It's official: PCLOS overtakes Ubuntu in past 30 days on DW

[ThinkBuntu]

Sorta funny considering they couldn't even set up my account in their forums properly, and I couldn't fix the problem either through IRC or emailing a couple admins. Nevertheless, good to see some healthy competition!

[Polygon]

again, distrowatch is a woefully inaccurate method of measuring a distro's popularity

those rankings are achieved by clicks on the distro watch website... so every time someone clicks on the the link to the ubuntu page, that number goes up.

its not an indication of how many people are using the distro.

[raldz]

PCLOS is a great distro, I was impressed with it since I used it last year... if it has the strength of Ubuntu's repositories.. and if it was based on debian.. then I would probably use it permanently on some of my desktops..

[ThinkBuntu]

again, distrowatch is a woefully inaccurate method of measuring a distro's popularity

those rankings are achieved by clicks on the distro watch website... so every time someone clicks on the the link to the ubuntu page, that number goes up.

its not an indication of how many people are using the distro.

You act as though it means nothing that Ubuntu's been #1 non-stop for a couple years. it does mean that a distro's drawing attention, at the very least amongst knowledgeable Linux users. This tends to reflect a decent cross-section of the Linux community, ranging from the novices who just use their computers and could care less as to what they run, to the hard-core devs and such who don't have the time or interest to visit DW.

[Polygon]

again just because ubuntu was #1 for like ever and now PCLOS is now in the lead, it still had no indication of which is becomming more popular. For all we know there could of been some announcement regarding PCLOS or maybe a new release and now everyone is checking it out. It might has some indication of which distros are more popular, but it might as well be that ubuntu is still a lot more popular than PCLOS, but more pople are just checking out the PCLOS page more..

the only way that we could get accurate results on how many people are using each distro is to have like a program just upload what distro/version they are using, but of course 90% of people will never agree to that as it "breaches their privacy", even though they advertise what distro they use on the internet anyway.

[juxtaposed]

Congrats to them, i've heard good things about PCLinuxOS.

[ThinkBuntu]

again just because ubuntu was #1 for like ever and now PCLOS is now in the lead, it still had no indication of which is becomming more popular. For all we know there could of been some announcement regarding PCLOS or maybe a new release and now everyone is checking it out

the only way that we could get accurate results on how many people are using each distro is to have like a program just upload what distro/version they are using, but of course 90% of people will never agree to that as it "breaches their privacy", even though they advertise what distro they use on the internet anyway.
Yes, there was just a new release. But it was already beating Ubuntu on the 7-days even though Ubuntu had a major release only a month ago, and PCLOS' last release was three weeks ago (it was only a Beta-type release, nothing on the level of Feisty).

[Kingsley]

You'll know it's overtaken Ubuntu when you see 10 PCLinuxOS topics a day on Digg.

[starcraft.man]

Uhhh, pardon my indifference but so what? I use my OS (Ubuntu) because I like it. I recommend it to others because I think its solid and well supported (by everyone here who is very nice :D). I also think for myself I might add not based on what others do (I tried 5 different linux distros in vmware before picking Ubuntu). People are free to look at any OS they like, so everyone this month was clicking on PCLinuxOS (I even downloaded a copy, geez). It doesn't really mean anything I don't think (certainly not to me, I don't pick my OS based on popularity, otherwise it seems I'd still be with windows...) I mean I tried PClinuxOS and I'm still on these forums on my Ubuntu OS.

To me sounds just like when people used to think Alexa was a good barometer of site usage on the net... >.>. Anyway, I'm happily sticking to Ubuntu, and I'm sure many people are too...

[icechen1]

PCLOS is a great distro,if only they have better hardware support,bigger repos and based on debian...

[Sunflower1970]

I've been meaning to try PCLOS for some time. I remember, back in January or so, I saw that their newest release was going to be out in February, so figured I'd just wait...lol Still waiting. Now that final release is out, I think it's time to try it :)

I'm happy for them. Doubt I'll switch over, but I know I'll be playing around with it in VMWare

[igknighted]

PCLOS is a great distro,if only they have better hardware support,bigger repos and based on debian...

Theres life outside of Debian you know... In fact the .deb package structure is just one of a few really good package formats. Debians and RPMs (the two most popular) are equally likely to be really good or really bad. It depends on who runs the repos and how hard they work at it. Knowing texstar, the pclos repos are probably very tightly run and rarely cause issues (and I've been using them with SAM linux for some time without issue, except with the testing branch ;)). Anyhow, the point is that if you like Debian, great... but there are some amazing distros that use rpm and the package management is at least on par with Debian and its derivatives. The one gripe I have with the pclos repos is that they tend to be slow. I get about 70-80 kbps average. However, they tend to have the things I want. Openarena, alienarena, and other good games are all there. Also Cinelerra is in the repos, and it was a huge pita to install on Ubuntu. So the repos for pclos have some really good stuff in them.

The one thing about it is there is no gnome at all. Personally, I like that. But others may not. SAM Linux is pclos, but in a really well done (if I may say so myself) Xfce version, for older hardware or those who love Xfce. Pclos itself is a really nice KDE setup. So try them out. It uses apt/synaptic with the RPMs, so you'll never even really notice its RPMs anyways. You'll be pleasantly surprised. I can't remember about pclos, but SAM has many codecs built in. Also, in the upcoming release there will be (hopefully) a script to install non-free stuff like DVD codecs and proprietary video drivers (amongst many other improvements). So check both out.

[awakatanka]

You have also synaptic and apt-get and they work good with the RPM. Its a good distro.

[trmiv]

I like it as well. The only issue is, even with making the various font changes I found on their forum, I'm still very unhappy with the fonts. They just have blurry edges that drive me nuts. And if I turn off AA they look even more horrid. I got my fonts pretty much perfect in Ubuntu, but I can't replicate it in PCLinuxOS.

[Dragonbite]

Hey, this is interesting look...
DistroWatche's 12/6/3/1 month view shows PCLinuxOS moving from
(http://distrowatch.com/stats.php?section=popularity (http://distrowatch.com/stats.php?section=popularity))

#4 (12 months average)

... to #3 (6 month average)

.... to #2 (3 month average)

..... to #1 (1 month average)
While openSuse trails by 600 or more average clicks!

Just interesting to watch the statistics.:popcorn:

[Rhox]

The funny thing is that by declaring it you make the difference greater.

[kbozen]

The DistroWatch Page Hit Ranking statistics aren't a measurement of the popularity of a distro.
DistroWatch tracks only the unique IP accesses at the distro homepages (and mirrors) for each day.

From http://distrowatch.com/stats.php?section=popularity : "all visits (on the main site, as well as on mirrors) are logged. Only one hit per IP address per day is counted."

[igknighted]

I like it as well. The only issue is, even with making the various font changes I found on their forum, I'm still very unhappy with the fonts. They just have blurry edges that drive me nuts. And if I turn off AA they look even more horrid. I got my fonts pretty much perfect in Ubuntu, but I can't replicate it in PCLinuxOS.

If you have a decent Nvidia card download nvclock and you can AA your entire desktop with it.

[jacksaff]

again, distrowatch is a woefully inaccurate method of measuring a distro's popularity

those rankings are achieved by clicks on the distro watch website... so every time someone clicks on the the link to the ubuntu page, that number goes up.

its not an indication of how many people are using the distro.

lol! Ubuntu was by far the biggest abuser of this in it's early days, reaching number one when it still had a tiny user base.
If only texstar could be persuaded to build a distribution off of debian repositories. The debian universe really needs a top-notch kde distro. PCLOS beats the pants off of kubuntu but the underlying effort that goes into keeping debian packages of such high quality really deserves user support. It would be nice if pclos was based on ubuntu packages with only the config files kept separate. This would help in setting a standard and getting more sofware released for linux.

[igknighted]

lol! Ubuntu was by far the biggest abuser of this in it's early days, reaching number one when it still had a tiny user base.
If only texstar could be persuaded to build a distribution off of debian repositories. The debian universe really needs a top-notch kde distro. PCLOS beats the pants off of kubuntu but the underlying effort that goes into keeping debian packages of such high quality really deserves user support. It would be nice if pclos was based on ubuntu packages with only the config files kept separate. This would help in setting a standard and getting more sofware released for linux.

PCLOS makes use of another great distro in Mandriva. PCLOS is really a new user friendly distro, far more than Ubuntu. To switch to Debian would mean giving up much of that ease (for example losing the Mandriva Control Center). So instead of Debian folk whining that there are no good debian KDE distros (which I would disagree with... Knoppix, Sidux and Debian itself all make mighty fine KDE distro's), why not make a good one? Kubuntu has potential, and IMHO surpassed Ubuntu with the 7.04 release, so why not build a great Debian-based KDE offering from that? Seems much easier than trying to change over a whole distro.

[awakatanka]

lol! Ubuntu was by far the biggest abuser of this in it's early days, reaching number one when it still had a tiny user base.
If only texstar could be persuaded to build a distribution off of debian repositories. The debian universe really needs a top-notch kde distro. PCLOS beats the pants off of kubuntu but the underlying effort that goes into keeping debian packages of such high quality really deserves user support. It would be nice if pclos was based on ubuntu packages with only the config files kept separate. This would help in setting a standard and getting more sofware released for linux.

What does make pclinuxos better then kubuntu,mepis,sidux? Maybe the strong point are the underlying mandriva with the tweaks that texstar makes. Can those point be transfered to a debian kde distro?

[eagleton]

I've tried to like it, but the installer is far behind the easyness of Ubuntu in my opinion. When I tried to partition from the live-CD, the installer became unresponsive , so I partitioned first using the Gparted Live-CD.

It did not recognize my Ubuntu out of the box, while it seems to play nice with Windows partitions. The rest of the install went flawlessly though.

Texstar himself seems not too far away from thinking there is an Ubuntu conspiracy against his work, as you can see here (http://www.thepcspy.com/blog/pclinuxoss_militant_leadership).

At least, from what I understand, Ubuntu recognizes PCLinuxOS while installing.

[ThinkBuntu]

I've tried to like it, but the installer is far behind the easyness of Ubuntu in my opinion. When I tried to partition from the live-CD, the installer became unresponsive , so I partitioned first using the Gparted Live-CD.

It did not recognize my Ubuntu out of the box, while it seems to play nice with Windows partitions. The rest of the install went flawlessly though.

Texstar himself seems not too far away from thinking there is an Ubuntu conspiracy against his work, as you can see here (http://www.thepcspy.com/blog/pclinuxoss_militant_leadership).

At least, from what I understand, Ubuntu recognizes PCLinuxOS while installing.
The easiest installer is Debian's new style. It gives you more options, but is very clear all the way through. It also looks very, very nice for an installer.

[TwoBentDown]

Which distro is better. Better for what? Which distro is more popular. Popular to whom?

It is surprising that "hits," the same number which has viewed widely for 2 years as evidence of Ubuntu's "popularity," albeit it dubiously, is now viewed as a frivolous number now that PCLinuxOS has the most hits. What will it take for the number to regain its tacit validity in this forum, for Ubuntu to regain the title?

I am a Linux hobbyist. I've been so since Mandrake 8.2 was current. I have downloaded, installed, and at least tested (each usually through several versions) Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu, openSuse, PCLinuxOS, Red Hat/Fedora, Mandrake/Mandriva, Mepis, Debian (3.1 and 4.0), Mint, DSL, KFedoranoppix, Zenwalk, Puppy, Freespire, Slax, SAM, KateOS, and CentOS.

Of these I like four: Ubuntu (7.04), PCLinuxOS (2007), Debian (4.0), and Puppy (1.09CE-KDE and 2.15CE) for the following main reasons: Ubuntu is cutting edge and the most user-friendly (the partitioner, how grub works, automounting volumes), PCLinuxOS is beautiful and complete out-of-the-box, Debian is complete -- period, and Puppy is fast and "just works". Mandriva 2007.1, Sabayon, and Linux Mint are good. They just don't add anything for me beyond what the first four do.

Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs, batted .342, and prior to that was a great left handed pitcher for the Red Sox. Glowing numbers that didn't make him the "best" running back, or cyclist, or golfer to fans of those sports. "Best" and it's offspring, "popular" can't be declared in the absence of a useful end.

I have two home PCs. One dual-boots Ubuntu 7.04 and Windows XP, and the other dual-boots Ubuntu 7.04 and PCLinuxOS. On top of that, each PC has a frugal install of Puppy Linux 2.15CE. Given what I have at my fingertips to choose from, I find that I like Ubuntu the most -- I don't mind downloading the codecs and editing a few conf files. A person that wants an OS that jumps into their laps and hugs their necks might prefer PCLinuxOS. I mean this seriously in that that is why I have PCLinuxOS installed. There are times that it is already configured to do something I need.

Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS are best when each is available on a single PC or network. Neither is best alone. There are times when Windows XP is best, although nothing is coming to mind, and Puppy is what prefer when I'm running The Gimp, because of Puppy speed.

My conclusion: It is LINUX which is best, and each of the really good distros reflect this in different ways to fairly equivalent degrees.

[DJ Wings]

I dual-boot PCLOS and Ubuntu because PCLOS is, quite simply, faster. Even with KDE and all, it's faster than my Xubuntu desktop from a reboot. But since its library usage is all over the place (GTK, Qt, KHTML, etc), it bloats faster. So Xubuntu is still my main system.
I use 0.93a (and will) because it supports my WNIC, and because I actually like the default, Vista-esque theme. (Yes, what a sick puppy I am...) Obviously, I'm not paying $200 and a ton of DRMs for it, so I run an OS that can render it at decent speeds. (Kubuntu, no offense, is slow as hell.)
For a decent, well-balanced, complete, integrated system, try SAM. (http://www.sam-linux.org) It's based on XFCE, and forked from PCLOS. It runs really fast, and everything seems to be more integrated than on PCLOS.

[Cows]

Lol well looks like that Ubuntu is already back on top :).

[DJ Wings]

Not to me...

[Cows]

What do you mean?

[DJ Wings]

I mean that Ubuntu is still at #2 on both the 7- and 30-day charts.
Remember when Ubuntu SE grabbed the #1 for a few days? That was insane...

[juxtaposed]

It is surprising that "hits," the same number which has viewed widely for 2 years as evidence of Ubuntu's "popularity," albeit it dubiously, is now viewed as a frivolous number now that PCLinuxOS has the most hits. What will it take for the number to regain its tacit validity in this forum, for Ubuntu to regain the title?

I thought it was the opposite.

Everyone said "distrowatch hits per day means nothing" when ubuntu was #1. Now that it has changed, people think it of significance.

I think it means something - not how many people use a distro, but how many people are looking for information on it.

[denny1105]

I'm a triple booter- Vista, Ubuntu 7.04 and PCLOS. I think I have a perfect combination of the best OS's out there. All three of them do what I want them to do. I got Vista Home Premium as a free upgrade from HP(Moduslink) when I bought the computer. I use Ubuntu because of Gnome and Mark Shuttleworth and I believe in the Ubuntu Community. I use PCLOS because of KDE and Texstar and the great support on the PCLOS Forums. I have the best of 3 worlds and I don't plan to drop any the the Distros. If the DRM and the Patent Threat things gets any worse, I will drop Vista in a heartbeat. I am proud to be part of the Ubuntu and PCLOS community but I have no loyalty whatsoever to Microsoft. I have tried and discarded practically every distro out there and I'm done experimenting. I can't imagine needing any more than what Ubuntu or PCLOS has to offer!!!! I am a Happy Camper!!
Dennis