Einie Minie Miny Mo.... Stable Distro???

[Jonny87]

I know that this is a hard question as there is never a single answer as it often comes down to personal opinion. But I'm asking any way to get a idea of what people think.

I'm looking for the most stable distro that is still upd to date with everything and even has a bit of eye candy.

I've been a big Ubuntu user and have tended to stick to that side of linux as I like the amount of packages in their repositories. It has most of what I need.

However I'm willing to try something new if needed. Like many others, I went off Ubuntu when they introduced Unity. I just found it was too buggy and always getting random glitches in the GUI. (I know... but I like sticking to the distro's default DE)
I then went to the current Mint release but then it kept freezing up and I had to reboot the thing every time just to get it to work again.
I then tried debian, but it's missing to many things and while I could go old school and set things up that I need or do things manually, I want a system where I can just get on and use it.
I'm now back on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS untill I can decide where to go from here.

I know that one usually gives way to the other when talking about latest software as well as most stable. but surely there must be at least one Distro that has mastered this better than the rest? At least one distro that is more stable and still quite up to date?

[oz]

Einie Minie Miny Mo.... Stable Distro???

The stability of a distribution depends on more than just solid packaging by the developers, such as the hardware that it's being matched with, and the ability of the end user to configure and maintain it properly. Since hardware and user abilities can vary greatly between end users, the "one potato - two potato" method of finding the best distro for your needs might also work.

Note too that "rolling distributions" often have newer packages ready to go for installation, but not always, and it is generally going to be when you start upgrading packages or installing new ones that trouble can develop with any distribution.

All that said, Debian has proven itself to be a very stable distribution over the years, although the stable edition might not always include the latest packages available.

[rokytnji]

One word. Mepis

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mepis

[jayd512]

There are quite a few Debian users who choose to follow the Testing branch, as opposed to the Stable.
This way, they have a nice happy medium between stability and up to date software.

[ben2talk]

The stability of a distribution depends on more than just solid packaging by the developers . . . the ability of the end user to configure and maintain it properly.

This being the most annoying part of the equation...

[reginaldperrin]

If you are otherwise happy with Ubuntu, but dislike their Unity default interface, you could stick with that and install the Cinnamon desktop. It's very similar to the 'old' gnome2-based Ubuntu Classic, but much slicker.
Cinnamon
I love it!
Hope this helps.

[alf55]

A stable distro is one where you use the gray matter in checking out a new release in a test environment prior to doing an upgrade to make sure all you want is there and working or whether you can live with the results of the release in your test environment. Business (even ones using commercial OS usage) do this before they perform any upgrades. In the Debian line you might like Mint which did not go to Unity and seems more stable than Ubuntu.

[Randicus]

reginaldperrin's advice is good. If you like Ubuntu but not Unity, install a different desk-top environment.

I know that one usually gives way to the other when talking about latest software as well as most stable. but surely there must be at least one Distro that has mastered this better than the rest? At least one distro that is more stable and still quite up to date?

That is the trade-off. You must decide which is more important to you. New and shiny with bugs or older and stable. Although I must admit, I do not understand the concept many people have that software is automatically out-dated after a few months. People do not throw away their cars and furniture after a few months.

If you want the latest and greatest blood-dripping software, there are distros like Arch, but using such systems requires knowledge. If you consider Debian "old school", then you would find Arch and Gentoo to be nightmares. If you want a system that will never let you down, there are distros like Debian, but you would need to endure ancient software that can be as old as one or two years!

In conclusion, there are distos that have part of what you want, but you will need to increase your knowledge base first.

[jayd512]

With that in mind, I have been quite happy running Slackware with my updates pointing to the current mirrors.
Everything on my system is quite up-to-date. But sometimes I may have to wait for a few weeks while the bug-hunters do their squashing before it's available in a system update.

[Randicus]

But sometimes I may have to wait for a few weeks while the bug-hunters do their squashing before it's available in a system update.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. To my way of thinking, a programme that is a few weeks old is hot off the presses. Slackware is more bleeding-edge than I thought it was.