I am missing the Big Idea...

[silver007]

I don't get it. There's this huge group of people that are constantly trying different distros because they're 'not fast enough' or 'didn't come with this app', etc.

Especially the 'not fast enough' crowd, I don't understand why you don't just start with the native, basic, original package? Like instead of Slax, start with Slackware. Instead of a Debian-based distro, why not start with a vanilla Debian install and only add what you need?

It seems people get all caught up in the search for a distro when the logical thing to do would be to just build from scratch. It's not that hard and you only install what you want/need.

Are the custom distro's tweaked further to make them do their claims to fame better? It just seems like I could start with a virgin Slackware install, disable Apache, etc and rename it "Super Fast Linux Distro #1,082,082,023".

I'm not criticizing, I honestly just can't get my head around why there are so many distros and why people continually try one after another when it seems they should just build their own from the base distro.

Any thoughts appreciated - thanks!

[Cabhan]

In my mind, there are two main differences between distros: philosophy of use and package management.

For instance, I use Gentoo primarily because I like it's philosophy of use (we won't assume anything or do anything for you). They also have a fully comprehensive package management system which is very simple to use.

Ubuntu, on the other hand, takes the approach of being very easy-to-use for basically everybody. Even though they use the same package management as Debian, the philosophy of use is very different, and so I understand and support them being a separate distro.

You do seem some distros out there which basically are different only in that they have a different default theme for KDE or come with a different set of default packages. And I also agree that there are way more distros out there than there should be. But overall, I think the variety is a good thing, and basically everybody can (with a bit of work and research) find one that works perfectly for them.

[rcgreen]

One thing to keep in mind when reading a forum like this
one is that the people here are more likely to be experimenters
who enjoy testing the different systems. We are probably
not representative of most computer users. Most users will
use an operating system until it becomes obsolete, and then
they will upgrade when they buy a new computer.

Linux has a distro for every type of user, from developers
and experimenters all the way to users who want a computer
to "just work". You will see more experimenters on the forum.
There are lots of users out there who just install their favorite
and use it.

[silver007]

I guess I'm sortof blurring the line between those 'experimenters' and those that want the best distro for whatever it is they do.

For those experimenters I guess it's not really about having the best for their use, but moreso out of curiosity.

For the latter, I would think that the best distro for them would be the base distro (Debian, Slack, etc) that they install exactly how they want then download only software they want. It would seem that for these guys, downloading somebody's preconfigured distro would be redundant.

For me, I started out trying to figure what distro gave me only what I wanted, etc. That lead me in the direction of looking for the smallest, most stripped distro, then realized the only way for me to have the system I want with no extra 'stuff' was to start with the base system and build from there. Then I thought, geez, why would anyone mess with somebody -else's- opinion of what a distro should be? But I guess the answer to that is not the search for the best distro, but simple curiosity.

Ok I got all that out of my brain now. I feel better.

[MikeTbob]

We have a term for these people. Distro Sluts!
Some folks just like to be able to say "I have installed every Linux known to mankind".

[reed9]

Seems to me there's always a balance to be struck. A lot of people want to install their OS, have everything just work, and not think about it anymore. 20 minutes and they're done. They're not concerned so much with bloat or unneeded extras, and they don't want to mess with configuring the system. I mean, a significant number of users don't even change the default background!

Me, I like to install just what I want and need, with as few extras as possible. I don't run KDE or Qt programs in GNOME or XFCE and vice versa. At the same time, I don't want to spend the time and effort to really build a system from scratch, so I wouldn't go LFS or even Gentoo. For me, Arch Linux is the perfect balance.

[techieMoe]

We have a term for these people. Distro Sluts!
Some folks just like to be able to say "I have installed every Linux known to mankind".

Hi, my name is Moe and I'm a distro slut.

Everyone: "Hi Moe."

[techieMoe]

Instead of a Debian-based distro, why not start with a vanilla Debian install and only add what you need?

...

It seems people get all caught up in the search for a distro when the logical thing to do would be to just build from scratch. It's not that hard and you only install what you want/need.

...

I'm not criticizing, I honestly just can't get my head around why there are so many distros and why people continually try one after another when it seems they should just build their own from the base distro.

Well, I can't speak for everyone, but in my case I tend to reinstall my operating system quite often (several times a month sometimes), so I'm on an eternal quest to find the "one distro" that gets me set up with everything I need NOW, not once I get it installed, configured, and tweaked. I want out-of-the-box ready. It's been several years and a hundred or so distributions and so far I haven't found that. I have had some interesting experiences along the way though.

Sure, I could just download a Debian net-install and add this package and that package and tweak this setting or that and have a custom solution for my situation, but that would mean every time I reinstall having to spend several hours (or in Gentoo's case, several days) redoing everything. I value my time higher than that.

Why do I reinstall my OS so much? As I said before I'm a bit of a distro slut. I can't resist downloading, burning, and booting the latest and greatest the Linux world has to offer. I like to experiment. Sometimes I'll have a perfectly good system and bork it by trying to do something completely wacky that no maintainer would have expected. Thankfully with Linux distributions I can bork and reinstall without having to call someone in India and re-authorize everything. That gets old.

[saivin]

I'm not criticizing, I honestly just can't get my head around why there are so many distros and why people continually try one after another when it seems they should just build their own from the base distro.

One simple answer, not everyone is a techie...

Story 1:
Mr. A is very intelligent and has some time to spend. He builds his own system from a 'base' distro. He is a nice guy, believes in sharing and makes it available to the folks, just in case somebody may like it and want to use it.

I like it but request him to provide help for my graphics card or a particular software. He is a nice guy and adds support. Lot many among us have similar tastes and/or hardware and use his customised version rather than a base distro. As we form a group, each of us share things/softwares/support for hardware etc... a community distro is born.

I as well as many of my friends are not geek enough to do it ourselves...

Story 2:
The guys at the 'base' distro do not speak the language I speak. Mr. B, a nice guy knows the 'base' distro well and also knows my language (and hence the culture). He helps in translating the 'base' distro to my needs, which may also involves recoding. There are many who speak the same language I speak and have similar culture. A distro customised for a language or region (or religion ?!) is born...

Again I and my buddies are not enough geeks to do it all by ourselves...
.
.
.
Thousands of us...thousand needs...community life...try to get the near perfect thing of our desire...

[elija]

Lets not forget it's fun to try out different distros...

I guess I must be a distro slut