Bleading edge distro

[celticbhoy]

I was just wondering which linux distro / alternate OS is generally considered to be the most advanced, who is pushing the boundaries the most. I read a couple of linux mags and they go over the steady stable distro's out there, but who is the most adventurous.

[HappinessNow]

I was just wondering which linux distro / alternate OS is generally considered to be the most advanced, who is pushing the boundaries the most. I read a couple of linux mags and they go over the steady stable distro's out there, but who is the most adventurous.

[/URL]Actually anything e17 is bleeding edge, or some may say hemorrhaging from the brain.

In all seriousness, isn't Ubuntu bleeding edge enough for you?

If not Ubuntu; then [URL="http://sidux.com/"]Sidux (http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=ozos) may satisfy your bleeding edge desires.

[celticbhoy]

Its not a desire to change distro, just a question I was wondering about. As for Ubuntu, is it bleeding edge? A lot of Ubuntu is designed for stability, I would say it is more a blend of what works and newer features. I was just thinking that there must some OS out there that tries to include the latest and greatest kernel, and app versions even if they are still beta.

[hatten]

[/URL]Actually anything e17 is bleeding edge, or some may say hemorrhaging from the brain.

In all seriousness, isn't Ubuntu bleeding edge enough for you?

If not Ubuntu; then [URL="http://sidux.com/"]Sidux (http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=ozos) may satisfy your bleeding edge desires.
Lol, ubuntu bleeding edge? That's the worst I've ever heard!
You might consider Arch Linux, it is advanced, and at the same time simple, or Gentoo, Gentoo is bleeding edge if you go and compile things as soon as something is released, Arch is bleeding if you launch the command "Pacman -Syu" every time something is released.

The arch forums are now getting filled with people having problems with the kernel 2.6.30, so yes, it is bleeding edge ;)

[HappinessNow]

Its not a desire to change distro, just a question I was wondering about. As for Ubuntu, is it bleeding edge? A lot of Ubuntu is designed for stability, I would say it is more a blend of what works and newer features. I was just thinking that there must some OS out there that tries to include the latest and greatest kernel, and app versions even if they are still beta.
Sidux (http://sidux.com/)


sidux is a desktop-oriented operating system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system) based on the "unstable" branch of Debian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian), which uses the codename Sid....sidux is based on Debian's most modern branch, sid. It includes a comprehensive manual and a collection of tools and scripts to make desktop administration easier. sidux's own repository (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_repository) avoids packages which are currently defective in Debian Sid by temporarily uploading corrected packages to the sidux repository until a fixed package propagates into sid....Once sidux is installed, it can be kept up-to-date with updates from the Debian Sid and sidux repositories. Updates are typically ran from command line using apt-get (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apt-get). Because post and pre install scripts in the debian packages may restart your display manager during updates and cause conflicts with running userspace applications, it is recommended that users upgrade their system out of X....In keeping with the evolutionary nature of the "unstable" Debian branch, sidux releases do not provide an upgrade path from previous release versions. Rather, once sidux is installed, incremental updates are performed via regular "dist-upgrades". The idea of a sidux "release" is instead to improve Live CD hardware support, performance, flexibility and reliability, built from the current debian unstable repository.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidux

[.Maleficus.]

Lol, ubuntu bleeding edge? That's the worst I've ever heard!
You might consider Arch Linux, it is advanced, and at the same time simple, or Gentoo, Gentoo is bleeding edge if you go and compile things as soon as something is released, Arch is bleeding if you launch the command "Pacman -Syu" every time something is released.

The arch forums are now getting filled with people having problems with the kernel 2.6.30, so yes, it is bleeding edge ;)
Not to mention the [testing] repo, which is about as bleeding edge as you would want your system.

[billgoldberg]

Arch Linux is bleeding edge.

It's a rolling release, so if a new version of anything is available, you'll get it as an update.

The problem with that is that sometimes things might go wrong and you can practice your cli skills.

[Junkieman]

I consider Debian/Ubuntu pretty cutting edge, but as far as Linux goes, each distro has it's days.

Your top contenders will be in this list though (http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20090615#upcoming), pick one :mrgreen:

[Skripka]

I consider Debian/Ubuntu pretty cutting edge

I LOL'd. Debian and Ubuntu which both only support 32bit via i386 optimizations?

[hatten]

I consider Debian/Ubuntu pretty cutting edge, but as far as Linux goes, each distro has it's days.

Your top contenders will be in this list though (http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20090615#upcoming), pick one :mrgreen:
rolling release distros ain't in that list.

@skripka, we should scrap 32-bit overall, 64-bit is way better! ;)

[chucky chuckaluck]

arch is bleeding edge, as others have noted. i thought i heard fedora was, too, but i don't know and have never used it. i guess gentoo would be considered bleeding edge (depending on which version of an app you'd use, i suppose), but by the time one finishes compiling, there's usually a newer version out. (b'dum-ching!1)

[Skripka]

arch is bleeding edge, as others have noted.

It depends on which repos you choose to run. Arch stable runs fine, with no bleeding whatsoever here. Arch Testing, well...

[chucky chuckaluck]

It depends on which repos you choose to run. Arch stable runs fine, with no bleeding whatsoever here. Arch Testing, well...

yeah, that's true. and aren't some of the mirrors on some kind of delay, as well?

[HappinessNow]

rolling release distros ain't in that list.

@skripka, we should scrap 32-bit overall, 64-bit is way better! ;)That is an even better question; who does 64-bit the best and is bleeding edge?

[Skripka]

yeah, that's true. and aren't some of the mirrors on some kind of delay, as well?

I think so...Currently KDEMod is earning my ire, as their x86_64 repo is STILL on KDE4.2.3....meanwhile KDE4.2.4-1 i686 is already in Extra. Grrrrrrr.

[Skripka]

@skripka, we should scrap 32-bit overall, 64-bit is way better! ;)

Do you remember the noise that was made on this year's Arch April Fool?

Ubuntu won't even boot or run on i386 hardware...which begs the question why are they still optimizing for a 25 year old platform. Hence my LOL about Ubuntu and "cutting Edge". ;)

[snowpine]

Definitely not Ubuntu, which is about 6 months behind Debian unstable/sid. Check out Arch, Sidux, Fedora, and Foresight (those are just the ones I've personally tried, I'm sure there are others).

[celticbhoy]

I guess I was meaning a mix of things like this :-

http://www.menuetos.net/

and the madriva metisse edition which came out a few years ago. OS's that try something new, or try to do things in a different way.

[Simian Man]

Arch is very cutting edge in terms of releases to applications and such, but the underlying system is fairly antiquated in some ways. For example they use a simple BSD-style init rather than something like Plymouth or Upstart. Also most Arch users don't use Pulseaudio. Given a choice between something new and something older but simpler, Arch will always choose simpler. If you just want new shiny stuff, Fedora is the way to go. Both are great up-to-date distros though - definitely try both!

And LOL no Ubuntu is not up to date - worse still they do not push updates to old releases. You can browse the versions of major packages each distro ships and get some idea yourself.

[celticbhoy]

I dont know if it really counts, but are these type of thing next gen :-

http://cyberssystem.blogspot.com/2008/12/45-webbased-operating-system_30.html

[ghindo]

I would consider Foresight (http://www.foresightlinux.org/) among the most "bleeding edge" distros out there.

[ibutho]

Fedora is another bleeding edge distro. I'm surprised its not been mentioned very much in previous posts.

[celticbhoy]

All the suggestions so far have been fully featured usable systems, I was hoping someone would unearth a little gem that is under development, unknown, and doing its business in a completely different way to every other OS about, whether that be the interface or whats under the hood.

[Cenotaph]

Im not sure if i'd say Fedora is bleeding edge. Sure, they are not afraid of including packages that are very fresh and still a bit unstable, but isnt that just it? Fedora is a pretty normal distro apart from that, doesn't really innovate that much, at least that's my perception.

As far as creating something new in their OS, Canonical actually does a better job. And it seems to me the OP is looking for that: fresh, out-of-the-box stuff.

Im afraid i can't help much though, my knowledge of distros is limited to proper stable distros.

[ghindo]

All the suggestions so far have been fully featured usable systems, I was hoping someone would unearth a little gem that is under development, unknown, and doing its business in a completely different way to every other OS about, whether that be the interface or whats under the hood.Exherbo?

http://exherbo.org/

[celticbhoy]

Yeah more the kind of thing I was thinking of - especially the tracking unwritten apps part.

[Twitch6000]

Im not sure if i'd say Fedora is bleeding edge. Sure, they are not afraid of including packages that are very fresh and still a bit unstable, but isnt that just it? Fedora is a pretty normal distro apart from that, doesn't really innovate that much, at least that's my perception.

As far as creating something new in their OS, Canonical actually does a better job. And it seems to me the OP is looking for that: fresh, out-of-the-box stuff.

Im afraid i can't help much though, my knowledge of distros is limited to proper stable distros.

You are kidding me right...

I mean you could have not said fedora does not innovate..

Fedora is one of the biggest innovaters out there...

They always have something new,they are always trying things before anyone else.

Not to mention Fedora is probably one of the first distros to have ext4 as default...

Heck Fedora is like the test distro for many other distros..

[ibutho]

Im not sure if i'd say Fedora is bleeding edge. Sure, they are not afraid of including packages that are very fresh and still a bit unstable, but isnt that just it? Fedora is a pretty normal distro apart from that, doesn't really innovate that much, at least that's my perception.

As far as creating something new in their OS, Canonical actually does a better job. And it seems to me the OP is looking for that: fresh, out-of-the-box stuff.

Im afraid i can't help much though, my knowledge of distros is limited to proper stable distros.

Fedora is one of the distros that actually innovates instead of simply packaging. Many apps are included in Fedora (or created for Fedora) before they are in other distros. Ubuntu is even using some Fedora tools for system administration, configuring printers etc.

[super.rad]

+1 for Fedora, Arch is more upto date as it's rolling release but Fedora always has the newest technologies whereas Arch sticks to what is simple and well tested

[Regenweald]

Of all the rolling release distros, Foresight is the only one i think I'd try, it's tools have a unique feel and it looks well packaged. For my personal taste, it's 2009 and i just can't use a distro where I administrate a system by editing text files. That does not say leading edge to me.

[Cenotaph]

You are kidding me right...

I mean you could have not said fedora does not innovate..

Fedora is one of the biggest innovaters out there...

They always have something new,they are always trying things before anyone else.

Not to mention Fedora is probably one of the first distros to have ext4 as default...

Heck Fedora is like the test distro for many other distros..
Well, trying things before anyone else, including ext4 by default, this is exactly what i meant as not really innovating, its just being more up-to-date with what is happening upstream.

This, on the other hand


Fedora is one of the distros that actually innovates instead of simply packaging. Many apps are included in Fedora (or created for Fedora) before they are in other distros. Ubuntu is even using some Fedora tools for system administration, configuring printers etc.

is what i had doubts Fedora did, mainly because whenever i try Fedora i don't see anything that seems completely new to me. And again, Canonical also does this kind of stuff. Im glad to find out that Fedora contributes a lot then, that's cool.

[super.rad]

I tried Foresight recently, it's good but still can't install to ext4, obviously not that bleeding edge

[celticbhoy]

I kinda think that U might B missing what I was looking for, I have had a look and have even downloaded Fedora. But what I was after was something that is trying to take a completely new approach to how the OS works. I can see how Fedora try's to include the latest version of software, but to me it does not seem to try and look for a better way of doing things. I mentioned Metisse erlier and good or bad it made an effort to change the way your desktop worked. Fedora is at best a normal Distro with the latest version of apps that we can all download. It does at least try and push things forward, but I have not seen any innovation on the part of the distro makers. There must be an OS of some kind out there that is approaching things from a new perspective. Something that does not try and copy what we are all using, but instead gives something new.

When I first tried linux it was a whole new approach to using my PC. It was not a windows clone but something that stood in its own right. So I was only wondering what else is out there. What has not yet been adopted by the masses, but is trying to get the best from your PC and the way you use it. It does not matter what it is built on just the way it works.

PS if that does not make sense it's cause i've had too many beers!
Woo Hoo!!!!

[dragos240]

I would say gentoo, it can be as bleeding edge as you want it to be.

[celticbhoy]

The thing is I mean by default. I know that the whole idea behind Gentoo is that you compile everything on your PC and that way it is optimised to run as fast as it can. And in some ways that gives it an edge over other distros, but by default it doesn't push the boundaries, it just optimise's your pc to the best.

[dragos240]

The thing is I mean by default. I know that the whole idea behind Gentoo is that you compile everything on your PC and that way it is optimised to run as fast as it can. And in some ways that gives it an edge over other distros, but by default it doesn't push the boundaries, it just optimise's your pc to the best.

Well...... then you'll be looking for quite a while then, because true bleeding edge can't be archived the way you want it, but some of the choices that are posted are good, but in my opinion aren't "bleeding edge".

[celticbhoy]

It's not even about good or bad dragos, I just really wondered if there was a distro or another OS altogether that that was trying to push thing forward in a different way then we are seeing now. I mentioned Mandriva Metisse a few posts ago and although the bones of the distro were nothing new, at least they tried to present a different way to view your desktop. A new way of working on your PC. When I first came to linux the whole idea of multiple workspaces blew me away, it was a simple thing but I had used windows for that long I thought there was no other way. I just thought that after a couple of years there might be another way to look at things, and I was hoping that the community would know where I should look. I am not looking to replace Ubuntu from my machines just give me something to play with, so the more experimental the better!

[Daisuke_Aramaki]

That kind of flexibility will be possible only with source based distros. you can tweak the system to be as bleeding edge as possible. may be using lfs and building your distro on top would be an overkill.

CRUX could be one option, but its not bleeding edge by default, but you can always make it one. but its in your hands. you cannot expect a distro to stretch the limits in installing a bootstrap. the way everything is done is very clear, and only as much can be done on that level. its right after that can one play around with a lot of factors.

give Sorcerer a shot. i still run it on a couple of boxes, and it required the maximum effort on my part.

[celticbhoy]

Just having a look, if nothing else , at least the home page is sexy!

[Simian Man]

A distro is a compilation of software and a means of installing and managing it. A distro wouldn't "change the way your desktop worked". I don't think you really want a bleeding edge distro.

Perhaps you are looking for an alternative desktop like Enlightenment, or a tiling window manager or somesuch thing.

[Dimitriid]

I think that the best balance of latest technology and usability would be Arch Linux. Anything more "bleeding edge" is prone to disaster or at the very least an unreasonable ammount of dedication needed on the part of most users.

[andras artois]

Ubuntu isn't bleeding edge. It's more like as up-to-date as possible without being unstable.

I would have to agree with e17 being bleeding edge and pushing things.

[dragos240]

I think that the best balance of latest technology and usability would be Arch Linux. Anything more "bleeding edge" is prone to disaster or at the very least an unreasonable ammount of dedication needed on the part of most users.

Yeah Like gentoo ^>*

[celticbhoy]

I am not looking for a new anything, I just want to know what is out there. And as for changing the way my desktop worked, then dont tell me that to the normal user Gnome works the same as KDE, or Enlightenment. Each have there own way of approaching things. But I just dont want to know about window managers, or desktop environments, there m ust be other OS's out there, probably non linux based that are trying to do things in a different way to what we consider the norm. In the couple of years I have been using linux I have collected window managers to try and allow me to see what my PC can do outside the norm. I have had a look at Gnome, KDE, E enlightenment, XFCE, and a load of others from JWM to LG3D. I like trying the new and weird, the setup that is different from what we expect when we push the power button on our PC's. So I thought there must be another kind of OS out there or another distro that is looking at things from a different angle. Trying to push the boundaries of what we expect from an OS. I realise that sometimes it is just the way it is presented, and the guts may be the same. But surely someone is trying to do something different?

[sertse]

I think that the best balance of latest technology and usability would be Arch Linux. Anything more "bleeding edge" is prone to disaster or at the very least an unreasonable ammount of dedication needed on the part of most users.

Arch is great, but not really the best balance as you say. It's advantage is that Arch allows for great configurability, but this consequently means less "usability" OOTB.

That probably goes to Sidux. Rolling release, about as updated. Desktop available right after install. Debian familiarly. Active community.

[Dimitriid]

Arch is great, but not really the best balance as you say. It's advantage is that Arch allows for great configurability, but this consequently means less "usability" OOTB.

That probably goes to Sidux. Rolling release, about as updated. Desktop available right after install. Debian familiarly. Active community.

Interesting case you make.

*navigates away to review more about Sidux*

[izizzle]

I'd say that Fedora is pretty bleeding edge....

[TheNosh]

it's just an alternative desktop, and it's not exactly ready, but sun's Project Looking Glass looks pretty revolutionary

(i know initially it looks kinda like a compiz wannabe, but it's not)

[Daisuke_Aramaki]

have you given any of the distros suggested a shot? as i mentioned before try Sorcerer a shot, since it requires a lot of intervention to even get the bootstrap installed.

try some of them out first and then discuss

[celticbhoy]

1) thenosh LG3D I have had installed for a year or so now, but the development seems to ground to a halt.

2) Daisuke_Aramaki a couple of the things mentioned like Sorcerer I have downloaded and will have a look at, but I was really looking for info. Something to broaden my own horizons.

For example your signature links to lunar linux, a distro I have never heard of - Does it offer something new, or does it just try and do the things other distro's do but better, or for a more compact user base?

[Regenweald]

People are still missing your point but i know what you are looking for, projects like Microsofts' Midori and this one :

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/03/phantom_russian_os/

But that latter looks some way off.

[dspari1]

rolling release distros ain't in that list.

@skripka, we should scrap 32-bit overall, 64-bit is way better! ;)

Sabayon is on that list and it's rolling release. :)

[pookiebear]

I think he is looking for something like a netbook type OS that just has firefox and office and email suite. Internet stack and not all the fancy bells and whistles. I am looking for one too. But my requirements are more stringent I want something that will run instantly almost on a pentium 2 or 3 with 256 or 512 mb of ram. I am not worried if it is linux or bsd or GEOS.

What would be cool is if there was a i386 version of the iphone OS. hmmm maybe a ported android!

[hessiess]

Not a Distro, but you may be interested in the etoile projet (http://etoileos.com/), they are trying to re-design the `desktop'.

[kk0sse54]

Not a Distro, but you may be interested in the etoile projet (http://etoileos.com/), they are trying to re-design the `desktop'.

I have tried with three different distros to install etoile and it has never worked for me. Eventually I'll just try MidnightBSD ;)

[SuperSonic4]

I think so...Currently KDEMod is earning my ire, as their x86_64 repo is STILL on KDE4.2.3....meanwhile KDE4.2.4-1 i686 is already in Extra. Grrrrrrr.

There is always their unstable repo which has kde 4.3 beta on. I don't think it shows it on the chakra site but add
[kdemod-unstable]
Server = http://mirror.rit.edu/kdemod/unstable/x86_64
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist to /etc/pacman.conf (or whichever mirror you want) and
sudo pacman -Syyu although you may want to force it with the f flag because there can be duplicates which stop pacman. I've been running kde 4.3 since the last alpha and it's rarely crashed - even less with beta 2

As for the OP I would go with Arch- it seems like a compromise between massive compiling in gentoo and the stagnation of ubuntu

[Skripka]

There is always their unstable repo which has kde 4.3 beta on. I don't think it shows it on the chakra site but add
[kdemod-unstable]
Server = http://mirror.rit.edu/kdemod/unstable/x86_64
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist to /etc/pacman.conf (or whichever mirror you want) and
sudo pacman -Syyu although you may want to force it with the f flag because there can be duplicates which stop pacman.

As for the OP I would go with Arch- it seems like a compromise between massive compiling in gentoo and the stagnation of ubuntu

The catch being, I have plasmoids which are known to be rendered unusable in KDE4.3...and it seems the author has taken a vacation since March.

'Sides KDEmod finally updated their 64-bit repos last night....only 2 weeks late. :-#

[celticbhoy]

[QUOTE]I think he is looking for something like a netbook type OS that just has firefox and office and email suite. Internet stack and not all the fancy bells and whistles.[QUOTE]

I'm not actually looking for anything specific. I just wondered what was being developed beyond the limited knowledge I have. Since I started with Linux I have tried a load of different WM's & DE's, and I just thought that the step would be to look at OS's that do things differently. I was wondering for no other reason than for fun, I like trying new things, getting my PC to do things I never thought it could, just because I can.
:grin:

[markbuntu]

You can always just make your own distro from git source tarballs. Nothing more bleeding edge than that.

... a perpetual pre-alpha rolling git distro.... Anything that compiles and runs successfully will be immediately deprecated and the devs bombarded with demands for new tarballs....we can call it the Bloody Hell distro and just tell people who complain that their system is out of date, which it will be. It can have a repository built by webcrawlers that find the latest tarballs and dump them in, replacing whatever was there.

[lykwydchykyn]

I was looking for this kind of stuff a while back, checked out syllableOS and haiku, maybe a couple others. They were different, for sure, and one or the other seemed lightning fast. But there wasn't much from an interface perspective to get excited about, same old WIMP desktop model.

[LowSky]

Arch Linux is the closest thing I get to bleeding edge.

Which reminds me I havent used it in a while

[HappinessNow]

Arch Linux is the closest thing I get to bleeding edge.

Which reminds me I havent used it in a while

Arch is hardly bleeding! I would say more edge but definitely Not bleeding!

[CJ Master]

Arch is hardly bleeding! I would say more edge but definitely Not bleeding!

You, sir, have not used the testing repository. That thing is DANGEROUS bleeding.

[HappinessNow]

You, sir, have not used the testing repository. That thing is DANGEROUS bleeding.

LOL...I stand corrected ;)

Usually, when I think of bleeding I think of e17 distros.

[koleoptero]

I am sorry to post this but I want to beg the OP to edit the first post and rename the topic to Bleeding edge distro. That bleading makes me want to pluck my eyes out.

[HappinessNow]

I am sorry to post this but I want to beg the OP to edit the first post and rename the topic to Bleeding edge distro. That bleading makes me want to pluck my eyes out.

Makes my eyes bleed profusely!

How about:

Blading Edge Distro?

[markbuntu]

Or Bleating Edge distro?

[Shibblet]

I am sorry to post this but I want to beg the OP to edit the first post and rename the topic to Bleeding edge distro. That bleading makes me want to pluck my eyes out.

Bleading makes you think of sheep. And that's scary.

[hatten]

Or change the topic into something completely, as it is not a bleeding edge distro you are looking for, but a "different distro that's trying new things"

[XubuRoxMySox]

Debian Sid. Sidux.

[ericab]

maybe Bleeping Edge Distro ?