I must be Nuts!

[rosswmcgee]

I am a long time ubuntu user. Yes I have tried other distros and I always wind up with Ubuntu. 16.04 LTS comes out next week and I will end up there, but in the mean

time I will check out other distros, like Suse etc. and wind up right back where I started with Ubuntu. Is that crazy?

[TheFu]

I like to test-drive new cars. Sometimes I'm not even looking to buy one, but I still have interest in what the new models from different makers can do.

[grahammechanical]

Crazy? No. Bored, maybe.

Regards.

[oldos2er]

You should consult a mental health provider immediately!

Just kidding. openSuse's a very nice desktop distro.

[Bucky Ball]

Why not, if you have the time and the inclination? Just make sure you get outside now and then, if you're capable. :D

[grahammechanical]

Giving support on a user forum. Now. That will drive anyone nuts. :)

"You do not have to be crazy to work here. But it helps."

[ChuangTzu]

I think its almost mandatory to distro-hop with Linux for some time. I am surprised my hard drives last as long as they do. FYI, Live CD's and VM's will make the process easier. ;)

[vasa1]

While distro-hopping seems very popular, I prefer trying to understand the basics. And that doesn't really need distro-hopping. My idea is that if I have to change distros, I'll be better equipped.

[ZoiaGuyver]

Being "Crazy" is only a perspective.. To most people I'm totally off my rocker for some of the stuff I try to do, to me they are "Crazy" for not trying everything :D

[poorguy]

Being "Crazy" is only a perspective.. To most people I'm totally off my rocker for some of the stuff I try to do, to me they are "Crazy" for not trying everything :D

You have to be crazy today to be sane.

[rosswmcgee]

The replies are keeping me sane. Laughter is the best medicine..Thanks All

[Petro Dawg]

I like to cross over to Fedora from time to time just to see how things are progressing on the other side of the Linux fence. I've even ventured to the seedy underbelly of OS town, exploring the dark and mysterious alleyways of Win10. Like you, I always eventually find my way back home to Ubuntu LTS.

[Habitual]

After years of hopping, I've reached the conclusion:
It Does Not Matter.

[Dragonbite]

I am a long time ubuntu user. Yes I have tried other distros and I always wind up with Ubuntu. 16.04 LTS comes out next week and I will end up there, but in the mean

time I will check out other distros, like Suse etc. and wind up right back where I started with Ubuntu. Is that crazy?

I have distro-hopped in the past, but times and needs change. Now, I want to not have to constantly tweak with the system to get it running.

So I stick mostly with the "big 3" (Fedora, Ubuntu and openSUSE).

Ubuntu makes things easy to set up and maintain, but with openSUSE Tumbleweed (a rolling-release version) I don't have to worry about a release every X months... I run the update and I am up-to-date.

Each distribution has its merit. Each distribution also has its detractor. Of course you never seen the detractor until you try something that doesn't have that one.. and then you notice.

[6975]

"Ubuntu Unity" have the cursed meaning. :twisted:

"No matter how faraway land go you'll found yourself back to Ubuntu like yesterday.
Start from Ubuntu - Back to Ubuntu.
Start to go & back to the Start.
Unity~ Unity~ Unity~ "United back once again like a boomerang." :lol:

[poorguy]

"Ubuntu Unity" have the cursed meaning. :twisted:

"No matter how faraway land go you'll found yourself back to Ubuntu like yesterday.
Start from Ubuntu - Back to Ubuntu.
Start to go & back to the Start.
Unity~ Unity~ Unity~ "United back once again like a boomerang." :lol:


My exact experience. So true.

[tom-bellas3rd]

I used to distro hop in the past, and like you I've always gone back to Ubuntu. I've already installed 16.04 and religiously update to its current state. Runs solid and smooth. I love it.

[montag dp]

Like someone else said, there are lots of distros out there, and they all have their positives and negatives. Ubuntu has a lot of positives going for it. Personally, I believe I've finally found my "calling" with Slackware, which is definitely not for everyone, but I think it is for me. (But who knows -- the distro-hopping itch is a hard thing to ignore.)

Having virtualization software is a godsend (or, is it a curse?) for distro-hopping. I ventured much farther out of my comfort zone when I started using VirtualBox a few months ago.

[Bucky Ball]

I installed Ubuntu just as I was starting uni and haven't stopped uni yet! I've always needed a stable release and have always used an LTS so I have rarely even hopped to a Ubuntu interim release, let alone a whole other distro!

Having said that, I've tried a few other distros, but never with the express purpose of looking for a replacement. I 'discovered' Virtualbox and went berserk trying distros for about four days and haven't run a VM for about two or three years since then. Haven't even installed VB in any recent release. Have it in one of my 12.04 LTS installs somewhere.

I've worked myself into a comfy Xubuntu-core cosy corner with the latest LTS and that suits me fine.

[Dragonbite]

I started off with Red Hat, then Gentoo. So if I didn't distro-hop then, I would not have tried Ubuntu.

That, and I lost access to broadband connection for a while and Ubuntu offered to send me the CDs. I remember my first surprise being when I actually received them, and my second was that they weren't crap (Ubuntu was actually pretty good)!

[ChuangTzu]

Like someone else said, there are lots of distros out there, and they all have their positives and negatives. Ubuntu has a lot of positives going for it. Personally, I believe I've finally found my "calling" with Slackware, which is definitely not for everyone, but I think it is for me. (But who knows -- the distro-hopping itch is a hard thing to ignore.) Having virtualization software is a godsend (or, is it a curse?) for distro-hopping. I ventured much farther out of my comfort zone when I started using VirtualBox a few months ago. Hi Montag...Slack is great...been using it for years. You may also like SalixOS which is based on Slack, but uses slapt-get for dependencies and has a larger repo of slack binaries.

[montag dp]

Hi Montag...Slack is great...been using it for years. You may also like SalixOS which is based on Slack, but uses slapt-get for dependencies and has a larger repo of slack binaries.Thanks for the info. Salix looks nice, and I like the fact that their repositories are backwards compatible with Slackware, so I could use software from there if I want. For me, the lack of dependency resolution and using SlackBuilds to compile apps outside of the standard system are part of the draw, though. I like the simplicity and flexibility of that approach, even though it's not always the most convenient. (Also, lack of dependency resolution isn't nearly as inconvenient as it sounds -- most things you need are included anyway.)

[rosswmcgee]

I am waiting for the new 16.04 LTS, Advantage as I see it is I can run, mate,kde,gnome etc. all withing Unity. While waiting I just fooled around installing 43.1 suse. It is fine, so I tried installing

mate within suswe 42.1. All installed but no option at login to use it. Otherwise I still like ubuntu best.

[Magneto]

I am a long time ubuntu user. Yes I have tried other distros and I always wind up with Ubuntu. 16.04 LTS comes out next week and I will end up there, but in the mean

time I will check out other distros, like Suse etc. and wind up right back where I started with Ubuntu. Is that crazy?

Not crazy. I've probably gone through the all major distros a few times with different hardware and settled in different places where support was better for some device. What's crazy to me is that I've used Ubuntu for 12 years. Time flies...

[DuckHook]

...Is that crazy?*GULP* I... *oh man is this going to sound stupid*... I have 21 different distros and flavours on my desktop in different VMs (and another 13 non-Linux OSes). So, compared to me, you are not only sane but positively lucid. Not sure I should even be publicly admitting this...

[sammiev]

*GULP* I... *oh man is this going to sound stupid*... I have 21 different distros and flavours on my desktop in different VMs (and another 13 non-Linux OSes). So, compared to me, you are not only sane but positively lucid. Not sure I should even be publicly admitting this...

I'm starting to feel a little bit better now. :P

[Linuxratty]

Well Ubuntu is so predictable!!!!! I don't blame ya one bit.

[wildmanne39]

It has been several years since any thing but ubuntu has been my main OS. I do still occasionally play with other OS"S in virtualbox. The last one was gentoo.

[user1397]

I know those feels...

[Dragonbite]

I've still got Ubuntu on my one laptop, but just reinstalled my other laptop (openSUSE Tumbelweed but with KDE this time) that I'll probably be fooling around with for a while.

I changed from installing distros, to changing desktop environments more often than my underwear ;)

[gameboy9309]

Nah, I distro-hop a lot.

[rosswmcgee]

We have Ubuntu running on two computers,14.04lts and 16.04lts, on the Third computer I have been using Suse 42.1. I do things like that just to keep my brain active, as Suse

is different and requires some getting used too. I used the Gnome install but added Mate, Plasma, and xfce. Gedit in Gnome and Mate and calc do nut run as easily with the right

click to move or to keep on top. Not a big fan of plasma, though some rave about it. Xfce worked perfectly in Suse. Then I wandered off to Mint mate, 17, but you can't run gnome

in Mint mate. So I am back to 100% Ubuntu installing 16.04 lts on another computer. I am pleased at how little thinking I have to do to run Unity, and Mate with Ubuntu. Every

thing seems to work the way it should. I always wind up back to Ubuntu. At first I did not like Unity, but I have learned to like it. For some things it is simpler, for others I like Mate.

[Dragonbite]

I try to avoid adding too many desktop environments at one time because of the duplication of applications.

What also gets in my way is that after installing Ubuntu at one point, and then going to openSUSE with Gnome, the buttons were still stuck on the left side and I could not (in Gnome) get them switched back to the right side.

With openSUSE, I like the idea of Tumbleweed (a rolling release) and it worked great with Xfce (which doesn't change much). Now that I have it with KDE/Plasma I'm getting updates all of the time. Oh well, the updates have not destabilized my system (yet) which is kudos for the openSUSE team.

But at the same time, the sheer number of applications pre-compiled for Ubuntu and ease of setting up and maintaining is very tempting...

Or there is always Fedora, if I am willing to attempt upgrading every 6-18 months.

[Shobuz99]

"Oh you're never gonna survive...unless you get a little crazy" -Seal-

0_O Shobuz99

[T.J.]

Not at all.

I have used Linux for many years. I have seen it grow and evolve. I've seen it do some very intelligent things and some very stupid things. One thing I can tell you with certainty is that Linux communities are rather mercurial. "Distro-hopping" gives you a sense of perspective and sharpens your skills by forcing you to adapt.

Debian and Ubuntu have many shortcomings. These become more apparent if you spend time away. That is not a criticism. The shortcomings are the simple product of human inertia and not wanting to change something if it is generally agreed to be "good enough." The DEB packaging system is a good example. The DEB system currently does not allow for easy rollbacks, delta patches, and a few other things that I would like to see. Now, in all justice, if I am going to criticise, I should step up; add or change what I want and then submit it as a patch for consideration.

My point is that there is always room for improvement and perhaps by looking around at what others are doing, you might suddenly perceive a need to contribute something that you didn't see before; as well as improve yourself. So, I think your curiosity is healthy, worthy of a human being.

No, you are definitely not crazy.

[6975]

Doing the same thing in a large group it's obvious to think it's not crazy.
But if view like Windows refugee in the Linuxland.
I'd say to that alice "Most everyone mad here! :lol:" Like a cheshire cat.