Hello forums!

I have been experimenting with different distros for a while - new to Linux. I have tried a whole lot of distros - my swap is /dev/sda14 and only sda3 is a /home. After all the experimenting, I got fed up with having my hd split into so many partitions and want to choose one to stick with.

For what I could see, what makes a distro different from the others is basically the way it handles packages. It is quite possible to set very similar systems using Debian, Slackware, Arch or Gentoo (the ones I played more with), the difference is how long you're going to take or the convenience of the process.

What am I missing? What else makes a distro different from the others? Please help me understand that a little better and, if you like, you can also share some of your experiences with your favorite distro(s).

From a standard install standpoint, the biggest differences to the user will be package management and the default package set (default desktop, non-free audio/video codecs and drivers, office tools, email, default browser, etc). For a general user, you're right -- you can monkey around and get any general purpose distro to look and feel a lot like any other general purpose distro.

There are some other subtle differences, like sticking to the Linux Standard Base, or trying to maintain as close a link to the original Unix as possible. There's also community differences such as freeness of packages permitted, quality requirements, visions and missions for the distro, etc.

Now if you have other needs, like security hardening or small footprint distros, then you're getting into specialty areas that the general purpose distros can fit, but there may be better solutions that have been tailored for that applications.

In the end, it's basically all feel. There's no right or wrong answer. Since you've fiddled with them, you might already have a preference.

Just as a data point, I started out with the old Red Hat 9.0 (Shrike) and didn't like it much, so I moved to Mandrake, then Slackware, and finally settled on Debian Woody. The balance of getting your hands dirty, having a few ncurses wizards, and the superior dependency handling of Apt really made a good fit for me. Of course, now most every distro does dependency handling with their package managers, so that isn't as big a deal. Anyway, it just felt right and I've run Debian ever since, mostly stable branch because I'm boring, with the only non-official repository the excellent Debian Multimedia repository.

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You can read a great comparison of "what distinguishes the top 10 distros from each other" here:

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

Keep in mind that how the actual distro (the software) performs on your hardware today is only part of the equation. You also have to consider:

1. The quality/helpfulness of the user community (forums, IRC, etc.) to assist when you have problems/questions
2. The reputation and long-term viability of the organization behind the distro (I am generally wary of distros created by a single developer or those new on the scene, preferring to use those with a track record of solid releases)
3. How you want to handle updates over time: "rolling release" (Arch, Gentoo), every few months (Ubuntu, Fedora), or every few years (Debian, Red Hat)

You mention Debian, Gentoo, Slackware, and Arch... these are all fine choices, and I can't really decide which is right for you.

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Thank you pljvaldez and snowpine for your input. For some reason, I had totally forgotten the non-general purpose distros and they're really important.

I went ahead and kept Debian Squeeze. I'm loving it.

My mistake was that I left 40GB unassigned and installed Slackware. I'm loving it too! Sweet Jesus! How can I be so torn between these two distros? I'll keep them both going for now until one day when I'm able to pick one of them.

Man, Volkerding and Debian sure do a terrific job! They should make Slackian and end my anguish.

You will soon find that one of these will fit your needs better than the other. No matter what, with a bit of tweaking, its still the same under the hood.

I'm with you, bonixavier, regarding Debian- and Slackware- based distros. I use both.

Welcome to Linux! Enjoy the adventure!

P.S Only thing I see missing here regarding your original question is the desktop environments. I prefer xfce and lxde, but IceWM is good and flexible, too. FYI see antiX