Linux platforms. How many have you tried?

[wdhpr]

I'm curious.

How many Linux platforms have you tried before settling with one for at least a year?

Cheers
Wdhpr

[MidnightCowboy]

The only thing I've ever kept for longer than a year is a dog

To date:

openSUSE KDE
Fedora KDE
PCLinuxOS (three different desktops)
Mandriva KDE
Pardus
Ubuntu
Kubuntu
LinuxMint (Gnome)
PeppermintOS One
ZorinOS
Bodhi
Mepis
Dreamlinux
MoonOS
Ultimate

[Ritho]

Well when it comes to my desktop, I pretty much have stuck to what ever product I found worked well, and met my current needs. On the other hand, for my laptop, and/or netbook I have tried numerous distros just to see what they were like, what features they offered, how well they performed on my particular hardware, and often just for the fun of it.

OSes on Desktop:
Linux Mint
Ubuntu
Kubuntu (very briefly)
Ultimate Edition (briefly)

OSes on Laptop/Netbook (other than ones above)
Ubuntu Netbook remix
Moblin
Meego
EasyPeasy
Linux4one
Xpud
Kuki

There have been other live cd's / live usb stick distros I have used for trouble shooting, or experimentation. Like Puppy, Damn Small, some Fedora spin off, etc.

[wdhpr]

I find this question of trying different Linux platforms fascinating.

Honestly when I install a different Linux platform its like unwrapping a new toy from underneath the Christmas tree. Its just fun

I have tried the following on my desktop (dual Boot)
Mint
Mandriva
Simply Mepis (used this one for almost 2 years)
Ubuntu (my current linux platform)
Debian

What I have tried booting off a USB stick
Kubuntu
Puppy Linux ( I still use this one)
Damn small linux

This makes 8 different platforms. 5 of which was unusable due to hardware issues.
What do you think Linux will look like in 5 years. Will it have coalesced into a few all purpose platforms? What do you see in Ubuntu's future?

Commercial use of linux is being used ever more frequently for desktops, servers and portable devices. Should people with Microsoft stock be nervous?
In my humble opinion I think Microsoft will be around for a very long time. Who knows, it may eventually become an alternative to that overrated linux platform.

Thanks for playing along
Wdhpr

[J_L]

Tried a lot of different distros and windows managers on Vmware Player.

Here's what I'm currently keeping there (all in latest versions):
antiX
Fedora (LXDE)
OpenSuse (KDE)
PcLinuxOS (Enlightenment)
Sabayon (CoreCDX)
Ubuntu
Zenwalk Linux

Also have Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04 Lucid Lynx, which I've settled with for almost a year.

[wdhpr]

Originally Posted by J.L.

Tried a lot of different distros and windows managers on Vmware Player.

Here's what I'm currently keeping there (all in latest versions):
antiX
Fedora (LXDE)
OpenSuse (KDE)
PcLinuxOS (Enlightenment)
Sabayon (CoreCDX)
Ubuntu
Zenwalk Linux

Also have Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04 Lucid Lynx, which I've settled with for almost a year.

All I can say is wow.

I have tried VM player several times. Each time it has messed up my partitions and I have no idea why.

Question

Do you have a specific use for each distro? Or do you give them a test drive to see which works best for you?

Wdhpr

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by wdhpr

I find this question of trying different Linux platforms fascinating.

Honestly when I install a different Linux platform its like unwrapping a new toy from underneath the Christmas tree. Its just fun

Certainly this is part of it. I remember writing in another thread myself about the "air of expectation waiting for the desktop to load for the first time"... or something like that

Plus the fact that having got the download it only takes a few minutes to burn it and boot up

5 Years is like several lifetimes in terms of PC development so who knows where we will all be then? Probably using Web3 with IPV8 at speeds so fast, all hardware will need to be liquid cooled

I think Ubuntu is making a bold but unwise move with Unity especially if this quote I found holds up.

"Clement Lefebvre, Linux Mint, told Muktware, "We're not planning to switch to Unity but to keep our desktop as similar as it is at the moment. So it's hard to say how we'll achieve this technically but we're aiming at using Gnome without Gnome Shell "

In five years time though maybe the whole world will be using netbooks so Unity will be the norm.

All I know from an inexperienced Linux perspective is that the march of Mint (together with Zorin and Peppermint which target different audiences) gives us all something new to play with that does the same as Windows but with less stress and time demands.

[Ritho]

Originally Posted by wdhpr

All I can say is wow.

I have tried VM player several times. Each time it has messed up my partitions and I have no idea why.

Wdhpr

What do you mean? In what way has it messed up your partitions?

[tushR]

Linux - beginners level.
Fedora - Fun
Ubuntu - Fun
RedHat - Work related.

[wdhpr]

Ritho

What do you mean? In what way has it messed up your partitions?

As best as I can remember. After making room on my hard drive for VMware player, when I rebooted. It would trigger an error to my system files and Windows would run the checks for errors. I assumed the errors were caused by the space I made for VM Player
(I have plenty of hard drive space and would like to use virtualization software)

Wdhpr