What OS Would You Use If There Was No Ubuntu

[Sinkingships7]

Alright. Let's say that tomorrow, the whole Ubuntu OS development and everything went down the drain. Nobody supports it, and it's a completely shunned OS. So shunned, in fact, that your computers themselves will simply explode if you so much as insert an Ubuntu CD into the CD-ROM drive. Every computer that has Ubuntu installed writes over the installation with all 0's.

The scenario I'm trying to create is one where Ubuntu used to exist, and the suddenly, you could not use it anymore. Which means that everybody who once used it still remembers it, but cannot use it again. This is entirely theoretical and will never really happen, so please don't post saying how it would survive one way or another. We know that.

The Question: If you could not use Ubuntu (or any Ubuntu branched OS such as Xubuntu, Edubuntu, etc.), what OS would you use in it's place? Would you stick with Linux? What distro would you hop to? Why?

[kerry_s]

debian, the mother of ubuntu.

[divague]

Linux Mint, because it's based on ubuntu.

[zmjjmz]

Mandriva.
In a heart beat.

[gimmerealroot]

Gentoo

[brunovecchi]

Debian, or any other debian-based distribution.
Weirdly enough, early in the morning I found myself thinking the exact same thing... What if Canonical stopped supporting Ubuntu? My guess is that, given its popularity, many capable developers would step in and the distro would start to be entirely community-supported, like Debian itself, Arch, etc.

[chinchilla2392]

Mac OS X..


hm..i seem to have neglected it recently.

[jrusso2]

Mandriva.
In a heart beat.

Agree, Mandriva has been working better for me then Ubuntu lately.

[gimmerealroot]

Agree, Mandriva has been working better for me then Ubuntu lately.
Can you be more specific?:confused: What exactly "has been working better"?

[gletob]

OpenSuse
Done.

[ShodanjoDM]

debian, The Mother Of Ubuntu.

+1

[jrusso2]

Can you be more specific?:confused: What exactly "has been working better"?

Everything, its faster more stable, the flash, java and codecs are all installed by default so they work perfect, so does the nvidia drives. The hardware detection is unreal its so good.

No lockups or firefox crashes.

[SomeGuyDude]

OpenSUSE. Really not THAT hard of a question.

[Istonian]

Debian, I hate how Mandriva has Nautilis set up.

[perlluver]

Slackware, Mandriva, or Fedora.

[bilal.17]

openSuse

[Bungo Pony]

Easy... PCLinuxOS. It's based on Mandriva.

Everything, its faster more stable, the flash, java and codecs are all installed by default so they work perfect, so does the nvidia drives. The hardware detection is unreal its so good.

No lockups or firefox crashes.

I've had the same experience using PCLOS, and I'm probably going to move over to it when there's a new version. However, if Hardy improves greatly (is close to 100% stable) then I'll stick with it until the two years are up and maybe give the new LTS version a shot.

[swoll1980]

Xubuntu then I would install the Gnome Desktop. Is that allowed? Oh well thought I'd give it a shot. I would go for Mandriva as my second choice.

[Twitch6000]

This is such a easy question I would go to Debian and have PClinuxOS 08 has my second os.

[hariprs]

I will go back to fedora

[RiceMonster]

Fedora probably.

[zachtib]

Tough choice, I'd probably be torn between Debian, Fedora, or openSUSE. I'd probably wind up using Debian, though, I can't live without apt

[schauerlich]

Mac OS X has always been my primary OS while using Ubuntu. I'd probably replace that partition with OpenSuSE.

[dashnak]

Probably PCLOS, or maybe DreamLinux.

[Superkoop]

Hm, well, I guess it would be a contest between Arch (I like the liteness), and Mandriva (I have heard a lot of good things, but it looks a bit heavy...).

[reyfer]

I would go back to DEBIAN

[RD1]

:( Guess I would have to go back to WinXP. Ubuntu is the only Linux distro that I've been able to get working correctly on this laptop.

[Le-Froid]

*Would start crying :P*
Windows vista.. :(

[gabhla]

PCLOS...maybe Mandriva

[dedmonds]

Debian or OS X

[EnergySamus]

Windows... No, I am not kidding! Hate to say it, but I love Windows!


EnergySamus

[Pijits_1]

Fedora most likely

[Dragonbite]

Linux:

openSUSE (closest competitor)
Fedora (encrypt the hard drive? cool!)
PCLinuxOS (haven't tried it yet)
CentOS (stability and blandness, rolled into one)
Mandriva (hearing good things but haven't had a reason to try them yet)


non-Linux

WindowsXP (the fall-back)
Windows Vista
Windows 2000 (please, I've had enough of that)

[NovaAesa]

Because Ubuntu was my first distro of Linux, I would probably still be using XP <shudders at the thought>

[karellen]

Mandriva (which I'm using anyway right now)
Fedora
Opensuse maybe

[elvinatom]

Vista of course - MS have really done a great job this time, imho.

[pcybill]

Zenwalk

[bufsabre666]

opensuse, pclinux os, windows xp, windows vista, whatever else i feel like running at the time

[angry_johnnie]

Either of these:

1. Debian, because apt is wonderful.
2. Mandriva, because it's pretty and easy (shallow as that may be :-)).
3. Arch, or maybe even Gentoo, because I have lots of spare time :-)
4. Windows XP, because, after all, I have a few spare licenses!

[NikoC]

Think I would go for DSL or perhaps the new PCLos tiny release...

[Bubba64]

Whatever is free and stable like Ubuntu, this seems to leave a few choices.

[kiran_aryan]

Either OpenSUSE, Debian or Arch.

[gruffy-06]

I'd use anything, except Windows OSes. :)

[Barrucadu]

Arch, because I already run it instead of Ubuntu.

[ma_nkooo]

honestly speaking, its Windows XP,

[rolnics]

I'd have to go back to Win XP myself, because it's the only thing I know. BUT I wouldn't give up on Linux completely, I'm sure there would be a distro out there that would suit!

[@_R_|\/|_@_G_E_|)_|)_0|\|]

I will go back to fedora

Same here.

[Scruffynerf]

Probably OpenSUSE, or possibly debian.

Still keep my XP Partition though

[chucky chuckaluck]

Arch, because I already run it instead of Ubuntu.

same here. i prefer the 'only install what you need' approach. i just come here for the doughnuts.

[Iceni]

Can I pick Mint?:)

If not then there are very good distros like suse, fedora, mandriva, debian, etc etc. Maybe I would even go gentoo if I had a lot of spare time.

[Mander]

Fedora + XP. That's what I had before I got a Vista beast.

[csurlee]

Debian based OS :guitar:

[mini_g]

Most likely openSUSE, Gentoo, or Debian.

[Mazza558]

Deb-based here too.

[Raven_Oscar]

Debian stable for home server and testing/unstable for workstations.

[atomkarinca]

Most probably Debian. Or it could be Fedora, too.

[EdThaSlayer]

I guess either PClinuxOS or Debian. :popcorn:

[Flintlock]

Mepis and PCLinuxOS I also use but just as long as it not windows it is good for me.

[Saint Angeles]

Alright. Let's say that tomorrow, the whole Ubuntu OS development and everything went down the drain. Nobody supports it, and it's a completely shunned OS. So shunned, in fact, that your computers themselves will simply explode if you so much as insert an Ubuntu CD into the CD-ROM drive. Every computer that has Ubuntu installed writes over the installation with all 0's.

The scenario I'm trying to create is one where Ubuntu used to exist, and the suddenly, you could not use it anymore. Which means that everybody who once used it still remembers it, but cannot use it again. This is entirely theoretical and will never really happen, so please don't post saying how it would survive one way or another. We know that.
actually... this sounds like one of the things that happens in this M. Night Shyamalan movie coming out soon called "The Happening".

first people lose the ability to speak... then ubuntu dissapears... then they hallucinate or something.

it looks terrifying.

[AndyCooll]

I'd use Debian, at least initially. I might also try Fedora since that's where I started.

:cool:

[vekaz]

Hm... OpenSuse you say? Why? Suse 7 was the first distro I actually used (didn't uninstall it right after installation) and I think Suse was the best pre-ubuntu distro. Especially 9.3, I absolutely loved it. But, honestly, if OpenSuse were the only choice, I'd rather use XP. I tried it recently and it was better then previous versions, but for some reason I didn't like it. Don't ask me why, I have no idea, simply wasn't what I was expecting. The only thing I remember is getting list of packages that takes ages to complete and is started every time you start the software module of yast...

I'd love to try PCLinuxOS, but it won't install on my hardware. I'll have to wait for the next version.

So, if Ubuntu was gone, I'd probably try another distro every week untill I would find the one I like.

[Xerp]

I'd stick with Slackware. I've been using it for the past 10 years and it still works great for me.

[FFighter]

Nowadays, Linux Mint... which seems to be a really cool project and distro.

One or two years ago, XP.

[toupeiro]

Before I decided to try ubuntu, I was a long time SuSE user. I still mainly use RHEL at work, but I stopped using Redhat at home when the fedora project started because the first three cores were horrible. My luck with SuSE had always been good since 5.x. If there was no ubuntu, I would likely still be on SuSE.

Ubuntu was my first debian based linux OS, so I likely wouldn't have switched to debian. Now having used a Debian based OS, if the ubuntu project stopped, I would likely switch to another debian OS if OpenSuSE felt too foreign at this point.

[graabein]

I don't know... Arch, Debian, Fedora, maybe try Slackware, Gentoo or even OpenSolaris.

[reacocard]

Arch

[jonabyte]

Fedora or slackware

[Canis familiaris]

OpenSUSE

[Ozor Mox]

Debian, as it is the base of Ubuntu and I like it, as well as apt-get.

[Daggo]

An armwrestle between Debian and Suse 10.3.
Oh and a.......xp <*hides*>

[insane_alien]

Arch, fedora, debian, or gentoo it would be a toss up between those.

[bigbrovar]

No Ubuntu ? .. hmmm honestly i dont know what i will use cus ubuntu is all i know about Linux .. . maybe i will give debian a try ... or mints .. but without ubuntu its would be hard for mint to exist cus its based on ubuntu ... so i guess debian

[notwen]

Debian(Lenny). =]

[Aesir09]

i would do what i do now.

dual boot windows and linux (ubuntu)

but i think i would use Mandriva or OpenSUSE

[durand]

Gentoo if I'm in the right mood or Fedora which is what I started my linux experience with.

[aaaantoine]

I would try LinuxMint, except I would assume that with Ubuntu disappearing, Mint would end up going along with it.

In a mad dash, I'd have to grab my Fedora 9 Live CD and use that on my laptop in order to determine what distro I should try next. In the short term, at least, considering it's the middle of the week and Fedora is RIGHT THERE, I'd probably start with that.

Chances are, I'd settle. If I were to find critical flaws in Fedora that weren't in Ubuntu, I'd have to start distro hopping. My first stop: Debian, starting with the most stable release. From there, I'd try OpenSUSE, Arch, and PCLinuxOS. I would stick with the distribution that handles my job oriented tasks most gracefully.

[34.50]

Well my primary OS is Windows XP. My secondary OS is linux distros I like to try. So far, I have found PCLOS Gnome 2008 to be the best of them all. Fast, very stable and all around better than Ubuntu or any other 'nix distros I have tried.

[shadylookin]

it's a toss up between

linux mint, opensuse, mandriva(which is what i used to use before coming over to ubuntu), debian, or fedora

[gameryoshi600]

windows xp, fedora, mandriva, or opensuse

[cardinals_fan]

I don't use Ubuntu anyway. SLAX all the way.

[Gourgi]

opensuse or debian

[ubuntu-freak]

It would have to be Debian Testing. :-)

However, I'm not a Ubuntu user just cos' I think it's a great distro, I use it cos' I believe it will continue indeffinately, even if Canonical goes belly up. Too many users and devs like Ubuntu for it to die.

Nathan

[bigken]

opensuse

[kjb34]

Dsl, puppy or fedora

[jgrabham]

Arch, OpenSUSE, CentOS

[the yawner]

When I was just planning on which distro I should try first, I got to choosing either Debian or Ubuntu. So I supposed I'll have to go with Debian.

[mmb1]

OS X, just because it runs on the only other working computer in my home. (the trusty ol' imac g3.)

[Mateo]

probably fedora. in theory i would like debian, but i'm afraid i would not know how to install it.

[Irihapeti]

Puppy. I've already got it on my machine as a second system to play with. It does already most of what I need to do, and as for the rest, I'd just turn into one of those Linux-geeky people who compile things.

[Lord Xeb]

I would use Debian, or Red Hat (like Fedora) <_< >_> Security and productivity are my kind of thing. Those Fedora is a little more tricky to set up, it supports almost everyhting ubuntu does. I can use vertually any program I had before and more since it has been around a lot longer.

[Flying caveman]

Blag9000. Just because its fun to say "Blaaaaaag" and its already on the 9000th version. :-$

[ubuntu-freak]

probably fedora. in theory i would like debian, but i'm afraid i would not know how to install it.


Are you kidding? I installed it a month after I first tried Ubuntu. I'm sure you'd be fine. You only need the first disc, but the net install disc is more like it.

Nathan

[sweeneytodd]

Microsoft vista, its unstable, unreliable, i love giving to the coffers of master gates

[andrek]

Debian for sure.

[k@e]

Me too. I am a big fan of free software. :cool:

[tom66]

Mac OS X or Fedora (both IMHO very good OSes). Maybe a combination of both.

[odysseusjak]

PCLinuxOS 2007. I used it for years before switching to Ubuntu.

[Martje_001]

Mandriva or Debian, can't really choose.

[Breakage]

Archlinux of course, wouldn't really mind if there was no ubuntu. To be honest.

[derekr44]

Arch :)

[Emo_brad]

MSDOS. Most stable OS you'll ever find

[linuxlizard]

pclinuxos

It's very stable, it's kept up to date rolling unlike ubuntu where you have to install the latest to get the latest so pclinuxos2007 has the latest gimp, open office, etc even though it's over a year old. It's also very fast and easy to set up.

I use pcfluxboxos on my low spec computers that can't handle ubuntu already, so I guess you could say that I already am using another os if there was no ubuntu (for my low spec comps).

[Articfox3]

Either Windows Vista or Windows XP or Mandriva:lolflag:

[david_lynch]

I'd use Suse - solid all around, great in the server room or on the laptop.

[arinlares]

i'd use windows xp, only because that's what i'm using right now.

[Mateo]

MSDOS. Most stable OS you'll ever find

You'd seriously use DOS?

[david_lynch]

i'd use windows xp, only because that's what i'm using right now.

LOL, so why do you hang out here?

[arinlares]

LOL, so why do you hang out here?

i'm trying to find out as much as possible about ubuntu before i get my laptop. i tried the live cd, and just wanna learn.

[hrsrd]

I would use Manadriva or PCLinuxOS. :)

[vekaz]

pclinuxos

It's very stable, it's kept up to date rolling unlike ubuntu where you have to install the latest to get the latest so pclinuxos2007 has the latest gimp, open office, etc even though it's over a year old. It's also very fast and easy to set up.
.

LoL

It is so up-to-date that you can't install it on hardware that came out in 2006/2007 (asus p5k mobo, for example...) :S

[K.Mandla]

Moved to Other OS Talk.

[knavarathna92]

either opensuse or OS X Leopard.

[Antman]

Zenwalk, openSUSE, Fedora, Mandriva, Sidux and other Debian based distros.
Tons out there to choice from.

[techmarks]

My two favourite OS's;

Xubuntu and FreeBSD,

If I couldn't use Xubuntu I'd use FreeBSD all the time.

[will1911a1]

I'm already running Arch.

[bobdob20]

I'm already running Arch.

Same here.

[DM was on fire!]

Sidux, OpenSUSE, Fedora, Mandriva, or Fluxbuntu.

[ErwinC]

Debian or Mandriva

[Scheater5]

I had good luck with Sabayon, but I can't stand portage. I already use OSX for some apps I can't do without, but I'd hate to completely give up Linux. I'd probably end up using Debian, or maybe go the other direction and use Mint.

[67GTA]

Mint

[danbuter]

I'd probably go back to OpenSUSE, though I really don't like where KDE4 is heading.

[liquidfunk]

Fedora.

[Mr. Scott]

I'd probably go to Debian or(since I came to Ubuntu from a Mandrake 8.1 background) give Mandriva a try.

[Bachstelze]

I guess if there was no Ubuntu, I wouldn't have switched to it would have just stuck with Debian ;)

[pastormick]

I really like where OpenSolaris is headed - enough to install it on a lappy just for tinkerin'...

[agamotto]

In that situation, I would probably go back to an Amiga.....

[CrazyArcher]

I'd prolly give Mandriva a try...

[beavenburt]

Zenwalk.

[wolfen69]

What OS Would You Use If There Was No Ubuntui would not use anything. without ubuntu, i am nothing. :confused:

[L815]

OpenSuse or Fedora

[|{urse]

thank god i saw fedora here lol.

[Heggerud]

openSUSE or Fedora, RedHat 8 popped my linux cherry :lolflag:

[fredfjr]

Fedora or Slackware...it would depend on the computer I want to put the distro on.

[wolfen69]

opensuse or mandriva

[sujoy]

Arch,Debian,Slackware.

I am currently using Arch, haven't booted into ubuntu for almost a month now.

[tompickles]

openSUSE - was on it before Ubuntu 8.04 because my wireless was playing around in 7.10 and managed to use ndiswrapper with openSUSE 10.3 really easily. Going to investigate 11.0 and see if I make the transition - my only concern is its not a Debian based release - it's Slackware?

[hellion0]

Without Ubuntu, I'd install Gentoo on my faster machines (which currently run vanilla Ubuntu) and Zenwalk on my slower machines (that currently run Xubuntu.)

[reyhan]

opensuse , sabayon linux or gentoo

[kazuya]

There are many to choose from: Near 200 of them or more.
But, top ones would be Mepis, Archlinux, {Cant say Mint as it is based on Ubuntu}, vector Linux, Sabayon, Zenwalk, Elive, Debian, PclinuxOS, Wolvix, ...

But Ubuntu has a special place for me and many.

[67GTA]

There are many to choose from: Near 200 of them or more.
But, top ones would be Mepis, Archlinux, {Cant say Mint as it is based on Ubuntu}, vector Linux, Sabayon, Zenwalk, Elive, Debian, PclinuxOS, Wolvix, ...

But Ubuntu has a special place for me and many.

Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu Edgy. It has been since Bianca. They don't just copy each new version of Ubuntu. If Ubuntu died, they would use Debian or Fedora as a base. They aren't going anywhere

[pmlxuser]

Debian would do me good, it close (last time i tried 2006) everything works close to ubuntu .

next option would be fedora core (only if they provided a one disk (CD) installation version --just a wish)

truthfully i like "sudo apt-get install ***"

[wolfen69]

Debian would do me good, it close (last time i tried 2006) everything works close to ubuntu .

next option would be fedora core (only if they provided a one disk (CD) installation version --just a wish)

truthfully i like "sudo apt-get install ***"

HERE (http://mirrors.xmission.com/fedora/releases/9/Fedora/i386/iso/) is the link for Fedora CD's. your wish has been granted.

[id1337x]

Debian GNU/Linux.

[izanbardprince]

Opensuse

[rage-against-windows]

ZenWalk for sure. Maybe take a closer look at Arch, since so many people mention it on here.

[wolfen69]

it's great that we have many choices. this is a good time to use linux.

[Chr0mis]

I'd go back to Gentoo, but I would miss Ubuntu!

[Vince4Amy]

OpenSUSE.

[Jim!]

I guess I'd have to give a whole bunch of linux distros a try....Still haven't used anything other than Ubuntu and DSL live CD.. I guess the first thing I would turn to would be openSUSE though.

[ibutho]

I'd use the one I currently use now which is openSUSE. ;)

[factotum218]

Since I've already moved on to Slackware, next on my list would be FreeBSD or Arch.

[Takmadeus]

I would be using Dreamlinux...

Beautiful and debian based :)

[Inxsible]

I have already moved onto Debian and Arch. But I would like to try Gentoo or Slackware.

[Robux the great]

I realy like the Gnome desktop so I would go to Fedora or Debian

Regards

Rob

[joshdudeha]

i think I would use Mandriva as I am using it at the moment.
But I love ubuntu, and I can't wait to get my internet working on it - so I can use it again.
I miss ubuntu :(

[keiichidono]

I would use Fedora, plain and simple. It's my backup OS of choice if i somehow nuke Ubuntu and can't get a hold of my disk, i just install Fedora and use it.

[sultanoswing]

Fedora, or possibly PC-BSD. I might give Arch or Gentoo a whirl just for fun.

[OmniCloud]

Arch--after I figure out how to install it lol...

Wolvix for a backup portable OS...

and that's about it. Debian...

[lswest]

Arch, Debian, Slackware, Sidux, DreamLinux, etc. etc.

Arch would be my first choice, I'm running it on my laptop (have been for about a week and a half now) and I like it just as much as Ubuntu, and because it's custom (well, in so far as I know what runs when, and because I told it to run) makes it my preference these days.

[klick.here]

PCLinuxOS
This is the only thing that has been reliable for me besides Ubuntu.It almost automatically set up my wireless on my laptop(sweet!) I was really surprised how painless this was compared to Ubuntu. I wanted to use Fedora 9 and Suse but kept having problems.

[vote_quimby]

Mepis or debian lenny.
I'm surprised how many don't use ubuntu but continue to be so active here (lol - all i've got installed now is Mepis7)

[Barrucadu]

That just shows how good the community is if all of us non-Ubuntuers stick around :)

[twright]

i would just add the debian repos to ubuntu and go on with business as usual

[Nessa]

Back to windows I guess. I'd use debian if their forums weren't so blah towards ubuntu users.

[Inxsible]

Back to windows I guess. I'd use debian if their forums weren't so blah towards ubuntu users.
Blah is right !
I say this because I recently switched from Ubuntu to Debian...and asked a couple of support questions over there.

Lets just say...no one came up with any solution.

Finally kerry_s here at ubuntu forums told me to do something which worked :)

so i got support from ubuntu ppl for Debian as well.

I think it is definitely the forums here which has been an important if not the only cause for Ubuntu's meteoric rise even over its own parent distro Debian

[Frak]

OpenSUSE

[BreakDecks]

Risc Os 4

[Juggernaut_KDC]

Gentoo or Debian.

[iamkrazee]

Oh man.. This is such a trick question, I have 3 different distros on my 3 machines.. Sabayon, kubuntu and opensuse. Although if there was no ubuntu at all, I'd go with Sabayon hands down. Because it comes Sabayon > Ubuntu > openSUSE for me.

No offense intended to ubuntu people though, sure it's a great distro but I just feel Gentoo fits me better and with Sabayon in the picture I'd rate Sabayon > Ubuntu > Gentoo :D

[markharding557]

debian testing because it is closest to ubuntu

[DreamcastJack]

probably Dreamlinux or TinyMe

[thrice upon a time]

Vista.

The last 3 versions of Ubuntu just seem like "We're just 1 release away from actually having a working desktop OS now!!"

This one is the worst for me, personally. Can't even get into X without sudo nano-ing into x-org and manaully setting it up, but it resets itself after you turn off your PC.

Say what you will about Vista. At least I know it'll boot ;-)

When Ubuntu reaches the "I won't hit update in sheer, utter terror because the Ubuntu dev-team doesn't even know how to roll and release kernels" stage, I'll use Ubuntu again ;-)

Until then, it's a combo of Vista and Debian Etch ;-)

[Antman]

Until then, it's a combo of Vista and Debian Etch ;-)
Debian is always a good choice. ;)

[semishooter10]

puppy linux lightweight and fast

[SumyTheSlayer]

my first Linux OS was OpenSuSE, probably i'd give it one more try (but i hate yast)... next option would be something debian based with KDE or Fluxbox. i'm in love with debian based sistems (apt-get) and i like KDE for its look and fluxbox for the speed :D...

now i completly gave up Kubuntu (even deleted it from virtual machine) and i use Fluxbuntu :X:X:D

[earos.dk]

No question asked:
I will use Debian and I will switch back again to let my distro be based on Debian. I will do it the day it becomes easier to install "restricted drivers". Personally, I prefer Debian over Ubuntu, because it is more stable and without the sometimes ugly Ubuntu forks, but it is not that easy to use for entry Linux users. This is why the pointers to repositoies are still at Ubuntu.

www.earos.dk

[clb137]

Linux mint, its what i use anyway, i know its based on ubuntu, but deb is always there

[bgjmo]

at first id go back to xp and then id probably get all mad at all the spam and virsues so id experiment with a new distro. Ubuntu is the only distro ive used. im sure it oeuld take me long to find something id like. Anything other then a windows product. maybe id buy a mac

[LinuxGuy1234]

Gentoo maybe.

[cookieofdoom]

Probably Arch, it's so fast... sooo fast... and extremely well documented.

*runs off to try the latest PCLinuxOS in a virtual computer*

[TheSlipstream]

Well I'm already using Linux Mint (which is really close to Ubuntu) so...

Assuming derivatives aren't allowed, I'd probably use PCLinuxOS.

[lisati]

I would use Debian, or Red Hat (like Fedora) <_< >_> Security and productivity are my kind of thing. Those Fedora is a little more tricky to set up, it supports almost everyhting ubuntu does. I can use vertually any program I had before and more since it has been around a lot longer.

I once had a look at a book about learning Linux which included instructions on setting up Red Hat. Having set up Ubuntu on my machine relatively painlessly, my reaction to the process was something along the lines of "Yikes!!!!"

At the risk of offending the Linux purists here: If I hadn't discovered Ubuntu I'd probably have stuck with the copies of XP on the machines I currently use.

[twright]

I once had a look at a book about learning Linux which included instructions on setting up Red Hat. Having set up Ubuntu on my machine relatively painlessly, my reaction to the process was something along the lines of "Yikes!!!!"

At the risk of offending the Linux purists here: If I hadn't discovered Ubuntu I'd probably have stuck with the copies of XP on the machines I currently use.
mandriva is the only distro i know which is nearly as easy to set up

[Fenris_rising]

i saw ubuntu on the bbc radio 4 news site. if i hadnt have seen it i would still be running XP pro. 7 weeks now since i installed. there have been issues but mainly from me diving to deep into the system and breaking it.
ive just spent 2 weeks seeking a linux distro that would work on my laptop
and am currently settled on fluxbuntu which seems to be working the best and fastest. the laptop is dual boot with XP for the moment as i have a project that needs it but once thats sorted im burning XP but good.

[Pjotr123]

I would probably be using OpenSUSE or Fedora. Well, probably OpenSUSE, because it's less bleeding-edge and therefore more stable.

[magnus0]

I would use maybe Arch Linux or Fedora

[Seablue]

1. Debian
2. Mandriva
3. Microsoft (Which is my primary OS, meaning i'd give up Ubuntu/Linux altogether)

Note: Does Debian include a Live CD?

[vishzilla]

The next best thing...Debian

[Incense]

OpenSUSE, no question about it. The new 11 release is really nice.

[Frak]

OpenSUSE, no question about it. The new 11 release is really nice.
Agreed

[MattBD]

I'd have trouble choosing one as Kubuntu felt right from the start like it was the distro for me and no other distro has yet done that for me. But I've recently been very taken with Sidux, and I also quite like SimplyMepis, so I'd probably use one of them, or Debian with KDE.

[kamitsukai]

Well I'm already using Linux Mint (which is really close to Ubuntu) so...

Assuming derivatives aren't allowed, I'd probably use PCLinuxOS.

Definitely PCLinuxOS much better than Mandriva:KS I also like Mint

[Zero Prime]

Well, If there was no more Ubuntu then I would stay with LinuxMint as they would just switch to Debian. Either that or I would use DreamLinux.

[OmniCloud]

No question asked:
I will use Debian and I will switch back again to let my distro be based on Debian. I will do it the day it becomes easier to install "restricted drivers". Personally, I prefer Debian over Ubuntu, because it is more stable and without the sometimes ugly Ubuntu forks, but it is not that easy to use for entry Linux users. This is why the pointers to repositoies are still at Ubuntu.

www.earos.dkthe only reason I didn't use Debian was because of Wine (just worked, no config) and Compiz being enabled by default!

Previous Ubuntu have been buggy IMO, (Gutsy/Fiesty) but I will admit Hardy has definitely stepped it up in the performance.

Definitely would be doing Debian right now, but there's just somethings I don't want to configure--Namely Compiz, Wine, etc...It's just annoying, and I have no desire to learn it.

Xubuntu has been quite stable though, I think with a few updates Ubuntu has ironed out it's kinks (at least with average/popular hardware setups) and is one of the most stable Ubuntu's I've ever experienced.

So yeah, No buntu for me would be Debian, with a strong nod to Wolvix--it seriously has the best Xfce setup in the world!

[RS3York]

openSUSE.

It's already my primary distro. The Build Service is a killer "app" in my opinion, although I do keep Ubuntu Studio as my #2 for creative projects and as a back-up OS.

With openSUSE 11.0 they have solved all the issues I've had with RPM systems. It's so fast, it's even faster than apt in some cases.

[ComputerGeek31618]

The Question: If you could not use Ubuntu (or any Ubuntu branched OS such as Xubuntu, Edubuntu, etc.), what OS would you use in it's place? Would you stick with Linux? What distro would you hop to? Why?

Well, I'd go back to windows, because it's already on my primary computer. I'd then be forced to do tons of research on the next most common Linux distro to try (Ubuntu was reccommended to me by a friend in the first place, maybe I could ask him who's second best in Linux.)

[YaroMan86]

Slackware... or possibly good ol' CP/M :P

[xXx 0wn3d xXx]

I would be using Arch, Debian, Fedora, or Sabayon. Quite nice to be back on Ubuntu after some time.

[Alienware user]

Mandriva

Even though i don't use ubuntu :lolflag:

[Gewalop]

Debian-Based FTW

[Magnes]

Debian-Based-Something.

Or Mandriva.

[seanc7]

The one I use now... Debian.

[x1a4]

OpenSUSE +1

[Fzang]

Mandriva, because my computer's specs won't run ubuntu at any cost anyways :D

[jnw222]

potently windows vista (lol) back then

but now, i would use debian orf another random distro