Is there any advantage to trying different distros?

[gregorio]

I have been using Ubuntu for since 6.10 and really like it. But on these forums and in other places I find many who dual boot to different distros and quite a bit of discussions as to the advantages of them. But I keep wondering, that yes, some may boot faster and respond faster than others. And some are better suited for older machines. But if, on the average, response time and computing time differences are negligible, would I be better off sticking with Ubuntu? I mean, doesn't the job get done no matter what the distro is? I would like to be able to get a techie distro, but I really don't have time (I really wish I did, for I do like a challenge). My situation requires that, if I use the computer, I need it to boot up now and do what I need. The problem I guess is, in the back of my mind, that with seeing all these distros out there, there might be something that suites me better.

Any thoughts? Or did I just confuse you??

[mikjp]

It all depends.

If you use Linux because it is fun, you might like to try other distros. If you want to learn about Linux and different distro, you might also enjoy distro hopping. If you are interested in operating systems, you will learn there are several kinds of distros available.

But if you just want to get things done with your computer, stay with Ubuntu.

mikko

[cardinals_fan]

For me, yes. I have found many distros that work better for me than Ubuntu. I use Slackware for my get-things-done partition and Arch on my experiment-and-have-fun partition.

[oOarthurOo]

The more Distro's you fool around with the greater the chance of encountering an STD: A Singularly Terrific Distro.

Proceed with caution and always use an exta partition for your data.

[SunnyRabbiera]

There is nothing wrong with trying out new distro's, each one offers something to the user that is unique.
The best thing about most linux distros is that a good percent of them are free, that in itself is a great advantage.

[wolfen69]

all you really need to do (if you want to experiment) is get another hard drive to test other os's out.

however, in your case, if ubuntu does everything you need, and does it well, you would probably do well to stay with ubuntu. but, it doesn't hurt to play around and see what else is out there. you can always stay with ubuntu and try other things out at the same time.

[Sorivenul]

I think there are many advantages to trying different distributions, especially if you are also using Linux for fun/entertainment/learning as well as production.

My "manual configuration" skills were gained from time spent on Slackware and Debian, and later applied in Arch and in fixing my Ubuntu installs. Mandriva taught me urpmi and that there are distributions out there that are "easier" or more automatic than Ubuntu. openSUSE taught me that "easier" doesn't always mean better. Fedora taught me the value of maintained "non-free" repositories. FreeBSD taught me that I can live without X11 if I want. The list goes on and on. The learning possibilities with Linux are virtually limitless.

If you don't feel the need to explore outside of Ubuntu, or whichever distribution works for you, then don't. Simple as that. Good luck in whatever you decide!

[mikjp]

all you really need to do (if you want to experiment) is get another hard drive to test other os's out.

Or some free disk space for a 10 GB partition. I have installed several distros on one hard drive without any problems. Remember, however, to backup your data.