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-   -   What is you favored desktop OS and why? (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-desktop-74/what-is-you-favored-desktop-os-and-why-4175497409/)

auderus 03-07-2014 12:43 PM

What is you favored desktop OS and why?
 
Especially now that Microsoft has ended XP we have to move lots of clients?

snowday 03-07-2014 12:48 PM

Welcome to the forums!

My experience is that migrating clients from Windows XP to Windows 7 is often the smoothest transition. End users won't require as much retraining, as compared to migrating from Windows XP to Linux, Mac OSX, or even Windows 8.

If you are asking "which Linux?" then my two personal favorites are Linux Mint and RHEL/CentOS/Scientific (I lump these last three together because they are built from the same source code).

---------- Post added 03-07-14 at 01:48 PM ----------

Welcome to the forums!

My experience is that migrating clients from Windows XP to Windows 7 is often the smoothest transition. End users won't require as much retraining, as compared to migrating from Windows XP to Linux, Mac OSX, or even Windows 8.

If you are asking "which Linux?" then my two personal favorites are Linux Mint and RHEL/CentOS/Scientific (I lump these last three together because they are built from the same source code).

frankbell 03-07-2014 08:24 PM

My favorites are Slackware Linux, followed by Debian Linux. They, along with Red Hat, are the existing Linux distros withe the longest lineage.

For Windows users who want an easy transition, I usually recommend Mint, all other things being equal. Mint tries to set up its default menu so it's not too scary to persons who have used only Windows.

cwizardone 03-07-2014 08:32 PM

Over the years I've noticed "former" m$-windows users find KDE (desktop environment) easy to use and it is included in many Linux distributions. The Xfce DE can also be setup to mimic the Xp desktop.

Timothy Miller 03-07-2014 10:13 PM

Debian. It has huge repositories, easy to install, can be set up however one wants, uses meta-packages for installing groups of software, and available for basically any type of hardware you can possibly come up with.

sgosnell 03-07-2014 10:18 PM

Debian. It works, without any need for much of anything other than installation.

jailbait 03-07-2014 10:35 PM

Debian. Debian contains pretty much everything available in open source. The Debian repositories and the apt-get system are set up so that installing whatever subset of Debian fits your client's needs will be fairly straightforward. Debian is very stable so the time spent trouble shooting problems will be minimized.

-------------------
Steve Stites

JWJones 03-08-2014 12:35 AM

Well, I make a living off of using Mac OSX, 9-10 hours a day, 5 days a week. I'm the rare Mac user that navigates mostly by keyboard. That's where I'm most productive.

But on my own time, I use Slackware, OpenBSD, Arch, and Debian sid (unstable). For DE or WMs, I use Xfce, i3, Gnome 3, Openbox, bspwm, jwm, larswm, sithwm, and many times just the framebuffer/tmux or tty/tmux.

johnsfine 03-08-2014 06:14 AM

Unfortunately, my favorite if you put emphasis on "desktop" is XP.

There is a lot to dislike about any version of Windows, but it still has a better desktop GUI than any Linux. After XP, the desktop GUI got a little worse and all the other things that made Windows bad got worse as well.

Windows integration of the "desktop" GUI with the file explorer has always made sense to me. The failure of Linux to do the same always feels like a flaw when I'm using Linux. In the Windows file explorer (and desktop) I have always used registry settings to have a powerful collection of context menus. Most of my common activities need only a right click on the relevant object. I've never figured out how to customize any Linux file explorer that well.

On the flip side, the integration of file explorer with internet explorer in Windows or in Linux has always been a major annoyance. When I mistype a LAN address in a file explorer, I never want that to trigger an internet search, to switch the explorer from file mode to internet mode, nor to take away my mistyped address, so I must retype the whole thing rather than fix just the typo. But Windows file explorer does all that. Some Linux file explorers default to doing all that as well, but it is easier to turn off.

But this computer I'm typing on will not be XP much longer. I will be switching to Centos (it is already dual boot XP and Centos).

What is the best replacement for XP? I really don't know.

The things that make Windows 7 an impossible choice for me have more to do with corporate IT than inherent in Windows. My other desktop computer here is Windows 7. I would hate Windows 7 anyway, and corporate IT makes it much worse. In general Windows 7 would be a rotten replacement for XP, but for this XP system, which exists mainly to do the many things that the combination of Windows 7 and corporate IT make impossible on my faster computer, using Windows 7 would not be an improvement over the option of just throwing the computer away and failing at those parts of my job.

Among Linux choices to replace XP, I don't think Centos is in any way the obvious choice. I selected Centos entirely because it is the version of Linux most commonly and competently maintained by local IT here. I need significant help from local IT to integrate any system with the local network resources. I'm not very competent myself as a Linux admin. So the choice of Linux version had to be made based on the experience of local IT, rather than on any difference in technical merits.

DavidMcCann 03-08-2014 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by auderus (Post 5130689)
Especially now that Microsoft has ended XP we have to move lots of clients?

The answer will depend on your clients! There is no "best Linux" and what does for one will not do for others.

If you are talking about business users, they need stability. If they are prepared to pay for support, there's Red Hat and SUSE. If they want it free, there's CentOS (the same as Red Hat), Debian Stable, and Slackware.

An important consideration is the GUI, which is not built-in. Anyone will want something that is not going to be too much of a culture shock. If they are used to the XP interface, then they may not like Gnome: there may be cries of "Help, my computer looks like a smart-phone!" KDE is reliable and configurable, although some people find the special effects irritating. It's traditionally said that KDE is more Windows like, but I'd say that applied to the older versions. Mate and Xfce are more traditional. Then there's the question of the age of the computer. Some are going to be running XP on very old machines! AntiX will install Debian Stable in such a way that you can run a professional word-processor in 128MB. A modern KDE desktop will not perform well with less that 1GB.

So, we have
- Red Hat or CentOS with Gnome or KDE
- SUSE with KDE or Gnome
- Debian Stable with Gnome or KDE, or installed with Ice via AntiX, or installed with Mate via Point
- Slackware installed via Salix (more user-friendly configuration tools) with Xfce, KDE, or Mate.

WiseDraco 03-09-2014 06:35 AM

cool. search for miserable MS-addicted in linuixquestions :)
i personally for last 7 years or so use slackware - on all my desktops, and servers. actually i have an XP too ( it come with my eeepc when i purchase it new), but i boot in it about a one or two times in year. i, as many of us, start my way in PC with ms dos, then win95osr, win98se, winxp, but then i got tired from all microsoft philosophy and problems, and switch to linux. not regret...

RockDoctor 03-09-2014 03:42 PM

DE (desktop environment) or OS (operating system). Two different cans of worms, at least for me. My favorite DEs are (in alphabetical order) Cinnamon and LXDE; they let me do what I want to do, are configurable enough for my purposes, and otherwise stay out of my way. Once upon a time, I'd do a lot of switching between Fedora and Ubuntu on my netbook because one or the other would break wifi. Although wifi breakage is no longer a problem, I still multiboot Fedora, (L)ubuntu, and Linux Mint on my desktop PC. I've no strong preference among the three OSs.

balky 03-13-2014 09:45 AM

CentOS for me any day...

It is becoming increasingly difficult to tell which is more commercial between M$ and Ubuntu...

szboardstretcher 03-13-2014 09:46 AM

For work -- Windows 7. I simply cannot get as much work done with my arch laptop/debian desktop as i can with my windows 7 desktop.

cwizardone 03-13-2014 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by szboardstretcher (Post 5133910)
For work -- Windows 7. I simply cannot get as much work done with my arch laptop/debian desktop as i can with my windows 7 desktop.

Interesting. Are you using applications for which there are no suitable Linux equivalents?

schneidz 03-13-2014 10:03 AM

i like fedora simply because my work laptop has windows on it which cant be used on the internet without first proxying via vpn (and having them spy on my usage).

the fedora liveusb-creator (including persistent storage) works very well -- i've had problems with unetbootin.

LinuxGeek2305 03-27-2014 09:02 AM

Arch, because it's cutting-edge, rolling-release, and my own configuration.

Germany_chris 03-27-2014 12:00 PM

Do these answers really help you decide which you would like to use? Linux is Linux the communities surrounding the distro make the difference hang out in communities of a few distro's and see which appeals to YOU.

anon218 04-01-2014 04:29 PM

I started on Debian, then moved to RedHat, then to SUSE. I even tried Ubuntu for awhile while using my old PC as a TimeMachine server for my Mac. I have ended up on openSUSE simply because I like the integration better. But, its purely a matter of personal taste. The capabilities are similar across all flavors.

My system today is a MacBook Pro running OS X 10.9, a Windows 8.1 Pro virtual machine, a Windows XP Pro virtual machine and an openSUSE 13.1 virtual machine. I can run all the software I need using the above combinations. Note that I have some old legacy SW that I keep the XP machine around for.

openSUSE works great for running my Altera, Xilinx and ModelSim tools.

Tadaen 04-14-2014 08:32 PM

Debian if you talking about professional use, stable is hard to beat. OpenSuse does have nice integration, Yast is great. But repos of Debian, larger community, more likely to find help... It is a no brainer for me. I actually wanted to use OpenSuse but the latest 13.1 was a glitchy mess for me. Gave up and went back to Debian, testing this time and am perfectly content with it.

the dsc 04-15-2014 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwizardone (Post 5130892)
Over the years I've noticed "former" m$-windows users find KDE (desktop environment) easy to use and it is included in many Linux distributions. The Xfce DE can also be setup to mimic the Xp desktop.

That was my experience. Eventually, before the arrival of KDE 4, I moved to fluxbox and then to openbox.

I still have konqueror as my file manager though. It's simply unbeatable. Once you get used to it, tweaking it to your taste, every other FM feel either ridiculously limited, or a clunky, useless, piece of junk.

Shadow_7 04-15-2014 07:26 PM

debian for me. I started on SuSE but the next version (> 6.1) wouldn't install (easily) on my laptop at the time. I've tried others, but I always end up back on debian. It seems to be the easiest long term option out there. For those of us who don't reinstall an OS every two weeks or even once a year, debian wins. At the end of the day they all run basically the same software. Some minor quirks with versioning and availability, but basically the same (for now).

oldwierdal 04-16-2014 08:33 AM

Any Linux with the old Gnome 2.xx
 
With the questionable decision to abandon Gnome 2.xx, I, with thousands of others, fumed and searched for a suitable replacement. I eventually settled on the Mate desktop environment running on Linux Mint. Since about 2004, I stopped using anything MS as my primary OS, preferring the more stable and secure Gnu/Linux OS. I do have VirtualBox installed, and using it, virtual XP, WIN7, and WIN8 machines. Of those three, I've only used Win8 since discovering "Classic Shell" http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/ which gives us the classic shell we've all become used to. And at that, I only fire up that to handle tax prep software or to try to help family/friends with problems on their Windows machines.
I'm really impressed with the evolution of the Mate DE.... it is about as close to the old Gnome as I've seen. And from what I've read, Mate DE will be around for some time.
The next release of Linux Mint 17 will have the new Mate 1.8 available as a DVD installation iso. Great news!

SandsOfArrakis 04-17-2014 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMcCann (Post 5131153)
The answer will depend on your clients! There is no "best Linux" and what does for one will not do for others.

If you are talking about business users, they need stability. If they are prepared to pay for support, there's Red Hat and SUSE. If they want it free, there's CentOS (the same as Red Hat), Debian Stable, and Slackware.

An important consideration is the GUI, which is not built-in. Anyone will want something that is not going to be too much of a culture shock. If they are used to the XP interface, then they may not like Gnome: there may be cries of "Help, my computer looks like a smart-phone!" KDE is reliable and configurable, although some people find the special effects irritating. It's traditionally said that KDE is more Windows like, but I'd say that applied to the older versions. Mate and Xfce are more traditional. Then there's the question of the age of the computer. Some are going to be running XP on very old machines! AntiX will install Debian Stable in such a way that you can run a professional word-processor in 128MB. A modern KDE desktop will not perform well with less that 1GB.

So, we have
- Red Hat or CentOS with Gnome or KDE
- SUSE with KDE or Gnome
- Debian Stable with Gnome or KDE, or installed with Ice via AntiX, or installed with Mate via Point
- Slackware installed via Salix (more user-friendly configuration tools) with Xfce, KDE, or Mate.

Been using Linux Mint for ages, but I gave Debian Stable 7.4 Wheezy a shot. And I'm hooked. Went for the minimal net install cd. So I had to download the rest of the programs and interface and ended up with the Gnome desktop. However there are also cd iso files with XFCE and LXDE available next to KDE :)

Drakeo 04-17-2014 01:00 PM

Hey why don't I just join a Linux questions forum and ask what your favorite Desktop OS is. That is brilliant.
Slackware it just works.

trinidadcruz 04-19-2014 04:18 PM

Debian Linux for sure, because I like the environment, and interface, but I must confess to liking Libre Office a great deal. I am a novelist/poet/political writer and I prefer the odt. format for writing. I will be trying some server software this summer, but haven't really decided which system to use. I hope to go normal and gopher too.

TC

bhold 04-26-2014 04:00 PM

Debian Wheezy with XFCE desktop. I like the full functionality and low memory footprint. In my setup a clean boot into XFCE idles at about 90mb (only 30mb more memory usage than Fluxbox). I still keep a Windows 7 system around only for driver availability and driver quality for my printers and scanners. Professional quality print output and scanning is the one area where Linux has not worked for me, but possibly this is due to the old age of some of my hardware. Oh yeah - it would also be nice to watch Netflix videos but that is a Netflix DRM issue, not a limitation of Linux.

SandsOfArrakis 04-30-2014 12:48 PM

Debian Testing (Jessie) at the moment. Had Wheezy 7.4 Stable running, but decided to give Testing a try. So downloaded this weeks iso with the XFCE desktop and it's running like a charm here. Debian is together with Mint my favourite distro.


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