Where to go now? Next step after Ubuntu.
 

Hello, I've been using Ubuntu for a long time now and i think i am fairly knowledgeable about linux and i was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on what Distro i should tinker with next?
I am on a Dell inspiron 5100 and the WLAN card i have requires NDISWRAPPER so that needs to compatible with the distro other than that, What do you have for me?

A pretty reasonable next step would be Slackware or Arch.

Slackware.

Arch expects you to know what software you want to install. It installs a barebones Linux system with a few utilities.

Slackware installs a suite of programs and the KDE desktop environment by default. You get a full working system with a great opportunity for learning.

Arch gives you a great opportunity for learning that leads to a full working system.

If you do want to go Arch, their website does have excellent step-by-step instructions on how to set it up.

Debian.

That's SLAX that has KDE by default, not Slackware. The two distros can't be more different despite the fact that SLAX is based (*very* loosely) on Slackware.

Slackware is also *very* hard to install software on, as most apps have to be built from source *without* dependency resolution, which is *extremely* hard to do.

I'm puzzled. The last time I installed Slackware (v. 13.0), it defaulted to KDE. Of course, it also included XFCE, Blackbox, TWM, Fluxbox (my personal favorite), and maybe one or two others.

Did I miss something?

Have you based that misleading statement on experience, or hearsay?

I say Fedora. Rpm's and Deb's make the Linux world go round.

Slack is okay. It does default to KDE. At least the last time I used it. It's a good distro if you want to be minimalistic.

I really don't know where some of you get these crazy opinions of Slackware?!
I've only been using PC's since 2006 and Linux since 2008 and I never noticed anything "hard" or difficult with Slackware? I know 0 programming languages and am not in any way a "coder" ,etc.
I mean really it's just editing text configuration files and Slackware is more stable than any other distro.

Personally, I've had many issues with dpkg and pacman and never had one issue with slackpkg.
Maybe Slackware is just too simple for some or I dont know?

I vote Slackware!

How is it the next step from Ubuntu?


It reminds me of Windows users spreading crazy opinions about linux.

I vote gentoo!

I would say Fedora too.
It is next steps because uses RPMs instead of APT.

and how does THAT make Fedora the next step distro? Basically, they are very similar GUI-focused distros with different package
management systems. My understanding of the next step distro would be something more challenging, something that requires more in-depth
knowledge.

I suggest you try archlinux then go to gentoo.

won't it be "RPMs instead of debs"??

Yes, sorry for my typo. 8-)

That's every Linux distro.


If you just want to learn to compile and edit config files, sure. No companies hire you to sit around doing such things now a days.

I don't think he wants it for work.

Hi,

Any self respecting company that has a R&D department would not hire an admin if he/she doesn't know how to compile. And editing config files is part of the (almost) daily routine when administering a network of servers.

Kind regards,

Eric

Not necessarily. Look at Arch and Fedora - different package management systems but also completely different approaches. Fedora and Ubuntu, on the other hand are very similar in their attempt to provide the user with a great number of GUI tools minimising the need to use CLI.
This thread is not about being employable or not. Please read the original post.

Your right. I missed the tinkering part.

You could always try something like Sabayon's CDX version, Salix (minimal install), or Tiny Core. They let you install just the kernel, tools, and xorg. Then you build your system according to your own taste and fancy.

If you really want a challenge, try Linux From scratch!

Hello,

Although the jump from Ubuntu to Linux from Scratch is huge, it indeed will learn you a lot. But I think it'll be a bit easier to go to Slackware, Arch or Gentoo first and next take on the LFS challenge.

Kind regards,

Eric

I had the same question a week ago. Sat down, explored distros on the net for a night and ended up with Arch. It's a cutie, just the right balance between user-friendliness and control for me. :P And it's nice to go through the installation process step by step and know what's inside. Not to mention that you actually throw out the stuff that you need and get back a bit of resources.
They have a nice beginner's guide for the installation, so you don't get stuck in the middle of nowhere. You might want to be familiar with browsing the web in some console browser for that though.