Author Topic: Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop? (Read 4927 times)

dynaweb · « **on:** August 12, 2005, 10:25:12 PM »

This is a question frequently asked by Linux newcomers; however, different Linux distributions aren\'t that different. They typically come with two different desktop interfaces, KDE and Gnome.

So what is different in the distros in regards to desktop?

1) How well it installs. Does it detect your devices such as monitor, network card, and mouse?

2) What the default settings are. Did it require much tweaking or hacking to get it to be a comfortable desktop environment for you?

3) What packages it comes with. Media player, office applications, games, etc..

There are many distros that claim to be the best for desktop use. Which distros have you used and which are best for running GUI (graphical user interface) desktop?

sargek · « **Reply #1 on:** October 02, 2005, 03:11:03 PM »

I have installed and configured dozens of distros. Some are very easy to install, some are not. The best complete systems I have encountered are Fedora, Suse and Xandros, not in any particular order. Ubuntu is pretty good, but I haven\'t used it in a while, so can\'t say how it has improved. I was very impressed with Xandros and their "Open Circulation" edition. I really don\'t like KDE, but the system was stable, easy to use, and very easy to install. Out of the three I mentioned, I would say Xandros is closest to something a completely new user would be able to install with little assistance, and be up and running in a short period of time. I did not try to dual boot the Xandros install, and many new users try to keep Windows around because of familiarity, so not sure how Xandros fares in that respect.

dynaweb · « **Reply #2 on:** October 02, 2005, 04:01:47 PM »

I have used Xandros for a brief time to check it out. I remember it was easy to install. I thought I would make a server out of it but didnt seem compatible with many of the industry standards (RPMs, etc). People were raving about the updater, but I recall there were only a handful of officially "supported" updates and so most of them were not stable. All this is for server stuff tho. If you want to use it for desktop, then no problem. Easy install and detected all hardware on the box and ready to go with good desktop GUI. There higher version seemed OK, but I wasn\'t willing to pay for it. Maybe after LinuxBoards gets more mature and gains clout we can have companies donate premuim versions for review

sargek · « **Reply #3 on:** October 02, 2005, 04:10:50 PM »

Yeah - the software installs were kind of "forced". You have to get software from their system. I didn\'t like that at all, but the desktop was very complete. The software thing kind of runs contrary to the open source concept, but it seems to work OK. Actually, the Fedora install is awsome, and there are virtually limitless rpm respositories out there. The yum system Fedora has is pretty good also. As long as you don\'t have to figure out dependencies on your own...

zelo · « **Reply #4 on:** November 13, 2005, 04:52:18 PM »

This question is very deceving question. It is like asking what restaurant is best without perameters on WHAT you are going to eat. With that being said...

Mandrake (now called Mandriva) is in my opinion the best all-round Linux distro. It DOES require some knowledge of Linux and may not always recognize all your hardware (ala Windows 3.X) but does come with a huge assortment of programs including both Knoppix and GNOME interfaces.

RedHat is the distro one would want if they are looking to setup a server. There is more knowledge about Linux needed than with any of the other distros but this is also the most powerful of them all as well as the most secure.

Knoppix is if you are curious to know what Linux is but are too scared or not interested in actually installing the operating system on your computer (it runs of CD-ROM). Although a great curiosity tool, it is hardly anything more than a curiosity tool.

SuSE is a good distro and is one that is used by a lot of people for everyday use. I have used it before but have problems with configuration of both sound/video/LAN cards.

Ubuntu is the distro I personally use. It is stripped down of a lot of the things I find unneccesarry in some of the other distros, but it did a wonderful job in setup and is very easy to manage. It only comes with the GNOME interface so if you are a fan of Knoppix you may want to look elsewhere.

It all comes down to what you are actually looking for. For the novice user I would recommend you don\'t "bite off more than you can chew" and start with one of the scaled-down versions of Linux and then as you master the software you can install another (you CANNOT upgrade Linux, that should be another post guys!).

Hope this helps more than just a polling question and good luck and happy coding to all out there.

dynaweb · « **Reply #5 on:** November 13, 2005, 08:07:00 PM »

Hey Zelo, do you have a screenshot of yout Ubuntu you can post up?

zelo · « **Reply #6 on:** November 13, 2005, 08:47:20 PM »

I\'ll get a shot and then post it.

sargek · « **Reply #7 on:** November 13, 2005, 09:04:09 PM »

Quote from: zelo

This question is very deceving question. It is like asking what restaurant is best without perameters on WHAT you are going to eat. With that being said...

Mandrake (now called Mandriva) is in my opinion the best all-round Linux distro. It DOES require some knowledge of Linux and may not always recognize all your hardware (ala Windows 3.X) but does come with a huge assortment of programs including both Knoppix and GNOME interfaces.

RedHat is the distro one would want if they are looking to setup a server. There is more knowledge about Linux needed than with any of the other distros but this is also the most powerful of them all as well as the most secure.

Knoppix is if you are curious to know what Linux is but are too scared or not interested in actually installing the operating system on your computer (it runs of CD-ROM). Although a great curiosity tool, it is hardly anything more than a curiosity tool.

SuSE is a good distro and is one that is used by a lot of people for everyday use. I have used it before but have problems with configuration of both sound/video/LAN cards.

Ubuntu is the distro I personally use. It is stripped down of a lot of the things I find unneccesarry in some of the other distros, but it did a wonderful job in setup and is very easy to manage. It only comes with the GNOME interface so if you are a fan of Knoppix you may want to look elsewhere.

It all comes down to what you are actually looking for. For the novice user I would recommend you don\'t "bite off more than you can chew" and start with one of the scaled-down versions of Linux and then as you master the software you can install another (you CANNOT upgrade Linux, that should be another post guys!).

Hope this helps more than just a polling question and good luck and happy coding to all out there.

Not to pick nits, but what exactly do you mean by not being able to upgrade GNU/Linux? I do it every week, everytime an upgrade package comes out, or a new kernel version comes out. Been doing it for 9 years now...maybe I\'m missing your point, I am a bt tired as I write this...

adb22791 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 13, 2005, 09:10:17 PM »

I think he means you cannot go from a distro with a small amount of features to a giant fully-featured distro.

zelo · « **Reply #9 on:** November 13, 2005, 11:44:31 PM »

What I meant was that you cannot "upgrade" from say Mandrake to Redhat. You would need to remove Mandrake and then install RedHat unless I am missing something that is the way I have always done it.

sargek · « **Reply #10 on:** November 14, 2005, 04:49:53 AM »

Quote from: zelo

What I meant was that you cannot "upgrade" from say Mandrake to Redhat. You would need to remove Mandrake and then install RedHat unless I am missing something that is the way I have always done it.

OK, I got it - the word "upgrade" threw me off. You are not missing something, that\'s right!

dynaweb · « **Reply #11 on:** August 24, 2006, 02:53:06 PM »

From a review of Ubuntu, OpenSuse, and Freespire -- This article titled Which Free Linux Desktop Is Best?

Final rating

Ubuntu: 12 points
OpenSuse: 10 points
Freespire: 8 points

zelo · « **Reply #12 on:** August 24, 2006, 03:13:17 PM »

Was there any doubt that Ubuntu was going to win this round?

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Poll

Which distro is best for GUI desktop?

Author Topic: Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop? (Read 4927 times)

dynaweb

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

sargek

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

dynaweb

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

sargek

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

zelo

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

dynaweb

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

zelo

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

sargek

Upgrade

adb22791

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

zelo

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

sargek

upgrade

dynaweb

Which Free Linux Desktop Is Best?

zelo

Which Linux Distro Is Best For GUI Desktop?

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