Best Linux Distribution

[bhupendra2895]

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.

In my opinion Ubuntu is best.

Quote below is picked from about ubuntu of ubuntu 10.04 :-

There are many different operating systems based on Linuxebian, SuSE, Gentoo, Red Hat, and Mandriva are examples.Ubuntu is yet another contender in what
is already a highly competitive world. So what makes Ubuntu different?
Based on Debian, one of the most widely acclaimed,technologically advanced, and well-supported distributions, Ubuntu aims to create a distribution that providesan up-to-date and coherent Linux system for desktop and server computing. Ubuntu includes a number of carefully selected packages from the Debian distribution andretains its powerful package management system whichallows easy installation and clean removal of programs. Unlike most distributions that ship with a large amount of software that may or may not be of use, Ubuntu's list of packagesis reduced to a number of important applications of high quality.
By focusing on quality, Ubuntu produces a robust and feature-rich computing environment that is suitable for project takes the time required to focus on finer details and is able to release a version featuring the latest and greatest of today's software once every 6months. Ubuntu is available in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, and will run on most modern computers. It is also available for the Sun UltraSPARC and Amazon EC2 architectures.

So that's what ubuntu offers and don't forget you can get free live cd of ubuntu by shipping anytime.
Just visit http://shipit.ubuntu.com

Now its your turn to tell which Linux distribution you like and why.

 

[icslindia]

UBUNTU always !

However, right now I am using both UBUNTU and REDHAT Enterprise But I like UBUNTU !

I've also used knoppix and FEDORA !

But, I'm using UBUNTU for over 2 years and right now using the version 10.04

 

[Smith6612]

A lot of people are going to say Ubuntu for desktop use, as it's basically the easiest distribution to pick up on (given you read the task bar at the top). Otherwise it's really based on what you're using it for. My Linux router at home runs a barebones version of Fedora (I stripped it down to nothing basically) but web servers and such can run CentOS.

 

[DeadBattery]

I like Ubuntu for general linux desktop use but I liked Fedora for more complex tasks.

 

[cybrax]

Ubuntu 9.04 for my laptop after the pre-installed copy of vista committed 'harikari' whilst attempting to install the service pack for the third time. Downgrading to WinXP was not an option because there are no drivers written for it.

Was expecting to have some difficulties, had previous experience of Puppy and DSL distros and quite often used these for patching up older computers that would of otherwise gone for scrap but they are not entirely friendly to use. Ubuntu by contrast was a pleasant surprise, with the exception of an obscure video driver that I had to go hunt down it fired everything up on the first attempt.

What I really do like about this O/S is the install/remove programs application. Every piece of software that's compatible with the operating system displayed in one place with brief description. No hunting around the web, no dodgy downloads sites, no time limits or restricted features and all completely free.

They reckon it will even install on an old G3 iMac, we've got one spare gathering dust so when I can get some space on the bench shall be having a play. If it works then it will be quite a tidy little package.

 

[carl6969]

I bought a laptop about a year ago with Vista factory installed. Never used it once. Stuck my Ubuntu 9.04 in the disc drive and partitioned the whole hard drive. Have since upgraded to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.

Ubuntu by contrast was a pleasant surprise, with the exception of an obscure video driver that I had to go hunt down it fired everything up on the first attempt.

I seem to recollect having some issues with an Nvidia driver but it did not take too long to get that straightened out.

Setup a VPS little over a year ago and decided to go with Centos on that. Been happy about that decision as well.

 

[cheezo]

ubuntu wins? lolz...

i prefer redhat or fedora or centos. its pretty easy to use and spins are also available with them these days

 

[carl6969]

ubuntu wins? lolz...
i prefer redhat or fedora or centos.

I think that most people who have responded to this thread will agree that it depends on what you are using the OS for. Ubuntu is very popular for home PC use. Other distributions are popular for other uses, including servers.

 

[steronius]

Ubuntu for personal Desktop. Mint for any friends that I can convert. Red Hat/CentOS for enterprise servers.

 

[xav0989]

Ubuntu seems to be a very popular choice because of it's ease of use and it's huge community. However, servers usually have fedora or centOS instead.
On a side note, I found a little tool that can help you choose which linux distribution would be best tailored to your needs : http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php

 

[bhupendra2895]

I voted for ubuntu, but I always wonders why ubuntu is so popular as a desktop os while it doesn't support propritery multimedia formats and for each and every other software you need the internet connectivity.Why don't people say knoppix or suse.Both distros have a lot of softwarers and few best games made for linux and have more to offer than ubuntu.
I think it is just popularity or people considers these distros as bloatware.

 

[Jesse]

Ubuntu for Desktop, CentOS for Server software, for me

 

[mattblog]

Ubuntu because of the design and the speed. It just works great. The only disadvantage to any computer running any linux platform is that they can't run windows programs.

 

[carl6969]

Ubuntu because of the design and the speed. It just works great. The only disadvantage to any computer running any linux platform is that they can't run windows programs.

I have not found any need or desire for any Windows programs at all since going to 100 percent Ubuntu on my PC over a year ago. Ubuntu is lacking on quality games but i have never been much of a game person so that is not an issue for me. For those who want to keep the ability to run Windows programs there are a couple of ways of doing that on Ubuntu. Such as Virtual Box.

 

[mikester]

BeOS!

J/k ... running xubuntu on server and Mandriva on personal machine.

 

[lynnwood]

Ubuntu seems to be a very popular choice because of it's ease of use and it's huge community. However, servers usually have fedora or centOS instead.
On a side note, I found a little tool that can help you choose which linux distribution would be best tailored to your needs : http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php

I've used Slackware since v3.5 and although I've installed and used many different flavors of Linux over the years I find that I just feel more comfortable with Slackware. Other distros just seem to make things complicated.

I checked out the link quoted above and it recommended 2 distros to me: Gentoo and Slackware. Funny that Gentoo is one distro that I have not checked out yet.

Regarding Ubuntu, I used it for about a year and at first I thought it was actually pretty slick. But when I needed to compile and install an application from source (because it isn't included in any of Ubuntu repositories) I found that I had to install several packages just to enable compilation. This was a one-time inconvenience though and I had no further issues compiling programs. Although I no longer maintain a PC with Ubuntu, I would certainly recommend it to senior citizens and anyone else that manages to get their Windows machines full of malware.

 

[bhupendra2895]

I am using a tiny OS it is just like Slackware, its name is Geexbox, it is very good OS for those who just want to use their PC to watch tv, movies and listen audio songs.It is a complete home theater system and for running it you don't need to install it, even you don't need to keep its CD forever in CD drive.It loads itself in RAM.So you can extract its CD out of the DVD drive and insert DVD of your favourate movie.

 

[justin.scherer14]

Well my ultimate favorite is Gentoo. I love it for me being able to personalize it totally. I am currently working on a website to help people switch over to Linux. I am also going to start a campaign to try and get certain game companies to start trying to make games that are proprietary for Linux. The first on my list is Valve. If you do not know, Valve recently gave TF2 and others for OSX. I am going to see if they are thinking about Linux. The best thing that I will need is probably a petition to start off with a lot of people wanting Valve to give Linux proprietary support.

But that is besides the point. Gentoo is a great system if you want to put the geek back in Linux. You compile everything from source and I found it to be a great learning experience to learning the command line in Linux. I also have another project that I am going to be working on after I get the website up and running. It is actually going to go hand in hand with it.

I have recently done a LFS (Linux From Scratch) build. It works great and it has been a great learning experience showing me what Linux needs to tick. From this experience, I am creating a distribution that will fit around the users' needs. It will basically have an interface in the installation that will ask you questions about what you use the computer for, what is your secondary need etc. With this it will build a system centered around your needs. There will be two different disks that you can get. The first will search for the packages online to get them all. This disk will be the one that will probably fit on a CD. The other will be a DVD that will have all the packages directly on it. I thought this would be the next best thing for an Operating System to do. To not have you find all of the packages, but for it to get the packages you want. No more bloating and no more trying to find the programs you want. If anyone is interested on this idea just let me know.

 

[meskarune]

I like arch linux better than any other flavor. I've tried them all and arch was the only version of linux I've used that was simple to set up, easy to keep up to date, and NEVER has bugs.

Biggest drawbacks of ubuntu:
BUGS
Have to re-install new versions, upgrades don't work
BUGS
Runs very slow

Ubuntu does a great job automatically setting up your computer's hardware, but if you know how to install and configure this stuff yourself, its not a problem on any other distribution.

 

[bhupendra2895]

I like arch linux better than any other flavor. I've tried them all and arch was the only version of linux I've used that was simple to set up, easy to keep up to date, and NEVER has bugs.

Biggest drawbacks of ubuntu:
BUGS
Have to re-install new versions, upgrades don't work
BUGS
Runs very slow

Ubuntu does a great job automatically setting up your computer's hardware, but if you know how to install and configure this stuff yourself, its not a problem on any other distribution.

Hi, have you tried ubuntu 9.04 or 9.10 or 10.04.All these versions of ubuntu are superfast.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.
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.For example my cheap bluetooth usb dongle (bcm2035dgrom) was not working with ubuntu 10.04 and knoppix.I found that there was problems with latest version of bluez (bluetooth stack of linux).I uninstalled it and installed bluez's old version 4.32(which was available in ubuntu 9.04) and installed blueman.Now bluetooth is working properly.
I agree you need to do manual configuration of hardware usually on linux.That's why it is not friendly for some GUI lovers.For example my internal tv tuner and nvidia graphics card's latest driver installation.