Whats the best Linux distro?

C

Chams

Gawd
Joined
Aug 18, 2002
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533
I am thinking of jumping on board to linux. I hear alot of distros benig thrown around. I'm just wondering what the general consensus for the best linux distro is??

Does this sound right?

Debian > Gentoo > Debian derivatives (Ubuntu, etc) > Redhat/Fedora > all other Linux > SuSE
 
Best for what? You will get a thousand different opinions on that.. If you are looking for an easy to install/use distro for general web, email, word processing.. I recommend Unbuntu or Linspire.. If you are looking for a high level of customization and really want to get your hands dirty, and spend a lot of time learning, Gentoo or Slack..
 
That's like asking what's the best ice cream flavor. There isn't a right answer. You should evaluate some of the common ones, and the hardware you plan to run it on. Then you should make a decision based on your setup and your needs.
 
Thanks, but I'll think I'll just go with Ubuntu, I'm hearing it's easier for newbies. :eek: :D
 
Chams said:
Debian > Gentoo > Debian derivatives (Ubuntu, etc) > Redhat/Fedora > all other Linux > SuSE

Does this sound right?
Click to expand...

No.

Gentoo > *

That'll fix it.
 
"Whats the best Linux distro?"

Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.
 
Chams said:
Thanks, but I'll think I'll just go with Ubuntu, I'm hearing it's easier for newbies. :eek: :D
Click to expand...

Not necessarily easiest. But it has one of the most active and friendliest user forums.

In my experience the easiest to setup and run for most common desktop applications, i.e. generic office type stuff - email, web browsing, etc. - is MEPIS.

I've got a friend that's going through the top 4-5 on distrowatch and his take is the MEPIS is easy but doesn't allow a lot of customizations, Ubuntu and Fedora Core 6 are almost identical (both use GNOME as a desktop by default - MEPIS uses KDE) but FC6 offers more customizations during setup. I think that he is going to do SuSE next.

The hardest thing that he's had problems with is printer drivers, so YMMV and have fun trying them all out!
 
doh said:
No.

Gentoo > *

That'll fix it.
Click to expand...
I've tried Gentoo, unfortuneately for me, I cannot get it to install.

Ubuntu is nice, but there are some things you cannot do with it, like try to save something into a folder.

I'm trying FreeBSD on a machine, but so far my GUI doesn't like my onboard video card.

There is no "best" distro out there, only what you prefer to use.

How many threads do there have to be of this? :confused:
 
ktwebb said:
Of course you can save something into a folder in Ubuntu.
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I never said you couldn't, but as I am somewhat of a Linux newbie, I was unable to save something into the /var and /usr folders for some reason.
 
rodsfree said:
...Ubuntu and Fedora Core 6 are almost identical (both use GNOME as a desktop by default...
Click to expand...

That is a terrible generalization. They are not "almost identical".
 
You wouldnt of had the correct privileges? Why did you want to, anyway? Either do it as root, or change the ownership of the folders (as root/sudo) or change the permissions on them to be less restrictive. On mine, I took ownership of /var/www since I use it as a development server, and its only me who uses it so who cares.
 
acascianelli said:
That is a terrible generalization. They are not "almost identical".
Click to expand...

I am just repeating his statements....
Personally, I haven't played with Ubuntu, but I have played with FC.
 
protias said:
I never said you couldn't, but as I am somewhat of a Linux newbie, I was unable to save something into the /var and /usr folders for some reason.
Click to expand...
The language in your statement, however, makes it sound like you absolutely couldn't save anything in a folder, anywhere on the drive.
 
protias said:
I never said you couldn't, but as I am somewhat of a Linux newbie, I was unable to save something into the /var and /usr folders for some reason.
Click to expand...

no reason for you to. /var is for things that are Variable (like logs and such) and /usr is where the main system is stored

both areas you do not mess with UNLESS you know what you are doing or don't mind fixing
the reaosn u prob could was there are read-only for normal users. Root (and depending on setup group-access) can only write to these folders
 
djnes said:
The language in your statement, however, makes it sound like you absolutely couldn't save anything in a folder, anywhere on the drive.
Click to expand...
Oh, I could save things to my desktop, but that's no fun ;) I really only messed with it at home for about an hour.

Anyway, enough of this /thread hijack ;)
 
im new to linux myself and i am loving ubuntu / kubuntu so far.
- very easy install, great forums or irc if you have problems.
 
Chams said:
Does this sound right?

Debian > Gentoo > Debian derivatives (Ubuntu, etc) > Redhat/Fedora > all other Linux > SuSE
Click to expand...

Why all the hate for suse?
 
Frobozz said:
Why all the hate for suse?
Click to expand...

I'm just taking a stab in the dark. I'm guessing because it partnered with Novell and Novell decided to partner with MS, and putting in grave danger of the GNU v2. But that's just my guess.
 
Here is my take...

Fedora, and Ubuntu are for beginner to intermediate Linux users.
Slackware, and Gentoo are for intermediate to advanced Linux users.

There are many more than just those 4, but hopefully you get the idea.

Although I had been using Linux since Redhat 4.2, I started using it as a desktop OS with Ubuntu 4.10. I liked Ubuntu better because it came with only basic applications installed, and the package management was way better than Fedora. I still use Ubuntu, version 6.10 now. I have converted all my systems but one to Linux.

Take your time, download a few different distro's of Linux and figure out which one works best for you.

As for Suse...sure they sold out to the devil, but they still have a very VERY nice looking setup.
 
I started out with Fedora Core 5 a year or so ago (jumped from Caldera OpenLinux 4.0 in the 90s to RH9, then FC1 before that).

Right now it is some kind of mutant Gentora Coreian 5.8 hybrid. But I like it that way. :)

*EDIT* Kind of sounds like the name of a STD. Hmm.
 
acascianelli said:
Every Linux distro uses the same Linux kernel, they are all the same.
Click to expand...

Many distros use patchsets specific to them. For example Gentoo has the standard vanilla-sources as well others that the gentoo kernel devs have put in.
 
Ubuntu is nice and simple.

Slakware was a PITA for me, debian too, debian doesnt like to install on my test system.

PCBSD was nice.
 
I use Suse 10 and haven't had any problems. Then again I know dick about Linux and just use it for general stuff and to simulate a NetApp filer for learning. :D Being a Windows admin I got a good laugh when Novell partnered with MS on Suse. I knew I was onto something...:cool:
 
acascianelli said:
Every Linux distro uses the same Linux kernel, they are all the same.

If I was forced to I could do everything I need to even in a terrible distro like Linspire.
Click to expand...

Actually, not all Linux versions use the same kernel. DSL still uses 2.4 while a lot are moving to 2.6, saying all of them use the newer kernel is not entirely true :p
 
protias said:
Actually, not all Linux versions use the same kernel. DSL still uses 2.4 while a lot are moving to 2.6, saying all of them use the newer kernel is not entirely true :p
Click to expand...


he never said "newer" you did
The point is, all distro's get their source from the same place - sure they may add their own patch-set but essencially they all come from teh same pot
 
eeyrjmr said:
he never said "newer" you did
The point is, all distro's get their source from the same place - sure they may add their own patch-set but essencially they all come from teh same pot
Click to expand...

Ya, thanks for the flame :rolleyes:

I'm not sure how old the 2.4 and 2.6 kernels are, but you are right, the community does work on the kernels together and putting lots of time and effort into building new ones.
 
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