Choosing the right linux distro

[cytg111]

So I have decided not to jump the windows 10 train(per se, will create a dedicated steam rig running 10) and is now looking for the distro that shall take me to the aftermath of microsoft windows. I am not a -total- linux noob, by far not a pro either. I fit somehwere in between regular usage/maintenence and compiling a custom kernel.

Thinking such a thread here could benefit more than just me.

Here is my thoughts/findings so far

1. Ubuntu/flavours. This would by far be the easiest, have used it as my main os before for ~½ a year however some of the things that nag me about windows10 applies to ubuntu as well, mainly privacy, the datacollection, mining, busniess model of shoving ads up/down my throat all based on bigdata.

2. Debian 8.3. I think my noobness is shining with this one, tried Gnome frontend, didnt really work, tried KDE, while better still alot of bugs and -usability- hiccups. Messed with it for about a day and had it about 90% where it could be usefull however, meh. Not enough polish .

3. Mint 17.3 cinnemon. This looks good. So far I am liking it alot. Some of the things that crazed me with debian was trying to make it fit on a 4K screen, it was not pretty. Mint is -> enable high dpi. Done. I do like my usability served up nice even if i DO know how to get about with a cli only.


So any reccomendations? Thinking ill try out Arch next and see how it fares. Maybe even a BSD at some point?

 

[lxskllr]

I use Debian Xfce and Xubuntu on various machines. I've tried others, but aside from specialty purposes, I have no desire to venture from Debian. It just works, and specifically regarding Debian, I like their philosophy. They prioritize freedom above all else, but don't make it needlessly difficult to use proprietary software if that's what the user desires.

 

[TeknoBug]

I've been using vanilla Debian since 1998 (was a Slackware and NetBSD user before that) and contributed to some of its development as well as NetBSD back in the 90's, but it's not noob friendly so Mint or Ubuntu is a better choice for starting with. Mint is a lot more polished and I use it on laptops sometimes.

 

[LPCTech]

I have some experience with linux but still prefer the easy distros like, Mint, LXLE, Ubuntu, etc.
I havent really messed with non .deb package linux much.

Why not have the ease of use? You can pop open a terminal whenever you want.

I like the Gnome, and Cinnamon environments best, LXLE(lxde) is really nice looking as well.

 

[cytg111]

Mint it is then, thanks guys .

lxskllr-> Im with you on the philosophy part, some time down the road I might switch to a more grass-roots distro but for now I need to get off the ground first.

 

[Elixer]

I don't think you can go wrong with mint, it is pretty nice.
I have a debian system as well, and I tend to use my mint system more.

 

[Essence_of_War]

1. Ubuntu/flavours. This would by far be the easiest, have used it as my main os before for ~½ a year however some of the things that nag me about windows10 applies to ubuntu as well, mainly privacy, the datacollection, mining, busniess model of shoving ads up/down my throat all based on bigdata.

I get this. It was really annoying when Ubuntu enabled this by default. They do make it very easy to turn off, though. I like Ubuntu based distros a lot, I especially like how easy it is to integrate PPAs to stay up-to-date on specific software. For example, I use Julia and Gnu Octave a lot. The versions in the Ubuntu repos are a little stale, but simply adding the dev PPAs let me stay up with whatever branch of those I'd like to. I've tried several of the desktop environments recently: Gnome3, KDE Plasma5, and Unity. I liked all of them.

3. Mint 17.3 cinnemon. This looks good. So far I am liking it alot. Some of the things that crazed me with debian was trying to make it fit on a 4K screen, it was not pretty. Mint is -> enable high dpi. Done. I do like my usability served up nice even if i DO know how to get about with a cli only.

Mint is good, it has the advantage of being downstream from Debian and Ubuntu so you're likely to get lots of nice software in the repos.

So any reccomendations? Thinking ill try out Arch next and see how it fares. Maybe even a BSD at some point?

Have you looked at ElementaryOS or Fedora?

I run ElementaryOS on my laptop and I really like it. They've done a VERY nice job on building a linux experience that reminds me of the good parts of OS X.

Fedora is nice too. It is one of the other two major branches of the linux family tree, and it has lots of nice desktop environments and software as well.

If you want to try something realllllly different, Gentoo and Funtoo are interesting, and getting a Gentoo or Funtoo system working can teach you, or at least give you a lot of appreciation for, how tricky it is to build a working distro.

 

[bbhaag]

I'm a Mint guy myself. Used it for awhile now and am happy with it. I'm a little pissed that 17.3 broke my ability to adjust my screen brightness but I'll figure it.

 

[JackMDS]

https://www.linux.com/news/software/applications/810295-the-top-11-best-linux-distros-for-2015

 

[LPCTech]

This is a list of like every active distro with their popularity on the right side in rankings.

http://distrowatch.com/

 

[lxskllr]

This is a list of like every active distro with their popularity on the right side in rankings.

http://distrowatch.com/

Their distro ranking should be taken with a truck load of salt. It only ranks search queries on distrowatch, and isn't particularly indicative of actual use.

 

[mv2devnull]

There are many aspects to consider.

* Package management. There are families of distros that each use different package format and configuration style. For example the .deb and .rpm, or where/how network interfaces are configured. (I mean low level, ignoring GUI tools.) The Debian/Ubuntu/Mint are in same family, so shifting between them is presumably easy.

* Package policy. What is included, what is available at least by some method. Particularly, how non-open licenses are treated. Is bloatware included by default?

* Support. Is there development? At what pace? Will security patches appear sooner or never?

* Desktop environments. That is essentially an unrelated question.


There is no "right", but there are probably some where you can get your work done. That is the only thing that counts.

 

[cytg111]

Have you looked at ElementaryOS or Fedora?
..
If you want to try something realllllly different, Gentoo and Funtoo are interesting, and getting a Gentoo or Funtoo system working can teach you, or at least give you a lot of appreciation for, how tricky it is to build a working distro.

I've seen Elementary yes, It is on the radar but for now too slim/lightweight out of the box.
I've actually run Gentoo in the past, remeber it took days to get up an running on an old 2.0Ghz celeron P4 - laptop. Too much hazzle. At some point in the future I might adventure down the Gentoo road again.

 

[cytg111]

There is no "right", but there are probably some where you can get your work done. That is the only thing that counts.

- Exactly, right now I have codeblocks, postgres, mercurial, eclipse, tomcat running just fine and dandy in mint, it is all good (VM)
One thing I worry about though is the multi monitor support. I need it to run 3 screens at least and 4K'ers at that.

Last time I fiddled with multimonitor support on linux I ended up with only ONE of them being able to vertical sync. Ie. watching a movie or youtube on the "off" screen would tear like no tomorrow.. And apparantly that was a driver issue(nvidia) .. I am hoping that issue is gone :/.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I've actually run Gentoo in the past, remeber it took days to get up an running on an old 2.0Ghz celeron P4 - laptop. Too much hazzle. At some point in the future I might adventure down the Gentoo road again.

It's honestly a huge pain if you don't like tinkering with all of the little details.

I've seen Elementary yes, It is on the radar but for now too slim/lightweight out of the box.

I wouldn't describe it this way. Pantheon and Gala (the DE and Window Manager) are fully featured, and comparable to something like Unity, Gnome3, etc.

 

[Executioner]

Here is another distro: http://zorinos.com/

I have Zorin an Mint running in a VM to determine which one I like better.

 

[Executioner]

Just saw this: Linux Mint website hacked to trick users into downloading version with "backdoor"
http://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-website-hacked-malicious-backdoor-version/

 

[Elixer]

Just saw this: Linux Mint website hacked to trick users into downloading version with "backdoor"
http://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-website-hacked-malicious-backdoor-version/

Troubling that they don't take security more serious.
They don't sign their SHA1 hashes either.

I am starting to wonder if this breach could go way back...

 

[grandpaflo]

Just saw this: Linux Mint website hacked to trick users into downloading version with "backdoor"
http://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-website-hacked-malicious-backdoor-version/

Yes. We have a thread about this:

Beware of hacked ISOs if you downloaded Linux Mint on February 20th, 2016
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?&t=2464731

 

[cytg111]

...I am starting to wonder if this breach could go way back...

This. D-a-m-n. - In an effort to get away from spying activities of another OS the irony here is quite apparent.

 

[FrankRamiro]

My opinion is if you don't want to scratch your head all the time with issues with Linux Distro,you choose Ubuntu14.04 LTS for advanced Machines, for old machines Xubuntu LTS.if you like to keep scratching your head repairing and solving issues go with any other Distro.

 

[MrColin]

I'm pretty fond of Fedora with xfce on my desktop.