The best linux distro

[Snappo]

In your opinion what is the best linux distro ever released?

[jeffus_il]

Rock Linux, I never really managed to use it, but always learned.

[will1911a1]

For me it would have to be Arch.

[Snappo]

i'm pretty fond of puppy linux it's already saved me a few machines.

[Antman]

I guess this subject will come up many times on these forums.
'Best' depends on hardware and need. So you will get many different answers I am sure.

'Best' for me is currently Zenwalk... it's simple and gets the job done. After install I can write, surf, listen to music, watch media, print (after installing my HP drivers from repos), Scan, etc. If I need it to do more, I can install what I need.

If I need a smaller OS for ram limited machines I may whip out puppyLinux. Or, if I want a purely graphical solution I would pick openSUSE11 since you can do virtually everything via the gui.

[r76]

TiVo

[MONODA]

the best distro all around for me is arch linux, I love it. The best as far as quick to set up goes, I would say linux mint 4, and probably 5 once released.

[jeffus_il]

i'm pretty fond of puppy linux it's already saved me a few machines.
Puppy is a gem, just can't get used to running as root. It's too much like windows for me, have to be administrator if you want to do anything.
(and the Rox file manager/desktop is fast and simple)

[digger95]

'Best' for me is currently Zenwalk... it's simple and gets the job done. After install I can write, surf, listen to music, watch media, print (after installing my HP drivers from repos), Scan, etc. If I need it to do more, I can install what I need.
Zenwalk is definitely a great distro. Light, stable, good-looking. For me, the best distro is daddy-Slackware (upon which Zenwalk is based). You just can't beat either one.

[Le-Froid]

For me, I'd say ubuntu :P [Only tried one other, that really sucked]

[liquidfunk]

Fedora ^_^

[gameryoshi600]

Ubuntu :)

[ghindo]

Depends what you're looking for. I've tried a bunch of different distros and while I can see the advantages to each of 'em, I definitely like Ubuntu the best. It's the easiest to set up to do what I want (surf the web, listen to music, watch movies, etc.). That's not so say it's perfect, though - I would really like to see a distro with the flexibility and size of Arch with the ease of Ubuntu.

[C!oud]

I tried a bunch of liveCd's and I keep coming back to Ubuntu because it just works the best on my machine. Still looking for another distro because while Ubuntu is great for a newcomer I want to take the next step forward which is why I'm learning about Arch and I might consider installing Gentoo.

[chris4585]

Ubuntu - My reasons:

Easiest to install
Package system (synaptic and apt-get)
Its based of debian (big plus)
So many packages to choose from the ubuntu repo's
Very flexible
Usually it just works with a few minor problems
I know it the best
Support and documentation
I can go on..

[handy]

I haven't read the thread, so I'm just answering the OP title:

There is no such thing as a best linux distro' (for everybody):

We all have different desires/needs so what is one persons gold is another's poison.

The only way to truly find out what suits you is to go to DistroWatch (http://distrowatch.com/), download & try; many are on liveCD's which makes it easy, others like Gentoo & Arch (my personal favorite) can not work on liveCD by design, so you don't get a complete picture by using liveCD's, but it will help you understand what you do like in an OS & what you don't.

[jrusso2]

I agree there is not a best Linux distro for everyone as people have different needs and skill levels and different hardware.

My favorites seem to change depending on my testing of different distros.

[tdrusk]

Ubuntu on my laptop (celeron M 512 mb of ram)
Debian on my desktop (pentium 4 128 mb of ram)

[CJ56]

Do give Zenwalk a look - I have it on my wheezy old Celeron/256Mb laptop & it works brilliantly. Also the quickest & simplest to install - 25 mins. max for the basic setup (this is version 5.0) plus another 15 to get codecs/flash/OpenOffice/favourite multimedia apps etc. A great, fast, light distro.

On my heavier desktop I've had Ubuntu 7.10 for the last six months which has always worked like a champ, altho' I'm using Debian Etch at the moment, not sure why. Maybe it's the old-skool feel that appeals...

[cardinals_fan]

If it has to be Linux, SLAX. Otherwise, NetBSD.

[kazuya]

earlier comment is right. no such thing as abest distro. It varies from user to user and from time to time. For someone curious and desiring perfection in an OS, there is no such thing.

My favorite switches from Xandros to Mepis to Ubuntu, Sabayon, Vectorlinux, Zenwalk, Arch linux, Linux Mint, Elive, OzOS, etc.

The slack-based and debian-based distros have tended to be my favorite. Archlinux, Vectorlinux, Sabayon, and Mepis were distros that really blew me away and had me hooked. having said this, ubuntu since the Breezy days has always continued to surpass my expectations and definitly commands respect for its prevalence and marketing the ease of use for linux. Granted there are many other distros just as easy or easier even. I would always recommend Ubuntu / Mint to new users along with tthe others.

Mepis is by far one of the easiest distros to install and use.

[20thCenturyBoy]

His post says "in your opinion". I don't think he means to say that there is one definite best distro. :-k

Fedora has been my all time favorite. I believe they walk the line between cutting-edge and instability very well. Debian is an extremely close second with Ubuntu trailing just behind.

Honorable mention would go to like thirty or forty other distros...

[handy]

Do give Zenwalk a look - I have it on my wheezy old Celeron/256Mb laptop & it works brilliantly. Also the quickest & simplest to install - 25 mins. max for the basic setup (this is version 5.0) plus another 15 to get codecs/flash/OpenOffice/favourite multimedia apps etc. A great, fast, light distro.

On my heavier desktop I've had Ubuntu 7.10 for the last six months which has always worked like a champ, altho' I'm using Debian Etch at the moment, not sure why. Maybe it's the old-skool feel that appeals...

The Sabayon DVD installs on one of my machines in 20 minutes. & it is a huge install, including Open Office, nVidia drivers & other proprietary codecs & such, it also installs quite a few large games as well. It is quite good distro', being my favorite for 6 months or so, in the past.

[karellen]

Ubuntu and Mandriva

[Infra]

My favorite distros are Fedora and Arch. Ubuntu come on the third place but i hardly use it, because Fedora does/feels better in every aspect