LinuxQuestions.org

LinuxQuestions.org (/questions/)
-   Linux - General (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-general-1/)
-   -   Little Known Linux Distributions (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-general-1/little-known-linux-distributions-4175413593/)

0men 06-27-2012 01:23 AM

Little Known Linux Distributions
 
There must be thousands of Linux Distributions out there these days. I've tried ALOT, and every so often ill stumble onto one that i've heard no one talk about and which i really enjoy. Peppermint and Saline for example.

Was wondering if anyone else has found any Linux distro's in which they've really enjoyed and no one really knows about.

tronayne 06-27-2012 08:06 AM

Yeah, there are a lot of 'em -- and, you what? many are based on Slackware.

So, why not give Slackware a try -- unadulterated, as close as possible to what developers intended, rock solid, dependable and a pleasure to work with.

Hope this helps some.

DavidMcCann 06-27-2012 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tronayne (Post 4713300)
Yeah, there are a lot of 'em -- and, you what? many are based on Slackware.

Even for a Slackware fanboy, this takes the biscuit. There are 320 distros listed at Distrowatch. 18 are based on Slackware, as opposed to 144 on Debian. Eliminating the specialist ones, the foreign language ones, and the just plain bad ones, we have two that I know to be good (Salix and Vector) and two that other reviewers have liked (Draco and Linvo).

If you want something that's not in the Distrowatch top 50 but still good (see my reviews on this site), look at
Parsix (102 on the Distro watch hit list): Debian based, Gnome desktop
Kororaa (99): Fedora based, Gnome or KDE desktop
SalineOS (84): Debian based, Xfce desktop
ZevenOS (62): Ubuntu based, Xfce desktop tweaked to look like BeOS

You see I agree with you on SalineOS; I shall have to look at Pepermint!

frieza 06-27-2012 10:56 AM

as far as i understand there are only a handful of main 'upstream' distributions, such as redhat, debian and slackware, and a most other distributions (fedora,ubuntu,mint,scientific linux,centos,suse,peppermint and saline) are derivative distributions. then there are custom, purpose built distributions that only serve one function. are there lesser known distributions? quite a few actually, are there lesser known distributions that i've stumbled upon and used? yes and no... none of them were general use distributions, but i have used coyote linux (floppy based router distribution), dd-wrt (embeded router distribution meant as a firmware replacement for wireless routers), and floppix (floppy based mini distribution) similar to knoppix.

brianL 06-27-2012 11:12 AM

Here's something different: Gobolinux.
I tried it briefly back in my wild distrohopping days.

sycamorex 06-27-2012 12:02 PM

Apart from very specialised, purpose built distributions, I don't see a reason why I would want to run anything apart from the "upstream" or top "semi-upstream" distros. Having said that, there's one that always intrigues me. I just don't have skills or time to gain the skills to configure it (link)

273 06-27-2012 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianL (Post 4713407)
Here's something different: Gobolinux.
I tried it briefly back in my wild distrohopping days.

Wow, well, er, yes, why!?!
Still, have to give it a look now...
Thanks.

brianL 06-27-2012 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 273 (Post 4713451)
Wow, well, er, yes, why!?!

Wow, well, er...why not?!? It was there, so I hopped onto it. Hopped back to Slack pretty quickly, though. :)

273 06-27-2012 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianL (Post 4713545)
Wow, well, er...why not?!? It was there, so I hopped onto it. Hopped back to Slack pretty quickly, though. :)

Sorry, that was mainly aimed at the distro, not your trying it.
I'm sure the creators have their reasons -- to me it looks more like a proof of concept than anything else.

brianL 06-27-2012 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 273 (Post 4713576)
I'm sure the creators have their reasons -- to me it looks more like a proof of concept than anything else.

Yeah, doesn't seem to have caught on. Novelty value, maybe.

fogpipe 06-27-2012 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMcCann (Post 4713391)
Even for a Slackware fanboy, this takes the biscuit. There are 320 distros listed at

I agree many of them are based on slackware and in more that a decade of linux use vector is one of the best i have encountered.

frieza 06-27-2012 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sycamorex (Post 4713447)
Apart from very specialised, purpose built distributions, I don't see a reason why I would want to run anything apart from the "upstream" or top "semi-upstream" distros. Having said that, there's one that always intrigues me. I just don't have skills or time to gain the skills to configure it (link)

lol, Hannah Montana linux, i wonder if she even uses it (doubtful, highly doubtful)

either way i would have to agree that although intriguing it may be to play with a lesser known distribution, and there maybe even a valid reason for such, using farther "downstream" distributions with smaller user bases carries a more significant risk of the project losing support from under you when using it, leaving you with older, more vulnerable software. no harm in playing with them though

273 06-27-2012 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sycamorex (Post 4713447)
Apart from very specialised, purpose built distributions, I don't see a reason why I would want to run anything apart from the "upstream" or top "semi-upstream" distros. Having said that, there's one that always intrigues me. I just don't have skills or time to gain the skills to configure it (link)

I missed this.
I, myself, downloaded this which is similar in its dedication but does, actually, have something new to offer. Sadly what it has to offer doesn't work on my hardware. Well, either that or I tried it on the wrong day of the week...

brianL 06-27-2012 03:41 PM

You could seriously mess up your computer dual-booting those two. :)

salasi 06-28-2012 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frieza (Post 4713393)
...and a most other distributions (fedora,ubuntu,mint,scientific linux,centos,suse,peppermint and saline) are derivative distributions...

Sort of: fedora is kind of a reverse derivative, in the sense that it is where stuff get tried out before it then goes into RedHat, so in the sense of testing and flow, RH is a derivative of Fedora. Suse (either open or SLED/SLES) isn't really a derivative of anything; yeah, sure, it started life as a slackware derivative, but it hasn't been that in any real way for years and years.

Centos and Scientific are a slightly different case; one reason for their existence is to be an exact RH 'work-alike', unlike most of these distros which have more of a 'if only Ubuntu had a different GUI' kind of focus.

Not that there is anything wrong with any of this; just pointing out that there are several different categories here. And there is more information than you ever thought you wanted (well, as a picture, anyway), here.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:59 AM.