Hi all!
I have personally been using Linux for the past 8 years now. I initially started with Linux Mint installed on my laptop and I was quite happy with it. Then a couple of years later I switched to Ubuntu 16.04.
What I love about Ubuntu so far is that I've been upgrading it each year and I'm now at 20.04 on the same laptop. This is something that was missing with CentOS.
For my servers, I've always been defaulting to CentOS up until the recent RH changes. So instead I've been experimenting with Ubuntu Server and it's quite nice.
So for me it's been:
- Desktop: Linux Mint -> Ubuntu
- Servers: CentOS -> Ubuntu
I'm quite curious to hear what your distribution of choice has been!
Latest comments (100)
Lubuntu or anything with LXQT for Desktop
I don't have experience setting server so I cannot comment about server distro.
I was a hardcore Windows user until I installed Ubuntu as a recovery system in case something goes wrong with Windows. However after trying it and seeing how smooth, customizable and powerful it was, I fell in love with it. Since then I made Ubuntu my main system. However, later on I switched to elementaryOS for its unique and minimalist design approach and the fact that it generally "just works" and fades into the background when I'm doing something. (I know many Linux users prefer a more customizable system, but I just want something pleasant that helps me stay on top of my work). Now I'm considering switching to Fedora, especially with the release of Fedora 34 with GNOME 40, and how stable and original it feels unlike Ubuntu, and how it is much more supported unlike elementaryOS.
I generally use Linux for everything, from basic web browsing, to coding apps and trying cool new stuff.
I had use Kubuntu, Ubuntu, Mandrake, Debian etch, CentOS, Mandriva, Elementary, two years ago use osX and is similiar although the apps and philosophy is diferent. Now I'm using Elementary because do not hurt me and is simple to use.
I am currently trying out Zorin OS it's super awesome for a person who is shifting from windows to Linux as it is a user friendly distro.
Ubuntu.
I'm too old and missing the days when we had enough spare time to enjoy emerging the world for hours in Gentoo.
Honnestly, PopOS is really neat, it's pretty much become my goto distro when I want to install linux for someone who isn't very computer proficient.
It's clean, simple and beatifull. And as a really cool addon, you can toggle a tilling mode in the WM which is really nice for a shared worksation (I'm a sucker for tiling WM's)
Honnestly, most major distributions work pretty much out of the box, and at the same time there will always be some qwerks here and there.
With the advent of Docker and similar the system packages no longer need to match production versions, you can install PHP8 on your system and your container will continue running PHP5.3 without any headache configuring anything, same thing goes for the server of course (kinda the whole point really).
So I feel that's no longer a valid argument on choosing a distro as the only backport you're likely to have to deal with is the container app.
For desktop i'd want:
1 - familiarity (so whatever you're most familiar with, be it Debian, Arch, Fedora or even BSD)
2 - mainstream (you'll inevitably need help for setting some things up quickly and efficiently, so choose something many people use so that you're more likely to find a ready made solution to whatever your problem or use-case is)
3 - preference (having fun is important also, and I've found that disto-hopping always brings a valuable experience)
I personally don't really have a preference, I'm gonna be re-configuring everything anyways.
For a server install, supposing that you're looking to administer it, I'd say there's really only two criteria that matter.
1 - familiarity (if you want to administer a server you better know how to do it without online help, so the most important is to choose a system that you know in and out)
2 - security maintenance (security, security and more security, unless you want to patch all the things by hand make sure the distro is maintained upstream)
I'm an Arch (Gnome) user, been using it since (about) 2006. I was a hardcore Windows XP user (We used to make our own custom install cd's) and then one day a friend kinda decided for both of us to switch to Ubuntu 'Warty Warthog'. (October 2004) The progression to Arch was kind of inevitable in terms of the actual Linux process, wanting to be more in charge of what it was that you were using and a massive learning curve that came with it and continues to this day.
For the guys/girls who would like to use Arch and find the prospect of the install being daunting, go have a look at the brilliant ArcoLinux project by a Dutch guy called Erik. arcolinux.com/ It is well worth it. Cheers.
Forgot to add the bit about what server software. I don't have or use a server but if I have to set one up for a client or make a recommendation it would be Ubuntu Server. I have a Raspberry Pi 4 with 8GB RAM that runs a headless Arch 64 bit version for Raspberry Pi (AArch64) that I use as my "Server" and "Pi-hole". Pi-hole is a Linux network-level advertisement and Internet tracker blocking application which acts as a DNS sinkhole and optionally as a DHCP server.
Desktop: Ubuntu ... why ? compatibility with my hardware... and community, blogs, answers to questions, etc.
Servers: Ubuntu or CentOS . Because I fell so comfortable :)
Well for the last 5 years, since 16.04, I've been using Ubuntu MATE. It's super easy to setup and customize, It's got a cool UI but still has that nostalgic feeling of GNOME2 which is where the MATE environment is forked from so, really happy about it. I tried to find alternatives to it in the past but I couldn't find any that I could have the plank dock to work as well as it works on MATE so, yeah. Really recommend it.
I use Xubuntu, I don't need anything fancy, but also I don't want to deal with all the Arch stuff tbh. If I need help, I usually can find Ubuntu tutorials that work perfectly.
But, I try POP_OS once and it's really nice.
I started with Fedora 6 with KDE, switched to Ubuntu with Gnome 2, tried Debian, went back to Ubuntu with Unity and then moves to elementary OS when Ubuntu decommissioned Unity.
It's already 3 years now and I'm not going to look around for something different. Pantheon DE is the most polished experience I had on Linux ever, the team behind the distro is cool and you get all the flexibility and stability of Ubuntu with a UI focused on clear and effective UX.
Manjaro i3 community edition. I really enjoy Arch ,and Manjaro streamlines the setup a ton. i3 is just because I prefer my keyboard over my mouse whenever possible and once you get the i3 shortcut keys down, you can go hours (or days) without needing to touch the mouse.
Fedora 🎉😉
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