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Which Linux distribution do you primarily use on your Linux desktop?
I don't use Linux on my desktop
5% (1174 votes)
Debian
13% (3321 votes)
Gentoo
8% (2051 votes)
Linspire
2% (590 votes)
Mandrake
9% (2404 votes)
Red Hat
3% (881 votes)
Slackware
5% (1319 votes)
SuSE
17% (4397 votes)
Xandros
3% (739 votes)
Yoper
4% (914 votes)
Fedora
11% (2886 votes)
Libranet
1% (235 votes)
Other
19% (4980 votes)
Total votes: 25891
Carlie Fairchild - Thu, 2020-11-18 09:29.
it would be nice
It would be great if it was enough not to open attachment from unknown people. However as Sven and MSBlast have show that only helps part time. Worms resend themselves and some dont even need email. The more often I was called in to remove such BS the more I started introducing people to linux. Roughly 88% of the people that I've installed linux for haven't seen their windows OS since.
Webwolf
Apple
I left the Windows world for the first time last fall. I bought a shiny new emac. It was a 40 gig combo one. You know I was excited. The said part is that even though it's 1.25 gigz. It will fly past my friends Windows XP 2.8. The cache is the same. I have 1 gig of ram and he has 768. However I don't crash. He has had to format three time since I have known him. And I met him the week I got my mac. Kinda odd that I'm still using all my files. And that I haven't lost anything now isn't it? Ohh yea, but I'm stupid and mac is for people that don't know how to use windows. I'm typing this from my friends laptop. That I sold to him. It was my old windows XP computer. It crashed and he had to put the restore discs back in it. Well I'm done ranting about how unreliable xp is. ( Although I like 2000 it doesn't have near as many tattle tales )
You can also check some info
You can also check some information about...
I agree mostly
that Apple is a great solution. The problem is... I dont want to use the top bar (the main reason for not using GNOME), I dont like brush metal, and I dont want to buy new hardware. I like having a dual boot with Windows for programs that are absolutely not going to work with WINE (which i beleive doesn't work on PPC linux).
Besides that, it truly is a viable option for many people.
Personally, I'd get one only if it ran a dual boot. I much prefer linux to the other OS's. Mainly to stay on an x86 architecture and to use an OS that is relieble (which OS X is as well).
I agree mostly
that Apple is a great solution. The problem is... I dont want to use the top bar (the main reason for not using GNOME), I dont like brush metal, and I dont want to buy new hardware. I like having a dual boot for programs that are absolutely not going to work with WINE (which i beleive doesn't work on PPC linux).
Besides that, it truly is a viable option for many people.
Personally, I'd get one only if it ran a dual boot. I much prefer linux to the other OS's. Mainly to stay on an x86 architecture and to use an OS that is relieble (which OS X is as well).
Have you tried knoppix?
Knoppix finds everything and just plain works. If you like having Windows tell you how to use your hardware or what hardware you can use, then keep using it. And you don't need to buy support, that's what the Linux community is here for. Find a forum and ask some questions. And one more thing, it's quite obvious your just a frustraded noob, I mean afterall if your going to recommend xp home, you just don't know, do your credibility a favor and recommend xp pro.
fyi
I'm a 2000 and 2003 MCSA
Kiss my foot Bill!
Ahhh haaa!
I find porn just fine in Linux and all my important hardware works except my printer and mp3 player and I hardly use em anyway! They are poorly supported even in XP!
....XP can wait........
ummm, "porn without Problems"? and WHY did you park your
words at the tux magazine site? keep giving bill g your money,
and tell em' we said hi.
Let it...
...wait... ;)
Mepis for me!
I started using Linux along with Windows 98 and Windows XP around 2002.
Before then in 200, I saw Redhat,but was utterly confused as to how to download and install it. I stuck with Windows.
I did my research though and reviewed each one and saw new distros pop up,and desktop Linux grow for the first time.
Lindows,Lycoris,SUSE,and Mandrake were the ones I felt I should try and try I did.
I slowly became a distro whore!
My first distro was Lycoris Desktop L/X;which is for newbies and favors Windows XP.
To me it was simple,fast,beautiful,easy.
It let get used to using Linux and KDE.
I got used to using Gaim and GNU Cash,ect.
I already used Netscape and AIM,so that was a breeze to master.
I kept Lycoris on my desktop for nearly two months,before I was back to Windows again because of lack of games and software. Also after awhile I noticed they were very slow to update software nor was there an easy way to install packages in Lycoris that weren't made for it.
I kept an eye on easy to use desktop distro's for newbies mostly. And next up was Lindows/Linspire. I had been eyeing it from the start,but it's price tag was anything but desired at that time and only Insiders or builders could try it.
So I'd watch the boards and see it grow. I tried Mandrake 7x and hated it.
I couldn't get anything beyond Flash and Realplayer loaded.
But it did let me see into software I hadn't seen before.
I got used to Linux but was always jumping back to Windows.
By Fall of 2002 I had XP,but still wasn't satisfied with my computer. I had to have Linux that did everything or else!
There had to be a Linux for the desktop that beat Windows on all accounts.
Still watching Lindows and it's news of running Windows apps.
I soon discoverd Libranet,which was good but outdated.
Next came ELX ,CollegeLinux,Peanut,Demo Linux,IcePack,ect.
Untill finally I saw something about MS Free PC from Lindows.
The idea was if you were using or had used anything from Microsoft you could get a write up towards a free version of Lindows,CNR,ect.
Even a free pc!
I signed up and waas eligable for everything including the pc(never got it).
I did get version 4 and 4.5,CNR for a year,and a tee shirt. I even signed up as an Insider with my mother
Over the last three years I've tried nearly every desktop distro,but settled on those that have advanced and easy features simular to XP.
Linspire,SUSE,and Mepis so far are the only ones that have WIFI and Winmodem support out-the-box,and that work well for me on every computer. I'm not really a newbie anymore,but I do like things simple. Mepis gives me that but also lets me use my intermediate skills to the test! Thank you Warren and Micheal of Mepis and Linspire!
MEPIS
I miss Mepis!!!
Why Mepis:
1. I Don't like Gnome (like the majority of Linux GUI users)
2. I don't like RPM and love apt-get
3. It is really compatible with Debian (unlike Kubuntu)
4, Tried Kubuntu and it disappointed me. Few apps, slow install, bad integration of browser and plugins and it failed when i wanted to install Firefox. So, despite of all the marketing hype, guess one man can beat a whole corp. Way to go Warren!!!!!
5. Oh yeah, in case you doubt: Mepis has GREAT hardware recognition
You can also check some rele
You can also check some relevant pages about... Thanks!!!
High five to Carl!
Carl :-)
Why Mandrake?
I started using Linux about 2000/2001. I tried several Lycoris, which I purchased, Red Hat 7.2, I think, which a friend gave me, and Mandrake 8.0.
I wasn't able to get the others working, Mandrake recognised all the hardware, and work perfectly. I've tried others since, including Red Hat and Fedoria (and never managed to get them to work properly. Ubuntu looks good, and I'm impressed with Xandros, but Mandrake does it for me, I'm used to it's quirks (I'm on 10.1 community and looking at going to 10.2/ Mandriva 2005)
Mepis
I like mandrake, but when i tried installing libpcap on version 10.0, it gave me some weird error. I've also tried Knoppix, red had ( which messed up my dual boot), Fedora Core, Linspire, Suse...etc, but so far the only one that has everything i want is Mepis. Long live mepis!!
mandriva 2005
Yeah i feel the same i love Mandrake, It's really the only ver of linux that i can
get working with no hassels. MANDRAKE IS FOR ME....
this NEW mandriva 2005 is this the same ? OR just better or is it a ALL NEW OS?
I would not mind giving it a go if it's the rehashed Mandrake 10.1 or higher.
any advise will be apprciated.
MANDRAKER
Yes, Mandriva is just a new n
Yes, Mandriva is just a new name for the company, who has merged with Connectiva and Lycoris.
The distro is a continuation of Mandrake 10....10.1....10.2.
Next release will be around 15 September 2020
Favorite Distro
I will be honest,i tried to load a few different types (including mepis-which i could not even get to load) and they were either too difficult or i did not have enough patience, probably the latter. But after following the ubuntu/kubuntu site, i got the email about the release of 5.04 and downloaded and had installed it in about 1 hour. Wow!!! simply amazing. I could not believe i had loaded linux. I kept screaming to my wife who thought i was either carazy or could not care less. I was using linux and was online in a hour. No problems at all, it detected everything and ran very fast. Only difference between Ubuntu and MS, is that i already know how to use MS , it will just take a bit of time to learn how to add different programs and also how to burn music,watch dvds etc. But , the hard part is over, its on the machine. The rest , i can take my time with.
Kubuntu is Great
I have tried over 20 different distros and initially settled on SimplyMepis 3.3 for the desktop. However, when I got my new widescreen laptop, mepis did not work so well. Then I tried Kubuntu. This distro is awesome (although a little light on packages). It works very well on the latest laptops and has the beautiful KDE 3.4 environment. I highly recommend this distro for most people.
see ya
wanger
The easy one's
I used Suse and Mandrake, and for the life of me couldnt get a program to install, except for flash for some reason, anyways, I thought they're had to be a better way, so I tried, Xandros, but not enough programs in the XN, and it was missing some things. then I tried Linspire 5-0, This is by far the best distro for me, I'm going to try others, (just because this experience made me a distro hore) but if anyone is a noob, and doesnt want to get their feet wet right a way, i would recomend Linspire, if your looking for somthing easy but want somthing a little techie, like using the command line every once in a while then Ubuntu, or Mepis.
Mepis
I use Mepis 3.3...lovely distro...works real well. Moved from Xandros 2.0 when upgrade offered which seemed too expensive and IMHO did not offer a lot. Mepis has proved just great
PDog
Linspire 5.0 is real easy
I signed up as an "Insider" with the old "Lindows" group when they first started. I've had every release of it right thru to the latest, which is Linspire 5.0 and from the standpoint of someone still not real comfortable with a Linux based OS, I've found Linspire 5.0 to be super easy to set up, configure, add hardware, set up internet access and just about anything else you can think of you might want to do. I had a computer science friend stop by and check it out, he's a Mandrake 10.1 FAN, and even he was impressed with the ease of use of Linspire 5.0. He was amazed at how easy it was to configure things. As easy as MS Windows he said, maybe easier even! I am really impressed with this latest offering from LINSPIRE. Lets you use the computer instead of spending all your time trying to figure out the operating system.
5 STARS *****
Sourcemage GNU/Linux
the distro i use and swear by is Sourcemage (http://sourcemage.org), it's not for the new linux user but someone feeling confident should definately give it a chance. it's a source-based distro which means that all the software is downloaded from the internet as source code and compiled on your machine with the optimisation and settings you specify, the result is a lightening fast linux system that contains exactly the software you choose (apart from the base system obviously, which is small and concise anyway). this is definately one of the best distributions around for the linux power user and it's so clean that it makes coming from other distros a breath of fresh air.
- noxi
Ubuntu?
Why Ubuntu is not listed here?
About Ubuntu
about to install this distro to ckeck out what it can do. I would like to hear from other users for comments good or bad. I am new to Linux and want to know more.
About ubuntu
I think that Ubuntu is the better Linux Distro, I've use most other distros and never really cared for them. Ubuntu was different, quick, and easy. The only real problem that I had was getting a couple of game to work properly.
Two flavours better than one
Since I started using Linux about 1 year ago, I've kept going back to SuSE as my main Linux desktop. YaST is an extremly powerful system tool that makes this distro stand out.
Right know I have Suse 9.2 pro dual booted with KUbuntu. KUbuntu is a nice little distro. Recently released 5.04 is a very easy install. There's something stange going on though. If you look in /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc , there are several settings that are not at the default value.
Keep on Slackin'?
I have had some form of Linux on the desktop since the days of Yggdrasil and SLS -- Then Slackware came along! I tried a few others, RedHat for about a day, SuSE was good when it was based on Slack, but turned into an overly "friendly" and complex thing very fast, Debian just never did anything for me, Gentoo is interesting but if I am going to go through all that work... I think it would be better to role your own. As for that, LFS is a great way to get your hands dirty, Crux is a good choice for experienced user, and source based distros, like Rock and Frankenstein are a good choices for the experience and ability to make what you want.
I have Arch running on a system now for a few months and think it has a lot to offer, it has been running in my workroom longer than most ditros get a chance to... but Slackware is (and probably always will be) running front and center on the computer I use most.
Slackware as a first distro.
My friend who I trusted had given me these two discs labeled slackware. I had tried to set up a dual boot with Fedora Core 3 earlier, but GRUB annoyed me to no end and I ended up reinstalling Windows a couple times.
I had no linux experience, not a clue what all these new words were: "package" "GUI" "CLI" or anything. I had no internet to learn it either. It took me a while and i never did get my printer working, but all the rest of my hardware got running. Even my Audigy sound card.
I set up a dual boot on that, all on one hard drive. I was hooked. I loved getting down to the nitty-gritty and actually knowing what I was actually telling my computer what to do. I loved most of these things, even without any internet connection.
Unfortunately, a week or two later, Windows corrupted my partition table in an attempt to eliminate my linux partition (USB 1.1 issue I beleive the excuse my friend said that MS had for my circumstance). Once I get myself another hard drive, Its back to slack. I will of course, have an extra partition for trying out new distros, one must experiment with choice.
Yoper works for me !
I know I'm gonna get razed for this because I have a Yoper ad on my site, but it's for good reason. I have installed and used so many different distro's on my systems that I'm suprised my I've only taken the reflective laminate off of only two hard drives. Started with RedHat, let's face it, 10 years ago, they got all the press. I think it was the fedora! (lol) Back then a lot of the distro's weren't geared for graphical interaction like they are now. RedHat was ok for me until I got bored of the limitations. Then came Makdrake. Very cool at first, graphics and all. But why am I having so many crashes? I must have done something wrong, eh? Well, I recently tried Mandrake 10.1. Guess crashing is just something you have to deal with. Move on to Debian. All's fair in Linux and GNU, but I couldn't stand the command lines. I mean, if you have a Chevy and a horse and carrage sitting in the driveway, most of the time, you're gonna pick the Chevy. Moving on ... SuSe. Very stable distro. Very limited with the Personal 9.1 version. Awesome graphics. Very limited. Novell can do what they want with it. Slackware. To much like Debian with a burned up keyboard twist. My fingers hurt too much running Slackware. (lol) Fedora. FORGET IT. Still to much of a proprietary distro. Seems to be the Microsoft of Linux. Linspire. Another Windows in the making. GNU died with Linspire. Gentoo. Not for me. 'Nuff said. Yoper rocks as far as I'm concerned. Fast and furious. And they even included C++ and a pre-processor. That makes my job a lot easier. Hey, by the way, where's FreeBSD? I know, Linux is a derivitive of Unix, so I had to mention them. I will give them a shout for the great capabilities for internet servers. Well, there's my two cents. I didn't mention any live cd distro's or bottom feeders only because they aren't listed in the poll. In any case, which distro you like is entirely up to the person using (or back-tracing) it! Keep the peace, John.
I think you ought to get "razed"
I doubt you can say that Yoper is better than the other distros you meantioned. At least explain why it's better. I doubt many Linux users out there would call the command line a horse and carriage. Anybody who's been using the command line for a while can do just about anything faster than a GUI user. My advice: learn how to type. I don't know how that's a problem for you if you write C++ code. It just takes getting used to. For me, it's the other way around. You seem to be putting too much bearing on the visuals. A linux distribution does not work well because the people who package it provide some pretty pictures in with it. You didn't explain why Fedora's bad. People don't like Windows because it isn't stable or secure and that it's owned by a money hoarding company. Fedora is sponsored by RedHat and community driven. There *is* a difference. As for Gentoo, "Not for me" is in no way enough said as you claim. And then Yoper's good because it "rocks." I agree that it's fast since it's compiled for faster processors. That much is nice. I tried it once and found it not be very stable. Also, many of the other distros you meantioned included a "C++ compiler" aka gcc, and a preprocessor (any computer that has a compiler has a preprocessor).
As for me, Slackware for life. I really appreciate all of the work Patrick did with that. I tried Ubuntu and found that I couldn't compile the nVidia driver within X. So I then tried to change the runlevel to 3 to drop out of X and into the terminal. I found, though, that Ubuntu doesn't even have a runlevel for that! Debian has a lot outdated software. Good for servers since it's stable, but if I want to use the latest version of Gimp, I damn well better be able to. Mandrake was too bubbly, and I can't remember what else I didn't like about that. RedHat was okay (before it was Fedora), except that I kept getting this problem with certain characters being displayed wrong in the terminal. Even when I tried a newer version of the distro, it *still* didn't work. After using Slackware for a while, I tried Yoper, and that crashed twice in a day, which has never happened in Slackware as far as I can remember. Sure, I would really like a good package management system like Debian's. But where's the fun in trying to compile Gnome 2.8 from source, only to find it broken every step of the way? (I hate you, Gnome.) And until I find a distro that matches all of the things I like about Slackware: making all of the configuration easy and accessible, being stable, not trying too hard to look good, and being started in the awesome state of MN (Moorhead is on the border, but it's in MN, dammit!); I don't think I shall ever leave my precious Slackware.
Moi aussi, mon amie
Slackware is really the best thing i ever did to my computer.
I have an nVidia card too. It works right off the bat in slack... but still would like to go higher than 768 x 1024. OH well... its the hardware diver, not the distro. GeForce 4 is annoying to get working on some distros. I'd rather not deal.
ubuntu
strange- on distrowatch.com ubuntu is second and here it's not even mentioned
Linspire/Mepis/Underground Desktop
The ones I use and reccomend are not there.On my machine I use Linspire and Mepis.
Also the newcomer of Debian-based distro- Underground Desktop!
All three are newbie friendly and work well with WIFI!
Beginner
What is recommended for a beginner?
Kubuntu or Ubuntu
Kubuntu or Ubuntu :)
Recommendations
Hi Mike,
The cool thing about Linux besides being a multitude of distro's (distributions) out there, is the freedom to explore all of them to see which suits you best. We all have varing needs and likes when it comes to our operating systems. You'll find one just perfect for you.
Some distro's such as Slackware, Gentoo and Debian are a bit more knowledge intensive, so you should keep a few thoughs from getting one of those to begin with. Of the "Great for beginners" distro's, try what they call a "Live CD" first. These distros do not install on your hard drive and still give you the ability to try Linux. Most major distributors make them such as SuSE Live!Eval, Knoppix (Live cd version of Gnoppix), Damn Small Linux and Mandrake Move. If you are a bit more into Linux, I would suggest a distro such as Yoper or SuSE Personal, with a lean towards Yoper, only because I've been where you are and ended up using Yoper in the end. Let me know how you do, John.
recommended for beginner
I can recommend SuSE for a beginner. Installation is easy, and they have YaST, which provides you with a graphical userinterface to setup services, install sofware etc.
You can download their free live-DVD to see if you like it.
mepis
Try mepis or linspire you'll love it!
I use Ubuntu and I really lik
I use Ubuntu and I really like it.
Oher:
Mephis
Source Mage GNU/Linux
http://www.sourcemage.org
ubuntu
I've used ubuntu since november. Get yourselves to their website, www.ubuntu.com , and order the pack of ten free (yep free) cds. keep a couple for yourself and share the rest around. I
Correct address
www.ubuntulinux.org
got my free cd's delivered in
got my free cd's delivered in January!
Linux Distribution
Ubuntu...the best Unix distro I have found so far and it is free!
I guess polls can't be taken seriously,
but there are two things wrong with this one.
First, the list of options, which leaves out such popular entry-level distros as Mepis (which I use), Upbuntu, and Knoppix. As somebody else noted, the list seems to be copied from something a few years old.
Second, if Tux is for the "new Linux user" as advertised, it seems extremely unlikely that Gentoo and Debian account for nearly a quarter of of its readers' OS choices. Either there's been a lot of stuffing going on, or the magazine has seriously misread its market.
Debian
Yes Debian is tuff to configure - you have to be a bit of a masochist to really love it - but, once you have it set up and running it runs forever. May not be bleeding edge all the time (if you use woody anyway, sarge is pretty current) but I'm looking for stability.
That being said, Debian is my secondary desktop - Autocad 2002 works on winXP, and not at all in linux. I haven't found a production quality linux-cad yet, but I keep looking. Once that is cleared up - it's goodbye Bill.
CAD
Perhaps you have heard of a little program called Pro/E. Runs on Linux and has had student and home versions in the past.
Novell Linux Desktop
Novell Linux Desktop