all 100%) Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, OpenSuSE, and Mandriva for a server that runs the latest and greatest.
Going back and selecting Must have stable and well tested code, it gave me the exact same list, cept with Mandriva at the top.

 

[Qombat]

Having tried a number of different distro's on both the desktop (Ubuntu, Mint, OpenSuSE) and server (Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian) scene, I can honestly say that Ubuntu is pretty much a hands-down winner.

Currently at 10.04 (Lucid), the 6-month release cycle means that large issues will be patch sooner, along with a new plethora of software updates in each release. Obviously a lot come through aptitude/yum, however on CentOS I'm still getting Nginx 0.6 or something in the CentOS and Debian repos, while Lucid is providing me with a more up-to-date version (around 0.7 or 0.8 I think).

Desktop-wise, Mint is just too boring, and OpenSuSE reminds me too much of windows with the horrible start-menu style interface in the bottom left corner.

 

[Gouri]

I use Fedora in my lab's desktop. It is good.

My room PC runs PCLinuxOS. I use this because it is rolling release.

 

[GtoXic]

it's gotta be Ubuntu all the way

 

[xaos.dump68]

BackTrack is the best for me D