The current linux scene.

Hi folks.

It's been a while since I used Linux. I've got Mint 9 installed on my Laptop which runs a treat, but that means i'm 3 years out of date. I've tried Fedora, Ubuntu and Linux Mint in the past. What would you recommend currently?

I'm looking to run the Steam Linux beta, and use the OS for general desktop computing. Thanks.

Ame

 

The majority of my time spent on the Internet is either via iPhone, Galaxy s4 or my iPad which our company uses Remote Desktop to perform the regular activities we would do from a desktop at work while traveling..

Although, when I'm home, aside from my Mac, my desktop runs on Manjaro. In my opinion, Manjaro is the current best, friendly to use with the least amount of problems. Aside from using it for business, i personally do not do any gaming on it. However, i know a handful of participants using Manjaro that are very active with Manjaro.

 

Any of the mainstream ones will work for steam and desktop use and are generally very stable. I'm not going to go into the techincals of each distro because each one works very nicely and has a ton of packages and utilities to customize it. I personally love Ubuntu. Version 13.04 is very stable and fast. The problem is that not everybody likes the "Unity" interface that Ubuntu has. If you haven't heard of it, here's a quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAcdFd0MmH0

Linux Mint is also very nice. The newer version of it include the "Cinnamon" interface. It's a more traditional interface and behaves similar to windows 7 in my opinion (task bar, launcher bottom left, windows in middle, tray bottom right). Here is a screenshot I found: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a4o8ksXLnkI/T70TWM0Gi2I/AAAAAAAAI_k/RNwYiAJkifQ/s1600/linux-mint-13-cinnamon.png

Linux Mint also has a "Mate" interface which is basically the old gnome 2.x interface. I personally wouldn't use it but if you like the traditional gnome feel you might like it.

I don't have much experience with Fedora but I have always heard good things about it. I think the default interface is gnome shell. I personally don't mind gnome shell but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

So to conclude: All of the mainstream distros are superb. Ubuntu is my favorite, but you might not like their unity interface. Linux mint is amazing and does everything Ubuntu does but uses a Cinnamon interface which is very nice. I'd go for either Ubuntu 13.04 or Linux Mint 15.

Note: I kept using the word "interface" but the correct word is actually Desktop Environment (shortened to DE).

 

I like Mint because it's really easy.

 

Cheers Draucia. I've used mint for a good few years now and i've loved the simplicity of it.

Upon research, there isn't much of a difference between Cinnamon and MATE. I've enjoyed tinkering with GNOME in the past, but Cinnamon seems like the better choice.

Hell yeah, that's what drew me to it in the first place.

 

I recommend Debian. It is easy to install and free as in freedom. Ubuntu is based off of Debian, but I don't care for Ubuntu much anymore. You can set up a desktop environment just like in Mint. I use Debian as my primary OS.

Some people recommend BSD. It's not a linux distribution and will have less compatibility, but I've never had an issue. You can try PC-BSD for an easy to use and setup OS. It's based off of FreeBSD.

 

I have to fall in line with Kill dank, no matter how many different distros I try, I always end up with a Debian install, currently running it on my desktop/laptop/server, pretty much everything

 

just gonna throw my two cents in here and get slaughtered for it: dafaq you want linux for? if you really need linux then dual boot option? Linux is great for very specific things but ultimately leaves huge gaps. that being said >Microsoft fan boy right here<

Time for the rage replies now

 

The only thing Windows excels at is playing games. I use a GNU/Linux desktop full-time and can do everything you Windows users can do, only better.

The only issue is that Windows users are used to Windows exclusive programs or they play Windows exclusive games.