A new guide on choosing Linux v2009.05.10

Popular desktop distributions

0. Ubuntu

1. openSUSE

2. Mint

3. Fedora

4. Debian

5. Mandriva

6. PCLinuxOS



Popular server distributions

0. Debian

1. CentOS

2. RHEL

3. Ubuntu

4. Fedora



Popular live CD distributions

0. KNOPPIX

1. Damn Small Linux

2. Ubuntu

3. Fedora



Brief description - desktop distributions

0. Ubuntu is a user friendly distribution which releases new versions every 6 months. It is based on Debian, uses apt-get for package management and has thousands of software packages.

1. openSUSE is Novell's version of Linux. It is uses RPMs. Users can choose KDE, GNOME or XFCE.

2. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, has a simplified interface and comes with support for proprietary media codecs, wireless drivers and flash.

3. Fedora is is Redhat's community distribution it uses RPMs, yum for package management and releases new versions every 6 months. Fedora is updated very frequently and usually supports the latest and greatest hardware. Proprietary drivers and media codecs are available from rpm-fusion.

4. Debian is a well respected distribution, uses apt-get for package management and has thousands of software packages. Many other distributions are based on Debian, which could be seen as a vote of confidence. Debian is a very good distribution although it may be a little hard for the uninitiated.

5. Mandriva is a popular distribution, particularly in Europe. It uses RPMs and the urpmi package manager. Users can choose KDE, GNOME, XFCE or TWM.

6. PCLinuxOS is an easy to use distribution using apt and the synaptic package manager. It is primarily designed for desktop use.



Brief description - server distributions

0. Debian is considered a hardcore server distribution. It is pretty lean and mean. Probably not recommended for inexperienced users.

1. CentOS is a free version of the flagship server distribution from a major North American Linux vendor built from source. It uses RPMs and the yum package manager. It is quite stable and has long term support. It uses older versions of most packages. It can be used with a GUI although it does not offer the latest and greatest GUI software and features.

2. RHEL a major non-free server distribution primarily intended for business use. It has long term support and uses older versions of most software packages. While it has a GUI it is primarily a server and workstation distribution which is not cutting edge.

3. Ubuntu-server is the server version of the Ubuntu desktop distribution. It releases new versions every 6 months and is more user friendly than Debian but still not for the uninitiated. It has a text-mode install and no GUI by default, although one can be installed later. It uses apt-get.

4. Fedora is an all around general purpose distribution, it works quite well as a desktop, server, workstation or software development platform. It releases new versions every 6 months, is very cutting edge and usually supports new hardware quite well. It has a GUI but the GUI is not necessary when used as a server.



Brief description - live CD distributions

0. KNOPPIX is arguably one of the best live CD distributions, it uses KDE and works quite well. It makes a great rescue environment if you have a broken PC. It includes a lot of useful packages on a single CD. A Live DVD version is also available with even more goodies.

1. Damn Small Linux is a very small Live CD distribution. It is 50MB and will fit on a business card size CD. It is a minimal distribution which makes it particularly useful as a rescue disk.

2. Ubuntu-desktop packs Live CD functionality and the installer on a single disk and can be used for rescue purposes as well as for installing on a new system.

3. Fedora Live is the Live CD version of Fedora works well for rescuing broken systems, trying out Linux before installing on a hard drive and impressing your friends. The Live CD does not pack as much data as the 4GB installable DVD. Fedora also offers various customized spins for other purposes.




Recommendations

If you're a desktop user I recommend Fedora and Ubuntu. It's possible to dual boot Fedora and Ubuntu on the same computer. You can also run one or more distributions under a Virtual Machine such as VirtualBox, Xen, KVM, VMWare, QEMU, etc.

Ubuntu and Fedora usually support newer hardware and are ideal for desktop use, audio, video and some games. Both can use WINE to run some windows apps. It is also possible to run windows under Fedora or Ubuntu inside a Virtual Machine, although that kind of setup requires high end hardware and in most cases offers degraded performance and very poor virtual 3D hardware not suitable for games or 3D apps.

I plan to expand on WINE and Virtualization in a future post, this is meant to be a fairly brief intro, the forums are not very well suited to a giant post.

Comments, suggestions and corrections are always welcome.

This was written at 2am so please be kind

For me, on advice from a friend, I tried Kubuntu. I actually hated the KDE environment but liked the install process and the general help available in the ubuntu forums, so I gave Ubuntu (GNome) a try and have been hooked ever since. I want experience with other distros but I haven't gotten around to messing with any yet.

Recommendations for the most commercially used?? I've had a break from Linux and whilst buntu appeals I'd like to sink my teeth into something with commercial (work related) possibilities. Fedora? It seems to be edging ahead and as I understood was a good way to gain exposure to what Red Hat will be running in the medium term.

IIRC RedHat has done that for 15 years ( root password ). As of Fedora 11 I think they force you to create a user account during the first boot, in previous versions it was recommended but optional.

If you do decide to add a virtualization section, I'd be happy to contribute.

I have Macintosh and Windows computers. (Don't condemn me, I'm a gamer that likes Pages)

Anything to help Linux users.

Most companies that sell servers offer Debian, CentOS, RHEL, Ubuntu, Fedora and some SuSE.

Anyone that knows Arch or Gentoo is more qualified to write a guide like this than I am

My god! A Gentoo user that's not trying to convince me it's so easy to install my granny could do it...

Honestly, iv'e tried a few times and never got much further than the chroot of a stage 1 install...

Stage1? :-| I tried a Stage 0 install once, it didn't go well.

Just kidding

I second Zorak's suggestion Fedora is sweet Great distro to get started with.

I still recommend both Fedora and Ubuntu, if one annoys you, you can just reboot

any one here try linux from scratch

well, i'll tell you that it wasn't too fun for me, the arch install that i used to create it was easy though

oh, i learned a lot from LFS, but it wasn't exactly fun

Linux and *BSD are great learning tools.

The man and info pages alone contain a wealth of information.

I used this link for choosing my distro, Ubuntu was a complete no no from the get go for me

Finally settled with Fedora 11 KDE

For me it always gives me a huge list of all the major distros. Not much more help than going to distrowatch and randomly picking one.

Not enough experience?

I would say that OpenSUSE has my vote as the most desirable distro for both newbies and advanced users.

It was my first distro i used and by far my favourite: SaX2 is one heck of a powerful tool to force out a GUI when xorg refuses to play nice with certain graphics hardware. And on the whole, i tend to find openSUSE more feature-complete than any other distribution like the *buntus, Fedora or Mandriva.

The zypper package manager is also a good piece of software. i mean, there must be a very good reason why ArchLinux is adopting zypper as its package manager.

And personally, i think Novell's little agreement with Microsoft can only mean good thing for the end user. Somehow, I tend to get lesser driver issues in OpenSUSE as opposed to other distros.

But that does not stop me from tri-booting OpenSUSE 11.1, Fedora 10 and Mandriva 2009.0

Now that's what I call ambitious! I've tried writing my own OS, and that's hard enough.

But, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Without people crazy enough to attempt this sort of thing where would we be? The very best of luck with your project.

That's an awesome idea! Documentation would be wonderful I know I'd read all of it!

Thanks for the positive feedback guys! I think I am going to make a 16-bit ISA as that is small enough to be manageable, yet big enough to support its own OS. I know this is possible because I wrote an RTOS for the Freescale MC9S12 processor last semester, so that will give me a good reference point. Also, one of the projects in my VHDL class this semester is implementing a processor on an FPGA, so I can take the experience I gain there and extend it. Additionally, I already have all the verilog source that I made for a kogge-stone high speed adder (that just so happens to be 16 bits wide) for a VLSI class that I took, so that is another thing in favor of a 16-bit architecture.

I suppose at some point I will want to look at the verilog code sun has posted online to see what a real processor looks like at the verilog level. In any case, it is going to be a while before I have anything to show for my work, but when its done, it is going to be exciting!

--Zorak

Kewl! Keep it up!

Too many people think Linux = Ubuntu, which is bad and an idea that needs to be changed. You see in article comments and forums "Linux sucks, nothing works on it. I had Ubunu installed..." and that's when I know that this person has been confused into thinking that Ubuntu = Linux.

Well, it is an enthusiast Linux forum.

Linux Mint is my current favorite Distro. I still get to geek out, but my wife can use it too without going crazy. Best of both worlds if you ask me!

Depends on what you're doing, I have Backtrack 4 running, but I'm also doing CEH & CHFI. my first linux distro was Red Hat 4 and Mandrake, I wanted to try both KDE & GNOME, but it's been so long since I've used any linux platform I am a noob again, so Im going to start back with Ubuntu 9 and work my way to Debian....although I recommend OpenSUSE and it's preety graphical and fairly simple to use...