Best Linux of 2012

[saptech]

Of course this is subjective and based on Linux Format opinion, but alot would agree with some of them.

The best Linux distro of 2012! | TuxRadar Linux

 

[9to5cynic]

Not bad, but as a debian user I was completely insulted that it wasn't at least in the running...

But that article did make me want to give Arch another try....

 

[saptech]

I think Debian is a pretty good OS. Some believe it is hard to use, same as Slackware. But those two were the first distros I was able to install and use when I first tried linux.

I'm currently running Mageia 3 Alpha3 and Salix 14 OS, which is based on Slackware.

 

[Speed Daemon]

I think Debian is a pretty good OS. Some believe it is hard to use, same as Slackware. But those two were the first distros I was able to install and use when I first tried linux.

I'm currently running Mageia 3 Alpha3 and Salix 14 OS, which is based on Slackware.

FYI Mageia is a redux of Mandrake, and Mandrake started off with the intention of being nothing more than being RedHat with KDE instead of GNOME. Then it became so much more.

I started my Linux usership with Slackware, and after a period of giving Red Hat and its derivatives I've gone back to a Slackware...derivative. These days it's pretty hard to see that SuSE came from Slackware (the familiar "a", "ap"... file tree is long gone) and that's fine by me.

This year I had the opportunity to check out a fresh release from the moribund company Mandriva (what Mandrake turned into under the control of businesspeople) had the displeasure of contending with a locked-down Ubuntu, and got to play with some other Linux distros as I searched for an easy Linux desktop to run a web browser on that anyone could figure out. Much to my surprise, I found that (mainly because the web app was greedy with CPU cycles, so old computers need not apply) my own desktop and server favorite, OpenSUSE was the ideal Linux distro for 2012.

Slackware will always be my Linux first love, and I've had several long-term relationships with other Linux distros. Caldera looked like "the one" before they went batpoop crazy. I fell head over heels for Mandrake/Mandriva, and waited a long time pining for her. But the Mandriva that's on the corporate crack pipe isn't recovering so I must take my heart and move on. (Her little sister Mageia...it wouldn't be the same.) I've had a long friendship with SuSE, and have been living with her for a while now. I think it's time to take the next step and get

SLED/SLES. (I can take the romance simile only so far. )

BTW, when it comes to desktop environments, tried-and-true KED3 is my top pick for 2012. GNOME3 and KDE4 have been disasters. Canonical's attempts to merge, then replace them isn't working. LXDE shows promise but is still only a window manager. KDE3 is being maintained and refined by OpenSUSE, and forked by the Trinity Desktop Environment. I have an open mind, and welcome whatever emerges as the next quantum advancement to the computer GUI. But for 2012 my winner is KDE3.

 

[argedion]

I still enjoy my fedora and to me thats the only top one I need to worry with.

 

[EarlyMon]

I'm sticking with Android, just as I did earlier this year - http://androidforums.com/lounge/477216-2012-year-linux.html

 

[9to5cynic]

I'm sticking with Android, just as I did earlier this year - http://androidforums.com/lounge/477216-2012-year-linux.html

I liked that thread.

 

[alostpacket]

I like Mint a lot but I like that I was easily able to install Debian on a nearly 10 year old computer.

Many of those I have never heard of (me=linux noob), some look quite nice.

But it isn't hard to see why Mint comes out on top. It's quite fetching!

 

[MoodyBlues]

I've been partial to the Ubuntu family since first trying them back in '05. At that point I had used many Linux distros, but between then and last year I just stuck with Kubuntu because I liked it the best. Last year when I got a new laptop I decided to try some other Linuxes just for fun. I wiped windows off its drive, as I always do first thing with a new computer, and then tried several distros. Of those I tried I liked Fedora 16 the most, but eventually ended up going back to Kubuntu.

Recently my old laptop's hard drive died, so after debating whether to toss the laptop--which is about 6 years old--or get a new drive, I decided on the latter. This laptop, an HP dv6000, had run *VERY* slowly after upgrading to Kubuntu 11.10...I mean PAINFULLY slow, like a windows computer that hasn't had its OS reinstalled in a few months and has been overtaken by viruses, adware, spyware, malware, bloatware, etc. If I wanted a slow computer, I'd use windows! So instead of downgrading to an older Kubuntu, I tried several other distros, including MacPup and Lubuntu, before deciding on Bodhi. That laptop now flies as if it's brand new!

 

[9to5cynic]

I've never tried Bodhi... But I have been feeling the need to try Arch again. I hope to get the latest iso (yeah, I know, rolling distro... ) and give it another spin.

 

[jefboyardee]

Okay, you guys know infinitely more about Linux than me, but I’ve heard that, for a beginner, Xubuntu is ideal...

Xubuntu is an elegant and easy-to-use operating system. Xubuntu comes with Xfce, which is a stable, light and configurable desktop environment.

...is true?

 

[EarlyMon]

Yep. Xfce is lightweight, fast and is mouse-driven for configuration. Xubuntu isn't a bad place to start at all, imo.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Okay, you guys know infinitely more about Linux than me, but I

 

[MoodyBlues]

I've never tried Bodhi...

If you're interested in resurrecting an old[er] computer, I definitely recommend giving Bodhi a try. I can't say enough about how it breathed new life into my old laptop.

But I have been feeling the need to try Arch again. I hope to get the latest iso (yeah, I know, rolling distro... ) and give it another spin.

Why not?! Sounds fun to me.

 

[Speed Daemon]

Recently my old laptop's hard drive died, so after debating whether to toss the laptop--which is about 6 years old--or get a new drive, I decided on the latter. This laptop, an HP dv6000, had run *VERY* slowly after upgrading to Kubuntu 11.10...I mean PAINFULLY slow, like a windows computer that hasn't had its OS reinstalled in a few months and has been overtaken by viruses, adware, spyware, malware, bloatware, etc. If I wanted a slow computer, I'd use windows!

That's my biggest gripe with GNOME3 and KDE4, that they seem to be trying to out-Windows even Windows!

 

[Speed Daemon]

Okay, you guys know infinitely more about Linux than me, but I

 

[saptech]

That's my biggest gripe with GNOME3 and KDE4, that they seem to be trying to out-Windows even Windows!

Where do you think MS got their ideas for Win8? I've been playing around with Gnome3 and after awhile it's not so bad. I tried Unity also and it wasn't bad either.

I've never tried Bohdi either. I've pretty much given up on trying new distros.

I do have an old machine and wanted to put Salix but I believe it's for i586 or higher, so now I'm going to put xubuntu on it.

 

[MoodyBlues]

I'm not thrilled by Ubuntu though. By trying to make it "easy", they've made it insecure, like the "home" versions of Windows. It's a bad habit to be able/forced to do superuser tasks as a regular user. I'd go with a Linux distro that has a real root account, and makes you enter the root password to do administrative tasks. It seems like a little thing...until you get cracked or accidentally bork your system.

You're not understanding how versatile *buntu is. It's perfectly capable of doing exactly what you said.

The first thing I do on a fresh install of Linux, which in my case is normally Kubuntu, is enable root logins. So root can log in and have its own account--something *buntu decided was a bad idea. (I actually, sort of, understand their thinking. They're assuming people coming over to Linux had been using windows and, therefore, are inept and not very bright, and could easily bork their system with their new-found power of root.)

The combination of having a true root login and being able to su - while logged in as a regular user gives me total control--something I've been used to since my earliest days of programming and administering UNIX systems back in the mid '80s. I almost never use sudo--the *buntu preferred method--to do anything.

There are several steps involved with accomplishing what you want, but there's nothing difficult about any of it. For example, don't give regular users permission to use sudo. Enable root logins. Don't give regular users the root password, therefore they can neither use su, nor can they log in as root.

My elderly mother, who can do things with computers I've never seen in 30+ years of experience, has *ZERO* ability to bork her computer. All courtesy of Kubuntu and me.

 

[MoodyBlues]

That's my biggest gripe with GNOME3 and KDE4, that they seem to be trying to out-Windows even Windows!

The thing is, they run great--on up-to-date hardware. *SEE NOTE BELOW*

I absolutely love KDE4 on my newest laptop, the one I bought last year; it's an HP dv7t and KDE4 is *FAST* as can be on it. The problem I ran into on my old laptop, the HP dv6000, was that I kept upgrading Kubuntu past the point where the hardware could handle it. It was absolutely fine up until 10.10...but I didn't stop! Oh, I also tried putting Fedora 16 on the old laptop...and couldn't even get to the install option. It ran slower than frozen molasses.

*NOTE* One of the many great things about Linux is CHOICE. If you don't have current, whiz bang hardware, you're not out of luck. You don't have to toss your computer and buy a new one. That's the micro$oft way of doing things--force continual upgrades of hardware and software--not the Linux way. There are so many distro choices that you can find one that will work great on old hardware. So while current KDE and GNOME may be resource intensive, they're not your only choices. You can not only install older versions of, for example, Kubuntu, but you can also find beautiful alternatives that look and function great, but don't require the resources that current KDE, GNOME, Unity, and others do.

 

[Davdi]

That LXF best distro thing has persuaded me to try some new distros. my PCLOS XFCE is broken, I might give mint another go, or Sabayon, which wouldn't install properly when I tried release 7 a while back.

 

[jefboyardee]

New Bee question, again: I’m pondering ordering some Linux bootable drive to keep separate from my unglorious XP wonderstation, something I can boot up and futz with, then maybe install it on my C drive when I’m fed up with decade-old MS computing.

Something like Ubuntu Linux 11.10 Live Bootable 8GB Flash Drive - Run or Install from USB, apparently $16.32.

Good deal, or you got sumthin better?

 

[MoodyBlues]

New Bee question, again: I

 

[jefboyardee]

How about free? Simply visit the web site of any Linux distribution you're interested in

Thanks, saw some of those and of course you

 

[jefboyardee]

How about free?

I ended up ordering Lubuntu, since the CD, delivered, was under five bucks. Something to learn with... thanks for your help and I

 

[MoodyBlues]

I ended up ordering Lubuntu, since the CD, delivered, was under five bucks. Something to learn with... thanks for your help and I