Linux: Which distro do you run and why?

DrSuperSocks

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

We run Rocks at my work. I work for a bunch of biologists, and Rocks is good for scheduling big compute stacks. I kind of hate maintaining it, though :p I work on an Ubuntu desktop, which is good, though!
 

Tall Mike 2145

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I just set up Linux Mint for a friend on a 32GB flash drive he just bought. Now he can boot his laptop up as well as computers at school with "his own OS" and he's so thrilled about it. I showed him how to install software, the basics of how to find appropriate Linux-related articles for figuring out the fairly uncommon terminal-based stuff (for him; he's working on his Masters in English), and I got all the necessaries installed for him (MP3 support, DVD support, Spotify, etc.) and he's absolutely thrilled.

He also loves how he can just plug stuff in and it just starts working -- pretty much like on a Mac -- without any kind of formalized BS process like what Windows puts you through.
 

Shadowriver

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

Technically Lol software on Ubuntu will install the same way on any other Debian build.

Unity just isn't my cup of tea I'll stick to mint.

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Any application compiled on Linux will work on any other Linux as long as dependies are meet. Look on Steam, packaged for Ubuntu, but works on Arch toghther with all games there.
 

Tall Mike 2145

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

Speaking of different distros and the libraries they use, I have found that some software will work better on certain distros than others. For example, classically I have found that Scribus works the best on Fedora or openSuSE.
 

gollum18

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

Ubuntu based Linux Mint. I've tried straight ubuntu, it was to buggy for me and personally it gets worse with each release. Mint fixes most of the issues in ubuntu as well as providing a really nice smooth interface. I feel the ceo of ubuntu is trying to turn the company into a for - profit organization. This to me seems like it is anti-linux. So I may switch over to the debian base in the future.

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patmackattack

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I just installed Elementary OS on my 6 year old laptop as I was looking for something lightweight to do some beginner-level C++ coding on.

I like it, but since it is still in Beta (only v 0.2) it is buggy and has some crashes. It is also not as lightweight as I want it to be.

I heard of a new distro called LXLE which I will install on this laptop when the semester is over. LXLE is made to be particularly lightweight to run on older laptops, so I look forward to running it.
 

Tall Mike 2145

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I just installed Elementary OS on my 6 year old laptop as I was looking for something lightweight to do some beginner-level C++ coding on.

I like it, but since it is still in Beta (only v 0.2) it is buggy and has some crashes. It is also not as lightweight as I want it to be.

I heard of a new distro called LXLE which I will install on this laptop when the semester is over. LXLE is made to be particularly lightweight to run on older laptops, so I look forward to running it.

One of the lightest-weight distros to run is actually Crunchbang. I think as shipped, the OOBE RAM footprint is about 100+MB in size. For modern distros, I don't know how to make it any lighter-weight than not shipping a GUI at all.
 

Algus

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

Xubuntu is my preferred distro right now. I'm an unashamed Xfce fanboy. Lately I've been considering making the switch to Debian though as stability is pleasing to me. I don't really care if I have the latest stuff as long as it works right. Also the direction that Ubuntu has been taking the last couple of years is somewhat disconcerting to me. I'm afraid that they'll get to big and forget their original vision.

I really want to try Arch Linux though and lately I've been thinking of buying a cheap laptop just to fiddle with it and other distros that potentially require more maintenance.
 

EndlessDissent

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I use Crunchbang because it's lightweight, and my laptop has a Celeron 900 processor. I also like that it's more-or-less just Debian with an extra custom repo, and it comes ready-to-use OOTB, even with Openbox. Plus, Crunchbang's forum is filled with helpful, friendly folks, and it's just a great atmosphere.

I'm considering a move to Slackware (I've used it in the past), but I've been spoiled by APT's dependency checks, so I'm a little wary of the tedious package management, though I'm aware that Slack's package management has advanced a bit since I last used it (in 2004), even if it requires a third-party package manager.

I've also enjoyed Mageia, but it didn't have all the packages I needed, so I had to go back to Crunchbang since the Debian repos have everything.

I tried installing Funtoo (founded by Gentoo's founder and based on the Gentoo principles but with better package management and other tweaks) on an old P3 866MHz computer, but I couldn't get it to boot (some problem with fstab, even after I quintuple-checked that it was correct). I may try it on my laptop if I have a free weekend, but it's a lot of work if I have the same fstab issues.

I'm also watching MauiOS, which is the first distribution I've heard of to make the switch from X to Wayland (actually, it never used X, so there's technically no "switching", but relative to all other distros, it's a switch). It's a bit slow and buggy right now, but I'm excited about Wayland.


One of the lightest-weight distros to run is actually Crunchbang. I think as shipped, the OOBE RAM footprint is about 100+MB in size. For modern distros, I don't know how to make it any lighter-weight than not shipping a GUI at all.

I agree 100%. Mageia and Fuduntu gobbled up to 300MB of RAM at boot for me. Crunchbang uses <120MB of RAM at boot, and that's with composting and other extra stuff enabled. And if you really want, you can get rid of the Crunchbang repos from sources.list, and it becomes a generic Debian that's already been tweaked and made usable.
 

techydavid

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I'm running Ubuntu 12.04 lts now but I'm thinking of switching back to 10.04, unity makes my desktop lag so bad with only half a gig of ram( I'm running on my budget built PC, don't even have a legal copy of windows).

I love Ubuntu however its very simple to use and I love not having to pay for it, i haven't really encountered any bugs yet but that's probably because I have tried and true hardware installed. Honestly it is easier to use than windows the commands in terminal are easier to memorize and accessing the root of the file system is way easier( i remember when I was running xp you had to do some fancy mumbo jumbo to access the admin account ). The ease of installing side software is much easier due to the software center and synaptic package manager. I also feel that it gets much more support than windows as well.

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Use lxde. You getr all the features of Ubuntu on a lighter GUI.
 

techydavid

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

As for me, I use Ubuntu with lxde on my laptop and working to get it going on my gtab 2. I like lxde cause of the Windows like interface and lightness of it all.
 

SRR500

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I recently switched back to OpenSUSE after some time away using Windows XP, and 8.

After deciding that Win 8 is a bloated joke on my laptop, I decided to return to the land of Linux. I gave Ubuntu and Mint a try but didn't like Unity or Cinnamon.

I've always preferred KDE for my DE and nobody does KDE better than OpenSUSE (my opinion of course).

I'm happy as a clam and my laptop hasn't run this good in quite some time.

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gollum18

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I recently switched back to OpenSUSE after some time away using Windows XP, and 8.

After deciding that Win 8 is a bloated joke on my laptop, I decided to return to the land of Linux. I gave Ubuntu and Mint a try but didn't like Unity or Cinnamon.

I've always preferred KDE for my DE and nobody does KDE better than OpenSUSE (my opinion of course).

I'm happy as a clam and my laptop hasn't run this good in quite some time.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

Mint also has a KDE version. Its what I run and its actually pretty nice.

Have to agree though, cinnamon still has some pretty bad bugs in it. The start menu has a delay that keeps it from popping up for about 3 seconds after you open it. And putting the panels into any other setting than the default one, makes it constantly crash, without any solution.

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brainvision

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I'm still running a Slackware 14.0.0 current branch x86_64 on my laptop; a Slackware 14.0.0 stable x86 on my PC..

so, obviously, my reply is: Slackware!


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Dngrsone

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I am running Mint 15 Cinnamon right now and see no delay... took some song to install it on a new laptop alongside Win 8, but it's working well now.

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byronsanchez

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I primarily use Gentoo. I've been considering trying out Funtoo, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I've also been wanting to try out CrunchBang.

I used to primarily use Slackware. Loved it. I added Xfce and was good to go. I miss it and will probably spin it up in a VM and play around with it again soon.
 

Laura Knotek

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I am running Mint 15 Cinnamon right now and see no delay... took some song to install it on a new laptop alongside Win 8, but it's working well now.

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I'm running Mint 15, but I chose the MATE desktop, rather than the Cinnamon desktop. I'm dual booting Mint 15 and Win 8.

I've also used Ubuntu and openSUSE in the past.
 

Dave Dewey

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I've been using computers since the days when data was stored on paper punch cards, and I've been using Linux since 1998, so I've seen and helped a great many newbies.

I've seen a lot of interesting posts here to date, but I'm concerned that the OP and anyone else looking for guidance is not ready for some of the Linux versions mentioneded. IMHO a newbie to Linux, i.e. a recent refugee from Windoze, will have an awful experience if he/she starts out on some of the versions mentioned. They're better suited for experienced Linux users. Slackware is a perfect example.

Mint would be my first choice for any newcomer to Linux. I say that because Mint is based on Ubuntu and can access Ubuntu's huge library of resources, and it's very user friendly. (There is a Debian version of Mint, but not my first choice for a newbie - yet, it seems to be getting better.)

Ubuntu is another very popular choice for newbies. I have nothing against the distro, but I don't happen to like it... not sure why, but I can't stand it.

openSUSE is my personal favorite. Not too tough for a newbie, though the learning curve can be a little steeper than Mint. It's big advantage is the YAST utility that's exclusive to openSUSE. it's a very successful effort to do everything Control Panel was meant to do for Windoze and more.

The biggest asset openSUSE offers a newbie is their forum (forms.opensuse.org). All the major distros offer community support forums, but the openSUSE one is uniquely well run and has some truly exceptional members who are very helpful in answering questions from the most basic issues to the most obscure.

One strong suggestion: If you decide to try Linux, or any other OS, for the first time, expect to be frustrated at first. It's normal, and it will pass. Don't give up too quickly.
 

Laura Knotek

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

I've been using computers since the days when data was stored on paper punch cards, and I've been using Linux since 1998, so I've seen and helped a great many newbies.

I've seen a lot of interesting posts here to date, but I'm concerned that the OP and anyone else looking for guidance is not ready for some of the Linux versions mentioneded. IMHO a newbie to Linux, i.e. a recent refugee from Windoze, will have an awful experience if he/she starts out on some of the versions mentioned. They're better suited for experienced Linux users. Slackware is a perfect example.

Mint would be my first choice for any newcomer to Linux. I say that because Mint is based on Ubuntu and can access Ubuntu's huge library of resources, and it's very user friendly. (There is a Debian version of Mint, but not my first choice for a newbie - yet, it seems to be getting better.)

Ubuntu is another very popular choice for newbies. I have nothing against the distro, but I don't happen to like it... not sure why, but I can't stand it.

openSUSE is my personal favorite. Not too tough for a newbie, though the learning curve can be a little steeper than Mint. It's big advantage is the YAST utility that's exclusive to openSUSE. it's a very successful effort to do everything Control Panel was meant to do for Windoze and more.

The biggest asset openSUSE offers a newbie is their forum (forms.opensuse.org). All the major distros offer community support forums, but the openSUSE one is uniquely well run and has some truly exceptional members who are very helpful in answering questions from the most basic issues to the most obscure.

One strong suggestion: If you decide to try Linux, or any other OS, for the first time, expect to be frustrated at first. It's normal, and it will pass. Don't give up too quickly.[/QUOT
Which desktop do you like on openSUSE?








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matosnek

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Re: Which distro do you run and why?

My main distro is Ubuntu with Gnome. I have tried two years ago Fedora and Mandriva - just for my curiosity. But Ubuntu has still my main OS.
 

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