Gentoo. I used Ubuntu for a couple of years up until a few months ago, though.

weezuhl

@HeartBurnKid - interesting...

The only thing UNSTABLE on my Ubuntu box is Firefox 3. As I slowly eliminate extensions it's getting better but still freezes occasionally.

Jim

I've always felt that Ubuntu was the more user friendly Linux distro of the two, but that Fedora was a more solid and stable performer.
I kind of equated it as Ubuntu was XP Home and Fedora was XP Pro.

Insomnic

I double boot my INSPIRON 1501 with Hardy Heron and XP. Windows is for Photoshop and tests. Ubuntu is for all the rest.

xint

First distro I tried was Freespire, which was poo. Used Ubuntu for a few months but I wiped the drive when I needed some more data storage. Liked it a lot though. Never tried Fedora but I heard good things. I'll probably go back to Ubuntu or might try Linux Mint for an even quicker set up than Ubuntu.

skyhopper88

I have been an Ubuntu junkie ever since I first downloaded it as a live cd for whenever Windows dies on me for no reason at all. I have tried Knoppix, Puppy Linux & Fedora but they just seemed to awkward. Ubuntu was always just more user friendly in my opinion, more pick up and use, no thought needed.

-Steve

Sarcastic Steve

I'm kind of curious about this -- there's a lot of folks over on ubuntuforums.org that are blaming the FF beta for a variety of stability issues; it'll be interesting to see if Fedora users experience the same kind of thing.

HeartBurnKid

Yea, but it is called Werewolf? I think not. So not worth it without that little bit of lycan in it.

donkeyjote

Ubuntu as my primary desktop for over a year, the only OS installed since last month.

While the completely FOSS aspect of fedora is kind of nice, just disable the extra Repos in Ubuntu and you get the same thing. That being said, there's a lot to be said for the usability of proprietary software...

Confuzius

Been running RH Linux since about version 5. (1998 I think) I really like where Fedora is going, but there are still a lot of things that are a pain in the neck to get working.

JoeStalin

Running Ubuntu at home. Who decided it was a good idea to ship a beta version of Firefox with these distros? My Firefox experience is defined by the extensions I have installed. The majority of them don't work with the beta version, so it feels like I'm running in safe mode or something.

Ugly Joe

I went through a lot of distros a few years ago before finally picking fedora to jump into the linux world with. it is my first love in linux of sorts, but I use ubuntu now. Fedora was too much of a pain to set it up to a working home desktop, and its not because they couldn't make it easier. It's a philosophical choice of open source purism. I understand, but I don't have the time or patience to spend 14 hours making an OS usable for my and my family. Yes it takes a while in windows and ubuntu also, but a lot less time.

Fedora could win me back if it had easier integration of closed-source and proprieatary stuff like nvidia drivers and dvd playback. They don't have to include it, just give us the ability to easily enable it like ubuntu does.

Otherwise, I think Fedora is a superior distro.

jcoffman

personally, i'm not touching ff 3 until there's a stable release version.

firesign

Interested to check out Fedora KDE 4. I have played with Fedora 8 and the look and feel is very similar to Ubuntu.

I knew it was a bad idea for Ubuntu to ship a LTS release with Firefox 3 beta 5

siblog

triple-boot here; got a vista partition (just so I know it mostly) an xp partition (for gaming mostly) and everything else gets done in an OpenSUSE 10.3 environment. Yast2 is a bitch but there are ways around that. These days I usually use webpin and one-click installs (which btw, rocks!!) kde4 showed up in production repo's a while ago on suse; pretty much as soon as KDE said that it was finished. Before that you could add it in Factory (builds) which were a bit buggy. Suse, while they did seem to hop into bed with M$ do really well with corporate desktop deployments. KDE 3.5 + Suse 10.3 is probably the easiest transition from XP to linux you will find. If you stick with the production repositories, you will have a relatively bullet-proof and easy to use linux. Multimedia is always a drag but the one click install fixes that in about 90seconds (on broadband). Since licensing is why it isnt included.

x40sw0n

Good Alaskan Afternoon!

My name is Jef Spaleta and I am a elected member of the Fedora Project Board. I would like to take this opportunity to answers any questions you make have concerning the Fedora 9 release and the Fedora Project more generally.

But first let me take a moment to explain why I personally use and contribute to Fedora as opposed to another distribution project.

I fervently believe that the real value of what goes into Fedora or any other linux distribution is created by the upstream projects themselves. And while individual distributions have the ability to adapt and patch sourcecode as they see fit to fulfill short-term desires, the long term gains that sustain continued open source development can only be achieved if distributors are working as closely as possible with upstream projects, giving back to upstream projects, so that all users benefit.

And that is exactly what the Fedora Project is meant to do, benefit not just Fedora users, or Red Hat users, but all linux users. The releases of the Fedora linux distribution are done with the intent of making it easier for end-users to connect directly with upstream projects.

As a result of that commitment Fedora contributors avoid spending a significant time on Fedora-specific enhancements and spend more time on getting things right in the upstream projects or working on new things that everyone can make use of. Even the code for all the bits Fedora has created for its internal project needs is open. From its build system and its hosting services to its translation infrastructure, all of it is open for re-use.

I firmly believe that Fedora is leading the effort towards sustainable open development and a consistent linux experience for all linux users. And I would encourage you to think about becoming involved in that larger effort. If Fedora as a distribution or as a project doesn't suit you you can still help by encouraging the distributions you do use and support to make a commitment to driving their customizations upstream.

Things move pretty fast in the Fedora world and we are already gearing the process up to start work on F10. But I'll try to slow down long enough to answer questions that you make have.

-jef

jspaleta

I have a complicated (to explain) hardware set up. Anyways I dual-boot on two machines and switch between the two with my two monitors (with a flip of a button). I dual-boot debian/slackware on one machine and FreeBSD/reactOS on another. I enjoy reactOS the most though as it is fully compatible with windows software, has directX runtime support, is lightweight, and has tons of features. I usually have reactOS and debian booted up at the same time as their my two favorite.

AvgJoe

I use Ubuntu, but I am VERY disappointed with 8.04 decision to include FF3 beta. Most of my extensions are not working. That is not acceptable.

hombrelobo

I've done Sabayon for the few escapades into Linux that I've done, but now that Ubuntu's jumped aboard Compiz, I think that it'll be my choice should I ever go back.

Reilaos~

@jcoffman:

Fedora as a project can't take the legal risk of contributory infringement in the US by including 3rd party repository definitions by default that could contain material that Fedora can't vouch for.

3rd party repositories do exist and are easily installed. I personally find the livna repository useful for nvidia drivers and other things for my Fedora 8 system which requires them.

And Adobe has a flash plugin repository that you can install as well for their proprietary flash plugin.

-jef

jspaleta

I used fedora for a while, but after heading back to windows for a bit i switched over to Ubuntu and never really looked back.

Apt-get rocks my world. I never liked RPMs.

After upgrading, I kinda wonder why FF3 was included in the LTS release of Ubuntu. That seems to give me the most problems. And FF# seems pretty solid other then plugin compatibility issues.

I've also noticed that GDM sometimes doesn't display the login prompt when a user logs out, but that may not be a common problem.

digitalpincushion

For me, it's all about Linux Mint. A more hassle free Ubuntu that comes with all the popular media codecs preinstalled and has some really great apps it uses which gives you the abundance of ubuntu packages with less DIY for things like DVD playback or Flash. The new Mint is coming soon that will be based off of Hardy and I can't wait. www.linuxmint.com

Captain_Apathy

I got introduced to linux through debian almost a year ago. I have it running on a dual boot on my laptop. Its not as out of the box as ubuntu, but it seems to sit better on my laptop. I also use debian on my work servers.

markaduffy

I prefer Debian Sidux. Not for beginnings, but if you know what you are doing it can be perfect, it leaves you a lot of power to set it up exactly as you want quickly and easily. And its both more cutting edge and more stable then Ubuntu. Best of all worlds. =)

Jarek

For those complaining about FF 3 Beta being the chose for Ubuntu 8.04, I believe that the decision was made because of the fact that this is an LTS release. "FF3 will be the norm in a while, so why not start out supporting it?" (I don't necessarily believe that it was the right choice...)

thor222

For those with FF3B5 Extension Problems, install nightly tester tools and disable secure update checking in about:config. Usually the only thing preventing extensions from working is a line in the install.rdf.

skyhopper88

I use both. I have Fedora 8 installed on my server and I believe that is the better system for a server. I also have Fedora 8 installed on my wife's desktop -- but if I had known about Ubuntu I probably would have installed that instead -- as I view Ubuntu as the more "user-friendly" of the two. I have Ubuntu installed on my PS3 as well as an old Windows XP machine that I do not really use for anything since I bought a Vista laptop.

I like Fedora for its robustness, stability (I only ever reboot when I update the kernel) and polished feel.

Ubuntu seems more user friendly, although I have had problems, for instance, getting Flash and Java installed correctly. I also do not like the Synaptic Update Manager (or whatever it is called) -- it seems clunkier than Yum Extender, which is awesome and FAST.

In the end, they are both Linux and they both do the same things. I think neither is "better" than the other -- they are just set up a little differently. But they do both beat the socks off Windows -- if only the software was out there!

jkrell

Hmmm. Fedora is Blue and Ubuntu is Brown.

Brown is dull. But I'll stick with Ubuntu for the time being because Fedora 9 Live CD does odd things in my VMWare Player when I expand it to full screen. Like huge fonts... Fedora 8 did the same.

Fras

I've been a happy Fedora user since I switched to full-time linux just before Fedora Core 6 came out. Have tried Mandriva, Ubuntu, Debian, and a lot of the less mainstream distros. Nothing I've found matches Fedora's combination of stability, performance, and usability.

vollmond

"Which distro rules your desktop?"
My first attempt at linux was ubuntu and while I used it, it worked well enough. I now use a very small distribution called Puppy Linux which was very easy to install and is easy to use, especially for me, with little linux experience.

jslatane

Ubuntu is African for can't install debian.

I am a debian guy.

DJWeezy

I used ubuntu when it first came out, never could see what all the fuss was about, maybe it's the "we are the world" think like us philosophy, which for me ain't gonna work. I mean comon for crying out load I use linux, and vote libretarian.
Any way real men run Sidux, it's the formula 1 car of linux, and for newbies I steer them to pclinuxos, where all you do is install and everything is there that one one need, nothing to configure

sprockin

I've always used Fedora, since Fedora core 3. But, I had to install Ubuntu on a virtual machine at work due to issues between virtualbox and Fedora.

cbiggins

Kubuntu 8.04 KDE 4 Remix FTW!

Ramses

oh & (PCLinuxOS-kde) also has java already installed also, as well as flash.

ghostaliaz

I have tryed out many linux distro's, but personally I think that Mepis Linux,PCLinuxOS-KDE are the best for newbs, because it is not alot that you have to install because they,well atleast PCLinuxOS-KDE have already included most or not all of the video & audio formats like Wmv,Wma,MP3,flash,xvid(avi),divX(avi),mov,flv,mp4 & dvd playing is very easy to install & to me Ubuntu does nothing for me as a newb to linux well atleast 4 years using linux faithfully. Ubuntu to me is to plain & stripped down & to me very buggy. When I tried out the buggy ubuntu I would type on my keyboard & my words will come up on the page atleast 5 seconds later, that type of lag to me is a deal breaker. I have tried xp & alot of linux distro's & none of them had this lag like in ubuntu. I even tried several different keyboards & systems & nothing changed. I know you ubuntu people just love it, but for me right now I just prefer Mepis/PCLinuxOS-KDE & I also like Dream Linux, well atleast the older version because the new beta version sucks because it is very very bloated. PCLinuxOS-kde is the best to me & they even included a tv program to look at & use my tv tuner and pro's I know you can just install which ever one you like on any linux but because they just included it from jump was perfect as far as I am concerned. I love PCLinuxOS-kde.Try it people.

ghostaliaz

I am, well, one year into the daily use of linux. I tried all the major ones. Like Ubuntu's clean look, but prefer Mandriva Gnome over Ubuntu any day. Also as a newb I have installed and uninstalled many distros only to find that PCLinuxOS works again and again. Now, getting back to the subject at hand, I have tried Fedora 7 and 8 and have had a fairly good experience, but never tried to install it. I think it is worth a shot to give Fedora 9 a try. I too prefer the blue-look over the brown-look of Ubuntu, but even on Ubuntu that can be changed. The real problem with Ubuntu is that it does not have all the drivers for video cards or scanners, etc. I have also had the distro crash many times. I tried KDE 4.0 in the Kubuntu 7.10 but wound up ditching the thing due to it locking up all the time. Sorry for the rants, just got to say it. I am downloading Fedora 9 now.

qpease

I second (or third, or fourth) the recommendations for Linux Mint ([www.linuxmint.com]). Esp. after an abortive attempt to get Ubuntu 8.04 to even boot on my bog-standard Dell E520 desktop (much less the disappointing posts I'm reading on the Ubuntu forums about boot problems, slowness, scheduler weirdness, etc...).

I'm sure the Ubuntu folks will get this straightened out eventually - but for me, Linux Mint is just an "Ubuntu that works." (and has a delightful, intuitive interface design, and incls all the codecs I want already, and... ;)

dhuff

@skyhopper88:

3.0 has some overhauls that might make this old solution inadvisable: "If your extension accesses bookmark or history data in any way, it will need substantial work to be compatible with Firefox 3."

GoogleBrowserSync is one example having trouble, I'd bet del.icio.us is having similar issues (though haven't tried that one myself).

Johnny Pneumatic

@DJWeezy: LOL!

I started out with SUSE on my OG iMac in 2000, and have since used a variety of distros on different machines: YellowDog, Debian, Red Hat, Slackware, etc. I think my favorite of all those was Debian.

I kind of forgot about linux for a while (a short anti-techno phase, I guess), but I'm probably going to reinstall soon, so this conversation is quite interesting to me.

linguamichael

I started off as a Fedora user, but felt too much like a guinea pig. When I tried Ubuntu and suddenly everything was fixed I never looked back.

mrosedal

@Johnny Pneumatic: Thanks for the tip. I knew about Gsync (which is why I switched to the supported foxmarks beta). Most everything else I've used still works ok though.

skyhopper88

Ubuntu for me. Hardy is smoothly whoopin ass on previous releases and running virtualbox keeps windows from stabbing me in the back.
nvidia drivers are getting there....

CameronCook

Yah, not too keen on the decision to make Firefox Beta the default browser. Its difficult to get firefox 2 to work properly on the system as well. A final release OS should not come with BETA software installed by default!

icntdrv

I love it. I am going to try to get my friends to switch over to it. I was very impressed with it.

Reese Mitchell