Above all, which Linux shall I use and why?

[chyld]

Good day there,

I've made this post for one reason, and that is simple to get a reasonable answer from someone who can inform me about all the Linux "versions".

I'd like to get to know following Linux's better. It would be brilliant if you could support you answer, why you believe *this* is better than *that*..

- Gentoo

- FreeBSD

- Fedora

- Mandrake

- Linspire

- Knoppix

- Redhat

- Debian

- SuSE

(You may of course tell me about any distro that I didn't mention, those are just those I "know".

Which one would you recommend for people? Eg. I'd recommend Ubuntu for those you know absolutely nothing about how Linux works, simple because it really user friendly.

Please tell me your opinion, and remember, support your answer about each one I mentioned before. I'm not searching for replies like "Gentoo > Ubuntu, nuff said"!

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And notice, of course I've red "Read before post" and noticed DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD. - but what I'm searching for is reply from users and their experience of those distros.

[jayd512]

There's not a *best* distro. It all depends on what you like, and how you want to do it. Do you want 'user-friendly'... or do you want to get into the inner workings of the OS?

Try these threads for more info:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/cof...rs-2008-a.html

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/cof...re-2008-a.html

[SkittleLinux18]

It is true that it is very difficult to recommend a dirstro to anyone because there are so many of them out there that server so many purposes that it comes down to personal choice. But I will do my best to explain a little of these ones, and a couple others. But do check back as people with different, and more extensive experiences with them will comment on my comments. This way, you get a variety of views.

Gentoo - not the best, but certainly a good one! However, it is designed for more experienced Linux users. So be sure to take that into consideration. Uses gnome desktop.

FreeBSD - is not exactly Linux, per se. However, I have heard many good things about it. It uses a different kernel than unix/linux. Maybe someone else can give more insight than I can. Uses KDE desktop.

Fedora - one of the best. Whenever I tell people the top 5 distros in my opinion, this is at number 4. It is very user-friendly with A LOT of support. It uses gnome desktop.

Mandrake - I don't think this is around anymore. It's now known as Mandriva. Mandriva is pretty solid. But there are some limitations to it that I don't like. The repositories are very limited; mostly to mandriva mirrors only. There is no apt-get in mandriva and i have yet to figure out how to get it. haven't put much time into it really. the OpenGL is known to break frequently in it. i used it for almost 4 months. i liked it a lot. there are just some limitations i don't like about it. Uses kde desktop.

Linspire - I actually don't know too much about this. There is a direct hybrid of it called Freespire. both are suppose to be good. but that's all i know. Uses KDE

Knoppix - I also don't know much about this one. It's one of the major distros though. And I have heard good things about it. Uses KDE

RedHat - a classic, always a good choice. Fedora and CentOS are based off of it and are very good as well. RedHat leads all linux and bsd projects/distro in a lot o areas. Uses Gnome

Debian - solid. very reliable and dependable. many people say that the debian-based distros (e.g. ubuntu, sidux, sabayon, ect) are not the pinnacle of the linux realm. however, this one is very good. The support for it is pretty much astronomical. Uses gnome

SuSE - now known as OpenSuSE. Basically, SuSE stopped being sold for hundreds of dollars and became open source. Hence it's name. However, since it is still the same OS, it is still powerful and solid. I put this at third best when i give my top five to people. Uses KDE

Other Distros Not Mentioned By You:

PCLinuxOS - Number 1 Distro in my book, as well as many, many others. It is based off Mandrake. Has a lot of support, is very reliable, user-friendly, and has one of the largest spectrums of hardware compatibility. The most reliable I have used, by far. Support for this is vast. Uses KDE and Gnome

LinuxMint - I usually put at Number 2. Basically, take Ubuntu and making it a better OS 10-fold and you get Mint. While many may feel that Debia-Based distros are not the pinnacle of the Linux realm, Linux Mint puts up the best argument out of all of them. This is the fastest distro I have used so far. Additionally, it handles multiple process and system load better than any distro i have used. Uses KDE and Gnome

3. Suse - see above

4. Fedora - see above

5. CentOS - amazing distro, wide range of support, is great for almost all server uses. Very business oriented. A lot of work has been put into this distro. Uses Gnome.

Others to consider: Simply Mepis, Kubuntu, Sabayon, BackTrack, and Slackware.

Hope this helps!!

[ls354]

Thats a hard one, for internal use the companies I work for tend to go with Red Hat, I like them they have a good reputation (they ask for RH).

For external use I like Ubuntu and Debian, it's just my opinion.

For personal use I go with Kubuntu, Ubuntu in KDE.

[Manchunian]

As you've already been told, there is no 'best' distribution - it's largely a matter of taste. Besides, one of the nice things about Linux is the choice available to you.

Here's my take on your list:

Gentoo: Superb perfomance, but too much work in my opinion. Definetely not for the faint hearted - nor for beginners.
Free Bsd: this is not Linux. Like Linux it is Unix-based, but there are many differences. Generally considered difficult for beginners.
Fedora. Opinions are divided about this one. Some people love it, some hate it. Personally, I don't like it very much. It's pretty, and has a lot of cool features, but I like 'lean and mean' distributions. Fedora is too cpu-thirsty to my liking. Also, downloading and installing software in rpm distributions can be a nightmare, when you don't stick with the package manager that is. Progress has been made on that front though.
Mandrake. This has now become Mandriva. Very similar to Fedora, but I find it easier to use. Setting up repositories with this distribution is a breeze. Not bad at all, but again I'm not keen on rpm, and it's a bit on the heavy side.
Linspire: I've never used it.
Knoppix. This is a live distribution and you shouldn't attempt to install it on your hard disk. Great for trying out Linux and for showing off to your friends. Very impressive hardware detection.
Redhat: this is getting a bit long in the tooth now. Most people would use Fedora rather than this. It's mostly used on servers rather than in the home.
Debian: super-cool. I've tried loads of distributions but this one is the most robust I know. Apt really kicks arse. More and more distros are based on this now, which shows that it's very highly considered in the Linux-world. However, probably not for beginners - you'd be better off going for Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu to start with.
SuSe. Yuck! Well, that's my opinion. This one really knocks the socks off all the others when it comes to presentation - it oozes with it. But it's very heavy and slow - although I've heard that the latest version (10.3) has made considerable progress on that front. Nevertheless, I don't like this one.

I would add Slackware to your list. This, for me, comes very narowly after Debian. I have this installed on my second computer and I love it. But it's hard going, best not to touch it until you've had a bit of experience behind you.

Hope that helps

[devils casper]

Hi and Welcome !

Nobody can tell you which distro is best for you. Everyone has his own likes/dislikes and requirements. I would suggest you to try as many as you can and decide yourself. Check the links posted by jayd512. Check the link in my signature too. It will get you going.

Dont hesitate to start a new thread if you have any other question.