My problem with Ubuntu mainly boils down to basically a philosophical difference. I don't like the way they play "hide the ball" with the root account and how they seem to think they know what is better for me than I do. In the past, I have used Suse and then openSUSE, and from that I have built up some expectations of what a Linux system should feel like to me. Ubuntu seems to do everything to shield the user from the OS (while I actually like to tinker with the OS), and in that way it reminds me a lot of Microsoft Windows. I mean, if I weren't a computer enthusiast, I could just happily sit in front of the computer and work just like I did with MS Windows. But Linux is not Windows, and I want to experience it differently.

So, yeah, it's a philosophical difference, and I could write for hours on it because it hit me like a splash of cold water while I was installing Ubuntu. The SL installation is more what I'm used to.

Ubuntu is a great distribution for beginners, though, and for those who just want to use their computers as tools. And it does have tons of software going for it.

Edit: Every time I get going on Ubuntu it comes off like a tirade, and I just want to clarify that Ubuntu is a great distribution; it just isn't for me. Their support is outstanding. I never had a question that they couldn't answer and fast.

Thanks so much!

Hi,

Ok, understood.

Note that you can customize Ubuntu more to your liking: eg switch to a conventional root account remove all the handholding/gui/newbie stuff etc.. In such a situation you would end up with something closer to a Debian box with 5 years of support.

Cheers,

Evo2.

Yes, I understand what you are saying, and it's something that I'm considering. I'm looking at it very seriously mainly because the software repositories can't be beat.

However, as it stands now, I really think that I need to leave Scientific Linux on the old laptop because it runs hot with Ubuntu and about 12 degrees C cooler with Scientific Linux as well as being faster. I may test out the new openSUSE to see if it is just as cool, but if not, it looks like SL is the way to go for it. I have another computer with Kubuntu which I will probably leave as is.

I was incorrect when I posted this. The fact is that my laptop will run under Ubuntu with the fan on the lowest idling speed hovering between 60-80 degrees C for a lot of the time (the fan really kicks in at around 84 degrees). With Scientific Linux the fan runs almost constantly at a higher speed and it gives the appearance that SL runs cooler when in fact the CPU is cooler because the fan is running. When the fan turns off the temperature climbs to 80 degrees after a few seconds and the fan kicks in again.

So I must decide which is better: to run at a higher, but more staple, temperature or to constantly bounce back and forth between high and low temperatures as with SL and have the fan running more. My guess is that running consistently hot is better than having repeated huge temperature variations (49 C to 80 C).

I will try openSUSE simply because I want to and see how that goes, but evo2 is probably correct and my best bet is to stick with Ubuntu.

This sounds like a great use-case for Fuduntu.

I'm willing to hear the case for Fuduntu, but from what I see it is a rolling release which I cannot have since I'm on dial-up. Also, the only D.E. available is Gnome 2, and I like to have 2 or more desktop environments to switch between.

Also, battery life is not an issue for me since I use my laptops on AC only. Overheating is a concern though.

You are right, Fuduntu is a rolling release, but that doesn't mean that you have to constantly update it. It is a stable release, forked from Fedora 14 - and offers a lot of software that is far newer than CentOS or RHEL's desktop OS forks. GNOME 2 is the only supported DE, but XFCE and LXDE are in the repository. WindowMaker and openbox are also available.

If someone is evaluating a RHEL forked desktop, Fuduntu should also be at the very top of that list.

One thing that might be a problem with Fuduntu is that the disk doesn't gives you a word processor, only a menu entry for Google docs. If you don't need a WP, that's not a problem; but if you do, cloud computing is not a good idea on dial-up!

For a dial-up user, the best option is something that is easily bought on a disk by mail, that comes with lots of software (DVD, not CD), and that comes with several years' support before you need to get another disk.

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I just want to report that I'm keeping Scientific Linux on my computer. After carefully watching the CPU temperature, I have determined that it does not run hotter than Ubuntu nor does the fan run much more. Maybe it does for the first hour but the temperature settles down nicely.

It turns out that I like it, and it works well on this old laptop. However, I am unlikely to upgrade to 7.0 when it becomes available because I expect RHEL 7.0 will introduce systemd and change the Unix File System Hierachy (FSH) which is already seen in Fedora. For this reason, I won't be testing the new release of openSUSE when it becomes available. Anyway, I have enough on my plate already.

I can recommend Scientific Linux 6.3 for those interested in a distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It is a good alternative to Ubuntu for long term support, but don't expect as much software available.