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1 • my distro in the PHR (by Jeffrydada on 2020-03-16 01:00:50 GMT from United States)
My primary distro is a Heavily modified Neon User Edition, However I like to play with distros from the waiting list and one that I enjoy a lot is Reborn OS
2 • Opinion-Poll (by be-a-garbled-goat on 2020-03-16 01:17:18 GMT from Australia)
The operating system I am running today is..Exe (123). I also have installed AntiX 19.1 (12), Slackware current (30) and My 'daily driver' MX 19.1 at (1)
3 • Bloated Garbage? (by Dark Man on 2020-03-16 02:03:30 GMT from United States)
Opinions differ, I guess. While I would not recommend KDE Neon to a Linux newbie, I have never thought of it as "bloated garbage." To the contrary, I think it's a fast, slick, beautiful distro.
4 • distro phr (by wally on 2020-03-16 02:10:22 GMT from United States)
3,4,5,9 avg = ~5
5 • Favorite Distro and Why It Sometimes Changes (by Bruce Fowler on 2020-03-16 02:23:35 GMT from United States)
Manjaro is my go-to distribution. When my microphone stopped working about six months ago, I went over to MX Linux and liked it well enough. Then MX started to run my computer very hot with no identified CPU usage, so last month I went back to MJ. It seems I distro-hop mostly when something breaks and I can't figure out how to fix it...
6 • poll question (by randomly generated entity on 2020-03-16 02:50:39 GMT from United States)
I'm currently using Gentoo (47 right now). I'm sure it'll break (again) as my nvidia GT 240 lapses further into obsolescence, but at the moment I can run a bleeding edge kernel without issue. Unstable branch means the latest and greatest from KDE basically the second it drops, and compile time is negligible if you can avoid certain gigantic packages (i.e. use the binary Firefox provided by Mozilla). Just compiled frameworks 5.68 in around half an hour, while doing normal stuff on the computer
I do flit from distro to distro though. Other recent workhorses have been Debian sid, Arch, Neon, and a day or two with NuTyX (Mate). Always come back to something that has a reasonably recent KDE and can use the 340 nvidia driver, as on my hardware nouveau causes predictable lockups regardless of distro.
7 • Poll options (by Friar Tux on 2020-03-16 03:07:40 GMT from Canada)
My distro of choice is number three on The Chart. My reason for choosing Linux Mint/Cinnamon was it's ease of installing and it came with all the stuff I needed pre-installed. (I knew this beforehand as I had been toying with various distros over the years.) I've since switched out some of the programs with ones I like better, but at the time I installed Mint I just needed to get stuff done as I was in the middle of something when Windows bricked my laptop. The Wife had exactly the same issue so we switched her OS at the same time. Two laptops bricked within an hour of each other. We've not had an issue in the four years we've been using Mint, and we'll definitely stick with it.
8 • 3rd in Poll (by Roy on 2020-03-16 04:01:16 GMT from United States)
I switched from Feren to LMDE 4 because I got to like Cinnamon but I have only been using Firefox. I was amazed at how fast it installed. Even took an advise of one to add the 5.4 kernel. The new kernel worked as an extra kernel but that desktop came it told me I had no video drivers and only one monitor worked with the Nvidia instead of three. So I rebooted under the older kernel.
9 • Ubuntu family (by Andy on 2020-03-16 04:20:27 GMT from Romania)
I voted "26-50" because I use Xubuntu, but I always felt that Distrowatch ranking is somewhat against the Ubuntu family, because they are counted separately even though you can have Ubuntu, Xubuntu and Kubuntu installed at the same time because they are basically different default customizations of the same distribution (meta packages) and are all released at the same time.
Fedora spins, lmde, opensuse leap & tumbleweed, and most other distributions which also allow installing of different desktops or come in different downloadable "flavours" are not counted separately.
10 • #3 is my #1 (by M.Z. on 2020-03-16 04:25:16 GMT from United States)
I've enjoyed DW's current #3 distro for some time myself. Very friendly & easy to use, as well as a huge software selection from upstream at Debian. I also like Mageia a lot and think it's a bit more secure while being fairly friendly, not to mention a back up plan that can potentially cover different hardware with a bit different compatibility -on the fairly rare occasion that something doesn't work with Mint. Still Mint is friendlier overall & a bit nicer to work with.
11 • poll options (by voidpin on 2020-03-16 04:35:45 GMT from Sweden)
Bellow 100 click counts, I use NetBSD.
12 • Distro ranking (by Romane on 2020-03-16 04:45:26 GMT from Australia)
Debian, currently running at number 4.
Have been running Debian Testing for roughly 10 years now, and have stayed with it as I find it very stable and with almost everything I consider I need in the repositories (the one that isn't is there for me via flatpak), and that it updates like a rolling distribution (even if the packages are not the latest, sharp-end packages, but they are close enough for me)
Every time I trial another distro, from whatever base, I end up returning to Debian - often just small "things", sometimes what I consider major "things".
13 • I average a #42 (by Andy Prough on 2020-03-16 04:45:33 GMT from United States)
I'm using MX on one laptop (#1) and Artix on the other (#84), so I guess I average out to a 42. But, Artix is my distro of choice, so I answered honestly that it's between 51-100.
@2 - Exe GNU/Linux is a non-systemd, libre distro that does not get near the attention it deserves. There's some great technology going into that distro, even though I think it's just got one developer.
14 • charts don't tell you much (by Bobbie Sellers on 2020-03-16 05:50:32 GMT from United States)
So PCLinux is way down at #16.
Does not mean it does not have the tools a generalist needs to take
care of nearly any problem.
It is a rolling and generally stable release with easy backup and
restoration. Has both Redshift and Night Color Control available;
It has KDE Plasma 5, Mate, and XFCE desktop environments in
the main release and in Community Releases we go from OpenBox
to Trinity for a taste of yesterday. We gave large with more tools
and options in Magnum at 3.8 GB and we have mini-xfce at 1.1 GB.
It is based on Gael Duval's most excellent Mandriva of the late 1990s
with influence from Mandriva. Gael Duval started the Graphical
User Interface install process and the GUI Computer Control Center
both of which are maintained in this fork.
The Forum has the attention of the developers and we see their
responses frequently. And we talk about more than computers
on the forum and usually in a civilized manner. We generally
solve problems quickly.
bliss using a Dell E6540 i7/16 GB ram/500 GB spinning disk
15 • Opinion Poll. (by What_if_I on 2020-03-16 06:48:26 GMT from Australia)
Love DW, look at it daily, this vote is very biased as 95% of the top 100 will be probably be systemD based distros.When selecting an OS,that is the first thing I avoid.My Distro of choice is Redcore, pure binary Gentoo (OpenRC), with Gui installer with Linux hardened & encrypt options in the installer.An easy apt like package manager(sisyphus) so easy to use, one does not have to worry about pkgs failing to build.So so easy.Just started testing Void linux(Runit),I'm very impressed with the speed & ease of use with this,I'm also testing Trident(VoidLinux) but that's the old (TrueOs /FreeBsd) using Runit & Zfs, It's just had it's first release using Linux. It's really interesting.These 3 Distro's are certainly worth exploring,I believe many of you will see the benifits of these Distros, also note none of these 3 use SysV. All 3 are very fast & Redcore & Void are very stable & secure. I'm sure in the future as stability comes with Trident it will be configured to Corporate standards as per BSD. Guy's get out of your comfort zones & explore, I'm certainly no techie & I'm sure you will be benefit from the experience of exploring different OS.
16 • Distro (by speedytux on 2020-03-16 08:02:16 GMT from France)
11 years on Archlinux. Archlinux forever.
17 • PHR (by Roy Davies on 2020-03-16 08:12:27 GMT from United Kingdom)
My 'daily driver' is MX-19.1, and has been since MX-15.
I also have Xubuntu running on another laptop, and have installed Xubuntu on about six other laptops for family and friends coming from Windows xp/Vista/7.
Other likes are Mint, Lite, neon and Solus. I prefer to use a distro that is totally 'out of the box', with as little tweaking as possible .
18 • Distro (and Manjaro review) (by A vd Tweel on 2020-03-16 09:00:10 GMT from Netherlands)
I've been using debian 8 since 2015, when I bought my current machine (2-core AMD64 with 8 GB memory) As debian 8 will soon no longer receive security updates, I've tested Manjaro; ran into problems with running VirtualBox under Manjaro. Tested debian 10 and had problems with booting and updates. Finally tested MX linux that ran just fine. So MX will be my next distro.
19 • Ultimate Edition 6.6 (by Pierre` on 2020-03-16 09:10:42 GMT from Australia)
this one is #66 on the Page rank List,
& it's an under-rated Linux System, even this year.
20 • Opinion Poll (by Dino on 2020-03-16 09:33:06 GMT from Denmark)
I'm using Linux Mint 19.3 (Cinnamon) on my main PC, and 19.2 (Cinnamon) on my Macbook Pro. I use Mint because it just works, it doesn't make me fiddling and tinkering with it. I guess, I came to that point in life where "I'm too old for that s**t".
However, I am thinking about trying out something non-Ubuntu/Debian, maybe Salient OS and Solus.
21 • Opinion Poll (by eee on 2020-03-16 09:55:22 GMT from Poland)
26-50: Slackware - because it works! ;-)
22 • Distro Ranking (by Aritz on 2020-03-16 09:59:00 GMT from Spain)
I use the 3 top distros in the PHR, plus the 47th one. I guess that's a 13 on average.
23 • Distro I reccomend (by Hnk on 2020-03-16 10:08:15 GMT from Netherlands)
Moved all of my computers and support to AntiX after Manjaro destroyed itself one time too often while updating and proved, yet again non recoverable. Sad because otherwise I really liked it.
I might have continued using Manjaro had I not looked at alternatives without SystemD and found a lot of annoyances disappeared for good. No more slow shutdowns which I often experienced, now I set up systems using plain text files instead of the garbage a lunatic invented.
Antix is like the Debian of old, gets things done with a minimum of fuss but with many important packets available in latest versions from the one click installer.
24 • Manjaro (by Luca on 2020-03-16 10:25:30 GMT from Italy)
I've been using Manjaro for more than 5 years without incurring in major problems. In particular, I use the KDE spin both on my home and work computer. Updates occur once every 2-3 weeks usually. When a new update is released, I wait at least 3-4 additional days before applying it on my work PC, so that even most obscure bugs come to surface and get resolved (I recommend to take a look at the forum before updating: every update pack gets its well-documented announcement). I also installed tools like snapper and timeshift to be able to get back to previous snapshots, for an additional layer of security, even if I have never needed to actually use them.
I really love my fast, always up-to-date system, and the huge quantity of software that is available in the official repositories and the AUR. Be careful when you install a package from the AUR though, because it may require additional maintenance steps in the future; packages from official repositories are a dream because they are constantly kept up-to-date without effort. On the other hand, if you need to "freeze" the version of some software, you can use a tool like flatpak or appimage, or docker for services (I use docker for Postgres databases).
25 • Distro raninkg (by Jim on 2020-03-16 10:35:21 GMT from United States)
I dual boot. Luckily my disros fell in the same ranges. Parrot 38 and Ubuntu Mate 43. But should I have gotten two votes?
26 • Arch Linux (by Ganesh Iyer on 2020-03-16 12:03:55 GMT from India)
Pure Arch Linux with Plasma, all the way. Can't seem to use any other Distro. Rankings dont matter. All that matters is the comfort lever for the user.
27 • Distro rankings. (by Garon on 2020-03-16 12:14:44 GMT from United States)
Q4OS at #31. A very stable and professional distro. I love the no nonsense DE using Trinty. Plasma is also offered. My second is MX. and third is Ubuntu with Unity. Q4OS is my daily use distro and the last two are my toy distros that I play around with. Init software has no relevance to choice..
28 • my distro(s) in the PHR (by fox on 2020-03-16 12:29:35 GMT from Canada)
My main distros happen to be high in the DW rankings: Ubuntu and Mint. I'm a converted Mac user running Linux on two iMacs and a 2012 Mac mini (as well as a Dell xps laptop). I have always been happy with Ubuntu, and while trying other distros, I stuck with it until a few years ago when I acquired a late 2015 iMac. At that point I had trouble with the booting of the 16.04 kernel (took 5 minutes to boot and didn't like my video card), so I looked around at alternatives. The Mint version at the time worked well with a slight tweak of grub, so I went with it (Cinnamon version). It has been 100% reliable, so I continue to use it on this iMac. It is notable that I have upgraded both Ubuntu and Mint many times without a single problem.
Other distros I have tried and liked include openSuse Leap, Manjaro, Arch, Fedora and MX Linux, but each had something that kept me from using it as my main distro. openSuse has poor font rendering, at least in a browser, and I have never been able to fix this. Manjaro got bonked during an update, and I never trusted it thereafter. I found MX to be slow booting; surprising for a light distro. Ironically, Arch never caused a problem in the time I had it (over a year), but after the Manjaro disaster, I don't trust rolling releases. Fedora never caused me a problem either, but I didn't care for it aesthetically and I have just come to prefer Debian-based distros because I know more about how to operate and update them.
29 • Ubuntu family (by Jesse on 2020-03-16 12:43:34 GMT from Canada)
@9: You may want to read up on why we treat the various Ubuntu editions as separate distros. It's to keep the organization consistent and fair. https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=faq#ubuntusplit
30 • Poll (by dragonmouth on 2020-03-16 12:49:26 GMT from United States)
My daily driver is PCLinux and has been since Woody Woodward shutdown MEPIS. I also use antiX and MX. I do not care where they place in the PHR rankings since those rankings are artificial. They work for me. I have tried many of the highly extolled distros and found them sorely lacking. Conversely, posters have referred to PCLOS as garbage. Oh, well.
De gustibus non disputandum est.
31 • Fedora (by Andrew on 2020-03-16 13:01:20 GMT from United States)
I use Fedora 31 KDE on my main laptop, which is a cheap Acer with a pentium "silver" quadcore processor and fanless setup. Plasma runs great - much lower memory usage than straight Fedora Workstation or Ubuntu. I'm a little worried about Fedora's long-term stability with so many updates and I'm not looking forward to the update process to Fedora 32, but 31 has been running very stable since November.
32 • My distro (by Lin on 2020-03-16 13:22:47 GMT from Canada)
Once used Ubuntu, but it is becoming not very stable. So, moved to OpenSuse Tumbleweed. It is actually rolling, but quite stable. So, clicked 11-25.
Those, who use such distros, usually don't come here, so to rankings are such. It doesn't mean those distros not widely used. :)
33 • #11 (by What, me worry? on 2020-03-16 13:43:36 GMT from United States)
Been using and enjoying KDE neon for over two years, because bloated garbage is so yummy!
Excuse me while I burp.
34 • @8, Roy (by Barnabyh on 2020-03-16 14:15:30 GMT from United Kingdom)
I think you might need to add the firmware package for your 5.4 kernel --> firmware-linux-free.
35 • My previous comment (by Barnabyh on 2020-03-16 14:29:00 GMT from United Kingdom)
Sorry, nvidia support is in the non-free package. Or did you have the proprietary Nvidia driver installed? In that case run it again to build modules for the new kernel.
36 • Manjaro (by rich on 2020-03-16 14:39:30 GMT from United States)
Been using Manjaro for 5 years at least. . . they've made many improvements in the distro. I've been distro hopping for over 20 years. Tried many of them. Many worked but it's taken time for all of them to get better and work out the 'bugs'. I still run other distro's just to see what's going on with them and to see how they have progressed. I've got Windows on it's own drive. . . . I'm still fond of Linux. . . it was the best choice I've ever made. Rich;)
37 • Knoppix just work (by John on 2020-03-16 14:53:08 GMT from United States)
I have various versions of knoppix running on old and new hardware.
Knoppix works :). This box however runs an old version AntiX. It also just works.
I keep being amused to see MicroSoft trying to produce linux software. What a hoot!!
38 • PHR (by zephyr on 2020-03-16 15:06:01 GMT from United States)
Use STAR, the best minimalist distro I've ever used. Fast, truly lightweight, just works OOTB! STAR is not in the top 100, should be in my opinion, would say it's just a matter of time. STAR uses Devuan as a base, despite all arguments pros and cons of systemd it is of choice. Every bit like Debian Wheezy before the change to systemd.
There are many distros not on DW, CROWZ, MIYO and others. Very good, rock-solid distros that have made that choice.
39 • @34 Barnabyh (by Roy on 2020-03-16 16:12:00 GMT from United States)
Synaptic on kernel 5.4 was enabled. I had the proprietary driver installed. Okay will try the reinstall.
40 • PCLinuxOS (by fred on 2020-03-16 16:16:02 GMT from Mexico)
Really like this distro. Been using it for some 20 years now i think. It has not gone the systemd route and i really appreciate that it is a rolling distro - the devs really take care of the updates and make sure that they are well integrated into the distro before releasing them as updates. Since this thing is just made to be used, that's what i'm able to do with it. Don't have to be messing around with missing packages or outdated ones - it just works.
For the very few times when something isn't right i can always go into the forum and get a very friendly and especially a courteous reply. What a great team!
41 • And... there it is!! (by Friar Tux on 2020-03-16 16:22:32 GMT from Canada)
@23 (Hnk) And... there it is. This week's iteration of "systemd is evil". Just had to wait it out. Personally, from my EXPERIENCE, it appears that the systemd distros I've tested work much better out-of-box than non-systemd distros, which either have a long, involved install process, or require some post-install fiddling to get them to work. Of those that DO work, I haven't noticed any difference in boot speed, working speed, or CPU/GPU usage. There are fast and slow distros in both categories. The same goes for high or low CPU usage. So far, it appears, to me, the init used is of no consequence. It's simply a matter of personal choice. Again, for me, it's all about installing the distro, and going right to work - systemd, or not.
42 • Distro rankings (by Alessandro di Roma on 2020-03-16 16:40:56 GMT from Italy)
I use Xubuntu (19.10) which in my opinion is one of the best, and I am amazed that it is only in the thirty-fifth place in DW ranking. Maybe an explanation is in the words of Jesse Smith (DW 28 oct 2019): "I feel I do not get to say this often enough: this distribution is boring in the best possible way". In other ways it simply always works, quick and clean, and this isn't exciting enough for somebody...
43 • Poll Options (by DaveT on 2020-03-16 16:56:06 GMT from United Kingdom)
I used debian unstable for many years. And then the 'unmentionable' arrived. And so my distro of choice is now OpenBSD with devuan installed on an elderly iMac because there is a bug in the BSDs that stops sound working. OpenBSD is at position 75.
44 • Poll (by Rev_Don on 2020-03-16 17:08:57 GMT from United States)
My two most used Distros are PartedMagic (130) and Knoppix (53). Those two meet about 90% of my Linux usage.
45 • @30 and PCLOS (by randomly generated entity on 2020-03-16 17:19:41 GMT from United States)
@30: MEPIS (or SimplyMEPIS to be exact) was the brainchild of Warren Woodford, and his legacy lives on more directly in MX than PCLinuxOS. It was indeed a fine implementation of Debian. Easy to install and configure, with a high degree of stability.
As for PCLOS, sure it works fine (with occasional papercuts) and is easy to install - any major distro fits that billing these days, for my hardware anyway. There's just something odd about the fanbase/forum crowd. That monthly magazine with the weird song "parodies" of devotion to the OS and their beloved Tex. I hesitate to use the word cult here in the land of orange "leadership", but it is a little strange.
46 • Distros... (by Steve on 2020-03-16 17:22:03 GMT from United States)
PCLinuxOS w/MATE for desktops
FreeBSD for servers
TinyCore for an old laptop from the late 90's
nothing with the systemd virus and all very functional. And so long as that holds true I stick with what works well.
47 • Distro rankings (by David on 2020-03-16 17:25:42 GMT from United Kingdom)
There are so many different types of people coming here — beginners looking for a first distro, hobbyists who experiment, fanatics seeking to avoid the "unmentionable" — that ratings will never be meaningful.
I went through Red Hat > Fedora > CentOS — essentially the same thing for 20 years. Then my computer died, I needed a new installation in a hurry, and CentOS seemed to be "Gnome or nothing" at the time, so I switched to PCLinuxOS. That should do for the next 20 years, hopefully.
48 • Distrorankings (by distrlover on 2020-03-16 17:46:12 GMT from Germany)
I tried so many distros. The more i tried the more they all looks same to me.
So what are the differences? Well the deksktop. You can choose it, you can costomize it.
Well the package manager. After a some time you are realising that comand line is faster than the grafical one.
Rolling Releases are making trouble by time. Fixed Releases are quickly out of time.
My favoured distro is Xubuntu. My favored Desktop is XFCE.
Sorry about my bad english.
49 • Rankings (by albinard on 2020-03-16 17:57:01 GMT from United States)
Apart from some residual distro-hopping, I've been on Xubuntu (currently #35) for pretty much the last decade. In recent years I've been using Xubuntu Core, a bare-bones core system to which you can add the software you need and leave off what you don't. There is an ISO for it (you don't have to do the minimal-install plus a metapackage), so even a non-professional like me can construct a highly personal system that is matched to my use cases.
50 • Distro Ranking (by Saleem Khan on 2020-03-16 18:06:59 GMT from Pakistan)
Not in the top 100
PLD 241 , I guess only few people use it even that it is one of the amazing rolling release rpm based distribution.
51 • @34 The reinstall modification (by Roy on 2020-03-16 18:20:27 GMT from United States)
I only meant to reinstall the NVIDIA driver on kernel 5.4 but it affected kernel 4.19 as well. So you might say I have issues rather than Debbie. LMDE 4 is called Debbie. There used be a sanity check and ENVY for NVIDIA. Probably for people like me. LOL So I reinstalled Debbie and the NVIDIA after reinstall. The 5.4 kernel is gone and this time I put the Timeshift on a separate drive.
52 • PHR (by Cheker on 2020-03-16 18:36:04 GMT from Portugal)
#2, Manjaro (KDE), is my daily driver. I've been on it since May of last year, or close. Anything I could've said has already been said, I love it a little more everyday.
On my laptop I have Q4OS (TDE), currently at #31. Same thing, I love the XP vibe, hasn't let me down yet either.
53 • Linux Dreams (by Purple Sheep on 2020-03-16 18:44:31 GMT from United States)
Now that we are all officially imprisoned globally-distro choice matters a lot-thank God.
54 • The most missed distro. (by Garon on 2020-03-16 19:08:14 GMT from United States)
I have heard a few comments on SimplyMepis and here are mine. Back in its hay-day that was my distro. I felt like it was anyway. There was something special about the community back then. Warren did a fantastic job on this distro but alas had to go to work for someone else using his skills. I love to show off Mepis at the computer club meetings I went to. It really was a great time in computing history. I'm sure we all miss those days.
55 • Debian. (by Matt on 2020-03-16 19:33:31 GMT from United States)
I have two desktops (home and work), two laptops, a VPS, and a Raspberry Pi. They all run on Debian.
I've been using Linux since 2001 and over the years I have tried a lot of different stuff. Nothing is perfect, including Debian, but Debian can be made to do just about anything I need and causes the fewest problems.
56 • Three sure things: Death, taxes and systemd flame wars on DW (by CS on 2020-03-16 19:50:41 GMT from United States)
systemd works well for me. That is all. Flame on.
57 • @49 Xubuntu Core (by Vern on 2020-03-16 21:20:55 GMT from United States)
I have in the past use Xubuntu Core, but they no longer have current ISO's. I'm running the full version of Xubuntu Focal right now.
If you have a link to Xubunt-Core-Focal please list it. Thanks
58 • Another Artix user (by Martin on 2020-03-16 21:35:26 GMT from United Kingdom)
Artix, Deuvan and AntiX on my hardware, very happy with them all.
Thank you Distrowatch, my favourite Monday read!
59 • distro rankings (by GreginNC on 2020-03-16 23:19:03 GMT from United States)
I use PcLinuxOS currently and have off and on since 2007 with Slackware being the only system I found superior. Unfortunately Slackware 14.2 is way too old in the tooth to be viable and the Slackware devs seem to prefer for users to use "current" in a permanently unstable state rather than release a new stable version. If or when Slackware releases a new stable iso I'll likely return as long as they don't adopt systemd, if they do ill simply stay with PcLinuxOS as the rolling release and "stability before cutting edge" mindset results in a distro that stays reliable over time.
60 • The SystemD Conundrum Rages On (by David on 2020-03-16 23:21:45 GMT from United States)
@41
I'm finding myself in somewhat reluctant agreement with you regarding the stability & out-of-the box usability of SystemD-based distros.
I'm an Arch user, and after having tested a non-SystemD alternative, Runit-based Artix/XFCE, I've found it to be not ready for prime time yet. There is a persistent boot & re-boot hanging problem that I have not been able to solve via continuous BIOS settings manipulation, or by any other solutions being offered in the Artix user forums. I may test the OpenRC version, but I'm in no hurry to do so at this point.
I've attempted to install Obarun, which I believe was tested by Jesse some weeks ago, and I had the same problem he had then - the distro aggressively resists installation. If you remember the relentlessly unstable and unreliable Antergos Cnchi installer that required updating on the fly before it would start, Obarun features a similar installer that regularly crashes before the updating process is completed.
I re-installed pure, plain vanilla Arch on the most unstable box that I was testing Artix on, and as I've known for years, Arch is rock solid & lightning fast, SystemD and all. I'm writing this using my newly-installed system, and while this particular PC will probably never run any distro other than pure Arch, I retain an open mind to a solid non-SystemD alternative.
Though it is not a DW-rated distro, per se, I always use the Arch installer Anarchy Linux, which can be found here - https://www.anarchylinux.org/ - the installer is bulletproof, and has never failed to provide me with a fast and easy 99.99% pure Arch installation. It is also included in the DW database, somewhere below #200, I guess. It should be rated just below Arch, which is at #17 this week.
JMHO
61 • @51, Roy (by Barnabyh on 2020-03-16 23:26:48 GMT from Netherlands)
Hi Roy, sorry to hear you had to reinstall. Please keep in mind LMDE 4 is still in beta, that might or might not have something to do with your troubles. It's still going through the stabilisation and refinement phase as I call it.
"...this time I put the Timeshift on a separate drive."
Smart move.
62 • @9, @29, @30, @42, @48, @49, @57, @14 • charts don't tell you much (by Greg Zeng on 2020-03-17 00:14:50 GMT from Australia)
All computer operating systems have the advantages of "applications". When Xubuntu etc are considered "boring", this is because the critic is unaware of Docky, AWN, Cairo or the other ways we end-users finally use our operating systems.
PCLINUX suffers very poor press coverage everywhere, including from its own supporters. The many new versions of PCLOS are not noticed by most publishers on the internet.
Family operating systems: DEBIAN, PUPPY, MANJARO, PCLOS, MINT, PCLOS, ...
Often critics like to minimise the reliability of "popularity" measures. We need an industry organisation to measure this.
1) Used as a base for creating new operating systems
2) Popular FAMILY systems, regardless of Desktop Environment.
3) Popular Desktop Environments, regardless of the base Linux.
4) Voted by conscious deliberate users.
5) Detected anonymously by service providers.
6) Summary from top (published) critics.
7) Opinion polling: critics, or various "public".
8) Favoured by national governments.
9) Favoured by commercial hardware sellers.
My first option above is THE most accurate, undisputed & scientific. DEBIAN-RAW leads, followed by UBUNTU-RAW.
All eight other options are biased by the reporters bias. Some here suspect that bots are used to bias the reportage of these results. Rarely used brands are surprisingly high in the list rankings.
Generally to most used systems have the following features:
a) Large testers base (alpha, beta editions, with open discussion).
b) Large active user forums, widely in the Internet, etc.
c) Attention & support from formal organisations (commercial, government, etc).
d) Financial & other corporate supporters.
e) National, local & international face-to-face conferencing.
f) Accepting participation from a large & very diverse group of contributors.
g) Corporate governance which easily survives the loss of the top key persons.
h) Insecure regard from the "junior" members of the operating system members.
All these above "anthropological findings" will be detailed & published in work on cognitive science.
63 • Rankings (by pengxuin on 2020-03-17 00:19:36 GMT from New Zealand)
currently use Mageia @ 32
before that Mandriva, and before that Mandrake, so from about 1998.
running both StableV7 and Cauldron (the rolling system).
Multi varieties of hardware, from a real 32bit processor aged desktop to ex chromebooks and Core i5 desktop and laptops, even a 32bit EFI tablet.
It just installs and runs, is rock solid, with relatively up-to-date software.
Have tried Debian, Ubuntu and children but they just don't work for me- too many paper-cuts.
I have about 30 in VMs, but they all seem to need tinkering before they work for me.
I also consider PPAs too much of a security risk.
64 • "main distro" poll (by Otis on 2020-03-17 00:59:22 GMT from United States)
lmao .. well, I guess it's two "main distros." Equal use of two different ones vastly apart on the PHR.
65 • Manjaro--a major ARM64 port which others are rushing to catch. (by R.Cain on 2020-03-17 01:58:23 GMT from United States)
It seems as though Manjaro is not content to let the x86 grass "...grow under its feet...", but is ACTIVELY pursuing the porting of their product to ARM. This is evidenced by the following announcement from Pine Microcomputer, which was just released on 15 March, 2020. According to the announcement, Manjaro is only one of many, but is the furthest along and most polished at this point.
”...These [three Manjaro] builds feature a cutting edge Linux kernel (5.6 at the time of writing), which supports all key Pinebook Pro functionality including USB-C charging, USB-C video out and are compatible with a number of USB-C docks. Out of the three, [the] KDE version is arguably the most end-user friendly and polished, not in the least because Plasma makes use of the Panfrost open source GPU driver for desktop and application acceleration.”
”We’re excited and proud to announce that future Pinebook Pros will ship with Manjaro KDE as the default operating system. Pre-orders for the next production run of Pinebook Pros starts on March 18, 2020 with an estimated shipping date of early May, 2020.”
https://www.pine64.org/2020/03/15/march-update-manjaro-on-pinebook-pro-pinephone-software/
66 • windows (by bob on 2020-03-17 01:59:59 GMT from Australia)
"Can I play the latest and most graphics intensive games that in the PC-market are still made only for Windows?"
Actually its more likely that you can than not.
67 • @60 - Arch/Artix (by Andy Prough on 2020-03-17 04:08:41 GMT from United States)
> I'm an Arch user, and after having tested a non-SystemD alternative, Runit-based Artix/XFCE, I've found it to be not ready for prime time yet. There is a persistent boot & re-boot hanging problem that I have not been able to solve via continuous BIOS settings manipulation, or by any other solutions being offered in the Artix user forums. I may test the OpenRC version, but I'm in no hurry to do so at this point.
I think you need to use what works best for you. Computers are just a tool - if we can't get work done with them, what good are they?
As we discussed a couple weeks ago, I am having good fortune with the openRC version of Artix. I think it's more established than the runit or S6 versions, or than Oberun. The openRC Artix is the merging of two fairly established projects - Arch OpenRC and Manjaro OpenRC. So of the three init versions for Artix, the developers simply have a lot more experience with openRC.
68 • Runit vs. OpenRC Stability (by David on 2020-03-17 06:37:08 GMT from United States)
@67
Your commentary regarding the supportive maturity of the Artix OpenRC solution presents a valid point and opinion.
I wanted to give the Runit version a thorough test blast on multiple bare metal PC's before making the decision to revert to pure Arch on at least one of my four boxes. Paradoxically, one of my older test units. a Lenovo i3-530, runs with a higher degree of stability in comparison to my more recent i5-4590 production unit. My reading within the Artix user forums indicated that the reverse would probably be true.
I downloaded and burned an OpenRC ISO disc at the same time as I did the Runit DVD, so I will test it in the near future. I remember having read from either you or another Artix user that the boot hang was occuring with the OpenRC version as well, so I've been gun shy about installing it for a test run. I'll just have to tear myself away from my ripping fast freshly-installed Arch box long enough to get a new test started.
I read in the Arch Wiki that support for OpenRC had been discontinued, but no motivating factors were mentioned for that abandoned support decision, as I seem to recall. Are there any Arch veterans reading this that can explain why OpenRC was dropped in favor of SystemD ?
JMHO
69 • @54 mepis community (by Hoos on 2020-03-17 08:03:06 GMT from Singapore)
@54
"...heard a few comments on SimplyMepis and here are mine. Back in its hay-day that was my distro. I felt like it was anyway. There was something special about the community back then.... "
It's still very much alive. The Mepis community simply became the MX community.
70 • Ubuntu (with an eye on Manjaro) (by Arnaud on 2020-03-17 12:24:03 GMT from France)
Ubuntu is my prefered distro for convenience machines.
22 years ago, i had a first trial with Debian (installed okay) and Red Hat (an RPM mess). Then Mandrake (now essentially OpenMandriva). From these first encounters with Linux, i kept a bad souvenir of RPM and got fond of the Debian package management system's reliability.
In 2007 i had to replace a hard disk on a 2001 ASUS laptop, and since Windows was gone, i tried several alternative OS installs : first, Desktop BSD and PC BSD, then Xandros and Linspire (because they were Debian-based and supposedly improved). All had the same shortcoming: you declared your keyboard layout in the live session, you installed, you rebooted and then you couldn't log in because they hadn't remembered that you hadn't a US QWERTY keyboard (is that so difficult to guess that most users don't swap keyboards between installation and reboot?). So long with the "improvements".
Then i tried Ubuntu 7.04 and surprise! It just ran and you could just use it without fiddling with a command shell or editing configuration files in a text editor. It was also the point i discovered GNOME (previous trials were KDE-only), that is so simple to use and so user-friendly (in KDE, the menu are too full of cryptic program names with Ks and Qs). Then came Windows 10 on my another laptop, that was completely broken after a few Windows updates... Time to install Ubuntu on it too! I was done with Windows at home.
Alas Ubuntu launched into its Unity adventure (and its infamous Amazon 'scope'). Unity was to heavy for my old 2001 laptop (fading was one screen redraw per second!). So I tried 3 community variants, Kubuntu (KDE was also a ressource hog) Ubuntu GNOME Remix (with GNOME3, which was more efficient despite its JavaScript engine) and Ubuntu Mate (just GNOME2 carried on). My old 2001 kept with Ubuntu Mate up to its death in 2013 (actullay its hard disk died but the screw were too tightly fastened i couldn't replace the disk). My other laptop has remained with Ubuntu GNOME Remix, which evolved into Ubuntu GNOME (officially Ubuntu then), which in its turn became nowadays Ubuntu's official default desktop.
I also had a third laptop, were i tried OpenSuse (YaST is now a complicated tool), Fedora (apparently RedHad lives on support...), and various other distributions but none is as reliable and user friendly as Ubuntu (except LinuxMint maybe, but it's built on Ubuntu or Debian).
Now this third laptop runs Manjaro GNOME, because i want to have a backup route in case Ubuntu gets too naughty. Manjaro seems as reliable as a Debian-based system, and nearly as easy to use as Ubuntu (no need to log as 'root' is very convenient on home machines). And because i haven't found a better desktop environment than GNOME3 on Linux: it's simple to use and it doesn't try to mimic Windows or macOS too much, where they are annoying (that's why i am not sastified with Cinnamon, MATE MintMenu or Elementary Pantheon...). I just tweak it to display a Applications and a Places pulldown menus and keep managing sofware with Synaptics.
I also keep an eye on FreeBSD/TrueOS, but these systems still require that users are qualified system administrators, and their developpers still don't know what a desktop environment is (some even confound it with a simple window manager, and Lumina reminds me Linux more than 2 decades ago). They desperately need to enroll a professional in GUI ergonomics.
Most other Linux distros i've tried fall between BSDs and Manjaro. Most distros are simply top distros with a revamped (usually darker and uglier) GUI theme or a user experience which is negatively altered by their idiosyncrases (beginning with the GUI theme) or simply by the scarce development and support ressources of their too marginal communities.
71 • @69&54 (by kc1di on 2020-03-17 12:29:27 GMT from United States)
Simply Mepis was on of my favorite distros also I was saddened when it came to an end. But things move on MX is good but not quite the same .
72 • My OS (by Roger on 2020-03-17 15:45:43 GMT from Belgium)
I use mainly Linux Mint Mate, it's installed on more than 30 PC and laptop.
There is one desktop with Ubuntu Mate and now one with MX 19.1 for testing.
Peppermint is sometimes on a PC or some other distro.
I started with BeOS in 1998 and after that RedHat until 7.5 or something.
Later I used PCLinuxOS, Suse, than Ubuntu and now Linux Mint from Isadora, that's 9, I still have a Compaq laptop with 9 Fluxbox which is still working.
73 • @68 Artix, Arch and openRC (by Andy Prough on 2020-03-17 16:27:27 GMT from United States)
Hi David - I did have the boot thing happen a few times early on. I have been paying close attention the last few times I've rebooted and haven't seen the behavior. Like you, it also happened to me on a very new, fast laptop, instead of my older slower laptop. I personally think it was a matter of the Artix boot with the tiny init system being so fast that BIOS couldn't keep up.
Regarding why Arch went with systemd - they did it in 2012 when systemd was very new and was considered a very promising system to move on from some of the manual script work associated with sysvinit. Arch developers wanted to be on the cutting edge at the time, and made a decision very early to work exclusively with systemd. Originally, systemd was quite a bit smaller and more focused.
You may or may not realize it, but Distrowatch's own Jesse Smith is the maintainer of the sysvinit project.
74 • Init stability (by Jesse on 2020-03-17 16:44:31 GMT from Canada)
With regards to init software stability, I'm going to weigh in here with my SysV init maintainer hat on. What some people here are reporting with regards to stability or boot problems and alternative init software is probably not a situation where the init software itself is an issue, but there are likely two other key factors in place:
1. non-systemd scripts and unit files often are not tested by many people. It's easier for bugs to creep into packages when they are not being tested by multiple people. It's not that the init software itself is not stable, but changes to the script files (or changes to the software that is not then reflected in the script files) will cause problems if it isn't tested. Since systemd has the bulk of the focus right now, its units are typically tested by lots of people, but others are not. The package maintainers need to hear about broken scripts and dependencies if you run into one.
2. Many non-systemd distros (Void, Artix, PCLinuxOS) are rolling releases and constantly have moving parts, shifting configurations. This, combined with the lack of people testing I mentioned in point #1, means you are more likely to run into problems. If you use a stable release with a non-systemd init, then you are less likely to run into breakages that come from updated packages/scripts.
It's an unfortunate combination because it makes SysV, OpenRC, Runit, etc look bad. Really, the init technology in each case is probably fine, there are just too few developers working on too many packages to test cross all cases.
75 • Mepis was a good one (by Dark Man on 2020-03-17 16:45:55 GMT from United States)
I started with Corel Linux, followed by Mandrake, et al. and frankly struggled with them all. Then an acquaintance recommended Mepis and it made me a believer in Linux as an everyday OS. Unfortunate that Mr. Woodford couldn't make a go of it financially. I still have the last version on a DVD packed away somewhere. I've been using Linux for twenty years now and Mepis had a lot to do with that. It was a good one and showed the way for some of the very good ones we have today.
76 • @41 Friar Tux: (by dragonmpouth on 2020-03-17 17:37:40 GMT from United States)
"from my EXPERIENCE"
You the emphasis on the wrong word. You should have placed it on the word "MY". Your experience is no more valid than anybody else's. Just because you love Mint and systemd does not mean that everyone else is similarly enamored. You claim that all other distros are junk because they will not play nice for you. Well, many other users feel that way about Mint. Luckily there is such a proliferation of distros that everybody can find one that "works" for them whether or not it uses systemd.
AFAIK, there have been no objective and rigorous comparisons done on whether systemd is or is not better than other init programs. When doing the comparisons, those who like systemd, include only favorable features and factors while those who hate systemd, include mostly unfavorable features and factors. IOW, GIGO.
77 • An Avalanche of Useful Knowledge (by David on 2020-03-17 19:46:39 GMT from United States)
@73
Andy - I very much appreciate your historical perspective on the Arch init strategy. In 2012, the system developers could not possibly have known that a coding behemoth such as SystemD was being created, and would continue to evolve into the controversial monster that it has become today. Having said that, and while I still consider Arch to be my favorite distro of all time, I'm now motivated to test Artix OpenRC ASAP.
@74
Jesse - As Andy alluded to, I had no idea that you were the resident maintainer of the SysV project. I suspected that there were undetected coding errors precipitating the Runit boot hang, and my knee-jerk reaction was to blame the init itself, rather than consider that the rolling release distro concept, with too few quality control maintainers trying to stay ahead of the avalanche of new package code racing toward them on a daily basis, was at the root of the instability issue.
Thanks to both of you for your shared knowledge and expertise.
JMHO
78 • Distro Poll (by Genardev on 2020-03-17 19:53:31 GMT from Germany)
Right now I'm writing this on an openRC Artix desktop system with KDE plasma which has been running absolutely fine for two weeks now - no lack of maturity has been discernible for me.
Artix has also been running pretty stable for more than a year on my seven-year-old laptop. It is my impression this distro improves by leaps and bounds, so perhaps it is ready to get some larger attention by now.
Yes, it does require some tinkering now and then, but I guess that is true for most related distros like Arch or Gentoo. I do keep a second OS which just prods along without any complaints: Devuan. It is wonderfully, boringly stable, and I do a lot of my daily work with it, but it does get a bit dated by now. Well, Beowulf is in Beta now and I suppose we'll see a fresh Devuan Stable soon.
79 • init thoughts (by M.Z. on 2020-03-17 21:30:06 GMT from United States)
The only truly aggravating init issues I ever had were related to Systemd on Mageia 6 & I had a 1.5 minute hag every time on my laptop - though the same exact setup worked fine on the desktop. I never figured the issue out or did enough trouble shooting on it, but it lasted a few months prior to the release of Mageia 7 & I haven't had a single issue with that anywhere I have it installed. On the whole Mageia has been great otherwise & I think from what I can see it's easily the best point release descent of Mandriva - though I had several good years rolling on PCLOS as well. On the whole init thing doesn't matter a bit to me, as long as it's fairly quick & reliable it gets you to the same place in the end.
80 • Artix OpenRC (by Martin on 2020-03-17 21:34:12 GMT from United Kingdom)
@77 @78 Just in case either of you are interested, my Artix installations are both OpenRC, one is an up to date desktop, the other a well out of date desktop, and running solidly on both with no hint of the boot delay bug which was present last year occasionally.
81 • The most missed distro (by zcatav on 2020-03-18 10:05:47 GMT from Turkey)
@54
The most missed distro is Libranet for me (https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=Libranet). Second one is SimplyMepis. And now I'm on MxLinux.
82 • Distro Poll . . . . . Pclos. (by Bof from England on 2020-03-18 13:51:15 GMT from United Kingdom)
Have used Pclos for 13 years. . Prior to that used SUSE, as I detested Widows !
May 2007 something wonderful happened ! PcLinuxOS arrived. I see no reason to change. Fair enough it has its detractors. . . name any O S that doesn't. It works.... that's the important part for me.
Have used it on towers, laptops, shuttles..... from PIII's right up to current i7's and Ryzen Threadrippers.
Excellent forum for advice from people who know what they are doing !
This silver surfer is a very happy man.
83 • Poll (by Cynic on 2020-03-19 03:20:55 GMT from Ghana)
Slackware.
Currently 30 on the list..
Despite the fact people keep thinking the project is dead.
Slackware has been my rock since 10.2, and as it's obviously still kicking with updates to -stable and -current on a frequent basis, will continue to be my base. They're gearing up for the next major release with QT5 and GTK3, and adding in KDE Plasma LTS (thanks to AlienBob) and XFCE 4.14 (which has been running thanks to rlworkman for quite a while anyway..).
The fascination people have with point-and-click systems really boggles my mind. As a developer, I look at what must be added in order to give a user further abstraction as the source of most bugs. I fail to see how people who are able to utilize complex word processing programs are incapable or simply avoid the use of configuration files and text editors.
Most software ever created will use a configuration file. Luckily for us, in OpenSource it's all plaintext.. and that not only makes it open, it makes it stable.
The "new line" of software which seems to be taking over the majority of the Linux/GNU distribution world simply adds further abstraction layers to these configuration files. While in theory, this is effective.. in practice (and reality), further codebase simply means more room for error (bugs/glitches).
The ncurses installer does not require the same setup as Arch, nor it is as slow of an install as Gentoo. It requires a person to be able to use the arrow keys and [Enter] to install. Despite the fact that most people use the exact same keys to play online games.. (and arguably build enough muscle memory from that alone to memorize their location) .. these same people want a point-and-click interface added to their software which not only "bloats" the software but adds further room for error and bugs.
Then.. when errors and bugs occur, they fail to see why it's an issue despite having chosen a "modern" distribution which doesn't actually run any software that any other Linux can't.. but instead simply adds complication, unneeded complexity and in the end, gives the end user the impression that the system is "flawed".
Since 2007, the only time Slackware "broke" for me was when I broke it myself. Updates will not inherently do it, and only reading is required to setup a very stable system. It is a horribly underrated distribution.. yet people seem to ignore the fact it's the oldest surviving one.. for a practical, tangible reason.
Every time I see something try to take over and control the ecosystem like SystemD and similar projects.. I just think of this quote:
"Give me liberty, or give me death!" - Patrick Henry
84 • #22 PeppermintOS (by hotdiggettydog on 2020-03-19 04:04:04 GMT from Canada)
My first love was Mandrake. Bought it at an electronics store about 20 years ago. I also ran Peanut for some time back then.
Moved on to PCLOS and Mepis for a long time.
Then on to Mint.
For several years its been and continues to be Peppermint on all my machines because it just works. I'm impressed with MX as well for the times I've dabbled with it.
85 • So many great distros... (by Klaus on 2020-03-19 07:55:15 GMT from United States)
Artix Linux - ever and forever. Because I really don't like systemd.
86 • The Most Missed Distro (by Otis on 2020-03-19 14:29:39 GMT from United States)
@54 What a great question: Yoper, with no hesitation. It was a wonderful distro and looked soooo good right from the first screen. But it was wonderful for me for other reasons, not the least of which was the fact that it made me believe in Linux as a true alternative to Windows that could be used and worked with on a daily basis. When it went away I found a likeness in PCLinuxOS. But, moved on to Manjaro and MX.
87 • Distro (by Will on 2020-03-20 02:46:03 GMT from United States)
Been using Linux since the 0.9 kernel and Slackware - before that it was SunOS and SysV... Mint is where I'm at these days. Slick interface (Cinnamon or XFCE), great package management (apt), and all the terminal power a power user could ask for. Other distros are ok... Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, but Mint works great. ZFS is working well, can't wait until ZFS on root becomes standard, but otherwise no complaints. Can't stand RPM based distros - Fedora, OpenSUSE, Centos, etc. but only because I hate RPM. Leap is beautiful and fun to use, but the package management sucks.
88 • @ #62 @ #76 and @ #83 (by Duffy Duffer on 2020-03-20 11:35:52 GMT from Canada)
@ #83
While installing SLS and re-writing the various scripts, Pat has created SlackWare on the top of it, he provided the "tux" a pipe and a hat. But, still he could not decide whether Bob is an alien, or Alien is Bob till today. AlienBob's and other slacky developers's contributions is just awesome. Then it comes to Salix and Vector.
@ #62 charts don't tell you much
It was, in fact, Mandriva - a well-designed distro pulled me in to GNU/Linux world.
Then, I was stuck with SimplyMepis for a while.
Then, PCLOS which is really a nice piece of design worth true appreciation.
Then, Berry's PUPPY and Smokey Slacko who did it differently like anticap did it for antiX, or like the way Devuan Team did it.
The world of "GNU/Linux" is full of legends, a few - only "THE" two I will cite here.
RMS (GNU, GCC an Emacs) and Linus because of them we all here on DW.
And, still there are thousandssss more that I could ever list here. I wish.
@ #76 dragonmpouth
Here, most people use Ununtu, or LinuxMint which justifies the emphasis on the wrong word. I would be nothing but a stupid, the "real" one, if I ever say what ever distro I am using is No#1.
If I like systemd there are tons of distros for me to pick.
If I do not like systemd, still, I am not running-out of choices, there tons, as well.
But of course I would not limit my experience to only ONE distro only.
89 • Forking Freedom (by M.Z. on 2020-03-20 19:21:37 GMT from United States)
@83
"Every time I see something try to take over and control the ecosystem like..."
Every time I hear someone talk like that I think "Well it must be forking time again" & then by the time I turn around & check it seems there is already a fork or three dealing with the exact thing that's being complained about (be it gnome 3, Oracle OpenOffice, etc.). Them I'm left to think 'who's crazy enough to try to control that? Or better yet who really thinks anyone could or would try to control that?' That's forking freedom for you.
90 • I voted #3 (by tom Joad on 2020-03-20 22:12:16 GMT from United States)
Have settled down over the recent past. I used to hop a lot, both using hard drives and zip drives.
About two years or so ago settled on Mint after a long spell with MX before it got flaming hot! MX is great! And was great from the beginning but I grew tired of the endless, branching menu system.
Lastly, I have never really strayed at all from the Debian branch. Debian, in one form or another, just has it going on. No slack, no RPM, no Gentoo, no funky stuff, no off the wall stuff. I have stuff to do. Did have a go or two with puppy for short periods.I liked the lightweight but running as the Admin is just NOT cool I don't think.
91 • PHR followers (by masketeers on 2020-03-20 23:31:01 GMT from Australia)
As everyone knows the Page Hit Rankng is too controversial. People become obsessed and angst-ridden over the position of their fave distro, and fight in arguments. Putting the distros in a list like 1,2,3... or A,B,C... etc, is prejudicial to the modern, sensitive politically-correct culture.
It would be better for the PHR to have a bulleted list, like *,*,*... This way, when oversensitive ppl complain - "Why is such-&-such a distro at number x?" you can just say "It's just a bulleted list, get over it", and any arguments are snuffed out..
Number of Comments: 91
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| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Pinguy OS
Pinguy OS was an Ubuntu-based distribution targeted at beginning Linux users. It features numerous user-friendly enhancements, out-of-the-box support for multimedia codecs and browser plugins, a heavily tweaked GNOME user interface with enhanced menus, panels and dockbars, and a careful selection of popular desktop applications for many common computing tasks.
Status: Discontinued
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