Linux - what distro?

[2Loose]

Just wondering who uses Linux as their primary OS, which distribution and also what do you use it for?

If you do dual boot into windows - why?


I use Ubuntu for everything except gaming and (work) programming, in which case I think Visual Studio beats anything available on Linux (Eclipse included) so far...

 

[GordyFaeEdinburgh]

I'm not terribly OS-fussy these days, with most of the main competitors having got their act together, so I'll cheerfully use Windows 7, Ubuntu or Suse, or a Mac.

Ubuntu was the main one until recently when I switched laptops. Currently dicking about a lot in Windows 7.

 

[Piemaster]

Ubuntu on the (this) laptop. Gave it a try when the hard disk died, liked it for what I use the laptop for - web/email. Windows XP on the desktop, mainly for Office as its what the kids use at school (and I know I could use Open Office but its easier for them).

 

[Carwash]

I use Debian. It's great.

 

[Yellow Fang]

I use Ubuntu for everything except gaming and (work) programming, in which case I think Visual Studio beats anything available on Linux (Eclipse included) so far...

I agree with you there. Microsoft's IDEs, even their free ones, are much better than anything I've seen for Linux. The Linux compilers seemed like stepping back in time fifteen years.

I tend to use Ubuntu on my laptop, which is dual boot. I much prefer Ubuntu to Windows for internet applications. I get fed up with being nagged by the virus checker, not to mention all the shite that get's downloaded to your computer anyway. Linux O/Ss are a lot easier to maintain if you haven't done a course in IT support, bought the Windows installation disk and have an external drive to clone the hard disk. My PC broke last year, and I'm sure it was largely to do with all the Microsoft updates stuffing it up. It might have been a virus; the confikker virus was pandemic then, but I still suspect the MS update as that was the last thing my PC tried to install before it broke. My previous work PC started to suffer horrendously when MS started downloading regular hotfixes and updates. With my laptop, the most likely reason for starting it up in Windows mode is to print something off, because I can't be arsed finding a Linux driver for my printer. When I do boot up in Windows I take the ethernet connection out (I don't have a wireless router). I also have Windows on my PC, but I tend not to use it. I have downloaded Linux Crunchbang to a memory stick and tend to boot it off that. Some time I will also download another Linux distro to my PC to make it dual boot, but I'm waiting for a Linux magazine with Mandriva on DVD to come out. I may actually re-install Zen Walk back on it. It's not the best but the screen savers are trippy.

For work, Windows is better because Microsoft Office applications, Word, Excel, Access, etc are somewhat better than the Linux counterparts. Most the world works on Windows so you have to be aware of compatibility issues when presenting work.

 

[Coco]

OS X

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Ubuntu for everything here, Internet, office, music and anything else I want to do on the computer.

 

[HJ]

I am using Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) for most things, I occasionally go back into XP but not often...

 

[Carwash]

OS X

You fail it. This is a thread about Linux distros.

 

[Coco]

Since when did we stick with the subject of the thread?

 

[beanzontoast]

I'm dual booting Xp Home with Ubuntu on my backup machine, mainly for fun. When Windows 7 arrives, I'm going to try dual booting Ubuntu with it for the same reason. I'm not a total Linux convert - too much of my favourite software is Windows only - but I like to keep up with it as I find it QI.

 

[JamesAC]

I dual boot. Debian for almost everything, occasionally Windows XP (home) (it's what came with my pc) for using my copier/scanner 9can't find a Linux driver) and one or two apps which only run in windows.

I used to run Red Hat, but had trouble installing it on this pc (SATA discs). I then used Knoppix from a CDRom, just to try out Linux. With its help, I created an ISO CD to install the latest Debian distro, and haven't looked back.

I (like a previous poster) got fed up with the amount of time it took each time I started up (or shut down) for Windows and McAfee to run various checks, install and apply updates, renew virus sig files and so on. Linux is a dream in comparison.

 

[yello]

After having made the decision to switch from Windows, I looked at a number of Unix distros before finally settling on Ubuntu. Mainly because it worked 'out of the box' on my laptop and I didn't have to mess around tweaking configuration files etc etc etc. I tried release Ubuntu 9.04 a few weeks back but I found too many problems with it and went back to 8.10.

I put CrunchBang Linux on my EeePC because it took up less room and that's my toy, so I LIKE messing with configuration files on that!

I love the ease with which you can load flavours of Unix and play before deciding. Under the hood, a lot of the flavours are pretty much the same differing only in their presentation.

I run VirtualBox on my laptop because I too have a couple of Windows-based applications that I have not yet found a acceptable unix (or java etc) based app for.

 

[2Loose]

OS X is kinda Linux, with proprietry Apple flavoured cream on top...kinda...

 

[Carwash]

OS X is kinda Linux, with proprietry Apple flavoured cream on top...kinda...

No... no it isn't. It's a Mach kernel with a BSD userland on top. Yes, Darwin is also a UNIX-like OS, in the same way that BSD or Solaris are – but they're not Linux either. Hell, Windows NT was POSIX-compliant – does that make it 'kinda Linux' too?