Ask HN: Which Linux distribution you are currently using? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Which Linux distribution you are currently using?

6 pointszyngaro32 comments

Arch. I just started using it a few weeks ago for development purposes and it blows the socks off of every other OS I have ever used in almost every way (besides the initial install).

Linux Mint (Cinnamon) - see also https://github.com/duncan-bayne/mint-setup

ArchLinux[0] with no desktop environment and openbox[1] as the window manager with a few custom keyboard shortcuts to launch every day use applications (xterm, sublime text, internet browser, bashrun2[2] (an application launcher)).

Pros:

- it uses ~80MB on idle out of 3GB of RAM with my setup

- the wiki[3] covers everything you need to know to install, maintain and troubleshoot your box

- community-driven packages repository[4] where you can find nearly everything and it's always up-to-date

- great package manager[5]

Cons:

- installation process is not straightforward and there is no wizard for initial configuration. It personally took me a couple of attempts before managing to install AL on a machine with a UEFI motherboard

- systemd

[0] ArchLinux https://www.archlinux.org/

[1] Openbox http://openbox.org/wiki/Main_Page

[2] bashrun2 https://code.google.com/p/bashrun2/

[3] Wiki https://wiki.archlinux.org/

[4] Arch User Repository https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository

[5] Pacman https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/pacman

I am using Fedora20. I have unusual reasons - my 2009 Macbook Pro os broken such that booting OSX or the MacOS install disc will cause hard reboot very quickly.

The efi boot-install of Fedora also crashes the machine; the bios boot uses a different graphics card and doesn't crash the machine. (The Plymouth boot logo is garbled and boot takes an age but it works).

(I only think it's a broken graphics adaptor. I'd happily try any fault-finding that people suggest. )

I have strongly negative opinions of Fedora and I will never ever install it on any other system. I'm preparing to move over to Arch.

Ubuntu Studio 14.04 because:

+ the Ubuntu ecosystem is well supported, in particularAskUbuntu on StackExchange.

+ The Studio flavor comes with software that's cool even what I don't use, and the little I have used would have been hard to identify and select in my state of ignorance...it's pretty much the case that having audio and video tools is the only reason I've used them.

+ I personally don't like the way stock Ubuntu works (in little ways) and don't want to invest in configuration at this point in my life.

I used Ubuntu on several generations of home-built boxes, the most recent a Xeon on an Intel motherboard, but Ubuntu has reduced compatibility with my motherboard's video. I just moved to Fedora Server 21 and left the GUI off altogether. We'll see how that goes... I have a lot of apt-get commands in muscle memory.

Yeah, the times I've tried to use CentOS or Fedora have always been full of "apt-get" in my bash history. :(

lubuntu right now because my current pc is an old laptop (c2d, 2gb), works well enough.

In the past I've used manjaro with xfce and OpenSUSE with KDE. I've found manjaro quite a good compromise between a bare arch install that requires hours and hours of configuration, and a more 'full-featured' distro, which in my experience with OpenSUSE, felt a bit bloated.

The good about these three is you have good access to community-driven packages, PPAs in the ubuntu ecosystem, the AUR is absolutely great (manjaro is arch-based), and for suse you can find most things through the Open Build System

Debian Wheezy at home (I learned Linux on Debian, so I guess it's kind of habit when I pick a distro); CentOS 6.6 at work. After hearing a few things about Arch, though, I will give that a try. :)

Ubuntu 14.04 on my laptop. I stayed on 10.04 as long as I could, but eventually the lack of support for Chrome and so on convinced me to update.

Plus I have 14.04 running on all the servers where I have a choice.

When I use linux (as opposed to BSD), I use Arch Linux.

I don't recommend it to everyone, but it's by far the best linux distribution for me.

Not an answer, but people who are using Mint; is there an official upgrade path between releases yet? How do you upgrade?

All Mint point releases (17, 17.1, 17.2) are going to use Ubuntu 14.04 as a base. That means upgrading Mint 17 is low risk task until Mint 18 is released in 2016 (based on Ubuntu 16.04).

Also expect Mint Debian Edition based on Debian 8.0 (Jessie) to be released later this year. Currently the Debian edition of Mint is rolling release but the developers have agreed that starting with Jessie, they will use only stable releases to base their version on.

I'm using Korora with Cinnamon, but I've been playing with i3 window manager lately to replace the desktop.

#! - http://crunchbang.org/

Do you have plans for an alternative now that development has ceased? (http://crunchbang.org/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=416493#p41649...)

I didn't even know about that, but I'll keep using it till my computer falls apart!

I am using xubuntu(14.10). I like it because it is small,fast and supports ubuntu packages.

Ubuntu 14.04, testing the 15.04 on VM.

Also run Kali and Tails on USB sticks for some researching.

Until I figure out my nvidia drivers for my laptop, Ubuntu 14.04 on a VPS.

Used Ubuntu for a while, now mostly Arch Linux

Xubuntu 14.04.1 LTS, running on a Dell XPS 13

Latest Debian netinstall if I do use Linux.

Ubuntu, with a pretty customized setup.

Ubuntu, but w/ fluxbox.

Fedora 21 almost everywhere.

Ubuntu 12.

Fedora 21, SL 6.1

Debian (Wheezy)

Ubuntu 14.04

Linux Mint (Cinnamon). Was on Ubuntu, but found that I was much more productive on Mint - as Ubuntu has become too feature rich and I don't use most of what they offer.

Mint has been a great platform for rails development, easily integrating with all the test and dev tools I needed.

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