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41 Comments
- Obsidian743, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14It's called http://distrowatch.com/
All you need. Well, sorta. - aMMgYrP, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Well since you mention both I have no idea which way to mod you.
- cduquette, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9The only thing I didn't like about Suse is there aren't any gstreamer plugins to handle the restricted formats such as wmv, quicktime, mp3, etc. Suse does have the best looking artwork and the sexiest looking Linux fonts though.
So for me Ubuntu + Suse artwork for the win :D. - valour, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10It's at the end of the article, but this sentiment is worth saying here in a comment: this article is meant to give people who have never used Linux an idea of how distributions differ from one another. It does not compare a whole bunch of distros at once. I realize that some people say that they want one of those big scattershot comparisons, but in the end it wouldn't be beneficial to readers. There is no shortcut to reading a variety of different, competently written distro reviews, visiting distribution and project Web sites, and trying one or two of them out for yourself.
- brandizzle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Debian was my first non-MS operating system a few years back. I still do not understand why it is "challenging". Personally, I loved it.
- el_jefe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I think most confuse different with challanging.
If someone has used Windows for years and then tries to use the same logic and workflow they learned from Windows on a *nix OS or any non-MS OS, the new relationship will end in badly. Often times with the user spouting things such as "Linux will never be mainstream because it doesn't do < insert windows task/program/job > ". - mancat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"A lot of people have heard of GNU/Linux (more commonly referred to as just "Linux")"
I would say that just about everyone who has heard of Linux has never heard of "GNU/Linux." Only 1% of Linux users really care whether or not GNU is mentioned in combination with "Linux." - felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Actually, for me the major difference between distros was ease of installation & use, and the system requirements.
There's also the question of which applications are included in the distro, and what hardware is going to work right away when you install.
I chose Debian because it was as easy to install as Ubuntu, but had a much lower RAM requirement (according to the Debian and Ubuntu web sites). I'm sure there are a lot of people who would choose one distro over another for reasons other than the cosmetic differences. - mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Well, Gentoo is hardly appropriate for people just learning about Linux and different distributions. The installer could practically be used as the CompSci graduate school entrance exam. Ubuntu, on the other hand, is ideal for beginners.
Just the same, people shouldn't mod 'politically' like that. - el_jefe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5yep. Slackware is the best IMHO. I have tried most of them, but always come back to Slack. Funny thing, after a year of using Red Hat and Mandrake, I found Slack. It was the easier for me than the RH or Mandrake. I use it for both a desktop, and for my servers.
- geminitojanus, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Trolls like you suck more.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9SUSE + Xgl + Compiz = Pure Sex
- Ezekiel2517, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Actually, I found that diving head-first into a gentoo install as my first linux machine made sure I learned some of the fundamentals right out of the gate. Plus, it's got Portage. Years later, I'm still using the same install right now.
- mooninite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Sad but true. The major difference between distros are their *ARTWORK*! Besides that, different versions of the same programs... similar filesystem layout... Hopefully everything will be fixed with a proper LSB and the only thing different will be the artwork.
- foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3hehehe. i'm installing ubuntu right now. i was thinkin' about goin' with kubuntu, but i'm glad i chose ubuntu. i think gnome looks nice. maybe i'll use the... how you say (:P) "packet manager" to install kde or even that junk suse has (you know, the thing that makes everything all transparent and 3d).
anyway, i like ubuntu, because it's the first distro i've tried (and i've tried a lot (since red hat 7) that not only detects hardware, but installs drivers (which is nice if you want to use x windows). i've never had a distro detect my graphics controller AND configure x windows. not to mention, partitioning in ubuntu is easy as hell; and i like the fact that i can write this message without rebooting after install. live cds ROCK; and so does ubuntu! - trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9The difference, if you mention Ubuntu your comment will get modded up, if you mention Gentoo it will get modded down.
- darkecho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I use slackware quite a bit. A gentoo fan myself, but slack is always good.
- valour, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3When I first installed a desktop Linux distro (Mandrake 9.0!) I dual booted to play games on Windows. But something strange happened -- I liked working in Linux so much that it became a burden to go back to Windows for games. Then I switched over to some Linux games and hooked up some of my old console systems to satisfy my gaming urges. It solved my Windows dependency in a matter of weeks.
- colklink, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have to agree with Ezekiel here. Years ago I dove into Gentoo without much previous experience/knowledge. The online support makes it a great learning ground for new users and you really end up learning a LOT more about how Linux works than just slapping in an automated install CD and praying everything works out of the box. Hell, I even installed it on a PPC Mac shortly thereafter without much difficulty. Of course, this isn't for everybody, but the worst thing that can happen experimenting with the "hard" distros is that you might learn a thing or two about how the system works.
- mikejw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I meant to imply that I'm one of them :S Slack forever!
- asmodeus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I was sceptical of having a live CD for the installer at first (and I still really like the old text based installer - I don't get some peoples obsession with having a GUI for the OS installer - even the Windows XP installer isn't graphical the entire time); however, the one feature of the live CD I found to be a totally worth it was the ability to use Firefox while the OS installed.
- Vician, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The only real problem I've had with any Linux distro is the same problem people bring up every time - gaming. Don't get me wrong, there are a number of good open source games, a good few native ones, and a decent amount of porting going on; but, that still leaves me without some of my favorites. It's true I could use Cedega to play things (Like, World of Warcraft for instance), but honestly, who wants to pay for a software subscription to play a game that I already bought - and pay monthly for? That's one hell of a redundant payment issue...
And yes, I know, I could just dual boot, but that's such an annoying thing to do when you're a gamer that plays on whims of fancy... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I guess I deserve to get buried... Productivity suffers when raindrops are falling on your desktop.
- mikejw, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7Any slackware users out there?
- chiron74, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wow, great contribution moron - come back and have a decent discussion when you turn 20 or finish second grade - whichever comes first.
- foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i tried mandrake 9.0 (now mandriva or something like that). wasn't that right before or right after... or just right when they went "commercial" (as in you had to pay for sh*t... or something like that). anyway, same problems as red hat 7. crappy partitioning software (disk druid i think), no hardware/driver support (for BOTH of my computers), and no x windows (because of the limited hw/driver support).
by the way... linux games? got names? - Ndoki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The only real difference between Debian and Ubuntu is that with Debian one has to manually install each file; whereas with Ubuntu it is a packaged deal. Even things like firefox plugins, multimedia codecs and Nvidia drives come packaged in a script utility known as Automatix or Bumps. This means that the average Joe does not have to hunt down the names of each file (which can take hours or more) or have to manually edit config files. I remember it taking me a week or more to get my Debian box setup just the way I like it, but now with Ubuntu only a day or two tops (though for the average Joe it should only take 2 hours max).
- foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://digg.com/gaming_news/FPS_RTS_GPL_=_crazy_multiplayer_fun is what i was thinking about. i'm downloading it right now. :P >2 mins for 100+ megs! god i love comcast. well, not really; but i do love those half-dozen second-long 6mBps+ (yes, "bytes") bursts they give you (that probably throttles more than half the line).
also, xgl is what i was talking about in an earlier post. - felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Ubuntu is great, you'll be glad you chose it. But just so people know, Debian installs the same way, and has lighter system requirements.
- mancat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2mcrbids,
Probably because RedHat is the Microsoft of the Linux world. It used to be that RedHat carried a stigma of the distribution of choice for the inexperienced Linux user. I don't see that as the case nowadays, but now RedHat are seen as sellouts. You know, since it's "evil" to be making money in the Linux world.
Just about every Linux server I work with in my job are all RedHat, since they provide the most complete support of any distribution. If you want to work with Linux professionally nowadays, beyond in your basement, you need to know RedHat. - mcrbids, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What I find amusing is that it's no longer "cool" to be doing RedHat, even though virtually everybody does. It's like the Ford Pinto - in the early 1980's, it's the car everybody drove and nobody admitted to.
I've been a die-hard RedHat user since 1999. And it's never done me wrong. Hosting facilities tout their admins as RHCE, white-box servers come pre-configured with Fedora Core, and whatever Linux software you might want to buy has an RPM.
I don't do Linux 'cause it's cool, I do it because it works. And for real stuff, RedHat gets the job done, reliably, securely, and stably, year after year. How come it isn't cool to "get the job done"?
For me, Linux isn't a religeon, it's a tool. And for me, RedHat (and CentOS) get the job done very, very nicely. - valour, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@foxhoundadmin:
Names of games? Why yes, I do. In fact I wrote an article about the best ones I'd played:
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/6174/1/
It really depends on what you like in a game. I also play a lot of UT2004 on Linux. In fact, I even won the UT2004 tournament at LinuxWorld Boston last year. I won a $6000 computer from Sun Microsystems (I wrote an article about that, too, on NewsForge, but I don't feel like searching for the link right now). All based on my Linux gaming skills. - foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1heh. that's it. oh well, i guess you're lucky. i've had hardware/driver issues, partitioning issues, and x windows issues :(
speaking of gaming, wasn't there an article about a free/open-source fps or mmorpg (i know how those are two ENTIRELY different genres) video game on digg earlier this month? i'll post the link if i find it. - Aninhumer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I installed slackware, but I had apparantly put in the wrong root password twice, and I had to reinstall.
I'm sure it's great if you don't screw up the install though. :-) - felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I'm not sure where the challenging thing comes from either. You don't have to download gigs and gigs of disk images - it's just a basic 130mb installer, which then goes and gets everything else for you during installation. It basically holds your hand all the way through, and once it's up and running, I challenge anyone to tell me what Ubuntu does that is any more difficult in Debian.
- valour, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Because Red Hat doesn't make a consumer product anymore -- it's all "enterprise" -- and Fedora Core, while a good concept, is riddled with bugs. Every FC release since the project was launched has had at least one major bug in it that prevents installation or regular use for a significant number of people.
- Aninhumer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0When I installed SUSE it made a pig's ear of setting up my resolution, so I couldn't read the beautiful fonts :(
I was genrally dissapointed with SUSE, it was a slow setup process, and it took forever to acess their server.
This is just my expreience though, I've heard good reviews. So I'm guessing it just had trouble on my box
(But Ubuntu didn't :-) ) - foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1thanks. i'm installing various packages right now. too bad utorrent is windows only. :( i guess i'll try the original bittorrent client before installing azureus. geez, if azureus is as big as a memory hog as it was in windows... *rolls eyes*
by the way, is it just me, or does digg not like firefox in ubuntu? digg's being really quick about allowing me to edit my posts.
p.s., i hate the fact that ubuntu 6.06 doesn't automatically enable num lock when it boots up! >:@
12:09 (i had to add the time. digg wouldn't let me update so i could add an unhappy face i forgot to put in originally. :P) - lahar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1The article sort of buried Ubuntu as a "desktop distribution of note." Unless you have a specific need for another distribution there isn't any reason to not use Ubuntu if you are new to Linux.
(Or experienced, and sick of the micromanagement) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"What I find amusing is that it's no longer "cool" to be doing RedHat,"
Ubuntu rules, nuff said - Crass22, on 10/12/2007, -25/+1LINUX SUCKS!
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