Linux Distributions |
Here are some various Linux distributions that I have tried and what I think of them. I have used several others, but I for some reason I just don't believe that they belong on this list. If you need help choosing a Linux distribution, I recommend you try PolishLinux.org's distro chooser and distro comparer.
You can download many Linux distributions via BitTorrent at LinuxTracker.org and The Linux Mirror Project.
Ubuntu quickly became the most popular Linux distribution for several reasons: they adopted a six month release schedule, they focus on ease of use and installation without sacrificing freedom, and they built their own custom tools to make managing and upgrading the system very easy. They will even send you a completely free CD in the mail without any shipping cost. Ubuntu now includes a way to install itself within a Windows partition, which allows you to try Ubuntu without modifying the partition layout of your hard drive. Ubuntu can also be ran directly off of the CD without touching the hard drive. Ubuntu's six month release schedule allows it to remain relatively current and stable at the same time. Ubuntu has four categories of software based on whether or not the software is free (as defined by the Ubuntu licensing requirements) and whether or not it is supported (by Ubuntu itself). Ubuntu was started by a billionaire from South Africa, Mark Shuttleworth. Canonical Ltd., Mark's company, makes money by selling commercial support for Ubuntu, although the community provides free support via forums, wikis, etc. Ubuntu has been a sucess in cooperative commercial ventures with hardware companies like Dell and software companies like InterVideo. Ubuntu is based off of Debian and inherits its package management software, APT and dpkg. There has been enough divergence though that it is not necessarily binary compatible with Debian. |
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Linux Mint is good if you have never tried Linux before and you have enough knowledge about computers that you feel comfortable experimenting, you should try Linux Mint. It is based off of Ubuntu (which is based off of Debian) and uses it's own custom program installer called mintInstall. One of the nice things about Linux Mint is that it includes many things in the default install such as Java, media codecs, DVD playback, and browser plugins like Flash. |
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Debian is the basis for many popular Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Mepis, Damn Small Linux, Knoppix, Xandros, Linspire, etc. I think that if so many others see Debian and a solid foundation to build from that it must be good, and indeed it is. I prefer to grab the Net Install CD and download everything I use after I have it up and going. This ensures that my system is free of unwanted software (bloat) and the slowness that comes with it. One of the first things I do with Debian is install a kernel optimized for my machine. This is a painless process by using apt-get as it will automatically configure grub or lilo with the new kernel (it leaves your old one, just in case). I really do think that Debian is the best distro there is, but since Mepis is easier for Linux newcomers and is still based on Debian, I recommend it for most novice users. Debian has three different package repositories - stable, testing, and unstable. Unstable is the latest builds of software, stable has been tested extensively (perhaps more so than any other Linux distribution) but is somewhat outdated, and testing is somewhere in between. I run unstable myself and have never had any problems. Debian uses the apt-get package manager to make installing new software a breeze. For instance, to install Pidgin, you just have to type in the command "apt-get install pig" as root. It will automatically install everything needed (even dependencies) and will also put it in your applications menu. The application menu may seem more unorganized than in some other distributions, but this is actually a great example of the care that the Debian developers put into the Debian Operating System. They created a utility that will provide a standard way to integrate menus with the 30 or so different window managers in the Debian repositories. All packages in the Debian repositories are built to conform to the Debian Social Contract. While the Social Contract is rather short, it provides all of the power behind Debian. To learn why the their philosophy gives Debian so much strength, I recommend that you read The Debian System: Concepts and Techniques by Martin Krafft, a Debian developer. His book helped me understand why every other operating system is inferior. The book also covers installation and maintenance of Debian on your computer, how the Debian organization is structured and operates, and how to create and maintain .deb packages. This book is much less of a reference manual than it is an enlightened insight into the decisions made by Debian. |
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PCLinuxOS is a liveCD that uses dpkg and APT for package management which comes from Debian, but is itself based off of Mandrake (now called Mandriva). I think this is an excellent combination, as my main complaint with Mandrake was the fact that it would become unstable over time due to the installation and upgrading of software. PCLinuxOS aims to be easy and simple for new users, much like Linux Mint. It inherits many of Mandrake's features, including the Control Center where you can change many system settings and complete system administration tasks. |
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Arch Linux is optimized for i686 computers. Arch is a distribution for experienced Linux users and does not attempt to hide you from the command line or common Linux utilities. For example, it does not ask you to set up users and passwords during or after the install. You will log on as root with no password after installing. You can change the password by typing the command "passwd" and add users by typing "adduser". Arch usually has the latest stable builds of software and is much more up-to-date than many distributions. Arch uses the Pacman package manager, which is much like Debian's apt-get. Arch also has one of the best wiki's I have seen for a Linux distro. It is clean and simple and the how-to's are right to the point. I like Arch but I think it still needs many improvements before I recommend it. The installer is simple but seems to have some bugs in it (I had to install three times before it loaded the config files onto my hard drive correctly). WDM will not show Xfce4 automatically (but it does in Debian), Gnome does not load my programs into the Gnome menu until after I reboot, and some programs such as XMMS were not shown in my menus at all. I run the unstable branch of Debian so my software remains up-to-date and I didn't notice enough of a speed boost to justify the switch to Arch. Arch does not configure much of anything for you, and while I like that it forces me to learn, I don't like spending that much time trying to get things to work. I also do not see any sort of philosophy or driving values that drive the work behind Arch. This interview at OSNews gave me the feeling that the developers were facing some serious problems with the scalability and longevity of Arch. The also discuss the possibility of the commercialization of Arch, and while the developers all deserve respect for not wanting to go commercial, I don't like the fact that it is even a possibility in the future. Despite some problems, Arch is very promising and I do not doubt that it will become a major contender in the Linux world as it combines some of the qualities that make Debian, Slackware, and Gentoo great. Good luck to the devs! |
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