Linux is a Unix-like open-source operating system and there are hundreds of distros to choose from: Ubuntu, Debian, Gentoo, Fedora, Mint, Arch, Kali, Tails to name a few.
Which Linux distros have you tried?
Which one do you currently use and what do you like about it?
Top comments (51)
It was the first linux distribution I used. At the time I was trying to move from windows into the linux world. I liked that everything just worked (in that machine), if that wasn't the case I don't know if I still be using linux. I also liked that fact that I rarely had to open a terminal, usually there was GUI available to do the things I need it to do.
When I started to use it to do some web development I had to learn my way around the package manager, but after I learned it was all good.
What I didn't like was the desktop environment, at the time it was Unity. I wanted something that felt more like a traditional windows UI. I knew that it was possible to do customize ubuntu but I didn't have any desire to do so. So I switched.
After leaving Ubuntu l landed on Zorin OS, the lite version. This one is based on Ubuntu so the knowledge I gained wasn't wasted. I was able to everything I needed in the same way I did with Ubuntu, I liked that a lot. So it was basically Ubuntu but with a more familiar UI (xfce with a pretty theme), also a big plus. Since it uses xfce as a desktop environment it's more resource friendly than the default ubuntu. I actually would recommend this to a new linux user.
I actually try the I3 window manager on Zorin OS before using manjaro, I liked it so much that I wanted a distribution that had a pre-configured I3. After a little google search I found Manjaro I3 edition.
I had heard horror stories about arch based distribution but fortunately for me everything went well during the installation. I used this distribution for about 2 years (I think) and was pretty stable, I didn't encountered any weird problem with packages versions. I did had a few problems with pacman, but the solution were pretty easy to find. I like that everything I could possible want was in the oficial repository, that was freaking awesome.
So... my computer suffered an accident, it's now recovered but Manjaro doesn't work any more. So now I'm using Debian. During the installation I couldn't get the wifi working, that sucked. I had to fetch a "non-free-firmware". As a desktop environment I chose LXDE, not the prettiest of them all but it's very resource friendly. After downloading a theme and some pretty icons it's all good.
Buster being the stable branch of Debian doesn't have the most updated software out there but everything just works. Every package I needed was in the oficial repository so that's nice.
Awesome. You've finally settled on Debian
It began like an experiment, but I like it so far. It does everything I need, I don't see any reason to change.
Have you tried Linux Mint LXDE?
No, I haven't tried Linux Mint. I didn't even know they had a version with LXDE.
Hmm, where to start?
Shortlist of stuff I've actually worked with recently:
I've actually tried quite a few more than that, but I worked with all of the above at least in the last week because I'm partially responsible for packaging and installation code for Netdata, and do cross-distro install tests on a semi-regular basis.
Almost all of my personal systems are running Gentoo because I specifically want a rolling release distro that makes no assumptions about your choice of storage stack (and will not tolerate systemd). My home NAS is the exception to this, running Alpine simply as a minimal base to manage all the services with Docker. Depending on circumstances, I would also consider NixOS for some things, I just have nothing that needs it right now.
Like a true expert
Sounds fun, but why do cross-distro installations?
I am quite curious because i believe you can save time with snap package format, flatpak and app images.
AppImage and Flatpak don't really work all that well for system services, so they're not really practical for something like Netdata.
As far as Snap, we kind of support that, but we want to properly support a wide variety of systems, and Snap really doesn't do that to the degree that Canonical claims because it requires a lot of extra tooling on the system to operate properly.
That's pretty crazy, indeed 😉
Ubuntu I abhor anything Window's OS is apart of, I resurrected a pair of older gaming laptops with Ubuntu 18.04 and 20.04.
Needless to say I'm hyped they had corrupted HDD as soon as I got a sshd 2tb and a 4tb HDD one is a music editing the other is video editing.
Glad I dropped the Windows OS.
The distros I used longest time are
Fedora the best distro for programming but now I am using Solus. I like it, rolling release, stability and beauty. What a distro... The best distro I have ever tried...
Distros I've used in the past:
Currently all my systems are running Arch. I like that I can choose exactly what goes on my system from the start all the way down to the bootloader (although I'm not too worried about that sort of thing). I feel like the install process and just using it has taught me more about Linux. I can't say for sure but it also seems a bit snappier.
Sounds like fun
The ones I remember trying are,
Note: I didn't include variants, for eg. Lubuntu, xbuntu etc.
Yup I still haven't tried vanilla Debian and Open Suse.
I tried differnt Linux Os.
I prefer LinuxMint and Elementry Os.
Because Both Are Debian based os and have a beautiful design performance and stability.
Chronologically, it was something like:
The oldies:
The classics:
The rolling release:
I just love distro hopping. I am currently again in Xubuntu, but my favorite so far is Manjaro. I had to change because I needed more stability with the updates for work related reasons, but I love having 99% of all the Linux software available to me thanks to AUR (Arch).
-Mint
-Solus
-Fedora
-Ubuntu
I really got into Linux when I started using Solus. I liked that it wasn't a fork of any other distro. The community is very friendly and helpful. I currently use Ubuntu because it is the most compatible with the bootcamp I'm attending. I'm convinced you can have a great time on any distro. You just have to find what you like, customize, and explore new options. Ubuntu on gnome starts to slow down when I run too many applications so I switched to Xubuntu then back to Gnome with i3 and I'm having a wonderful time learning the work flow and customizing config files. It's even inspired me to start learning vim (long time emacs fan)
Just a DIY here. Mostly I use Linux at home to do hobbyist stuff. But I have used Ubuntu at work. We did a lot of verification and test work which Linux is great at. So; Ubuntu Workstation from version 14.0 and upgrading as we went along to version 18.0 by the time I left. I also set up a couple of small Linux servers For things like CIFS, RADIUS, etc.
At home I run Xubuntu on two desktops and a Laptop. I also have a Raspberry pi running Raspbian as a NAS.
Way back in 1998 I dipped my toes into Linux by checking out Redhat and Suse. Neither of them actually ended up sticking around.
I gave a couple versions of Puppy Linux a try when my kids virused their Windows Machine. I actually liked it because it loaded fresh from a CD with each boot. I don't care what they end up downloading, it isn't going to survive the reboot.
When Win XP went EOL I switched everything over to Xubuntu and never looked back.
Why Xubuntu? Because the XFCE desktop passed the "Wife and Kids" test.
Distro hopping is my curse...
I use Linux for work so most of the distros are Ubuntu based. Currently, I'm running Pop!_OS 20.04: I really like the effort that System76 is putting on their products and I want to support them as much as I can.
Aye, same here. Pop! OS is the way to go
I tried Ubuntu for a while, but felt it did not update the mutlimedia and VPN support apps too well, so I switched to MX Linux, which has great tools for personalization and kernel installs.
I've mainly stuck to Debian based distro's, although I have Manjaro on a swap-out SSD.
My main desktop is XFCE.
It can be slow and clunky with the default GUI though.
I would absolutely go back to it
New to Linux. Wanted to dual boot my Mac and mess around. Went from deepin -> OpenSUSE -> Fedora. I liked deepin but the community is small. Couldn’t get OpenSUSE to work with some drivers and I just gave up. Stopped at Fedora and it is boring in a good way. It just works and pretty much never breaks.
HI, in the past windows user currently use Linux as the main OS on the personal laptop (previously even at work but right now obliged to work on boring mac :( ), tried a bunch of distros. In my opinion, the best is Linux-mint, why?
I started with Ubuntu, but it didn't feel enough. I eventually hopped multiple distros (the top 30 on Distrowatch). Eventually i settled on Pop OS!
My top 3 picks would be:
1) Pop OS!
2) Ubuntu Budgie
3) Elementary OS
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