Distros I Like.

My last post reviewed some various window managers for Linux. Today I'd like to list some Linux distros that I've been impressed with.

K/Ubuntu - My current favorite distribution. Huge community and tons of documentation. 6 month release cycle. Tons of packages and great package management. Easy to set up and get going. It's default desktop is Gnome, which as everyone should know is not my favorite. Kubuntu is good, but is kind of the red-headed step-child to Ubuntu, so it doesn't get all of the cool features of Ubuntu.

PCLinuxOS - A great distro. Very devoted, but small community. Great hardware support. Ready to use right at first boot, with all multimedia codecs installed. Probably the best choice for first time Linux users. Unknown release cycle. Packages not the most up-to-date, because they only have one guy doing it. KDE based.

Damn Small Linux - The name says it all (50 mb LiveCD, 200 MB installed in HD). Great for old computersor running from a thumb drive in qemu. Based on Knoppix. Small supported packages repository, but can add the Debian repository. Many packages are out of date. Fluxbox/JWM based.

Foresight Linux - This is a new one to me. It greatest feature is the conary package manager, making it easy to roll back packages. Not a huge package repository. Gnome based, but a KDE version is coming soon.

Honorable Mentions

Puppy Linux - Built from scratch. Few packages. Very fast.

Mandriva - KDE based. Great distro. Used it for a long time and they are doing some great innovative things.

Fedora - Tons of resources. Good solid distro backed by Red Hat. Gnome based.

Mint Linux - Ubuntu with codecs installed by default. Lags behind Ubuntu in releases. Has some custom applications.

OpenSuse - Good beginner distro, backed by Novell. Seems a bit heavy to run. KDE based.

Mepis - Debian based. KDE desktop. Back in the day it had some problems with package management, but I think that's fixed.

Slax - Great LiveCD comes in several flavors.

Give these a try too.

Knoppix
Sidux
Vector
Slackware
Debian
PC-BSD
FreeBSD
OpenBSD
NetBSD
OpenSolaris
Dream Linux
Backtrack
Dyne:bolic
Wolvix


Anyway, these are some I've played with and have been impressed with. See Distrowatch for even more options.

Try KDE 4

I played with KDE 4 yesterday and really like the look and feel. Koffice is going to be great, though it is still in alpha.

If you would like to try KDE 4, you can down load a Kubuntu liveCD here and a Suse LiveCD here.

Let me know what you think.

If You're going to use a GUI, use KDE4.

Well, if you are going to use a GUI, use KDE. I like KDE because of the freedom it offers, meaning it is the most flexibility, customizable and feature rich window manager out there.

Here is my assessment of some of the most familiar window managers in Linux.

KDE
Pros: Tons of options so you can customize the heck out it. Looks good. Easy to use.
Cons: Bloated. Too many options (for those who don't like choice).

Gnome
Pros: Easy to use. Looks good. Moderate customization, but not overloaded like KDE.
Cons: Moderate customization. Bloated.

Xfce
Pros: Light on resources. Gnome looking. Pretty. Easy to use.
Cons: Gnome looking. Minimal customization.

Fluxbox/Openbox/Blackbox/FVWM
Pros: Very light on resources. Highly customizable. Minimalistic.
Cons: Takes forever to customize and most customization is done by editing config files.

WMaker
Pros: Light. Unique environment.
Cons: Very few customizations.

JWM/IceWM
Pros: Light. Easy to use.
Cons: Windows 9X feel and look. Few customization options.

Enlightment
Pros: Light. Very unique environment.
Cons: Very unique environment. Takes some getting use to.

There are others out there as well, but this list covers about 98% of all the Window Managers used in Linux. You should notice that many of the Pros I listed are also Cons. I did this on purpose to demonstrate that it's really a matter of preference. One is not really better then other, it's just a matter of what fits you the best. I've tried each of these and I like KDE the best, but on some of my older machines where KDE is too slow, I use Flubox or Openbox. I tend to lean more on Window Manages with a lot of customization.

If you haven't tried some these window managers give them a try. You may be surprised and find a new favorite window manager.