2011-10-26

Switching To Linux: The Distributions

Posted by Sven Smets Linux

Oct 262011

Chapter 4.Over the years I have tested and used a lot of distributions. For the “Switching to Linux” article series I wanted to pick the distribution that suited my needs best. Usability was the primary concern. A close second was looks, I have always been a sucker for eye candy. Things like installation and configuration where less important.

I consider myself (fairly) experienced in Linux, having setup a good number of servers and desktops. I have been using Linux as a secondary desktop for a number of years now. So I did not expect much problems in the distribution step towards my ultimate goal: a perfect Linux desktop, suitable for everyday use both professional and private.

The demands

I wanted an up-to-date, easy to use and easy to maintain system. The window manager needed to be practical, yet easily customizable and fast.

No endless configuration and tweaking after the installation
The interface works out-of-the box or post-installation
Updates are simple and don’t require hours of searching for dependencies and solving conflicts
Essential hardware is detected during setup or at least hinted at post-installation. No searching for kernel modules and obscure third party drivers
No tons of extra software. If there is extra software, it is easily removable
Sufficient software is available to replace the windows programs (installable, downloadable). Compiling is the last resort and not the rule

The candidates

I made my selecion of distributions based on my own experiences and also looked at the top 6 at distrowatch. Before you look at the list and say “but BSD is not Linux”, I included FreeBSD as an outside possibility (mostly out of curiosity) and I know it’s Unix-based.

Also note that the Window Manager mentioned is the one the distributor suggests. Most of them also have downloads available for other window managers.

Arch Linux

Site: archlinux.org
Release Type: rolling distribution
Window Manager: none, chose one after installation
Version: 2011.08.19

Debian

Site: debian.org
Release Type: When it’s ready. Stable, testing and experimental branches
Window Manager: Gnome 2
Version: 6 (“squeeze”, stable), wheezy (testing), sid (experimental)

Fedora

Site: fedoraproject.org
Release Type: when it’s ready
Window Manager: Gnome 3
Version: 15

Linux Mint Debian

Site: linuxmint.com
Release Type: rolling distribution
Window Manager: Gnome 2 or Xfce (separate downloads)
Version: 201109

OpenSUSE

Site: opensuse.org
Release Type: when it’s ready
Window Manager: Gnome 2
Version: 11.4

Ubuntu

Site: ubuntu.com
Release Type: 6 month cycle
Window Manager: Unity
Version: 11.10

Xubuntu

Site: xubuntu.org
Release Type: 6 month cycle
Window Manager: Xfce 4
Version: 11.10

FreeBSD

Site: freebsd.org
Release Type: When it’s ready
Window Manager: chose one
Version: 8.2

Switching to Linux series:

Chapter 1 >> Switching To Linux: The Start
Chapter 2 >> Switching To Linux: My Reasons
Chapter 3 >> Switching To Linux: The Software List
Chapter 4 >> This Article
Chapter 5 >> Switching To Linux: The VirtualBox Setup
Chapter 6 >> Switching To Linux: Expectations and Criteria
Chapter 7 >> Switching To Linux: Distribution Testing
Chapter 8 >> Switching To Linux: Testing Distributions On Real Hardware
Chapter 9 >> Switching To Linux: Ubuntu, The Surprising Winner

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