DEFINITIVE: Which Linux Distro? (poll for 2009)

By markwolfe
in Linux

 Share

The Definitive Linux Poll for 2009!  

809 members have voted

  1. 1. Which Linux Distro? (multiples allowed, if you use a couple)

    • Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu/*buntu
      361
    • Debian/Mepis/Knoppix/Kanotix/Xandros/Elive/Other Debian
      50
    • Fedora Core/Redhat/RHEL/CentOS/WBEL
      78
    • OpenSUSE/SUSE/Novell
      53
    • Gentoo/Sabayon
      32
    • Mandriva/PCLinuxOS
      22
    • Slackware/Slax/Zenwalk
      18
    • Arch/Shift
      66
    • Linspire/Freespire
      3
    • Damn Small/Puppy
      12

  2. 2. Which destop environment / window manager? (multiples allowed)

    • GNOME
      366
    • KDE
      135
    • XFCE
      57
    • fluxbox/blackbox/openbox/LXDE
      48
    • Enlightenment/E17
      13
    • IceWM
      4
    • TWM or something equally basic
      5
    • GUI? pft. CLI or die!
      23
    • other
      18
    • whatever my distro came with. Is there a choice?
      15

  3. 3. I use Linux for... (multiples allowed)

    • Desktop (for school, work, home, games)
      359
    • Media Centre (primarily for videos & music)
      113
    • Server (web,ftp,file/print)
      123
    • I don't really use it for anything but learning Linux
      140
    • I've only ever used it as a LiveCD, or to recover files from a non-bootable OS
      33
    • Other
      41

Recommended Posts

Contributor

ge_generation

Posted
Posted

Arch + Gnome on my main desktop w/ Windows 7 dual boot

Ubuntu + Gnome on my laptop, just for ease of install and the whole power management thing, for some reason works better in Ubuntu, but willing to change to Arch once I get some time to tinker around

Grand Master

Andre S. Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

My opinion of Linux has risen in the last 6 months from "wtf" to "usable". As a development environment, it's not bad, with Eclipse, Code::Blocks, Netbeans and now Monodevelop (C# on Linux - woot!). Not having Visual Studio around is quite painful though, and Eclipse keeps causing JVM crashes no matter what I do. It took me a while to get used to installing programs with the package manager, but it's a nice system overall, even though it doesn't always get the latest or best version of the software. I use Ubuntu as my main OS at work because in order to run Windows you have to install all their monitoring crap that slows the system to a crawl. It's fun to watch my system boot in 30 seconds when my colleagues have to wait like 10 minutes to get into Windows XP.

I still use Windows, but the 7 RC version, and in a VM on Ubuntu. :p And at home, it's Vista SP1 and will stay so until Windows 7 appears on MSDNAA.

  • 1 month later...
Neowinian

philtro

Posted
Posted

I'd like to suggest Sabayon for those who haven't tried it. I recently switched to Sabayon KDE from kubuntu and have found it to be a breath of fresh air compared to the buggy kubuntu. Plus it comes with all the necessary codecs already installed for avi, mp3, etc.

  • 2 weeks later...
Rookie

moonfleet

Posted
Posted

I've tried many distros, but I've settled on Windows XP (I have no need to change yet) setup with all the open source software I need, and with Cygwin installed. Cygwin is not Unix or Linux, but it lets me do everything I want to do the Unix way while never having to leave the underlying Windows I'm already booted in. As a an old non-GUI computer user going back to Apple II and Radio Shack TRS-80 days, I love the way Cygwin lets me do things. I would choose Ubuntu though, if it wasn't that I have only one computer, and it's a laptop on which some of the convenience features just won't work fully in Linux (some indispensable touchpad features, wifi not reliable, fan can't be controlled and system overheats).

If we're talking a full desktop system, a full installation of Ubuntu but using Openbox or Fluxbox as the window manager is what I like best. I say, install it all, and then use it minimal style if that's what you want.

Veteran

Lord Ba'al

Posted
Posted

Mandriva 2009.1 x64

Kde 4.2.4 (upgrading to 4.3 once it's released)

Desktop

I've tried Ubuntu, openSuse and Sabayon before, but thzey all had their share of problems :pinch:

Now here on Mandriva, finally everything's working fine - Ati driver, network/internet, compiz etc. :cool:

So I then decided to give it an extended trial and ended up switching to it full-time :woot:

I don't see a desktop thread here, so I'll put mine right here (click for big).

The gadget is Automatik from SuperKaramba, desktop theme is Vistar 7. Both are from kde-look.org (got them via the "Get new stuff" option in the corresponding theme selectors).

post-276924-1248571889_thumb.jpg

I use Kubuntu Linux Karmic Koala (9.10a2) in conjuction with KDE 4.3RC3 (4.2.98). GNOME is too ugly for me...

Gnomes never had a reputation for being pretty though, so no big surprise :laugh:

Grand Master

tsupersonic

Posted
Posted

Stopped using Linux on my home computer, it is flat out slow (since it's 4 year old hardware). At work, I use it as a server, and sometimes as a desktop for playing around. Using Fedora for the server, and Ubuntu on a test machine. These machines are beasts, Core 2 Extremes, 8GB RAM, RAID 0, overkill for what we need it for, but hey we have the budget :D

  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Enthusiast

VII7

Posted
Posted

^ I was a bit surprised but the radeon drivers worked perfectly for my old x1300. That's the first time that ever happened. I knew they were working on the radeon drivers but I didn't know they were that far along.

When it comes to Linux as Desktop, or even FreeBSD, "OLD VGA is Good, actually Old VGA is best"... especially when we talk about ATi, since nVidia has a better support. I never had drivers problems with old systems, as for more recent ones, it's such a pain. Even the 64 bit support (still drivers related, not flash or things like that) is not so good, so rather ignore you 4 GB + ram and go with x86, yet most recommend you go with AMD64 if you system is capable...

  • 6 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

Glassed Silver

Posted
Posted

Ubuntu and opensuse (Y)

Nothing beats GNOME imho, after trying it in Ubuntu...

Usually I've used it for recoveries live-usb/cd/dvd trials and to tinker with it...

I've got it installed as second of three OS's on my netbook :)

Glassed Silver:mac

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Microsoft about to radically change how often your Edge browser updates

      By testman · Posted

      Everyone else has said it. I'm gonna say it - you don't know what you're talking about. I do. I have two laptops. One work, one personal. I have access to two more laptops - both personal. At home I manually update my personal laptop when I see on Neowin that there is an update - I carry on and only apply the updates when I am ready. My work one only updates when my workplace decides to send it - I carry on and only apply the updates (when they actually arrive, which is usually days after the release) when I switch off the laptop at the end of the day as usual. The two other personal laptops only get updated when I get to it which is rarely - the people who own them carry on using them until I get to it and update them. All of the browsers on all laptops are configured to restore the tabs when launched. Google and Microsoft have changed from 6 weeks to 4, and it looks like it's going to move to 2. None of these changes affect how any of these browsers on the laptops are used. Not one jot. My advice to you is stop panicking whenever you see an update. Just carry on with what you're doing. This even benefits you in a way - from your comment you sound like you don't like the changes or the frivolous new features - great - then carry on as before!
    • Lethal fake phone chargers are still being sold on Amazon and eBay, UK watchdog warns

      By Brian Miller · Posted

      AMAZON needs to take total accountability for this.
    • Windows Server gets DNS over HTTPS (DoH) support

      By binaryzero · Posted

      Server Summit had a heap of announcements, ADCS changes are baller.
    • Linux 7.1 arrives with an NTFS overhaul and major hardware performance boosts

      By Max Norris · Posted

      Nice, hope they *finally* fixed the issue with the NTFS driver where the system would completely brick during large file copies using the built in driver. It's been broken for years requiring me to use the older, slower, NTFS-3G FUSE driver.
    • Windows 11 KB5094126 BSODing, freezing, forcing BitLocker lockout, breaks OneDrive, and more

      By hellowalkman · Posted

      Windows 11 KB5094126 BSODing, freezing, forcing BitLocker lockout, breaks OneDrive, and more by Sayan Sen Microsoft released Windows 11 KB5094126 and KB5093998 last week as the latest Patch Tuesday updates. Following that the company also published the accompanying dynamic updates under KB5094149, KB5095971, and KB5094156. While Microsoft has so far not acknowledged any major problems with the release, some users online are running into problems. These range from OneDrive and Dropbox access issues, BitLocker recovery lockouts, to blue screens and BSODs. The most common one seems to be happening with HP systems wherein affected users say they hit 0xc0430001 BSOD (blue screen of death) error code after the KB5094126 update. We wonder if this could be related to the recent bug we covered on HP devices wherein the ongoing Secure Boot certificate updates are leading to similar issues. While we are not certain, users affected by this issue likely need to ensure that the boot.stl file is included on the installation media (such as a USB installer or ISO), if the above-mentioned dynamic updates are deployed. If this file is missing, computers may fail to boot from the installation media and could display the error 0xc0430001. This STL file is used by Secure Boot to verify that the boot files are trusted, so it must match the same Windows version and system architecture. To ensure the file is included, Microsoft recommends using the Update WinPE script, which automatically updates the image and handles the required files. Alternatively, you can manually copy the boot.stl file from the Windows\Boot\EFI folder on a Windows device and place it in the matching folder on your installation media before deploying the updated image. Aside from blue screening some users also note their systems have been freezing following the update. This could be happening to Lenovo PCs specifically. In the case of the OneDrive and Dropbox access issues, a user figured out that there could be a conflict with UAC. He explained: "Okay, so I did some digging, and in our environment KB5094126 breaks OneDrive and Dropbox in Explorer. I went through all our GPOs and found out that the combination of disabling UAC and having my user being a local admin breaks OneDrive in Explorer. ... If I enable UAC again, then it works, even with KB5094126 still installed." Hopefully, Microsoft will look into these issues. Source: Microsoft forum (link1, link2, link3, link4), Reddit (link1, link2, link3, link4)

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Jeroen Wilms earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      AndreaB earned a badge
      One Month Later

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      508
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      197
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      138
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      90
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      80
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!