best linux distro right now

[kalster]

sorry if this is a repost, have not been following the latest iso's , what is the best distro for desktop right now, i need something that supports beryl and stuff

 

[TheVrolok]

Ubuntu/Kubuntu depending on your desire for gnome/kde. Fiesty Fawn 7.04. I love Kubuntu on my desktop system. I've had virtually 0 problems and everything works fine. Depends on your architecture tho.. the 64 bit version is not as compatible with many applications as the 32 is. I personally use the 32 even tho I've got an amd64 for this reason; and, I really don't care about running apps in 64 bit at this point.

 

[Nothinman]

the 64 bit version is not as compatible with many applications as the 32 is.

The only thing missing that I know of is flash and java browser plugins and not having those is usually a good thing IMO.

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

the 64 bit version is not as compatible with many applications as the 32 is.

The only thing missing that I know of is flash and java browser plugins and not having those is usually a good thing IMO.

Last I checked (I had a 64 bit version on my laptop for awhile), the latest Beryl did not function properly in 64, I had to go back a few versions. In addition, the laptops wireless card worked, but required a lot more effort to get running in 64 than it did in 32 .. for a newer user. Not hard, just a few steps that newbies may not be quick to pick up. The Ubuntu forums have a pretty solid guide for 64 that gets most things running, but there are indeed a number of applications that will not run in 64 as well, or at all without some tweaking. Oh, and to the OP, if you really want 64 you can use flash/java browser plugins as long as you install a 32 bit version of Firefox.. there's a guide on the ubuntu forums.

 

[Nothinman]

I don't have direct experience with anything you mentioned but I believe Beryl should work fine, if you had problems they're probably the fault of the video driver. And Beryl is discontinued now in favor of Compiz Fusion, once that hit's sid I'll be giving it a try. And the wifi card depends heavily on the driver, if it's a native Linux driver I can't see it having too many problems but if you're using ndiswrapper crap then you deserve what you get. =)

 

[kalster]

does gma 950 play well with linux, is it hardware accelerated, i know ati drivers for linux aren't the best?

 

[silverpig]

gma950 works wonderfully with hardware accelerated desktops.

 

[Brazen]

In a shameless attempt at self-promotion, check this out: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=34&threadid=2073143

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

the 64 bit version is not as compatible with many applications as the 32 is.

The only thing missing that I know of is flash and java browser plugins and not having those is usually a good thing IMO.

http://www.getautomatix.com/

 

[Nothinman]

http://www.getautomatix.com/

I can setup the 32-bit versions myself just fine thanks. I merely meant that those are the only things I'm aware of that don't have native 64-bit ports.

 

[OoteR02]

I'm entirely to lazy to go searching for threads, but automatix is known to cause more trouble than it's worth..

 

[BriGy86]

I have Mepis installed and am very happy with it

I didn't like any of the *buntu distros because they always had the Gui running in run level 3

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: OoteR02
I'm entirely to lazy to go searching for threads, but automatix is known to cause more trouble than it's worth..

Absolutely. It's the lazy, careless way out.

It's not like it is going to require any special nerd skills to do what automatrix does and the stuff you need to learn to install codecs and drivers are the same things you'd use to install other software. So your not gaining anything. It's just a matter of adding repositories and installing extra packages. The only tricky part is knowing which packages.

 

[doog519]

Just for a quick look at all the distro's out there.
http://distrowatch.com/

I'm Running Suse 64bit without any problems.
One thing that helps is making sure your hardware matches up.
http://www.softwareinreview.com/cms/content/view/60/

Also running a couple other 32 bit distro's

 

[HarryAngel]

Sabayonlinux based on gentoo, simply rocks! Great driver support, most stuff (network, graphic etc) work straight out of the box!

 

[Boztech]

Originally posted by: OoteR02
I'm entirely to lazy to go searching for threads, but automatix is known to cause more trouble than it's worth..

I've personally used it on 3 of my Linux machines running both Ubuntu and Kubuntu and never had any issues with it whatsoever.

Furthermore, it is the only way (other than Envy) that I can get the binary nVidia packages to install correctly on my desktop rig. Both the restricted drivers applet and installing nvidia-glx-new via Synaptic causes X to crash on reboot.

 

[Boztech]

Originally posted by: drag

Originally posted by: OoteR02
I'm entirely to lazy to go searching for threads, but automatix is known to cause more trouble than it's worth..

Absolutely. It's the lazy, careless way out.

Oh, the ironing.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Driver support will be almost the same on all newer distros and if you need a driver for something newer than your distro you can usually just wait it out or go current on that one package.

I recommend SuSE but Ubuntu/Kubuntu is... actually it makes me cringe every time i have to use it, the solutions are just so far from what i'm used to that it's freaking me out but if you're new then it'd probably be the best distro for you.

Boztech, i don't get how you see that as ironic at all, maybe you don't understand the word?

 

[Boztech]

He admitted to being too lazy to search for a reason that Automatix is bad software, then someone else commented that Automatix is the lazy way.

That's irony.

Maybe you didn't understand my play on words. :shrug:

 

[imported_DarkPhantom36]

Originally posted by: TheVrolok
Ubuntu/Kubuntu depending on your desire for gnome/kde.

Don't forget Xubuntu for those who like xfce!

 

[wpshooter]

Originally posted by: OoteR02
I'm entirely to lazy to go searching for threads, but automatix is known to cause more trouble than it's worth..

OOOOOOOOhhhh, what you said.

I hope that guy whose baby automatix is, does not see this !!!

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Originally posted by: Boztech
He admitted to being too lazy to search for a reason that Automatix is bad software, then someone else commented that Automatix is the lazy way.

That's irony.

Maybe you didn't understand my play on words. :shrug:

No that is not irony, again, obviously you have no clue what the word means.

And he's right, using a third party installer (not that they officially support universe or multiverse either in ubuntu) is just daft.

You can solve it by using the Nvidia installer yourself, at least then you'll have control over your system, third party installation tools is just... not right.

Part of what makes me cringe about Ubuntu is that, universe and multiverse are things you'll need to enable to get a functional desktop but they are not officially supported.

I think i'm going to go with Debian next, seems like a much better solution.

 

[imported_LoKe]

How is that a "gripe"? That's the only way they can provide the distribution they do with legal issues to worry about. All you have to do is remove the # in front of the line.

 

[Nothinman]

You can solve it by using the Nvidia installer yourself, at least then you'll have control over your system, third party installation tools is just... not right.

The nVidia installer is the worst option available in most instances because it completely ignores the package manager.

 

[Boztech]

Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield
And he's right, using a third party installer (not that they officially support universe or multiverse either in ubuntu) is just daft.

You can solve it by using the Nvidia installer yourself, at least then you'll have control over your system, third party installation tools is just... not right.

Part of what makes me cringe about Ubuntu is that, universe and multiverse are things you'll need to enable to get a functional desktop but they are not officially supported.

I think i'm going to go with Debian next, seems like a much better solution.

You call a third part installer daft then recommend I use the nVidia installer?? What do you think that is? As mentioned above even the Debian devs don't recommend using the nVidia installer.

BTW, Universe and Multiverse are enabled by default in Ubuntu and if their lack of official support makes you cringe then you clearly don't have a fundamental understanding of the OSS environment.

Also I hate to burst your bubble but Debian is probably the most draconian of free distros as far as following GNU/GPL. They won't even use the name "Firefox" or "Mozilla" instead they use the GNU names "Iceweasel" and "Gnuzilla."