DEFINITIVE: Which Linux Distro? (poll for 2007-08)


The Definitive Linux Poll for 2007!  

881 members have voted

  1. 1. Which Linux Distro?

    • Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu
      533
    • Debian/Shift/Mepis/Knoppix/Kanotix/Xandros/Elive
      53
    • Fedora Core/Redhat/RHEL/CentOS/WBEL
      73
    • OpenSUSE/SUSE/Novell
      76
    • Gentoo/Sabayon
      46
    • Mandriva/PCLinuxOS
      23
    • Slackware/Slax/Zenwalk
      20
    • Arch
      47
    • Linspire/Freespire
      2
    • Damn Small/Puppy
      8
  2. 2. Which destop environment / window manager?

    • GNOME
      532
    • KDE
      203
    • fluxbox/openbox/blackbox
      33
    • Xfce
      37
    • Enlightenment/E17
      8
    • IceVM
      2
    • TWM or something equally basic
      1
    • GUI? pft. CLI or die!
      18
    • other
      18
    • whatever my distro came with. Is there a choice?
      29
  3. 3. I use Linux primarily as a...

    • Desktop (for school, work, home, games)
      385
    • Media Centre (primarily for videos & music)
      8
    • Server (web,ftp,file/print)
      58
    • Desktop/Media Centre Mixed Use
      85
    • Desktop/Server Mixed Use
      55
    • Media Centre/Server Mixed Use
      3
    • Desktop/Media Centre/Server (I use it for everything)
      89
    • I don't really use it for anything but learning Linux
      171
    • Other
      27


Recommended Posts

Stuck Ubuntu 7.10 on this, but it didnt like XFS+Grub and EXT3 was wasting a lotta space.

Woulda tried shift but no X86_64 version! Doh! :)

Now trying arch linux, nice and speedy, very lite with xfce4, but having trouble with my own kernel and dynticks code (interrupt 3 errors out on my marvell onboard lan). Gonna try another kernel build to sort this today, hopefully without having to go with nohz option. Arch seems a nice cross between gentoo and mainline distros, with the dual installers (pacman or build from source) interesting :) JFS is really fast too, nicer to the disk then XFS imo also. Made some CFLAGS changes :)

So I'd have voted with arch personally! Well, today :huh:

(for our readers!)

Fixed this in the BIOS by setting my Audigy 2 ZS to another main IRQ (was sharing with marvell LAN IRQ) and turned off PnP (reserved IRQ3).nohz=off didnt help! dmesg is happy again...

Nice to have my IRQs a bit more sensibly used anyhow.

Using Arch now, pretty speedy!

  • 2 weeks later...

openSuSE 10.3 / KDE 3.5.7 / Compiz-Fusion

Just started working with it this past weekend and I'm very much a noob on Linux. However, the install was easy and the distro appears to be solid.

I'm keeping my dual boot with Vista, so I won't be a "convert" anytime soon. :cool:

Currently using Linux Mint. Love Ubuntu, but I find that Mint is going in a little different direction that I like so far. Plus is comes with the w32 codecs already installed, a near insignificant but nice bonus. I used to use Mandriva for all my installs but found the community and guides around Ubuntu to be more plentiful and ultimately persuaded me over. Also using Gnome right now with a few compiz-fusion effects.

  • 2 weeks later...

I've switched* from Knoppix with GNOME to Knoppix with KDE4.

On the P3-800Mhz laptop that has only 192MB RAM, I use Knoppix with Fluxbox.

Edit: When I say "switched" I simply mean that I have KDE4 selected as the default login choice. I didn't need to reinstall Knoppix or anything.

I've switched* from Knoppix with GNOME to Knoppix with KDE4.

On the P3-800Mhz laptop that has only 192MB RAM, I use Knoppix with Fluxbox.

Edit: When I say "switched" I simply mean that I have KDE4 selected as the default login choice. I didn't need to reinstall Knoppix or anything.

I found that I preferred KDE over Gnome when I used them.*

I used flux to get extra performance out of my aging box, and fell in love with it **, so now I use it for my new rig. I would have to rank XFCE as my next favorite, though, above KDE and Gnome.

*This was back about 5 years ago, so both KDE and Gnome have advanced since then.

** When I say "fell in love", I obviously meant it figuratively.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

If I am going to do any serious work on a Linux box, I have to install Gentoo, it's just in my blood. I know it's terribly inefficient and overly complicated when compared to something like Ubuntu (which is an amazing distro in its own right) but it was my first distro and the only one I'd say I know inside and out.

If I want an install to be up and functional at the drop of a hat, I'll install Ubuntu. My parents rock Ubuntu, it's perfect for every day computing.

In any case, I tend to use Gnome. I love Fluxbox and Ion 3, but I usually come crawling back to Gnome just because it seems more efficient to have the whole "Desktop Environment" package. If I am installing for someone else, they get Gnome. It's just less hassle than KDE. I know this comes at the cost of less configuration options, but really the people I'm installing for are better off having less options to frak with.

In the end though, it comes down to what you are comfortable with. If you want to use TWM 24/7, awesome, more power to you. If don't even want to install an X11 server, great. If it works for you, it works.

Those results are quite interesting, how many people that just use linux to to try it/learn about it! Thinking about it, I suppose thats all I really used it for also. But when the compatibility for Windows software becomes better (or developers start developing for linux more) then I will probably go to linux full time instead of the Vista and beyond route.

It's Debian for me.. Etch (the current stable version) doesn't come with the latest and greatest packages (compared to Ubuntu) but APT-Pinning it with the Unstable/Testing repos solves that problem to an extent.

As for the Desktop, I've never liked anything other than KDE!

  • 3 weeks later...

Ubuntu for now on my laptop. This is mostly personal, not for work or anything, just to get back into the groove :p

I will eventually hit Arch Linux or Debian Etch. I'm aiming for a more minimalist distro with more control over the installation and configuration but with a good and updated packaging system, so that might do the trick.

Heck, I might consider even Slackware, ok maybe not, I don't have that patience anymore :rofl:

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