linux Definitive: Which Linux distribution do you prefer? (2012 edition)

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

The 2012 edition of the Neowin Linux distribution poll.

[_neutrino Veteran]

When using Linux i prefer Arch

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

Members of Neowin recommended Arch to me last year, and I never looked back! :)

[fusi0n]

any good gudie for installing arch?

[mps69]

Still using Ubuntu, 10.10 on my desktop and 11.10 on my netbook.

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

any good gudie for installing arch?

The Arch Wiki is great documentation, the best I've ever found for a Linux distro. There's a whole section on installing the most common things (the OS itself, drivers, GUI, etc). They have a beginners guide for people new to Linux and advanced Linux related stuff

[Boo Berry]

Arch or Mint, hands down.

[Kreuger]

Still using *buntu however I switched from XFCE to LXDE.

[alexalex]

Just a tip : Get Linux app for Windows

Get Linux is a brand new program for Windows that provides

download links and additional information for more than one

hundred different Linux distributions. When you start the

portable program for the first time you are presented with a

list of Linux operating systems on the left side. A search

form is available which you can use if you are looking for a

particular distribution.

Each Linux version is displayed with its name, the available

version, desktop version, file size and country of origin.

The description offers a first overview if the selected

Linux distribution....

http://getlinux.sour....net/index.html

[Gerowen]

Switched from Ubuntu to Debian when Unity became the default login for Ubuntu because for some reason even the "Classic Gnome" option felt really slow compared to earlier releases, and I didn't want to regress to an earlier version that wouldn't be supported in 6 months, so I made the move to Debian. I love it.

[sanctified Veteran]

Elementary OS. I really think that these guys ideas and implementations for Linux it's the future all Linux distros should embrace.

I urge people to give them a try and get involved, this is how Linux should progress guys.

http://elementaryos.org/journal

[Growled Member]

I voted Ubuntu. I am using Bodhi Linux, which is based on Ubuntu 10.10 and is using Enlightenment. I love Enlightenment. I have grown to dislike Gnome and Unity and KDE. I don't see myself ever using them again.

[simonlang]

ubuntu here! i just shot my fedora 16 installation few mins ago. but all i did was trying to install an ati driver for my x1650 card. booted from installation cd aferwards but no option to repair the installation, also i can only install it after having completely deleted the old one.

thats such a no go, i had my small troubles with ubuntu too but i NEVER NEVER NEVER had shot the whole system dead by just installing something wrong.

[Hardi]

Debian

[4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran]

I was on Ubuntu Gnome 2 for a long time and then went for a few months with Ubuntu Unity. It was okay but rough around the edges. It felt also even more simplified and less configurable than Gnome, and that was not the direction I wanted to go.

Now I am using KDE on Kubuntu and it is awesome. :D

[Old Man Pickle]

Started with Ubuntu years ago (had a brief affair with Arch) but have recently fallen for Elementary OS.

[W3N4]

Archlinux.

Aaron Griffin put it very nicely: "If you try to hide the complexity of the system, you'll end up with a more complex system."

[Nothing Here]

I chose Mint. But, (yup, there's always a but.) I have a very old lappy running Ubuntu Hardy. Yea, I know Hardy is dead, but if you have a choice between XP and Linux, I always choose Linux.

Anyways, my actual prefrence these days would be if I had a system that would run it is Mint 12 with MATE DE as default. As second runners up would be Fedora.

I tried Arch several times, but never cared for it. I used the original Shift Linux and loved it. Was heart broken when it was changed to a new base.

LT

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

Ubuntu, only other distros iv used is MadDog on previous PS3, before I switched to Ubuntu on it, and Mandrake 3 long time ago ( mandrake turned me away from *nix as a whole wasn't until Ubuntu 8 I think that I started Using it again

[DJD]

Arch is really nice but due to time constraints its just not a viable option for me anymore. I switched from Ubuntu to Arch due to Unity.

But Arch became a bit wonky after time, might have something to do with me not merging config files when asked :shiftyninja:

Anyway I decided to give Ubuntu a spin again and Unity really Improved. And once it starts to annoy me I'll check out Elementary because it has a lot of potential.

So yeah, you guys just have to wait until the end of the year once I have made up my mind :rofl:

[+DKAngel Subscriber²]

does android count :p

[Joey S]

Arch Linux. It melds the best of a source distribution like Gentoo with a binary distro. It also has just about every package under the sun in it's AUR.

yaourt -Syu ;)

Archlinux.

Aaron Griffin put it very nicely: "If you try to hide the complexity of the system, you'll end up with a more complex system."

That's very true.

[ShMaunder]

Rocking Ubuntu with Unity here. Looking forward to the 12.04 release.

Heres my hopes for 2012:

> Wayland gets official graphics vendor support and is included in the 12.10 release.

> Stable version of Compiz 0.9.

> Valve release a preview of its steam client for Linux :p.

> My LibreOffice stops crashing in print preview mode :/

[xxxxxx.xxxxxx]

Still using a mixture of Debian and FreeBSD here, mainly in a server environment.

[Karl L.]

I started with Ubuntu years ago, but I have used Debian primarily for a couple of years now. I have Debian Stable (Squeeze) on my laptop (one of the many reasons I love Debian is that it is one of the few distributions that still supports the PowerPC architecture as a primary release target), and Debian Testing (Wheezy) on my more powerful desktop (AMD64, not PPC). If I could vote for another distro, I would go with CentOS because I use it on my server due to its stability, support, and SELinux security policy.

Edit: For me, the best things about Debian are its rolling release repository (testing), stability, insane architecture support, and its repository utilities (Aptitude and Synaptic).