Anyone else agree Fedora 14 is among the worst Linux distributions ever? My review
 

On December 20 something, I started using Fedora 14. You may be wondering why I chose Fedora. Well, I'm not the richest person in the world, and at the moment unemployed, so I can't afford a nice, new, powerful computer. So why not choose another distribution that can run on my computer that dose not lack popularity like OpenSUSE? I have bad experience with OpenSUSE. I wasted two weeks of my life trying to get the internet to work on a family member's PC running OpenSUSE.

Fedora 14, in some ways, is a great OS. It recognized my printer and USB wireless adapter the second I plugged it in. In those ways it was amazing. Not even the most widely used OS in the world, (Windows) recognized my hardware at plug in. The reason I am so negative on Fedora, is barely any software is compatible by default in fedora. I added one repository to get kdenlive, one for availability to play various video & audio files, which didn't work, and, some for other individual applications.

Do you agree that Fedora needs more supported applications.

I don't run rpm based distros so really can't comment.

Maybe Fuduntu may please you better in case you did not know about it.

I guess the Fedora guys do not like the name though LOL.

Fedora includes many thousands of packages in its official repositories, and third party repos like rpmfusion, elrepo, atrpms and epel offer many many more. There is no shortage of software for Fedora.
I'm not sure exactly what you are complaining about really, but if you are finding it difficult to use Fedora you could try something more geared towards new users, like Linux Mint or Ubuntu - both have very large repositories as well.
Fedora is intended to be cutting edge, not easy to use.

Firstly, did you install from the live CD, which has little software on it? It's much better to install from the DVD. I think the CD was added "because everyone else has one" without too much attention being given to it! But now you've started, there's lots of software to download.

Most video and audio formats require codecs to interpret them that have to be paid for if you live in the USA, so Fedora avoids any possible legal troubles by leaving them out. Go to http://rpmfusion.org/ where you can enable their repository with two clicks. Then you can get their codecs, and lots of other things. Of course, if you live in the USA you are supposed to buy them .. If you want to watch commercial DVDs, the codec is actually illegal in the USA (unless supplied by Microsoft or Apple), but it is available from http://rpm.livna.org/

These are the only extra repositiories you need.

I suggest you sign up at http://forums.fedoraforum.org/ which is the best source of Fedora-specific help. At the top of their home page you will see a link to a page of set-up guides. This is well worth reading.

I've used Fedora since version 1. I've tried 36 other distros but, apart from Salix for my slow, elderly notebook, I still prefer Fedora.

I use fedora daily at work and at home. I think it actually has one of the better default repo selections of the many Linux flavors I have personally tried. And as DaveMcaan identified: there are two other repos to add that pretty much cover everything.

But keep in mind that Fedora is not aimed at Beginner linux users. At all. So if you are having trouble with Fedora, and do not wish/do not have time to dig into LQ or Fedoraforums to get help, then be aware that there are other linux flavors that might suit your needs better than Fedora.

Ubuntu has a million different flavors that are aimed at newer users. And Im sure a quick search of Beginner Linux on Google/Yahoo/Engine of your choice will give you a lot of choices.

Good luck, don't give up.

Fedora reminds me of debian sid with dose of experimental thrown in for good measure without the benefit of a rolling release. Very tough to maintain and before you know it - a new version of Fedora is out.
If multimedia is important Mint Linux will be the better choice, Mint doesn't hold strict free software believes and installs with all codecs and closed-source wireless and video drivers, very rarely gets me trouble with hardware. My girlfriend, she's "not into computers", rates mint linux above windows7 cuz everything she might need - works and it's safe(er). That made our flat officially windows free and samba got uninstalled from all PCs :D

1)
i take it you did not do all that much research BEFORE using fedora

there ARE a tone - ( a LOT ) of pre-built rpm's for it BUT and this is a VERY BIG But
Fedora is and ALWAYS will be a "cutting edge distro "
A "Research and Development" distro
A " NEWEST OF THE NEW "( for the most part)
and as such MOST IF NOT ALL "older" programs will not work on it ( in older i mean 1 year + )

fedora's code base is JUST WAY TOO NEW for some older programs

2)
--the video and audio ( the second reason i think you did not do much research ) --
fedora NEVER WILL, and never has ,included any "patent / royalty " encumbered software .
fedora lives inside the NEW "patent - iron curtain - called the USA "
and as such can NOT include them BY LAW !!!!!!


you might want to take some time and read the fedora Docs
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/index.html

Yes, I don't dig it either :)

Fedora is not tough to maintain if you resist the temptation to do unnecessary updates, which almost turn it into a rolling-release and occasionally break things.

I always do
yum install yum-plugin-security
Then, once a week, I run
yum --security update
and get the security fixes, if any, without the endless "enhancements" (which will be in the next version in 6 months anyway, and properly checked).

Hello,
I have been reading this thread and decided to throw my couple cents in to this bucket.

First of all, any Linux distribution does not deserve to be called "worst" or "best", because actually all Linux distributions out there share common goal, which is to deliver free as in speech and/or beer, operating system to YOU. Plus, all Linux distributions are made from the same software, they all use powerful Linux kernel and collection of open source software on top of it. The only difference is how they do it and which choices do they make to produce a good system. AND they all have THEIR understanding of a "good system", which can aether mach of not match with YOUR understanding of a "good system" concept. On top of that, developers put enormous (i believe so) effort to their work, and You take their work and blow it to dust without any effort, just because YOU did not get something served to you on a golden plate, does not mean that distribution is best or worse. It only means, that YOUR effort is needed too in some cases. And if such is the case, then you aether give that effort or move somewhere else.

I think, one will always find some weak points in every distribution and the other one will find that these same weak points are actually strengths for him. So if you have to chose a distribution, choose one that suits you, and then familiarize with how developers of that distribution think and do stuff, if you disagree with their way, then move on, because sooner or later you will get disappointed.

And lastly, please take no offense from my speech, instead, please just think before you say something bad about or try to rate a Linux Distribution. Of course, criticism is a very good thing, as long as it is in a constructive, and not destructive form.

And to add to what Totoro-kun said.... That's why I use Fedora. Ok, so it might not be the best for a lot of people, but it is the best for me because I get to troubleshoot a lot of problems that I come across, and I learn more about what I am using, whether it be hardware and/or software.

early on with fedora ( fedora 4 to 11) i liked to ---
I still like to fix things ,but as time goes on less an less
OpenSUSE - one option
there are things about fedora i like better
but all have good and bad points


use what best fits YOUR needs

Exactly. Me, I'm more of a hands on troubleshooter. So that's why I pick Fedora.... Yet I recommend Ubuntu to all my friends....

I've been using Fedora forever (started using linux with Redhat v.4.2, I think) both as a server and as a desktop, and despite trying many other distros over the years, I find it to be one of the most flexible and stable OS's available. Like all distros, it has it's quirks ~ however ~ it is not the best choice for beginners or someone wanting the equivalent of a Mac OS X (the Fisher Price OS) desktop for free. Try Ubuntu or Linux Mint as some have suggested.