Sabayon Linux, active community, you get both binary packages (from sabayon repos) and you can compile gentoo packages from portage, because sabayon is built on top of gentoo.
Xubuntu on my main development laptop, because I like its aesthetics and it's lightweight on CPU and RAM.
Ubuntu Unity on desktop. No particular reason for Unity, but I've become comfortable with it over the years and have no complaints or reason to switch.
Lubuntu on a secondary old laptop, because it's fast and lightweight.
ChaletOS on my father's old laptop, because it closely resembles Windows Vista/7 which he was used to, but unlike Windows, can continue to get latest software and updates. Can run all DOS and Windows programs using DosBox and Wine. ChaletOS is an Ubuntu variant - not sure if it's modified Xubuntu or deploys its own XFCE customizations over Ubuntu.
GalliumOS boots 10 times faster than Ubuntu, because it is designed to run on ChromeOS hardware. Even if you do not like Chromebooks perse, this might be a good enuff reason to get one. For example the off-the-shelf linux seems to waste minutes installing and looking for weird filesystems no-one ever uses.
I use it because it's not annoying; it mostly works; I didn't have to fuck about to get it working; it's sort of minimal; it uses sensible defaults; I like the philosophy; I had a bad experience with Fedora and so I avoid anything red hat.
Laptop (x230)/Steambox+htpc(HP8300+GF1050): ElementaryOS - Looks nice, AppStore with native only-programs, Ubuntu underneath so I can find a lot of programs/information online in case of any problems, everything works mostly out-of-the-box
Desktop/Homeserver/VPS: VoidLinux + DWM(only on desktop ;)) - Simple (runit as init system, no default logging daemon [I'm using socklog on servers], LibreSSL), cutting edge and not bloated
Work: Ubuntu Mate LTS + ArchLinux in chroot - Ubuntu Mate - same reasons as with elementary on my laptop :)
ArchLinux in chroot - cutting edge, AUR with everything and because it's a chroot I can easily snapshot/share/move my development environment, lot of information/solutions out there
I also use:
Alpine - containers with weird things[LXC] on home server - small(almost nothing inside ;)), LibreSSL
Slitaz - old Pentium-M laptop without DMA(I don't know what happened - I got it for $0 so no questions asked), old P4 machine - perfect fit(and toy...) for those machines
OpenSUSE with no desktop, just i3 on my development machine. Xubuntu on family machines and my travel notepad. CentOS on some server, Ubuntu on another.
Need to install Archlinux, because I need it at work. Want to install Gentoo, because it should be useful experience.
Its like with languages on earth. Many things might be easier if there were only one. But probably also something would get lost.
On my laptop I use Arch Linux,mainly because it doesn't get in the way installing any unwanted package or service. Should I need to configure a new laptop suddenly, I have scripts that provision the new machine exactly the way I want it in 1h~.
Another killer feature of Arch is its vast repositories of packages, I can install spotify, dropbox, skype the same way I install htop!
In 4 years of running it (and updating weekly) I have not had any major problems with updates breaking things, which is a common concern of newcomers to the arch rolling update system.
On servers I most often use debian, rigorously with unattended-upgrades enabled, for its stability and attention to security.
As a base image for containers I prefer Alpine for its slenderness and security, escalating to debian or ubuntu as a last resort when needed for exhotic packages and such.
Finally, when I setup a linux box for inexperienced users, I usually use manjaro for its ease of use and attention to the inexperienced-user-experience.
Another Arch Linux user here, for stuff like Spotify, Dropbox, Skype I highly recommend installing them through Flatpak.
Some of these proprietary programs have dependencies that are out of date, so it's much easier to use flatpak to install these programs rather than messing with your system' packages.
I use Bunsen labs Linux on my main computer, and Xubuntu on my gaming laptop. I'm gradually setting up a ham radio laptop and testing Devuan on that. All these Debian distros are just because it seems like it has just about everything and is wonderfully stable. I like being able to update without any surprises.
My phone is still android though! What are people's experience of LineageOS? Am I in for a nasty surprise if I try to switch without completely knowing what I'm doing?
Before Canonical decided to ditch Unity and go to Gnome I was using Ubuntu at work and Ubuntu Mate at home on laptop. Since Ubuntu dropped Unity I went full time to Ubuntu Mate and I am very happy with it. Apart from that I have KDE Neon on big PC that I hardly ever use. It's the least stable distro I use. There is always something to do on it, but I am using it only for gaming, so it's good enough. On servers I prefer to run Ubuntu LTS editions.
Ubuntu 16.04 on client and server. Just phenomenally stable on a basic laptop. Particularly when I hear about High Sierra and UWP woes.
Very much looking forward to Bionic Beaver and Mesa 18!
Am still looking for a good distro as bootable usb thumb with persistence. Alpine is very convenient if you just want a quick shell. Tails for situations requiring more privacy. But apart from running mkusb and creating my own ubuntu live stick. Is there anything really specifically tailored to this use case?
It isn't hard to create a live ubuntu stick if you like Ubuntu, no?
The live-boot CDs have always worked well for me (when I need them, for me that's rarely) I can only imagine a USB that you can boot from would be good as well?
The only major grip I have with Ubuntu is their deficient support for Nvidia drivers. The Noveau et al configuration was a particular kind of hell for me. Ubuntu is hands down the best OS for development for me though.
Ubuntu because there are even fewer meaningful differences among Linux distributions than there are among operating systems in general...and the important differences among operating systems are mostly "Will it run on my hardware?" and "How much more or less of a distraction is managing operating system A versus operating system B?"
Ubuntu 16.04 (LTS), because it's the closest thing there is to a standardized, plain-vanilla version of Linux. I don't want to think about it; I just want it to work.
58 comments
[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 865 ms ] threadThe 2-year update cadence feels about right as well.
Ubuntu because it is a full featured workhorse and everything works on it first time.
Ubuntu Unity on desktop. No particular reason for Unity, but I've become comfortable with it over the years and have no complaints or reason to switch.
Lubuntu on a secondary old laptop, because it's fast and lightweight.
ChaletOS on my father's old laptop, because it closely resembles Windows Vista/7 which he was used to, but unlike Windows, can continue to get latest software and updates. Can run all DOS and Windows programs using DosBox and Wine. ChaletOS is an Ubuntu variant - not sure if it's modified Xubuntu or deploys its own XFCE customizations over Ubuntu.
Ubuntu 17.04 for Machine learning/Cuda because anything else takes more time to work.
Alpine-Linux for Dockerfiles because it's the bare minimum.
Arch Linux for learning Linux, because you're responsible for installing what you'd like to have a stable machine.
http://fridge.ubuntu.com/2018/01/17/ubuntu-17-04-zesty-zapus...
LineageOS - Nougat for 'obsolete' phones, though I might switch to postmarketOS if they get calls working!
It's sort of minimal. It's a derivative of Ubuntu which means it's not Red Hat.
It uses Moksha for a desktop, which is a continuation of Enlightenment 17. You can read about Moksha here: http://www.bodhilinux.com/2015/04/28/introducing-the-moksha-...
I use it because it's not annoying; it mostly works; I didn't have to fuck about to get it working; it's sort of minimal; it uses sensible defaults; I like the philosophy; I had a bad experience with Fedora and so I avoid anything red hat.
Desktop/Homeserver/VPS: VoidLinux + DWM(only on desktop ;)) - Simple (runit as init system, no default logging daemon [I'm using socklog on servers], LibreSSL), cutting edge and not bloated
Work: Ubuntu Mate LTS + ArchLinux in chroot - Ubuntu Mate - same reasons as with elementary on my laptop :) ArchLinux in chroot - cutting edge, AUR with everything and because it's a chroot I can easily snapshot/share/move my development environment, lot of information/solutions out there
I also use:
Alpine - containers with weird things[LXC] on home server - small(almost nothing inside ;)), LibreSSL
Slitaz - old Pentium-M laptop without DMA(I don't know what happened - I got it for $0 so no questions asked), old P4 machine - perfect fit(and toy...) for those machines
LineageOS - no google inside, only f-droid
Need to install Archlinux, because I need it at work. Want to install Gentoo, because it should be useful experience.
Its like with languages on earth. Many things might be easier if there were only one. But probably also something would get lost.
On servers I most often use debian, rigorously with unattended-upgrades enabled, for its stability and attention to security.
As a base image for containers I prefer Alpine for its slenderness and security, escalating to debian or ubuntu as a last resort when needed for exhotic packages and such.
Finally, when I setup a linux box for inexperienced users, I usually use manjaro for its ease of use and attention to the inexperienced-user-experience.
Some of these proprietary programs have dependencies that are out of date, so it's much easier to use flatpak to install these programs rather than messing with your system' packages.
I use Arch since ~8 years at work and on my laptop.
My phone is still android though! What are people's experience of LineageOS? Am I in for a nasty surprise if I try to switch without completely knowing what I'm doing?
Very much looking forward to Bionic Beaver and Mesa 18!
Am still looking for a good distro as bootable usb thumb with persistence. Alpine is very convenient if you just want a quick shell. Tails for situations requiring more privacy. But apart from running mkusb and creating my own ubuntu live stick. Is there anything really specifically tailored to this use case?
The live-boot CDs have always worked well for me (when I need them, for me that's rarely) I can only imagine a USB that you can boot from would be good as well?
I believe the problem is with Nvidia. You'd get the best experience with Ubuntu since it is the most used by average customers, so well tested.
I used to use arch, but you have to be selective and careful with updates otherwise you find you can't boot into x. Takes time to go and fix.
For most things not in the active apt repo, there's backports and/or a vendor apt repo.
Arch Linux - installed it as a rite of passage, works okay on my laptop, can't be arsed to install something else.
Really exposed me to the sausage factory that is upstream userspace btw...