Which Linux Distro?

[Silicone_Milk]

So there are two reasons to this survey:
1.) I will be writing a persuasive research paper based on Linux distros.
2.) I will be developing code FOR linux ON linux. I need to make sure that the stuff that I wrote on Windows wont be rejected by linux.

That being said, I would like to know the following:

What is your favorite linux distro?
What kernel is it based off of?
What do you use your distro for?

For the development section:
Which linux distro do you use to program C/C++ programs?
Which distro provides the most development tools?


I look forward to hearing back from you linux users out there.

[^misantropia^]

What kernel is it based off of?

Er, the Linux kernel?

But to answer (most of) your questions: Debian, both at work and at home. It has in excess of 15,000 packages, comes with an excellent package manager (apt) and is stable as, as... as something that's utterly stable. Sane defaults, easy to configure, suitable for both desktop and server use, the works.

And I am - as you probably know - a developer, so that's what I use it for.

[obsidian]

I'm a casual user of Linux.

Ubuntu... ease of use, 15 minutes to install and almost everything works out of the box (had to manually install video drivers for best performance and I could never get the wireless to work).

I use it on a spare box for various "light" usages. I have another box that I'm currently converting over to a home file server as well as a testbed web server.

If you're going to develop for Linux, please make some working drivers and utilities on Ubuntu for wireless support, specifically the rt2500 chipset with WPA and WPA2 support and the ability to easily connect to a router with SSID broadcast disabled. K, thanx.

[+JuggerNaut+]

im pretty casual also, dabbling in most debian based distros. by far, wireless support is the biggest downfall. ubuntu's is better but still needs a way to go.

currently i run DSL, ubuntu, and DreamLinux on several laptops/desktops.

[Silicone_Milk]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

According to the current results of this survey across a few sites I've found that the majority of users use Debian or Slackware .

I will be investigating both once I buy some new SATA drives freeing this drive up for experimentation

[DiscoDave]

What is your favorite linux distro?
At the moment its Ubuntu for mainly the reasons already stated. So easy to use, very friendly and looks good too. The Synaptic package manager is nice as well.

What kernel is it based off of?
I think you may have to re-word this question. But it does run off the Debian Kernal, if thats what you mean.

What do you use your distro for?
Well I only tried ubuntu as a test and to play around with, but Ive used Fedora core to do some C++ stuff on

For the development section:

Which linux distro do you use to program C/C++ programs?
At the moment Fedora core has been the only distro

Which distro provides the most development tools?
Can't say with only developing on one linux distro


Hope this helps.

[Deathshroud]

What kernel is it based off of?

Er, the Linux kernel?

But to answer (most of) your questions: Debian, both at work and at home. It has in excess of 15,000 packages, comes with an excellent package manager (apt) and is stable as, as... as something that's utterly stable. Sane defaults, easy to configure, suitable for both desktop and server use, the works.

And I am - as you probably know - a developer, so that's what I use it for.

As a developer, what is your take on the popularity of Ubuntu? Do you think it's too accessible, and not catering enough to developers?

[^misantropia^]

As a developer, what is your take on the popularity of Ubuntu? Do you think it's too accessible, and not catering enough to developers?

Not at all. Ubuntu is based off Debian and thus comes with all Debian's perks plus a newbie-friendly interface. If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty level, you can. And if you don't want to - which, I suppose, holds true for most users - you don't have to.

I've been thinking about purchasing a laptop from Dell since they sell 'em with Ubuntu pre-installed now, and if do, I don't think I'll install something else over it. The reason I run Debian now is because Ubuntu wasn't quite there yet three years ago.

[Deathshroud]

Does Ubuntu implement all the power saving options most OS's have for laptops? I was thinking about installing Ubuntu on my new Macbook.