My second choice would probably be FreeBSD.

No second choice for my.

Voted Slackware =)

Surveys like this will always attract attention and will always be skewed one way or another, which user segment would be most likely to find out about the poll and vote, etc. Also only one vote per ip is probably how it will be done, Distrowatch counts discreet ip hits only.

This has always been the problem with usage surveys, shrinkwrap sales and/or downloads does not equal total usage since one Linux sale/download may be installed on more than one machine. This is why MS tries to marry a purchase/install to the system it is first installed on, i.e pay for each discreet install.

Counting internet hits isn't much better. I always find Gartner's surveys when quoted in the press as a bit incredulous. A survey counting something like internet hits may not count browsers spoofing IE and it doesn't count installed systems that are never used on the internet.

A survey such as Linux Journal's is perhaps more indicative of enthusiasm than usage. Consider the mainstream PR due to Shuttlworth's name and involvement, the fact that it is the one handed out to anyone who asks for it, it is touted in the press and by individuals as being as easy as windows to install and use, the name on a magazine's cover disk will boost monthly sales, etc. etc. it is no wonder that Ubuntu is on top in the survey.

A survey like this is intended to promote Linux Journal and is less in the interest of Linux of any stripe, certainly not Gnu/Linux which no mainstream reporter ever wants to mention, nor Open Source. The magazine is in it for the money and Ubuntu has mass market appeal/attention written all over it.

Ignore the Ubuntu results and one might note that Slackware is looking fairly respectable against other Linux systems. Not too bad at all.

I can't speak for anyone else, but my second choice is Ubuntu. I would also consider Fedora or Debian as possibilities. Ubuntu is usually easy to install and most things just work out of the box. It also tends to be very up to date. Ubuntu has very different objectives than Slackware and that's why it's my second choice. Fedora and Debian fall somewhere between the two in terms of their philosophy. As for which one is "best" that really depends on what one wants.

So I voted Ubuntu.

Hehe._______________________________________________No, I didn't.

Now up to 6% and looking good...

Voted

The Ubuntu votes don't count because Ubuntu users don't even know any other distros to make a comparison with... and those that do, judge a distro by the the colour of the WM - and don't bother asking them if they know what a WM is!

<how nasty I can be sometimes!>

Although I don't care too much for these polls normally, I voted anyway...

I also voted for Slackware. I like KDE better than GNOME because it has a lot more functionality. I also like having a bit more control of what is and is not installed. I'm interested in seeing KDE 4.2 or 4.3 in the next Slackware release. I hope it's as stable as the current KDE 3.5. I did a little experimenting with the current Slackware and KDE was still a bit shaky but much better than previous KDE 4 releases.

Slackware forever ...

With Pat, all the devs, helpers, this forum, how could I vote for anything else??
Slackware!

WOW!! I'm surprised!! Really!!
When I created this thread, Slackware had only 2% (around 80 votes)
and just after a day it grew to 6%!!! Guys we got 225+ votes already!!

I never regretted I created this thread.

Thanks for supporting Slackware! Atleast we showed the world how proud we are to be Slackers!!

For those who haven't voted yet, we are expecting you to make it happen for around 300+ votes more!
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/...bution-desktop

Thanks again!

Slackware forever!!!

Voted, Slack is at 6% now.

Voted. 6% - 231 votes. Keep going guys!