Best Linux distro?

[bugzy]

Whats your favorite linux OS?

I'm looking for something to be used as a laptop/workstation box. What has the most compatible hardware and software that works (freeware hopefully)

I'm looking to get back into using other OS's besides Windows, just for experience

i was looking up ubuntu and maybe Fedora Core

[madajb]

Right now, the front-runner for hardware compatibility is Ubuntu, simply because it's the cool kid in school right now.
Personally, I wouldn't touch an rpm based distribution unless I was being paid, however, a lot of people are Fedora fans.

The main difference comes down to: do you like KDE or Gnome.

-ajb

[318daily]

Ubuntu for a laptop.

CentOS for a server and if you want free.

RedHat if you work at a big company and don't care about paying.

[bugzy]

Ive been out of the loop for linux for while

Redhat isnt free anymore?

I also want to get back into linux for skill set also

as this point, Ubuntu is hot on my list ... i can always try something out later i guess

[madajb]

Ive been out of the loop for linux for while

Redhat isnt free anymore?


Nope.
The free Red Hat is Fedora.

-ajb

[bugzy]

Nope.
The free Red Hat is Fedora.

-ajb
so, which one? fedora or ubuntu hmmmmzz

[madajb]

so, which one? fedora or ubuntu hmmmmzz

Probably asking the wrong guy. I hate rpm with the heat of a thousand suns.

Ubuntu isn't bad. They do have a tendency to do things "the ubuntu way" which doesn't always make logical sense. Change for changes sake.
Personally, I'm a debian guy, but I wouldn't recommend it if support for cutting edge hardware is a requirement.

-ajb

[bugzy]

i wanted to use OSx86 .. but its not quite happy for my laptop at the moment, and dont really feel like spending weeks trying to figure it out (hackintosh)

but i wanna try something new, so im installing ubuntu right now ... it'll keep me busy for now

[paultakeda]

If it's going to be a workstation and you need the common suite of applications, you might have more fun messing with nLite to strip Windows down to its bones (if you don't feel like doing it yourself there's TinyXP and MicroXP).

I like Debian, too, if I ever bother. You might want to install a base like Debian, then just use VM Ware player to build a bunch og VMs to play with. You can also create a VM-specific XP ISO using nLite so you can run MS Office and the like within them (and with VM Tools, you can set it all to share the same documents directory, like \home\bugzy.

If the laptop needs to be a gaming rig, you can keep the above and partition a true XP section, or you can use a stripped down XP install as the base for the VMs.

With today's Core2 and up and at least 2GB RAM, options for messing around with just one machine are plentiful and excellent.

[paultakeda]

VM Ware Player, XP or Linux: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/

Build a VM config and hard drive file: http://www.easyvmx.com

nLite to slipstream SP3 into an older XP build, plus strip components and tweak settings to do an unattended install: http://www.nliteos.com/download.html

And yes, OSx86 can run in a VM: http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Vmware_how_to

[John5788]

i personally run gentoo linux on all my desktops and freebsd on my server machines.