linux distributions

[dixieflatline]

I am in the market for a new linux distrubution as I am getting sick of the Mandrake/Mandriva version that I am currently running. I am considering debian or a debian derivative but I really don't know. We run Fedora at work and I really haven't warmed up to that either. Anyone have a favorite current distribution that they want to push?

[Franklinnoble]

OSX?

[jeff061]

I've liked Suse. No expert though.

[SirFozzie]

SuSe or Ubuntu seems to be the good ones out there..

[Coffee Warlord]

All depends on what you want it for.

I still say, if you want a server to throw in the corner and never have to worry about, Slackware is the way to go.

[dixieflatline]

Not a server just for a desktop. Anyone have any experience with Ubuntu? I am happily surprised to see so many responses. Keep up the good work FOFC.

[primelord]

Gentoo hands down.

[jeff061]

Yeah, I said Suse based on a workstation setup.

I've been meaning to set up a server, for fun and learning, with Slackware, Gentoo or Debian.

[primelord]

OSX?

That's a FreeBSD derivative. :)

[Easy Mac]

I run Ubuntu and haven't run into any major problems in about 6 months. The sound stopped working after I plugged in a USB mouse, but a non-integrated sound card fixed that. Works perfectly.

[dixieflatline]

Gentoo hands down.

I do not know very much about Gentoo. How does it update? What are the nice features.

[-Mojo Jojo-]

I've liked Suse. No expert though.

Ditto that..

[Yellow5]

I run Xandros Deluxe (based on Debian kernel) for desktop on one of my machines here at the house and love it.

Installed and it detected all of my hardware out of the box, except my wireless card from linksys which has no linux driver available.

Nice update features, connect to their update service (Xandros Networks) and select the updates you want to install and boom... off and running.

Comes with a custom version of Crossover Office which allows you to install and use some windows apps like Outlook, Internet Explorer 6, Apple QuickTime and Windows Media Player. I don't use it because I run Linux on that machine to get away from windows apps but it's a nice feature.

[rjolley]

I'll second Gentoo. I've used it for 2 years since being introduced to it by a former co-worker. Switched to it from RedHat. Updates are done with a system called portage.

One of the things I like about it is how clean it installs. Don't want telnet? it's never installed. You can emerge programs as you want/need them. That keeps the install small and keeps programs from running in the background that you don't know about or you don't need (yes, this happens in Linux too, in particular RH).

The downside, to some, is everything is compiled. Emerge pulls down the source package from it's server, then compiles it right then. Some don't like this. It's the way I was doing things in RH before I switched, so I like it.

I've read good things about Ubuntu. Another former co-worker of mine was a *nix neophyte and installed Ubuntu with minimal help. He liked it quite a bit and still uses it.

[sterlingice]

With the exceptions of the last two posts, this is why Linux has a hard time catching on. Lots of "witty" stuff or little "I use this, you should too" quips but no one wanting to really explain anything except maybe down their nose.

SI

[johnnyshaka]

I've got my webserver running on Ubuntu and I've played with Suse/Novell Linux Desktop and would recommend both.

[chinaski]

Im a big debian fan, but FreeBSD is where its at, imo.

[dixieflatline]

I would like to thank everyone who commented in this thread. I can always count on FOFC for my computer issues. I'm going to take a closer look at Gentoo and Ubuntu and go from there. Maybe I post again when I get it installed this weekend.

[primelord]

I like gentoo because everything is compiled. As rjolley said they use a system called portage to install programs. It's very simialr to FreeBSD's ports collection. The installation of programs is just as simple as the package system that Debian uses etc, but everything is compiled for your machine so everything runs more efficently. RPMs and DEBs are all pre compiled binaries that are not optimized for your system.

I will say if you want to get the most out of Gentoo you will want to do an install from stage 1 which will literally compile the entire operating system and every program you want on it. Things like gnome and kde take a LONG time to compile. They will run better when it is done though. So getting the system initially setup is certainly a time commitment.

[Franklinnoble]

That's a FreeBSD derivative. :)

I know... just being funny... what with the Mac running on Intel now and all...

[dixieflatline]

I will say if you want to get the most out of Gentoo you will want to do an install from stage 1 which will literally compile the entire operating system and every program you want on it. Things like gnome and kde take a LONG time to compile. They will run better when it is done though. So getting the system initially setup is certainly a time commitment.

Time is something I definitely do have and speed is something I do enjoy. So I will be giving Gentoo a try saturday when I can sit around and watch it do it's thing. Thanks for the great feedback.

[jbmagic]

Time is something I definitely do have and speed is something I do enjoy. So I will be giving Gentoo a try saturday when I can sit around and watch it do it's thing. Thanks for the great feedback.


gentoo is great.

Be sure to print out the handbook instructions before you start. It will take some time to install.

But once you install gentoo, its very easy to use and you wont have to worry about installing gentoo again. Its very easy to keep it always updated with some commands.

[Router Help]

I used to use gentoo and it was good, but I don't need to be on the bleeding edge of things anymore so I've settled on Ubuntu, well Kubuntu actually.