
Ask HN: What's your linux distro? - michael_fine
I&#x27;m thinking of switching from mac to linux, and I was wondering what HNers used, and why.
======
vermasque
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

I've been using Ubuntu for 3 years and just never bothered to switch away to
another distro. Before I started using Ubuntu, I had a Windows Vista laptop,
and I just wanted to migrate to some Linux away from Windows. Chose the most
popular option.

Since I began, I've had two major issues. A failed upgrade from 11.10 to
12-something put me between a rock and a hard place. I couldn't find a way to
fix the upgrade or restore to a clean state without reinstalling the OS.
Eventually, I just installed 12.04 LTS because I could install it from
Windows. The other major issue was my wireless not working (Realtek on a Dell
Vostro from 2009). I had to install the wireless drivers from source code
(Ubuntu installation tools didn't help at all) and then reboot a few times to
get it working.

I use Linux primarily because I wanted a first-class *nix command line: bash,
GNU core utils, etc. When this laptop dies, I'll probably switch to a Macbook
Air.

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zachlatta
Currently using Arch and loving it. My Linux distro progression has been
Ubuntu -> Fedora -> Debian -> Crunchbang -> Arch.

I highly recommend starting with either Ubuntu or Crunchbang and then moving
to Arch. Using Arch will force you to learn much more about Linux and will
make you appreciate many of the things that you take for granted.

------
memracom
I think that the choice boils down to one of these three:

Ubuntu LTS CentOS OpenSUSE

Some people swear by Mint or Debian but for most people, there is little to no
difference from Ubuntu. Even for servers, using the Ubuntu server install to
build a headless server is quick and simple. After that, install something
like Docker to install any other services that you require.

I happen to run Ubuntu LTS on the desktop with the GUI reverted to Gnome
Classic. There is a package to add that option. But I run CentOS on servers
most recently.

I used to run OpenSUSE and only really switched because I needed to get a more
balanced experience with other distros. My last OpenSUSE server was a XEN vm
host and OpenSUSE made that much easier to set up than plain XEN on
OpenSolaris which is what I had used before.

One note about a GUI environment. If you can, leave it off the base server and
install it with Docker or KVM or Virtualbox. This may mean that you have to
manage two servers in one, and use the CLI a lot, but this is a good learning
experience. Modern computers are so fat and fast, that we forget how Linux was
in the early days, filling a T1 line using a 486 with 128M of RAM and a 512M
hard drive.

~~~
evacuationdrill
Heads up: "Please note Docker is currently under heavy developement. It should
not be used in production (yet)."

[https://www.docker.io/learn_more/](https://www.docker.io/learn_more/)

------
staunch
Unless you have some reason not to you should just run Ubuntu. It's by far the
most popular desktop Linux distribution, which tends to make your life easier.
I've been using Linux as my desktop for 15+ years, so I've run lots of
distros, but I'm using a stock Ubuntu 13 on my machines. It works, gets out of
my way, and let's me get work done.

~~~
fredsanford
Not anymore.

According to distrowatch, the order is:

1\. Linux Mint

2\. Debian

3\. Ubuntu

Me, I prefer Mint with MATE because with just a few patches the screen is much
more readable than _any_ other distro and it is based on Ubuntu, so I have
something to fall back on.

Otherwise I would use Arch.

~~~
phaus
Distrowatch tracks hits per day, not installed user base. I love Linux Mint,
but I doubt it has a larger user base than Ubuntu. However, it may eventually.

Mint has been consistently winning on Distrowatch since 2011, the year Unity
was released.

This is just one poll (although a pretty large one), but Reddit does an annual
poll. Ubuntu is still killing it.

[http://constantmayhem.com/ty-
stuff/linuxsurvey/2013.html](http://constantmayhem.com/ty-
stuff/linuxsurvey/2013.html)

------
dizzystar
Running Arch. I started my Linux Journey with Arch, and despite the rep, it
really isn't that hard to use. Sure, you have to put forth a bit of effort to
set it up, but the payoff is well worth it.

Pacman (package manager) is simply amazing and easy to use. Unlike other
Linuxes, you know exactly what you are getting when you run the install
script.

Lightweight. Nothing gets in your way. There is nothing to uninstall and there
are no hidden spywares to opt out of.

I'm sure there's many other benefits. I tried Ubuntu and hated it. It would
take me far more time to get Ubuntu to a level I liked (mostly stripping out
the gunk) than it did to install Arch the first time.

The documentation is simply incredible. Not only is the documentation
excellent for the OS, it is excellent for all of the things I've used out of
the package repository and AUR.

I'm not a hardliner, but it would be hard for me to consider using any other
distro at this point.

~~~
Zancarius
I'm another Arch user. It's a terrific platform and very stable--something
that isn't always synonymous with a rolling release. I think my affinity comes
from the rapid updates to new package versions more than anything, and the
fact that its relative simplicity in design and implementation is somewhat
analogous to the BSDs. It's also very much like Gentoo--I think the two share
many things in common, at least in spirit, even if their implementations are
hardly alike.

I first used Arch about 2 years ago at the insistence of someone on Slashdot.
I was reluctant to try at first due to the comparative weirdness of pacman
("weirdness" is relative) but found myself quickly hooked. I only wish I could
remember the username of the kind soul who pointed me toward Arch. I'm
indebted to them for being so kind as to offer suggestions to my repeated
prying, and I hope that I can one day extend the same kindness toward someone
else.

However, it's worth mentioning that Arch isn't necessarily for everyone. You
_must_ follow news updates periodically and keep an eye out for updates that
may require manual intervention. Worse, if you're lazy and fail to update the
system for a significant period of time (usually 6 months but typically 1 year
or more), you might encounter circumstances where upgrading the system is
difficult or can only be performed in stages with intermediate packages. The
disappearance of arm.konnichi.com (sort of a roll-back machine with older
packages) sadly makes incremental updates of older systems difficult, but I
think the final set of transitions to the latest file system layout bringing
Arch up to par with many other distributions that are currently undergoing the
/usr merge effectively renders many of these problems moot. But, if you're
studious and regularly update the system, you'll rarely have any issues.
Suffice it to say that like what dizzystar wrote, Arch often stays out of your
way, but it does need a little lovin' now and again.

My first exposure to F/OSS operating systems was through OpenBSD and FreeBSD,
and although I later migrated to Gentoo, I've always had a fondness for the
BSD spirit of simplicity and fantastic documentation. After Gentoo, I again
migrated to Arch and haven't looked back. The regular recompilations in
Gentoo, particularly of X, KDE, or Firefox, started to wear me down and sent
me looking for alternatives, but I couldn't bring myself to adjust to Ubuntu
or its kin. That's not so say I dislike Gentoo, of course. I really do enjoy
Gentoo, even now, and I greatly appreciate the work the Gentoo team does (I
still make use of Gentoo for a few things, mostly in virtual machines); I just
reached a point where I wanted to enjoy the benefits of a rolling release
distribution with the benefits of binary packages, and my time availability is
a little less than it was when I used Gentoo. Arch is in some ways much more
automated than Gentoo (and in other ways, it requires more manual labor), but
all things considered it's the best of two worlds: Rolling release and binary
distribution.

Arch with KDE is probably one of the best combinations you could ask for: You
benefit from eye candy, usability, a fantastically stable platform, and
updates to software packages almost immediately after their release. Moreover,
the philosophy of Arch is one of keeping upstream packages as vanilla as
possible, so there's little that needs to be done in terms of eradicating
obnoxious and invasive package customizations. Even larger packages like KDE
are identical to what you'd get if you compiled the sources yourself. I can't
say the same for other rolling release distributions like Aptosid which
customizes so many of the base packages, it takes time to reconfigure things
if you don't happen to have a preassembled set of dotfiles to copy from (which
you should anyway). But, I'm not much of a fan of Debian-based systems, so I'm
certainly not free of some selection bias.

Ultimately, it's really about what's the most familiar to you. If you like
Debian, stick with it. If you like Redhat, stick with it. If you like the
BSDs, Arch or Gentoo might be a good bet. If you don't want to spend any time
learning Linux distro internals, sticking with a "training wheels included" OS
like Ubuntu or Linux Mint might be better options. Arch has the advantage of
the Arch User Repository, though, so the selection of software available to
Arch users is far superior to many other alternatives.

------
aclevernickname
If your computer is a means to an end, I suggest installing Kubuntu and never
looking back to MacOS. I install it daily on end-user and developer
workstations as a MacOS replacement.

If you're curious about how Linux works, I'd start with Gentoo or Arch.

------
bluehazed
Arch, I enjoy the level of control that comes with and being able to have
nearly the latest versions of everything (without distro-specific changes like
many others have) (also AUR is pretty useful).

------
mos6502
As a GNU/Linux user since '97, I've used many distributions over the years,
but now I'm down to just two that I use in my day to day life.

1\. Arch Linux on three laptops and one desktop all running encrypted btrfs
root filesystems, and two Raspberry Pies each running their roots off of 1TB,
unencrypted ext4 external drives.

2\. NixOS on an Asus Eee PC 900HD netbook with an unencrypted XFS root
filesystem. The functional language for the package manager and system
configuration, as well as the interesting package pool symlinking, makes for a
unique GNU/Linux experience. I use this for Common Lisp coding and server
administration when I'm on the go.

All systems run StumpWM as their desktop environment, though the Pies are
usually running headless as a simulated OpenVMS cluster, and dual torrent seed
boxes.

------
jamesjguthrie
I have Windows 7, Ubuntu and OS X running on separate machines that I use
almost daily.

Windows 7 on HP laptop (procured (wink) from my wife) for taking to
university. Runs my CFD and CAD software which only run in Windows.

OS X on Mac Mini on my desk. Bought for iOS development but getting used less
these days as I'm back at uni.

Ubuntu on Thinkpad in the bedroom as a media server with Optoma HD600X
projector connected.

I tried using the Ubuntu Thinkpad as my main machine but I really just get
more happiness and satisfaction from Windows.

------
logn
I doubt these days you can go too wrong if you stick to the popular ones.
Personally I use Xubuntu. It feels a little lighter weight than Ubuntu/Kubuntu
and has all the desktop features I want plus ability to tweak the things that
bothered me.

Also, fyi, [http://askubuntu.com/](http://askubuntu.com/) is an incredibly
helpful resource if you choose any of the Ubuntu distros.

------
krapp
Ubuntu, and crunchbang. For general use I'd go with Ubuntu - though I like
crunchbang for the eeepc, which is what i'm using it on now.

------
jongibbins
If you're looking for an aestheticaly pleasing desktop with lots of shiny,
Ubuntu and Mint are the still the flavours of the month. As a proper computer
user, mind, add another +1 to CrunchBang Linux. Works great on my desktop as
it very nippy without bloat but the laptop was the best to benefit as I can
easily get an extra hour or two from the battery life because of it.

------
ancarda
Are you going to be using your Apple hardware? I've had little success getting
most Linux distros to function well on my MacBook, although I've heard Fedora
20 works quite well [1].

[1] [http://mattoncloud.org/2013/07/18/fedora-19-on-a-macbook-
air...](http://mattoncloud.org/2013/07/18/fedora-19-on-a-macbook-
air-2013-model/)

------
WiseWeasel
EvolutionOS: everything works AND it looks good doing it. If you're coming
from MacOS X, you'll feel right at home; there's apparently significant Apple
talent contributing to it, and many of the design features are inspired by OS
X.

~~~
mcintyre1994
I'm not trying to be smart or anything, but do you mean Elementary OS?
[http://elementaryos.org/](http://elementaryos.org/) If not then sorry, but do
you have a link to the project because it sounds similar. :)

~~~
WiseWeasel
Yeah, sorry, elementary, not evolution... Way to embarrass me with facts! : P

------
mgarces
Archlinux all the way!

Very versatile linux distro and always updated with the latest packages.

------
FireBringer
Ubuntu Gnome and sometimes Debian. Mostly because apt and ubuntu are so widely
used everything just seems to work.

Unity is nice when it works but gnome seems to work more often so that is what
I prefer.

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lsiebert
Mint 15 Cinnamon. Still lighter weight then ubuntu, but nice eye candy. I'm
tempted to switch to a tiling WM, but I haven't found one with a good built-in
menu bar yet.

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jbobes
We have them all [http://cloud306.com](http://cloud306.com) Not yet officially
launched, but anytime now..

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grumps
Debian / Unstable.

I've had some thoughts at looking into FreeBSD but that's not Linux.

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dukekarthik
I use Elementary OS .. Easiest transition from Mac (atleast in look and feel)

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bwe42
lubuntu 12.10 - I had _lots_ of problems with ubuntu attaching a second
external monitor (crashes, freezes including data loss). I almost gave up on
ubuntu but lubuntu works fine.

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steveinator
CentOS on all my servers

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jamesbritt
Ubuntu with Trinity desktop (which is a revitalized KDE 3.5).

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zdzich
i change my macbook to PC with ubuntu 2 weeks ago and i dont think about come
back to mac

are you use any osx only apps ?

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shock
Ubuntu. Everything just works.

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hemtros
linux mint is best if you need features and power saving.

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agibsonccc
Centos/Fedora

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Thev00d00
Gentoo

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gumballhead
Mint

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arnelbucio
elementary OS

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xmus
Windows 8 :) what else, Ubuntu!

