Hello All,

After being in Linux Chat rooms, and on various Linux Forums...When a noob asks what flavor or distro of linux is the best, they get bombarded with different reasons for different distros.

I see answers like because its stable or some generic answer. Well these are feature of Linux as a whole, not of that particular distro. You can't say Red Hat is more stable than Mandrake, because Red Hat is better, no because Linux in general is stable.

I very rarely see a clear answer to why one distro is better than the other, especially considering the different uses each distro has to offer, i.e. some are better for Servers, some better for Workstations...etc etc etc.

This is what I see, and IT'S OK! People tend to like and prefer the distro they grew up on, so to speak. Again, Thats OK! To say you prefer your distro, because its what you teethed on, and what you feel comfortable with, That's OK!

Be honest with Noobs, don't give them run around, or a sales pitch on why your distro is better, just tell them the truth, its what you like, what your comfortable with, what your friends use, what you learned on, what ever! Just be honest. AND please be open minded... There isn't ONE ALL POWERFUL Linux Distro that is night and day better then the rest.

I would like to know why YOU chose the distro(and what flavor) you use now. And please don't use Linux generalities(if thats a word?), what specifically about your Distro you think is a cut above the rest.

Do you recommend a website that has review on different distros of linux? Post them, let us know.

Their are alot of NEW Distros coming out. What do you think about the new and up coming distros?

Cheer! Zegos

I've used Caldera, Redhat, Gentoo and Debian ( plus some others, but not long enough to count ) and I'm sticking with Debian. for One main reason Apt-get and the packages available through it. No searching websites for some obscure rpm, no painful list of dependancies that become almost impossible to resolve. and no worries about which version of Debian the package is for. and no waiting about for compiling.

The only thing I've ever had to get from outside the repositry was MPlayer. but theres a nice separate repositry for that.

Its the easiest Distro I've ever maintained. I even compile my own kernels everytime a new version is released, because its easy and hassle free. ( I'm not even sure its neccessary, but I like minimalism in my kernels ).

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade

Bliss.

Well, maybe you should realize its not that there is one most powerful Linux disto, its becuase there are many different distos with many different problems. Some dont like lots of hardware, some dont like this, some cant do this, some dont come with this. It all depends on the PERSON and what he LIKES or has. It isn't the fact that Linux is more stable, it may well be, but I have had distos which were very annoying and irritating and I would not suggest those to n00bs. Linux is not a simple thing, Linux is way to general, you cant say LINUX because it is many things.

Linux is a large GROUP of OS's, not one. If I say I have Linux, noone can solve a problem, they have to know what disto, to me its almost as if each one is a seperate disto. May be some things in common but there are many differences.

it IS ok to like your distro...i tried redhat, fedora, knoppix and suse and of the 4 i TOTALLY prefer suse. it works for me, i know how it works, i use apt-get for updates, fluxbox for my wm...and i'm completely confident when i do things with it. it has never failed me, so if asked, i suggest suse, but i never slam another distro...it's like cars...some like chevy, some like ford, but in the end...they're all cars...it's what you prefer and are comfortable with.

Thank you DetPenguin,

2 Points here... One It's OK to tell noobs you like your distro because you like it, not because its much better than others... Two when a Noob asks what distro to start with, lets not get their head spinning with facts and statistics, but search them out, see what their friends use, see what they are comfortable with.

Because C'MON, THE POINT IS TO GET THEM STARTED INTO LINUX in general, to get their feet wet. This is how we will get more ppl in the linux realm, then by filling their heads with biased opinions and statistics.

We have alot of smart, intelligent ppl here in the linux realm, but that doesn't do a Noob a whole lot of good, if we don't use some finesse with dealing with Noobs.

IT'S OK to like your Distro!

Thanks guys, Zegos

BUT...

There are some people that are used to the mindless ease of use of some other OS. These are the folks that tell me, "oh, thanks for telling me where the docs are, but I don't want to read anything, can you just tell me how to do it?"

Face it, some people should have computers with little hand cranks on the side that just play pretty music, like the kind that Playschool makes. Use some finesse in helping newcomers, sure, but it would be good for a few (very few, I might add) of the newcomers to stop demanding someone help them set up a system that is beyond their skillset.

Some things in life are too hard if you are not willing to use your own brainpower to make gains. Not everyone that wants to become a neurosurgeon can, especailly if they imagine becoming one is their right, and not something they must strive and study for.

GNU/Linux is not brain surgery. It's not all that hard to learn; but it does take a little learning, and it takes an attitude of curiosity, and a willingness to search for a logical solution to a problem, unlike some systems that require, maybe at most, a reboot.

For some users, the best distro of GNU/Linux is the one that will not be on the shelves any time soon. Those are the folks that should stick with something a little more facile. Something from Redmond, perhaps.

My .02 US.

OK, I like Slackware because it has more of the libraries I use as standard, and few of those that I don't need. It fits nicely on a single CD needing very little else for me to get everything I need for my system.

Actually apart from Gimp 2, aMSN, opera and MPlayer I've had to install nothing to use the system. I have installed some development stuff but that was for me to develop with, not to get other software working.

Prefer Slack to RH because I found with RH it took me ages to wade through all the stuff I didn't want to install, and even then there was a lot of stuff missing that I wanted. Plus I don't like all their crappy config tools - ascii is the way to go!

Good point Doc!

Spoken as a true linux hardcore user!

You guys are awesome... There has to come a point in a Noob's life that he gets off the milk, and tears into the provided documentation that comes with all distros, and all apps. Granted, there are some that aren't well written.

Well said again Doc!

This channel is about 's in general, and how we need to speak the message of Linux, and not of flavors. We need to be honest with ourselves, and help get ppl on and into Linux, wether it's Red Hat, Mandrake, or Slackware. We all started somewhere... That is the key, to help the noob to get started somewhere.

Cheers, Zegos!

Gee, Pauli...why is it that practically everything you post is something I completely disagree with?

I agree that each distro has its unique problems, but I believe most of this is due to differences in GUI toolsets and differences in which packages/drivers are included or installed by default.
I also agree with the bit about it depending on the person. This is one of the great features of Linux...the choice of using many different methods with which to solve a problem. In this way a person can find what works best for him.

I disagree with the last bit. After you cut through the GUI and get to the real system, you find that most distros are really pretty much the same. A few have slight differences in structure, but mostly the tools are the same on Mandrake as on Slackware as on SuSE etc....

You bad at math or sumthin? Thats two out of three you agree, that is 2/3 which is agreeing, how is that PRATICALLY everything?

And I do not care if you agree or not. Know why? Because it is not my dearest desire to have people agree with me, I don't care. Disagree all you want, unless you start giving proof to me, I won't change. Mandrake is a shitload different than Slack, yes its the gui that is the diffy. Know what? What is the most seen part of an OS? Oh yeah, The gui. If that is differnent, it is most visible different from disto to disto.

I've used Mandy and SuSE and prefer SuSE.

But to each his/her own...

It doesn't matter what distro someone uses. What MATTERS is that it's LINUX!!!

Exactly! This is the attitude we need to have with Noobs!

Thanks JaseP!


Cheers, Zegos!