What Linux distro do you use?

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Aaroona

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Topic # 210203 17-Mar-2017 18:49

I'm at a point now for various reasons where I'm looking to dump windows at home.

The two main reasons are;

1. I'm really not enjoying the windows updates experience that came with Windows 10, and no amount of setting configuration seems to give me what I desire.
2. I'd like to learn more about Linux as a day to day OS. Being a windows sys-admin by day, I want to broaden my experience in the Linux world.

For the most part, everything I do at home is pretty simple - I host SMB shares from my machine for the Media center to connect to, browse the net, I use Outlook (but am looking at migrating to Gmail, or can use Outlook online if needed), I barely play games (only TF2 and CS:GO) and listen to spotify.

I am curious to hear what people are using around here in terms of distro? - I was looking at using Ubuntu- having used it a bit recently for compiling firmware etc. in a VM and testing some tools.

I may install as dual boot for a time, to see if I have any real need to go back to windows, then if things go well, then maybe P2V my windows install to use as a VM if I ever need it.

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Reply # 1742894 17-Mar-2017 18:59

Ubuntu is your best option for a well supported plug-and-play Windows replacement. Mint is another popular one.

As you get more confident you could try for a more vanilla Debian experience and customise it to your liking.

For their specific uses I also use Tails (Tor), Kali (Pen Testing), pfSense (BSD Firewall) and CentOS for server side stuff.

EDIT: Yes VM (VirtualBox / VMWare) is your friend, likewise the now deprecated XenClient (bare metal hypervisor) if your hardware is lacking. If you're in IT professionally you'll always need access to a Windows OS however I try to avoid dual booting if possible.

blakamin

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Reply # 1742895 17-Mar-2017 19:05

I used Ubuntu (and kubuntu, edubuntu and some others) for years and years... It's pretty awesome.

Still have a play every now and then.

Other distros I used were RedHat waaay back in the day and Debian.

I've played with a few others but I'm pretty sure they're gone now...

toyonut

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Reply # 1742936 17-Mar-2017 19:30

I really like the Linux Mint XFCE distro, but I like the look of Elementary OS as well. They are both Ubuntu under the hood which means all the commands, PPAs etc all work when you get into the command line. Most all of the vast library of Ubuntu help is also applicable to them as well.

Try Vultr using this link and get us both some credit:

http://www.vultr.com/?ref=7033587-3B

Aaroona

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Reply # 1742937 17-Mar-2017 19:33

toyonut:

... but I like the look of Elementary OS as well.

I did have a look at Elementary and had it installed on a laptop here for a while - but honestly, I found it pretty unstable (which isn't surprising since its still quite young). After doing a kernel update, it broke my session manager so I lost my GUI- a common issue it seems with Elementary when I looked it up.

unclerichard

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Reply # 1743143 18-Mar-2017 06:42

On my desktop I dual boot Mint 18.1 Cinnamon with Win10, but I prefer Mint to Win. There are many many different Linux 'distros' each one with its own pros and cons. You should try and decide what it is about Win you do not like and what you want to do with your OS. A goof place to learn about the different Linux variants you should regularly visit distrowatch.com

sidefx

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Reply # 1743145 18-Mar-2017 07:31

I use Ubuntu for my home server. Have also tried it and other linux flavours at various points in the past as my desktop OS but always end up returning to windows.

MikeB4

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Reply # 1743146 18-Mar-2017 07:36

I was heavily involved with Linux for close to two decades especially ubuntu, I was using ubuntu from early Alpha and involved with the ubuntu community. I no longer use Linux, why? For me it no longer cuts it as a desktop OS.

Therefore, my recommendation would be to try some Distros using live disc or in dual boot with Windows to see if it is what you are looking for.

Mike
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The views stated in my posts are my personal views and not that of any other organisation.

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timmmay

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Reply # 1743147 18-Mar-2017 07:41

I use Amazon Linux for my server, but if I did it again I'd use Ubuntu 16.04. I use Ubuntu for development, it's much less prone to breaking or needing to reinstall. I use Linux Mint for people who want an OS that's easy to use and like Windows. If I had to choose a Linux desktop it'd be Ubuntu, not least because it's the most popular so there's heaps of support.

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michaelmurfy

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Reply # 1743201 18-Mar-2017 11:12

If you're wanting to learn Linux then look at trying out Arch Linux. It is quite easy to use but teaches you how to set up a Linux environment from scratch (no fancy installer however if you must then there is indeed one Here) and is a great desktop distribution. The documentation of Arch is simply excellent also as you can upgrade your system with a simple "pacman -Syu". I know everyone recommends Ubuntu but Arch is better if you're wanting to learn Linux as your skills can go to all other Linux distros.

I personally use both Arch (Desktop OS) and Ubuntu / Debian / CentOS (Server OS). In a server environment I'd say stay away from Amazon Linux as that is specific to Amazon itself as whilst based off Red Hat + CentOS it is more closer to Fedora in terms of package versions, it is really difficult to build a likewise dev environment as Fedora differs again or migrate from Amazon Linux to something else (I am one that says don't use Amazon Linux for production use).

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openmedia

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Reply # 1743206 18-Mar-2017 11:22

Day to day on laptop - Fedora

Home Server - Mix of VMs RHEL / Centos / Ubuntu / Debian

MythTV Box - Mythbuntu LTS

Plus PiCorePlayer based on TinyCore Linux running on a Gen 1 Raspberry as a squeezebox.

My wife switched from Ubuntu to Fedora a couple of years ago to avoid the pain of Unity. Overall Fedora provides a great base environment and it is relatively easy to skip a release if you don't want to update every six months.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat New Zealand as a Solution Architect for all things Linux, Virtual and of course Cloud. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

openmedia

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Reply # 1743207 18-Mar-2017 11:23

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Oh and for those of you who use Red Hat derived distributions regularly and don't have the $$ for a paid subscription we've now introduced a single user developer entitlement that gives you a full desktop or server build of RHEL at no cost. For details see https://developers.redhat.com/

michaelmurfy

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Reply # 1743209 18-Mar-2017 11:29

openmedia:

Oh and for those of you who use Red Hat derived distributions regularly and don't have the $$ for a paid subscription we've now introduced a single user developer entitlement that gives you a full desktop or server build of RHEL at no cost. For details see https://developers.redhat.com/

Excellent! I didn't know about this so thanks very much for pointing it out.

timmmay

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Reply # 1743233 18-Mar-2017 12:16

I agree re Amazon Linux, I started using it when I was learning Linux. It works fine, but getting software onto it is time consuming. The repository has a lot less software in it than the Ubuntu one.

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solutionz

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Reply # 1743243 18-Mar-2017 12:36

Incidentally Ubuntu was my daily driver for some time before work requirements started necessitating Windows 7 / 10, and for a time in-between that using XenClient to switch between the multiple OS before moving to Windows 10 + VMWare Workstation.

Now requirements have changed (including security & privacy) I'm also looking to head back to a *NIX-based host on my laptop / workstation.

Currently evaluating options:

a) Qubes OS (Xen-based)

b) OpenBSD or TrueOS (BSD) + VirtualBox

c) Gentoo (Linux) + VirtualBox

darylblake

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Reply # 1743266 18-Mar-2017 13:45

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Desktop OS - Mac OS or Windows. I am writing this post from a Mac.

I have tried so many flavours, so many UI's. They just don't work that well, they are a bit cr@ppy, don't expect games to be amazing either. Yes you can get them running if you are prepared to muck around. Be prepared for video card/sound issues to smash through. You will learn a lot in the process and spend many hours.

If you want to play games. Get windows. Period.

Pretty much everything else mac or windows.

IF you HAVE to use a linux dist, for a desktop env then something debian based (debian, ubuntu, kubuntu) or redhat based (Fedora or Centos). My advice is just to use linux for what is good for.. and that is running servers. And you can forget about FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD unless you are prepared to compile source code yourself.

Try Ubuntu or Centos first, and work from there.

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