Best Linux Distribution for Laptop?

1. Fedora?

2. CentOS?

3. Ubuntu?

4. Debian?

5. others you prefer?

Who is the ideal Linux distribution for laptop?

 

I'd say OpenSuSE, Fedora, and Ubuntu

 

The question is totally vague. What are the specs of your laptop? If you have a Dell and you're new to Linux I'd say Ubuntu.

 

All recent distributions are equally capable if you have the know-how.

I refuse to vote on this poll.

 

Yes, this poll is hard to answer. The best distro for you will be the one that includes the most(if not all) of the drivers for the hardware that your laptop has. Then the software choices(IDE, MP3 players etc) are available in all distros. By choosing a distro that has a good match to your hardware, you save your self a lot of config time, since the appropriate drivers are loaded on boot.

 

I second this motion.

 

I posted my reply in your other thread over in the Lenovo sub-forum.

 

I read it as 'what distro do you run on your lappy'? Why not vote?

Edit: Needs more distros I guess...?

 

Those who don't understand archer7's point, chose
LinuxMint and you'll be happy.

For netbooks I'd recommend other distros than for notebooks.

 

none of the above:

crunchbang

 

but there is no 9.04 version yet.

 

IMO Xubuntu...I just switched back to it from Slack for a while....take a break.... I say this because of compatibility, easy power management, and XFCE is relatively light, and runs fast on new hardware....that said, there is no correct answer for this poll

 

I voted for Ubuntu mostly because, for a new laptop user, the community and forums are great and the package management is a snap.

Hardware recognition is usually excellent among the major distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, Mandriva, etc. But sometimes there are idiosyncratic differences for laptop users. For example, I have bought two new laptops from overseas with the latest hardware. Usually I have had to wait a few months for the next distribution of Ubuntu to find my hardware fully supported. Another example, on my mom's new laptop there is a brand new intel gpu that Ubuntu 9.04 doesn't like apparently. Fedora 11, just released, works perfectly with it. If you have a new machine, sometimes you just have to experiement until you find something that works with your gear.

 

Yeah...I'm getting ready to give Fedora 11 a spin now.....

 

I've run Fedora, Suse, Mandrake, Slack, PCLinuxOS, Sabayon, and OpenGEU installed on laptops, plus more live distros than I can count. Some took more work than others, but Suse seemed the best on the hardware I have.

 

I don't really think hardware support is that big of an issue now. It's not like 10 years where Linux was truely a splinter sector of the OSs. It has grown and support has improved tremendously over the years. As long as you're not using an extremely rare laptop with parts made in Greenland, then almost all your hardware should be detected. For those that aren't, an open-source driver usually works.

I think it all basically depends on personal preference and maybe the technical skill of the user. On the surface, people will prefer one of KDE, GNOME, XFCE, Openbox, Fluxbox, Compiz, etc. (I'm a GNOME person.) It's just a matter of usage habits and what suits their style.

On a deeper level, some people may not want to bother too much with the intiricacies and tweaking of the kernel, the complier flags, etc. Then (KX)Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva will appeal to them as all they want is an OS that they can boot up and shutdown and know that the default works, and that's all they need.

Then there's the power-users that want to get as close to 100% of the hardware juice as possible. That's the users of Arch or Gentoo, setting it up might take a while, but it may be worth it to some.

 

I'd say the best distro for your ntb is the distro you like the best. All else boils down to how much you know about linux... .

 

I use Arch Linux for my notebook. if you have used ubuntu and feel that you've 'mastered' it, arch imo is the next step up.

 

I feel the same way except I'd say Slackware. However, at the time being I'm using Ubuntu just because it works so well (like Slack, but faster to set up). But Slack is 'cleaner' IMO.

 

Couldn't have said it better.

I feel the natural order of progression is Ubuntu/Mandriva -> Arch -> Gentoo/LFS. Once you've mastered a particular distro, move on to the next level to keep things from getting too mundane.

 

Pardus too , it'a good choice..

 

I vote Pardus, the 2009 release is looking fantastic Kde 4.2 is super stable.

I have to vote Pardus given I am a package maintainer for the distro, so its hypocritical I suppose if I do not vote for it.

 

Haha, sweet deal, dude. And welcome to the forums! We need more gurus. Unfortunately, I'm too in love with arch to even experiment with something else.

 

I dont package major things, I maintain a few packages from the contribution repository smplayer and homebank etc.

 

Pardus looks pretty impressive actually....I see it uses PiSi for package management....what is Pardus based off of originally? i.e. any particular distribution? I'm straying here, but since it's brought up

 

Originally it was closely based around Gentoo. However it is now a completely independent distribution that is not based off other distributions. It uses its own unique package management system and interface (PISI), its initialization and control system (COMAR), its own home written management tools e.g. network manager, service manager, boot manager, user manager etc.

So its basically a completely independent distribution so it does not use any other distros for its foundation which is a refreshing change given that almost every new distro is based off Ubuntu.

 

Very true

People decide what the best distro for themselves is over time so there many best distros.

For anyone who hasn't formed there own opinion I suppose it has to be Ubuntu because of its support, ease, userbase etc.