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Ask the Pros...Ahem, that would be you.
With something that appears to be a measure of stability in my health and professional life, I have again taken up the task of full-time Linux Advocate. We have for some time, been operating Linux Labs in after-school classrooms here in Austin and our Lobby4Linux Senior Citizen Assistance Program is going strong as well. However, we would like to put this issue to bed if that is possible and we are coming to this community for the bedsheets. While we fully expect Ubuntu to walk away with the new user catagory, we believe that there are other distros that deserve either equal or superior mention. So...what do you think? What are the best distros for the new user and seasoned user? Please keep it to two answers. We will be assembling the results in a database for referral in the coming months. Now...Let's get ready to rumble. To prime the pump, we will cast the first stone, urrr, I mean the first vote. New Linux User - PCLinuxOS Seasoned User - Fedora Core 6 |
Comments (81)
best distros for the new & seasoned user?
5 earlier comments in the full thread.
PCLinuxOS and FC6. Hey wait, that's what you said. Well yes, those are my two choices exactly. I use PCLinuxOS as my primary distro. I cut my teeth on FC3 on up to FC5. Now my favorite Fedora Core champion (Stanton Finley) has switched to Ubunto. I don't blame him one bit though. The conflicts with the repositories are a royal PITA. I have FC6 on another hard drive but I haven't taken the time to make it media friendly yet. As an honorable mention I would like to add Simply Mepis. I played with it for a couple of weeks on a third hard drive (I'm so glad I lived long enough to enjoy cheap, huge, reliable hard drives). I was amazed at the size of the combined repositories. One thing that killed it for me was the fact that it didn't recognize my LCD monitor so it had to use a generic driver. Although PCLinuxOS' repository isn't as large, it has a great choice of software. I love playing with Google Earth.
A'ighty, here goes my shot.
New User - Debian Derivative (pick one.. they tend to one up each other every release)
Seasoned User - Debian (used to be slackware, but really.. who has the time)
Now that's on the desktop. Servers are a real personal preference, with every single admin I've talked to citing different criteria regardless of OS.
New User - Debian Derivative (pick one.. they tend to one up each other every release)
Seasoned User - Debian (used to be slackware, but really.. who has the time)
Now that's on the desktop. Servers are a real personal preference, with every single admin I've talked to citing different criteria regardless of OS.
New users: Kubuntu
Old users: Debian (or Kubuntu)
{Moved to another thread}
New User - PCLinuxOS
Seasoned - Kubuntu
Seasoned - Kubuntu
New User - PCLinuxOS.
Seasoned User - Slackware.
Commentary moved to the other thread.
Seasoned User - Slackware.
Commentary moved to the other thread.
New User - Debian
Seasoned - Debian
New User - PCLinuxOS.
Seasoned User - Arch.
Seasoned User - Arch.
I know this may not be politically correct in these troubled times, but IMHO SuSE is the best all around distro for a seasoned user. A slow newbie could go with something like Linspire I suppose...
New User - linspire Seasoned User - SuSE
New User - linspire Seasoned User - SuSE
New User - PCLinuxOS
Seasoned User - SuSE
PCLinuxOS is great for someone who just getting their feet wet and well I know I am going to take heat on it but I continue to use SuSE 10.1 and I think for a seasoned user it is really good. I get it to do all things I need it to and I like it.
Seasoned User - SuSE
PCLinuxOS is great for someone who just getting their feet wet and well I know I am going to take heat on it but I continue to use SuSE 10.1 and I think for a seasoned user it is really good. I get it to do all things I need it to and I like it.
New User: PCLinuxOS
Seasoned User: Slackware
Slackware uses the KISS principle and gives you total control
Slackware uses the KISS principle and gives you total control
New user: Ubuntu - I think Feisty will be great for new users. My vehement opposition to the binary drivers is about Mark breaking his promise to the community, not the quality of the distro
Seasoned users: Debian - Fedora comes a close second but really, RMP needs to be scrapped and reimplemented first.
If we were to vote on a distro specifically aimed at Windows people, I'd go for PCLinuxOS.
Seasoned users: Debian - Fedora comes a close second but really, RMP needs to be scrapped and reimplemented first.
If we were to vote on a distro specifically aimed at Windows people, I'd go for PCLinuxOS.
New user: Ubuntu, friendlier version of debian, Gnome allows user interface to be tailored more easily for newbie and deb packaging is best there is.
Seasoned user: SimplyMepis (if you like it to work out of the box or Debian if you want to tweak yourself
I stay away from rpm distros because of bad experience in the past but Suse is very slick.
Seasoned user: SimplyMepis (if you like it to work out of the box or Debian if you want to tweak yourself
I stay away from rpm distros because of bad experience in the past but Suse is very slick.
New Users: Ubuntu - This is what we of Freegeek Columbus are using
Seasoned User: Whatever you like. I use Gentoo.
Simply Mepis 3.4.3 was the best new user distro when it came out.
Simply Mepis 6 was a major re-work, as the distro is now based on Ubuntu instead of vanilla debian. Simply Mepis 6 has lost some of its polish, but I think it is more what Ubuntu should strive to be like.
PCLinux OS gets my vote for easiest distro to master your own live CD's with.
Simply Mepis 6 was a major re-work, as the distro is now based on Ubuntu instead of vanilla debian. Simply Mepis 6 has lost some of its polish, but I think it is more what Ubuntu should strive to be like.
PCLinux OS gets my vote for easiest distro to master your own live CD's with.
New: pclos
Seasoned: Arch Linux
New: Ubuntu
Seasoned: Debian
New: PCLinuxOS (been saying this since 2004)
Seasoned: Arch
New: Linspire (I suppose)
Seasoned: Gentoo (of course)
Seasoned: Gentoo (of course)
best distros: comentary
5 earlier comments in the full thread.
New user - PCLinuxOS, Mepis, or Blag. There's almost nothing to choose between them, and any of the three will work. Of the three, I'd use PCLinuxOS. To be fair, I haven't tried Kanotix yet, and if I could trust Warren as far as I could throw him, I might choose Mepis.
Seasoned user - Debian or Slackware. Here, it's almost entirely a matter of personal preference as to how you like to do things. I think everyone here probably knows which I prefer. :)
Seasoned user - Debian or Slackware. Here, it's almost entirely a matter of personal preference as to how you like to do things. I think everyone here probably knows which I prefer. :)
>Got to disagree with you on that one.
NOOOOOOOO!!!
Haha, just kidding, no distro wars. 8-)
I'm PCLOSing it now. As much as I like Mepis, PCLOS is more Red Hatish and that's to my liking. I like CentOS/Red Hat on the server.
NOOOOOOOO!!!
Haha, just kidding, no distro wars. 8-)
I'm PCLOSing it now. As much as I like Mepis, PCLOS is more Red Hatish and that's to my liking. I like CentOS/Red Hat on the server.
Just so you guys know with PCLOS, they're going to rebrand very soon.
They've got a new logo in the pipeline for version .94 and a new project that started at my PCLinuxOS Projects site http://mypclinuxos.com to make all things graphical/beautiful flow (splash, text, audio, and other).
If you'd like to see what the graphics guru's in the PCLOS community are up to, hit the gallery here: http://www.mypclinuxos.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3
Enjoy! :D
They've got a new logo in the pipeline for version .94 and a new project that started at my PCLinuxOS Projects site http://mypclinuxos.com to make all things graphical/beautiful flow (splash, text, audio, and other).
If you'd like to see what the graphics guru's in the PCLOS community are up to, hit the gallery here: http://www.mypclinuxos.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3
Enjoy! :D
>Just so you guys know with PCLOS, they're going to rebrand very soon.
Eagerly awaiting .94, you betcha!
I have to say that KDE, in general, is my favorite desktop environment, and it's UGLY by default in every distro I have ever tried, except .92. It takes me about an hour to set it up so it looks right and functions like I want...of course, that's one of its strengths: Customization ease.
I'm getting excited!
Eagerly awaiting .94, you betcha!
I have to say that KDE, in general, is my favorite desktop environment, and it's UGLY by default in every distro I have ever tried, except .92. It takes me about an hour to set it up so it looks right and functions like I want...of course, that's one of its strengths: Customization ease.
I'm getting excited!
Make backups, then (pick one or more):
- For a newbie, Zenwalk; a stripped down, easy to support Slackware downstream.
- For seasoned users, Debian.
- For *very* seasoned users, grml.org (Debian Sid based).
- Go to distrowatch.com, close your eyes, throw the dart, see what it hits, and see what you can do with the result. You're bound to learn something, at the very least.
- For a newbie, Zenwalk; a stripped down, easy to support Slackware downstream.
- For seasoned users, Debian.
- For *very* seasoned users, grml.org (Debian Sid based).
- Go to distrowatch.com, close your eyes, throw the dart, see what it hits, and see what you can do with the result. You're bound to learn something, at the very least.
A relatively small but determined number of us set out to "put PCLinuxOS on the map a couple of years ago. I have long-ago become accustomed to the "fanboi" namecalling, and it doesn't bother me a bit...PCLinuxOS has made its point. It didn't take but a year or so until we could hand off the baton and let others do some of the work...and just Boy Howdy have they done the work. From an obscure and "Oh-It's_RPM-based" attitudes to what it is becoming today, PCLinuxOS is bound for great things. While I fully understand that it is not for everyone...even I have an on-again-off-again dalliance with Kanotix/Elive; The RPM "issue" really isn't an issue at all. Many argue that the debian repositories are much richer, and I agree. I like mixing my libs and running banshee and beagle within kde but as of now, that causes severe breakage in PCLOS...
I understand from a post thac made a while back that this may change soon. So far, all attempts to "gnome-ize PCLOS has not lasted long.
And tqk, you are correct in recommending zenwalk. I just got done spinning the latest and greatest from the ZenMasters and I have to say, it's a piece of work.
h
I understand from a post thac made a while back that this may change soon. So far, all attempts to "gnome-ize PCLOS has not lasted long.
And tqk, you are correct in recommending zenwalk. I just got done spinning the latest and greatest from the ZenMasters and I have to say, it's a piece of work.
h
Am I the only one noticing a huge and not at all subtle marketing push for PCLinuxOS recently, in numerous online venues? Assuming I'm not halucinating this, here's my reply:
o Yo! *buntu's eating you alive! Libranet recently went t*ts up partially because of
assumptions you too are currently making.
o "rpm Hell" vs. "apt-get update && apt-get install aptitude && aptitude update &&
aptitude upgrade"? No thanks.
o Usenet: linux.debian.user (Usenet gateway to debian-user@lists.debian.org). 'Nuff
said.
-- "You can leave if you want to. We're just jammin'." -- Jimi Hendrix
-- "You can leave if you want to. We're just jammin'." -- Jimi Hendrix
Quoting:Am I the only one noticing a huge and not at all subtle marketing push for PCLinuxOS recently, in numerous online venues?It doesn't take you much to find out the facts, give it a try yourself. Obviously you haven't or it is not to your taste.
I used Suse for over 5 years, tried PCLinuxOS about 5 months ago and haven't used Suse at all since. I make it a habit to try new releases of various distros to select the best. Recently I removed Suse from my other 2 systems after Novell's latest blunder. I assure you my vote for PCLinuxOS was not a sales pitch. It was simply its quality and to my liking.
tqk...
you seem to be suffering a bad case of foot in mouth disease. On top of that, it looks like a Y.D.H.A.C infection has spread quickly. Oh. YDHAC? You Dont Have A Clue. If you did, you would know that pclos uses the apt-get method for installation...yes, an rpm distro that uses apt get. Ubuntu is fine, but all the star-struck new Linux Converts are the ones making the push here...and that's fine. As long as it's Linux I don't care...You can refer to me as fanboi all you want, but look at your "na-ne-na-ne-na-na language in your post, and let's compare "fanboi-ism...
Do your homework before you make yourself look silly...just trying to be helpful. This was sent as a private email first, but it bounced via your spamtrap...sorry for the public dressing...but if anyone ever needed it...
PCLinuxOS is slam-bam ready out of the box...Ubuntu won't even mount windows shares or other hard drives without three-step manual intervention. DKMS installs nvidia or ati with a couple clicks. Easybuntu is an entirely different program that has to be indulged. As soon as your rose-colored glasses start to dim...you might want to give pclos a try. I have converted hundreds. One more wouldn't hurt.
Ubuntu has billions of dollars behind it. I can remember when the pclos website was being hosted on our individual computers when it couldnt afford web hosting. Take a look at distrowatch.com. PCLinuxOS has went from the bottom third of the 100 rankings to the top ten, and soon to break the top five. We did it the hard way my friend...by coding and hard work...no professional developers from Debian or OpenSuse...just people who actually care about providing an easy answer to the new linux user.
PS...Libranet "died" because the author and president of the company died and no one had the heart to carry on his work. It had nothing to do with assumptions...largely unlike some of the comments I've witnessed in this thread, ahem.
helios
you seem to be suffering a bad case of foot in mouth disease. On top of that, it looks like a Y.D.H.A.C infection has spread quickly. Oh. YDHAC? You Dont Have A Clue. If you did, you would know that pclos uses the apt-get method for installation...yes, an rpm distro that uses apt get. Ubuntu is fine, but all the star-struck new Linux Converts are the ones making the push here...and that's fine. As long as it's Linux I don't care...You can refer to me as fanboi all you want, but look at your "na-ne-na-ne-na-na language in your post, and let's compare "fanboi-ism...
Do your homework before you make yourself look silly...just trying to be helpful. This was sent as a private email first, but it bounced via your spamtrap...sorry for the public dressing...but if anyone ever needed it...
PCLinuxOS is slam-bam ready out of the box...Ubuntu won't even mount windows shares or other hard drives without three-step manual intervention. DKMS installs nvidia or ati with a couple clicks. Easybuntu is an entirely different program that has to be indulged. As soon as your rose-colored glasses start to dim...you might want to give pclos a try. I have converted hundreds. One more wouldn't hurt.
Ubuntu has billions of dollars behind it. I can remember when the pclos website was being hosted on our individual computers when it couldnt afford web hosting. Take a look at distrowatch.com. PCLinuxOS has went from the bottom third of the 100 rankings to the top ten, and soon to break the top five. We did it the hard way my friend...by coding and hard work...no professional developers from Debian or OpenSuse...just people who actually care about providing an easy answer to the new linux user.
PS...Libranet "died" because the author and president of the company died and no one had the heart to carry on his work. It had nothing to do with assumptions...largely unlike some of the comments I've witnessed in this thread, ahem.
helios
> Am I the only one noticing a huge and not at all subtle marketing push for PCLinuxOS recently, in numerous online venues?
Apparently it's just you.
You'll notice that many of the above posts, including mine, recomment PCLinuxOS. Hint, I don't use it; I use Slackware. However, I recommend PCLinuxOS as the best newbie version of Linux at this time. I've tried it, and it's as good as everyone says. It's just that, for the experienced user, Slackware and Debian are better.
Apparently it's just you.
You'll notice that many of the above posts, including mine, recomment PCLinuxOS. Hint, I don't use it; I use Slackware. However, I recommend PCLinuxOS as the best newbie version of Linux at this time. I've tried it, and it's as good as everyone says. It's just that, for the experienced user, Slackware and Debian are better.
BTW,
Most of the push is most likely coming from my site... http://mypclinuxos.com
In the past 3 months, our traffic has tripled to over a million hits a month. We also publish a PDF Magazine now for PCLinuxOS with over 11 thousand downloads each month.
So, I'd like to point out that my site gives the community members a place to rally and push PCLinuxOS...and it seems to be paying off as PCLinuxOS is enjoying success...which it should because it deserves it.
When .94 is released (soon...or should be...the repositories for .93 are frozen right now) it will have an entirely new and completely customized graphics and theme layout thanks to the PCLinuxOS Beautification Project (sponsored by mypclinuxos.com of course)...and don't forget to go and check out the PCLInuxOS Magazine December issue that will release tomorrow...11 thousand people will.
PCLinuxOS is the most complete and simple distro for new users...and I like that I can customize it completely myself and make it just as difficult as my technologically advanced minuscule mind could want it with .93a MiniMe.
It's amazing what you can do when you find other like-minded people and organize and motivate them.
Most of the push is most likely coming from my site... http://mypclinuxos.com
In the past 3 months, our traffic has tripled to over a million hits a month. We also publish a PDF Magazine now for PCLinuxOS with over 11 thousand downloads each month.
So, I'd like to point out that my site gives the community members a place to rally and push PCLinuxOS...and it seems to be paying off as PCLinuxOS is enjoying success...which it should because it deserves it.
When .94 is released (soon...or should be...the repositories for .93 are frozen right now) it will have an entirely new and completely customized graphics and theme layout thanks to the PCLinuxOS Beautification Project (sponsored by mypclinuxos.com of course)...and don't forget to go and check out the PCLInuxOS Magazine December issue that will release tomorrow...11 thousand people will.
PCLinuxOS is the most complete and simple distro for new users...and I like that I can customize it completely myself and make it just as difficult as my technologically advanced minuscule mind could want it with .93a MiniMe.
It's amazing what you can do when you find other like-minded people and organize and motivate them.
It's amazing what you can do when you find other like-minded people and organize and motivate them....
Just as a means of public acknowledgement, Devnet has worked tirelessly for PCLinuxOS. I think it's about time we bought him some new tires..
(rimshot w/cymbals) Try the roast beef folks, I'll be here all week. I will also have cd's and tshirts for sale after the show.....
But seriously folks...I may have sounded a bit harsh, but ignorance is not an excuse to talk about things you are ignorant about. There is one redeeming factor here, and I did offer the solution.
Ignorance is repairable by the seeking of knowledge. To quote one of my favorite comedians, Ron White.
"You can't fix stupid."
Not that any one who posts here is stupid...we ALL suffer bouts of ignorance though.
Fortunately for all of us, the Community holds people like Devnet, Texstar, Dino, Sal (bof-of-'em) and a cast many of us know by heart. My open and sincere thanks for those people and their efforts. Those who do...do, those who cannot...advocate.
h
Just as a means of public acknowledgement, Devnet has worked tirelessly for PCLinuxOS. I think it's about time we bought him some new tires..
(rimshot w/cymbals) Try the roast beef folks, I'll be here all week. I will also have cd's and tshirts for sale after the show.....
But seriously folks...I may have sounded a bit harsh, but ignorance is not an excuse to talk about things you are ignorant about. There is one redeeming factor here, and I did offer the solution.
Ignorance is repairable by the seeking of knowledge. To quote one of my favorite comedians, Ron White.
"You can't fix stupid."
Not that any one who posts here is stupid...we ALL suffer bouts of ignorance though.
Fortunately for all of us, the Community holds people like Devnet, Texstar, Dino, Sal (bof-of-'em) and a cast many of us know by heart. My open and sincere thanks for those people and their efforts. Those who do...do, those who cannot...advocate.
h
helios,
Come on. That's beneath you. There are plenty of non-newbies here pushing Ubuntu and you know it.
Quoting:Ubuntu is fine, but all the star-struck new Linux Converts are the ones making the push here.
Come on. That's beneath you. There are plenty of non-newbies here pushing Ubuntu and you know it.
I'm one of them. Though I might start peddling another distro if Feisty really churns out binary drivers by default. We'll see when the first beta gets out.
"...We'll see when the first beta gets out."
The first beta IS out...
have a looksee here. http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/74803/index.html
BTW sander JUST HOW do I get my #*#&$)#@+ hda to show on the desktop like it does in kde. Re-evaluating Ubuntu/Kubuntu/WeBuntu/YouBuntu/MiMiBuntu et al at the urging of a poster to my blog...I am drawing a blank on gettin' this done///seems it should be easier than it seems to be.
SFN: "That's beneath you..."
No it's not. I can go a bunch lower...I just choose not to cause it serves no purpose but to make people hit me with sticks and call me names. Those who recite and believe the old saying, "Sticks and Stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me?"
They obviously have not been labeled as a Tax Protester.
Once so "Named"...one finds out what real pain is. As per my claim of "star-struck new users...it ain't my sole observation. Sure lots of seasoned vets use Ubuntu...it simply seems that the newest Doze converts are the most enthusiastic.
h
The first beta IS out...
have a looksee here. http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/74803/index.html
BTW sander JUST HOW do I get my #*#&$)#@+ hda to show on the desktop like it does in kde. Re-evaluating Ubuntu/Kubuntu/WeBuntu/YouBuntu/MiMiBuntu et al at the urging of a poster to my blog...I am drawing a blank on gettin' this done///seems it should be easier than it seems to be.
SFN: "That's beneath you..."
No it's not. I can go a bunch lower...I just choose not to cause it serves no purpose but to make people hit me with sticks and call me names. Those who recite and believe the old saying, "Sticks and Stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me?"
They obviously have not been labeled as a Tax Protester.
Once so "Named"...one finds out what real pain is. As per my claim of "star-struck new users...it ain't my sole observation. Sure lots of seasoned vets use Ubuntu...it simply seems that the newest Doze converts are the most enthusiastic.
h
helios,
There are two things you can do:
From the cli, start gconf-editor. Navigate to apps>>nautilus>>desktop and check the "computer_icon_visible" flag. This will show a "computer" icon on your desktop. Clicking it opens the filebrowser giving you access to all drives. The gconf-editor allows you to tweak most of gnome and most gnome apps. Look around in it. It's sort-of a registry done right.
Alternatively, if you want to show specific icons for specific partitions then you have to edit fstab. Anything mounted under /media will show on the desktop automatically. Anything mounted under /mnt (or anywhere else) won't. So start adding/changing mount points.
PS: You linked to MintLinux, which is a 3rd party Ubuntu spinn-off and not the official Feisty beta. Last time I checked the release goals for Feisty weren't even approved fully (e.g. binary drivers by default is still under review).
There are two things you can do:
From the cli, start gconf-editor. Navigate to apps>>nautilus>>desktop and check the "computer_icon_visible" flag. This will show a "computer" icon on your desktop. Clicking it opens the filebrowser giving you access to all drives. The gconf-editor allows you to tweak most of gnome and most gnome apps. Look around in it. It's sort-of a registry done right.
Alternatively, if you want to show specific icons for specific partitions then you have to edit fstab. Anything mounted under /media will show on the desktop automatically. Anything mounted under /mnt (or anywhere else) won't. So start adding/changing mount points.
PS: You linked to MintLinux, which is a 3rd party Ubuntu spinn-off and not the official Feisty beta. Last time I checked the release goals for Feisty weren't even approved fully (e.g. binary drivers by default is still under review).
At the moment im using PCLinuxOS 0.93a Big Daddy on the desktops and Slackware 10.2 on the server, im also trialling PCLinuxOS on a small test partition to see how it performs as a server (so far so good) it may in the end replace my Slackware installation which i have used for the last 6 years, we will see how it turns out, i might just fling Slack 11 on it to save me reconfiguration hassles.
But can certainl highly recommend PCLinuxOs on the desktop for new users and Slackware for seasoned users in a server role.
But can certainl highly recommend PCLinuxOs on the desktop for new users and Slackware for seasoned users in a server role.
I have been using PCLinuxOs on an IBM ThinkPad T42 (for portability) as a web server for few months now and I am very pleased with it. I am also testing Kubuntu on a desktop hardware as a server. I haven't seen any advantages that Kubuntu has over PCLinuxOS. Mind you, this is only a limited server use and doesn't give a full picture, but I don't see a good reason to use Kubuntu instead of PCLinuxOS on the server.
So far I see PCLinuxOS as a very clean, fast, reliable, easy, neat, complete, easy to maintain and configure as desktop and/or server, why wouldn't I use it as a server? I don't see any reason yet except for long term support. I haven't had the need for that (it is very user friendly), but companies would consider it as an issue since PCLinuxOS is not a seasoned company yet. Keep in mind that this might not be an issue in the future though. Kubuntu might have an advantage in this area since it is based on debian, which is well established group for the long term and PCLinuxOS is a fork of Mandrake. PCLInuxOS is still release .93 and I am sure when release 1.0 is out it will be of super quality (unless they flop like Kanotix just did).
To be fair, I guess more input from various poster would be very beneficial. If any has specific criticism of either distro would also help make both better.
So far I see PCLinuxOS as a very clean, fast, reliable, easy, neat, complete, easy to maintain and configure as desktop and/or server, why wouldn't I use it as a server? I don't see any reason yet except for long term support. I haven't had the need for that (it is very user friendly), but companies would consider it as an issue since PCLinuxOS is not a seasoned company yet. Keep in mind that this might not be an issue in the future though. Kubuntu might have an advantage in this area since it is based on debian, which is well established group for the long term and PCLinuxOS is a fork of Mandrake. PCLInuxOS is still release .93 and I am sure when release 1.0 is out it will be of super quality (unless they flop like Kanotix just did).
To be fair, I guess more input from various poster would be very beneficial. If any has specific criticism of either distro would also help make both better.
Just a little addendum, its a shame this thread isn't about the worst distro as Mandriva 2007 would get my vote, i tested this distro out about 5 days ago and my god does it suck big time, thankfully it was the community edition and didnt splash out good money for it, so many bugs, so unstable half the time it wouldn't even shutdown properly let alone actually do proper hardware initialisation at startup just as well was only running it on my test partition, anyways PCLinuxOS has replaced it on the test partition and is performing like a trooper now i hear PCLinuxOS are considering supplying updates on CD/DVD if this actually happens i may switch all my machines to PCLinuxOS as im on dial-up and you wont believe how painful it is to do upgrades.
Quoting:it simply seems that the newest Doze converts are the most enthusiastic.
I think you're right about this with Ubuntu. The bad part is that the fans of it are VERY sensitive. When you bring up something that is a shortfall, you're roasted alive. The most popular entry I have blogged about (90 some odd comments) was on why I considered Ubuntu to NOT be the best distro for a new user. Just one persons opinion....and all the points I brought up were valid ones...yet I was roasted alive in comments.
It's my opinion that when someone brings up shortfalls with something, you should at least take the time to listen...because even if they are off base on a few points, they may be right about a few as well...and you can bet that there are hundreds or thousands that share the same opinion.
This is the kicker for me...the community...it's too fanatical right now...hopefully it will die down and become a little less that way.
hat Linux Distro is best
Mepis 6 for newbies and old users as well. It has good partitioning software, is a snap to install, and works out of the box much better than Kubuntu, A couple of additions and it is ready for it all. I still like XMMS, and it is easily installed with apt. The EOL is June of '09, too;-)
Well, if we're simply talking the best, that would be Slackware, obviously. :)
shyster, you might want to post your vote on the thread started for that purpose (http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/24133/).
Let's make it easier on the folks who might be counting. ;-)
Let's make it easier on the folks who might be counting. ;-)
thank yoiu Shyster for helping out, and THANK YOU Don for the suggestion. I will be the tabulator-in-charge...
you'de think I could have hacked together a mysql ditty for this huh?
Oh wait...I already did...transcribing duties await your valued answers.
h
you'de think I could have hacked together a mysql ditty for this huh?
Oh wait...I already did...transcribing duties await your valued answers.
h
Helios:
Just a thought. Did you try to arrange for links to this poll on other sites? It might be a good idea to get more input. The wider the audience the more accurate the results.
Just a thought. Did you try to arrange for links to this poll on other sites? It might be a good idea to get more input. The wider the audience the more accurate the results.
> Did you try to arrange for links to this poll on other sites?
Linux Questions might be a good place to ask. Distrowatch, ditto.
Linux Questions might be a good place to ask. Distrowatch, ditto.
As of yet I have not. I am up to my neck in server logs and looks like I will be until tomorrow night some time. Thats a good idea though. If someone gets a chance I would appreciate it if they could post it around some. Thats the problem with working at home...sometimes I really gotta work, lol
h
h
Don,
You might want to publish it on Digg.
You might want to publish it on Digg.
PCLinuxOS gets my vote
Every cycle I try the latest, greatest (k)ubuntu/Mandriva/Fedora/Suse/ offerings, plus a half-dozen lesser known distros. After playing around and for a few hours or days each of them gets dropped, and I find myself returning to PCLinuxOS. (I'm actually typing this in Mandriva2007, but the bugs are beginning to grate -- some of the same ones that have recurred in every release for the last four years. Soon it'll be time to reboot into PCLOS!)
Why this choice?
Reason One: With the PCLinuxOS Control Center (PCC) I can wave goodbye to manual file configuring. With a gui config panel, the Linux Learning Curve becomes a gentle incline, rather than the great North Face of Everest. This is one area where the *ubuntu family falls short.
Reason Two: The Synaptic frontend to Apt knocks the socks off urpmi, yum and the ghastly Yast. I can detect no working difference between the Debian Synaptic of Ubuntu and the RPM Synaptic of PClinuxOS. Both do their tasks in half the time of urpmi and yum, and one quarter the time of Yast.
Reason Three: Everything just works. With no other distro do I encounter such smooth sailing. The only word I have is "amazing."
Reason Four: The responsiveness of the PCLinuxOS forum, the bug-fixing team and most of all Tex, who must be some sort of genius. In my book he walks around with a permanent halo over his head!!!
About me: I used to classify myself as a poweruser in my long-ago windows days. I know almost nothing about programming, but enjoy figuring things out. I do a lot of graphic and multimedia work, write articles and books, create websites and read several dozen African newspapers every day -- all on my Linux-Loving Toshiba laptop or DIY desktop. Writing from Philadlephia, heading back to Africa soon!
--Simfox
And you aren't posting your vote here http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/24133/ because?
>With the PCLinuxOS Control Center (PCC) I can wave goodbye to manual file configuring.
I love PCLOS, but I never use that thing. Odd, eh? I prefer to manually edit files, I never trust a front-end program to get it right.
I love PCLOS, but I never use that thing. Odd, eh? I prefer to manually edit files, I never trust a front-end program to get it right.
"...I prefer to manually edit files, I never trust a front-end program to get it right."
I felt the same way forever it seems until I was cajoled into using it by a friend. While opening gedit and "gettin' 'er done" is my usual way of doing things, the pclos control center has always delivered specific and accurate amendments to whatever I was changing. I suppose it's just a matter of preference, but to rest your doubts, the control center pclos offers is stellar...I didn't think anyone could improve the only redeeming factor of mandriva...obviously texstar has done just that. That and webmin are favorites of mine.
h
I felt the same way forever it seems until I was cajoled into using it by a friend. While opening gedit and "gettin' 'er done" is my usual way of doing things, the pclos control center has always delivered specific and accurate amendments to whatever I was changing. I suppose it's just a matter of preference, but to rest your doubts, the control center pclos offers is stellar...I didn't think anyone could improve the only redeeming factor of mandriva...obviously texstar has done just that. That and webmin are favorites of mine.
h
>.obviously texstar has done just that
The guy's a genius, I swear. And, yeah, webmin is great also. The best web interface, IMO, is with Trustix and Zero Touch Linux. It's probably (but I say this with no specific knowledge) taken from webmin and simply improved upon. I've never hesitated with that one to trust the changes, although I haven't used it in a production environment...at least not outside the house (hey, I produce stuff!). Good to know that the GUI from PCLOS is reliable too...of course, I have yet to find anything from PCLOS that wasn't reliable.
The guy's a genius, I swear. And, yeah, webmin is great also. The best web interface, IMO, is with Trustix and Zero Touch Linux. It's probably (but I say this with no specific knowledge) taken from webmin and simply improved upon. I've never hesitated with that one to trust the changes, although I haven't used it in a production environment...at least not outside the house (hey, I produce stuff!). Good to know that the GUI from PCLOS is reliable too...of course, I have yet to find anything from PCLOS that wasn't reliable.
> opening gedit and "gettin' 'er done" is my usual way of doing things
Here too, but that assumes a level of expertise. Using a GUI control center makes it easier for the average user. My only question is whether of not that's good for the user in the long run... Still, I suppose it's inevitable.
Here too, but that assumes a level of expertise. Using a GUI control center makes it easier for the average user. My only question is whether of not that's good for the user in the long run... Still, I suppose it's inevitable.
I can take or leave the various control centers - they all have their strengths and weaknesses, but I enjoy the way linux is architected, in that you don't have to use any specific tool or approach.
I often recommend webmin to mcses and other technically challenged people, but in my own work, I find that a few seconds with vi, or sed, then a sighup or rcreload, does the trick for me with a lot less fuss.
I often recommend webmin to mcses and other technically challenged people, but in my own work, I find that a few seconds with vi, or sed, then a sighup or rcreload, does the trick for me with a lot less fuss.
>Still, I suppose it's inevitable.
Probably. There are many server distros that specialize in the "even Stupid can do it" approach. There's the aforementioned Zero Touch Linux, SME Server, Clark Connect, Xandros, Collax...there will be more. Oh, you still have to have some understanding...emphasis on some...but there's no need to understand the structure of a given conf file and what the options within it mean.
Probably. There are many server distros that specialize in the "even Stupid can do it" approach. There's the aforementioned Zero Touch Linux, SME Server, Clark Connect, Xandros, Collax...there will be more. Oh, you still have to have some understanding...emphasis on some...but there's no need to understand the structure of a given conf file and what the options within it mean.
> I can take or leave the various control centers - they all have their strengths and weaknesses, but I enjoy the way linux is architected, in that you don't have to use any specific tool or approach.
That's exactly the reason why it works for both the noob and the expert. Nice that we have the choice.
That's exactly the reason why it works for both the noob and the expert. Nice that we have the choice.
>Nice that we have the choice.
Are you listening, Mr. Ballmer?
Are you listening, Mr. Ballmer?
> Are you listening, Mr. Ballmer?
I don't waste my time yelling at the deaf...
I don't waste my time yelling at the deaf...
GUI's have a built in advantage in that they don't generally do stuff like this as root!!
chown -R userId:groupName .*
(Yes, I did this. I was testing a shell script to add a user into the system for a class I'm taking. Next thing I knew, it had reassigned the users and the groups on all the home directories and the files in them to the new user! It took a long time to undo it.)
What I wanted was this:
chown -R userId:groupName .??*
(blush)
Don K.
chown -R userId:groupName .*
(Yes, I did this. I was testing a shell script to add a user into the system for a class I'm taking. Next thing I knew, it had reassigned the users and the groups on all the home directories and the files in them to the new user! It took a long time to undo it.)
What I wanted was this:
chown -R userId:groupName .??*
(blush)
Don K.
How to shoot yourself in the foot: Unix
You shoot yourself in the foot or % ls foot.c foot.h foot.o toe.c toe.o % rm * .o rm: .o: No such file or directory % ls %
:)
You shoot yourself in the foot or % ls foot.c foot.h foot.o toe.c toe.o % rm * .o rm: .o: No such file or directory % ls %
:)
Quoting:How to shoot yourself in the foot: Unix& Windows. Experience counts. Most of us made those kind of stupid mistakes. I am sure now we all are aware of why having backups is a good idea! RWCDs, DVDs, spare disks, tapes and most importantly, discipline.
Let's just say I've done similar things before and will probably do similar things again! It's how I learn -- from the PAIN. This time I was feeling kind of proud of myself -- until the damage was revealed. There's nothing like an "OH CRAP" moment to take the wind out of your sails. :-(
Don K.
Don K.
How to shoot yourself in the foot: Unix
You shoot yourself in the foot or % ls foot.c foot.h foot.o toe.c toe.o % rm * .o rm: .o: No such file or directory % ls %
:)
LOLOLOLOL
Linux Humor, gotta luv it.
taken from a cartoon I saw the other day. Two stick figures. one a man one a woman, man figure is sitting in a chair
Man says to woman: Get me a beer.
Woman: Are you out of your mind? Get your own damned beer.
Next frame
Man setting in chair: sudo get me a beer
Woman: OK
helios@localhost # apt-get install gorgeousBlonde.tar.gz
,,,,,gorgeousBlong.tar,gz requires InShapeRichGuy.tar.gz but is not installable due to middleAgeBaldGuy.tar.gz. see man GetA_REalLife.pdf for further information....
You shoot yourself in the foot or % ls foot.c foot.h foot.o toe.c toe.o % rm * .o rm: .o: No such file or directory % ls %
:)
LOLOLOLOL
Linux Humor, gotta luv it.
taken from a cartoon I saw the other day. Two stick figures. one a man one a woman, man figure is sitting in a chair
Man says to woman: Get me a beer.
Woman: Are you out of your mind? Get your own damned beer.
Next frame
Man setting in chair: sudo get me a beer
Woman: OK
helios@localhost # apt-get install gorgeousBlonde.tar.gz
,,,,,gorgeousBlong.tar,gz requires InShapeRichGuy.tar.gz but is not installable due to middleAgeBaldGuy.tar.gz. see man GetA_REalLife.pdf for further information....
>There's nothing like an "OH CRAP" moment to take the wind out of your sails. :-(
Or your lungs. Yeah, that nice "gonna puke" feeling is one of the best teachers on the planet. I was backing up data when I was preparing to reinstall my OS here at home, and I was deleting folders that I had emptied. Got all of those, and then realized that I had deleted the folder that I was intending to back up! I don't think I lost anything irreplaceable but I'm not 100% on that. Oy!
Or your lungs. Yeah, that nice "gonna puke" feeling is one of the best teachers on the planet. I was backing up data when I was preparing to reinstall my OS here at home, and I was deleting folders that I had emptied. Got all of those, and then realized that I had deleted the folder that I was intending to back up! I don't think I lost anything irreplaceable but I'm not 100% on that. Oy!
Helios:
> apt-get install gorgeousBlonde.tar.gz
Maybe you should just settle for http://dindinx.net/hotbabe/ instead. :)
> apt-get install gorgeousBlonde.tar.gz
Maybe you should just settle for http://dindinx.net/hotbabe/ instead. :)
Define structure and outcomes before we start a vote.
Hi,
I think there are waaay too many opinions based on one's own preferences and bias to try and create this database.
My 2c is that we should create multiple matrixes of distro's each based and for a different market/user for example: Multimedia desktop users and Programmers and Office workers etc.
Then we can start to objectively classify each distro according to its virtues to these communities. We have to accept that not everyone is a hobbyist. I still use MS on my desktops but always have one Linux-flavour or another running on my spare PC for testing etc.
Louw
I think there are waaay too many opinions based on one's own preferences and bias to try and create this database.
My 2c is that we should create multiple matrixes of distro's each based and for a different market/user for example: Multimedia desktop users and Programmers and Office workers etc.
Then we can start to objectively classify each distro according to its virtues to these communities. We have to accept that not everyone is a hobbyist. I still use MS on my desktops but always have one Linux-flavour or another running on my spare PC for testing etc.
Louw
>I still use MS on my desktops
I shall shed tears for you, my friend....8-)
I shall shed tears for you, my friend....8-)
I agree that more cvlassification would be better. For example, there's a great difference between people switching to Linux because they want something different and people who are looking to replace Windows.
Sander:
Unless you over looked the red underline underneath "cvlassification", you must not be using FireFox v2. Just in case you didn't know, It has pretty nice spell checker . I am very bad speller myself, I guess that is why I appreciate this feature so much.
Unless you over looked the red underline underneath "cvlassification", you must not be using FireFox v2. Just in case you didn't know, It has pretty nice spell checker . I am very bad speller myself, I guess that is why I appreciate this feature so much.
Yup. I'm running 1.5 on Dapper here.
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Seasoned - Debian