Best OS

[Midget]

I used [OpenSolaris] for about a month before I gave up on it

 

oh and YAST is rubbish, SLES is the worst distro i have ever used.

Edited June 14, 2009 by Midget
new page removing meaning

[Batman]

I know apt is good cos I use it all the time.

 

What's yum like these days?

[CyberNerd]

I know apt is good cos I use it all the time.

 

What's yum like these days?

 

I can't complain about rpm based systems. I use Ubuntu desktop at home and work, and centos/rhel on servers at work. yesterday I installed fedora on my laptop, replacing ubuntu as I had some issues that I couldn't be bothered to sort out.

I've never had any particular issues with yum or apt lately, maybe I'm not using either e either app to its full potential.

 

I quite like the way apt tells me about commands I should run if something goes wrong, but I seem to be more used to using rpm's commands. Can't decide really, I think it mostly comes down to the repositories.

 

I'd quite like to see an outline of the differences between package managers from someone more experienced.

 

also has windows caught up with apt/yum yet?

[tmbenson]

 

It has the nice simplicity of a windows desktop with the "trying to be a windows replacement distro"

 

 

That was meant to say WITHOUT!

 

my apologies for those who thought i had gone slightly crazy for a while there

[powdarrmonkey]

*uses debian server and mint desktop to hide from flying eggs.*

 

I'm insulted that you'd use such awesome software to protect yourself from eggs... take the hit, man!

 

incidently I have a DAMP. Dragonfly BSD Apache MySQL PHP server. Seriously not recommended unless you like being frustrated during config. At least it's secure.

 

BSD != secure, just easier to harden if you know it in depth. But you can say that about any 'more secure' software.

[Batman]

Also has windows caught up with apt/yum yet?

 

What do you mean? Can you download and install a program with a simple command? Are there massive regularly updated repositories of compatible software that you can download from at no cost?

 

If that's what you mean then I can't see the answer ever being yes. The reason we can use repositories in Linux is that it's all open source - so it's all free. My experience of free windows software is that the open source stuff is ok and the rest of it is crap. If you want good software for windows then you generally have to pay for it.

[powdarrmonkey]

That was meant to say WITHOUT!

 

my apologies for those who thought i had gone slightly crazy for a while there

 

Nope, because I was already ignoring you.

 

I've never had any particular issues with yum or apt lately, maybe I'm not using either e either app to its full potential.

 

You shouldn't notice that a good package manager is even there. If it doesn't bug you, it's doing it's job.

 

 

I quite like the way apt tells me about commands I should run if something goes wrong, but I seem to be more used to using rpm's commands. Can't decide really, I think it mostly comes down to the repositories.

 

I'd quite like to see an outline of the differences between package managers from someone more experienced.

 

Dependency resolution in apt is generally more likely to get the result you want; the apt database can also have multiple front-ends, so for example aptitude has a different resolution strategy to apt-get, and aptitude removes automatic dependency installations when they are no longer required (with apt-get, you have to start messing around with deborphan and so on, which gets risky).

 

The repositories make a difference: in early 2007 ESR himself wrote a stinging attack of the Fedora repositories, saying "an attempt to upgrade one (1) package pitched me into a four-hour marathon of dependency chasing, at the end of which an attempt to get around a trivial file conflict rendered my system unusable" (ESR's goodbye note [LWN.net]). The situation seems much better now, but I still slightly distrust the Fedora repository after similar experiences around then. Fedora's mirrors have been overloaded and slow in the past IME, and whilst so are Debian's central mirrors they make an effort to get local mirrors in place and cared for. Ubuntu do the same, but with Canonical's sponsorship some of them are superior, especially the busy ones.

 

In purely technical terms, Debs are more flexible and capable that RPMs, but in practice, the package format itself doesn't really matter to you as a user. The manager is much more important.

 

also has windows caught up with apt/yum yet?

 

Windows Installer packages, if written properly, are very capable and it's a good system. The problem is often more about publishers who make assumptions, don't give the user choices or don't understand their own software (similar to those who create their own Debs and RPMs).

 

(disclaimer: I'm a Debian Maintainer and not-yet Developer, so read as much bias as you care to. I try to be fair.)

Edited June 15, 2009 by powdarrmonkey

[tmbenson]

Nope, because I was already ignoring you.

 

i was only giving my opinion on how great Mint desktop is for those wondering on which distro to choose no need for hostilities.

[tmcd35]

Well if we're gonna have the 'My OS is better than your OS' argument - here is my personal top 10 list of computer OS's.

 

10. GoboLinux

9. Mandriva/Fedora/CentOS

8. ReactOS

7. Microsoft Windows 7

6. SuSE Linux

5. Microsoft Windows 3.11

4. NetBSD 4.x

3. Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2

2. Commodore Workbench 3.1

1. Apple OS X

[tmbenson]

Well if we're gonna have the 'My OS is better than your OS' argument

 

Wasnt saying better than any others, just my favorite in my personal opinion, im not arguing against the other distros at all! i like them all, but i love mint

[powdarrmonkey]

i was only giving my opinion on how great Mint desktop is for those wondering on which distro to choose no need for hostilities.

 

Doesn't mean you had to choose a trolly title.... mentioning "Mint" in it or similar or making clear this is your opinion would be much more appropriate than just "this is the best OS, like, evarrr". Don't forget that *nix people are some of the most passionate you'll ever have the fortune of meeting, and if you're going to troll it's going to stir up an argument.

[tmbenson]

"Best OS" was a question, not a statement, which is why i asked people to chip in thier ideas, my favorite is mint, but im not saying i know them all that well, so thanks to this post i now have a few more that i can try, i wasnt starting an argument, never even entered my mind, the only hostility in it was from you.

[Batman]

Don't forget that *nix people are some of the most passionate you'll ever have the fortune of meeting, and if you're going to troll it's going to stir up an argument.

 

Yeah. GRRRRRR!!!

 

Seriously passionate.

[tmcd35]

Best OS discussions often end up the same way as the Spectrum vs C64 'discussions' we had when I was in school. No matter, and if different OSes get more exposure then it's all good.

 

These discussions (back in the day) always p*ssed me off because no one ever mentioned the CPC which was clearly superior!

[powdarrmonkey]

"Best OS" was a question, not a statement, which is why i asked people to chip in thier ideas, my favorite is mint, but im not saying i know them all that well, so thanks to this post i now have a few more that i can try, i wasnt starting an argument, never even entered my mind, the only hostility in it was from you.

 

Ok, after a long debate much earlier in the forum i thought i would share my final thought, after trying to find the perfect linux distro, i have finally come to a desision.

 

Linux mint for me is outright the best, in my opinion of course.

 

It has the nice simplicity of a windows desktop with the "trying to be a windows replacement distro"

 

So it still has the beautiful polished feel of a wonderful GNOME distro.

 

I think its fab! so anyone wondering what distro to choose, leave the "buntu's" and get on mint!

 

Tom

 

Funny, I don't see a single question in there or in the title (here's mine: since when is "Best OS" a question?). You're clearly so enraptured by Mint that you're not going to try any other distros anyway, so that's a moot point. And throughout the discussion, you can only contribute "yes but I didn't like it" answers, which don't help anybody.

 

And that's the last I'm prepared to post about it.

 

 

Yeah. GRRRRRR!!!

 

Seriously passionate.

 

I think passion is what draws us to free (speech) software in the first place, much like lazy greed is what draws cheapskates to free (beer) software.

[tmbenson]

Then i apologise, i have tried quite a few of the distros before settling with mint, and i did not dislike any of them, of the non mint distros, i liked ubuntu, i much prefer the GNOME feel of things over KDE.

 

PClinuxOS was ok but did not do it for me personally.

 

Did not mean to "cause an argument" and the title should have read "Best OS?"

 

my apologies for the typo.

[Batman]

I love open source values, it's largely about sharing really, isn't it? I only feel sad that I don't have the skills appropriate to be able to contribute to it, I'm not sure that being a user is much of a contribution tbh, although I am using Drupal for websites now which I guess is a bit promotional

 

Bizarrely I find that the open source philosophy fits in very nicely with my Christian faith. I think open source is extremely ethical and I do get excited about it. It's the one thing in the world where I can see many people working towards a common aim, but without greed.

 

So I agree... passion drives the open source community and it is a wonderful thing.

[sparkeh]

Historically I am a suse man, why? Mainly because the little lizards cheeky grin makes me smile everytime I log in.

 

However thats not the best reason to choose an OS and I find YAST too bulky and clunky for my liking. These days I use Ubuntu because, as has been mentioned before, it just works. All hardware on my laptop is detected and configured without issue, the interface is light and easy to navigate (though thats more Gnome vs KDE argument) and there is a wealth of support out there. Any problem I have encountered seems to be covered somewhere, in the wiki, forum or tutorial etc.

 

Oh and in my view apt is the best package manager

[CyberNerd]

I love open source values, it's largely about sharing really, isn't it? I only feel sad that I don't have the skills appropriate to be able to contribute to it, I'm not sure that being a user is much of a contribution tbh, although I am using Drupal for websites now which I guess is a bit promotional

 

Bizarrely I find that the open source philosophy fits in very nicely with my Christian faith. I think open source is extremely ethical and I do get excited about it. It's the one thing in the world where I can see many people working towards a common aim, but without greed.

 

 

You should be a maintainer for Ubuntu CE. They had to discontinue the project due to lack of time.

 

Ubuntu Christian Edition -- Linux For Christians

 

Ubuntu SE is still going strong

 

Ubuntu Satanic Edition

[powdarrmonkey]

I love open source values, it's largely about sharing really, isn't it? I only feel sad that I don't have the skills appropriate to be able to contribute to it, I'm not sure that being a user is much of a contribution tbh, although I am using Drupal for websites now which I guess is a bit promotional

 

Bizarrely I find that the open source philosophy fits in very nicely with my Christian faith. I think open source is extremely ethical and I do get excited about it. It's the one thing in the world where I can see many people working towards a common aim, but without greed.

 

So I agree... passion drives the open source community and it is a wonderful thing.

 

I don't think it's bizarre; it works for me too. (Maybe I'm bizarre?) There's a difference between open source software and software freedom though - there are plenty of restrictive licenses for sources that have been published. Truly free software has no limitations on distribution, derivations, and so on, and that's what makes good Linux software - not that the source is available read-only.

 

If you want to contribute as a user, the best things you can do are bug reporting (high-quality reports though, please) and triaging - testing reported bugs for reproducibility, testing the proposed fixes and helping maintainers decide which to prioritise.

[webman]

Here's a question for you then. Which gives more freedom - the BSD license or the GPL license?

[powdarrmonkey]

Neither, they are designed for different purposes. The BSD license and its variants permit proprietary incorporation, protecting the freedom of the incorporator, whereas the GPL ensures the freedom of the originator by protecting derivative works. (note: proprietary, not commercial - if you're prepared to publish the derivative work as well, you're good to go under the GPL).

[Batman]

You should be a maintainer for Ubuntu CE. They had to discontinue the project due to lack of time.

 

Ubuntu Christian Edition -- Linux For Christians

 

Ubuntu SE is still going strong

 

Ubuntu Satanic Edition

 

Ubuntu CE was an absolute joke. Too many Christians try to make "Christian" versions of things that we've already got. The Christian music industry is full of people wasting their time trying to make Christian music that sounds like secular music and they really shouldn't bother.

 

Too many Christians try to create a Christian subculture that's separate from the world and it's wrong; the point of the message Jesus taught is that we're meant to be looking out for the world, helping the people the rest of the world ignores, doing the dirty jobs nobody else wants to do.

 

I could talk about this for a long time - but I won't!

[webman]

Indeed. It was thrown in to the mix from a more philosophical angle