RE: Operating System beside Windows 7 02-24-2013, 06:51 PM
#19
Fedora
Fedora is Red Hat's community Linux distribution, and it's a winner. It's also a cutting edge distribution. You'll find new features in the forthcoming Fedora 12, like kernel memory management via KSM (kernel samepage merging), that are may be a little too bleeding edge for some users. I like Fedora, but its target audience is Linux experts, not Linux newcomers.
MEPIS
MEPIS isn't that well known a desktop distribution, but it should be. This Debian-based distribution doesn't have the newest features it still uses the KDE 3.5.x desktop but it's as stable as bedrock and runs fast and well on older hardware. I've been a MEPIS user for years, and while I review every major (and many of the minor) Linux distributions every year, I always find myself coming back to MEPIS. It's the most dependable Linux desktop I've ever used, and I suspect I'm going to continue using it for many years to come.
Mint
Mint doesn't get a lot of press either, but this Ubuntu-based distribution has a lot of fans. It's easy to see why. In addition to all of Ubuntu's goodness, Mint has browser plug-ins, media codecs, DVD playback, and Java and other proprietary-but-handy parts built in. While you can't get Mint pre-installed on a notebook like you can with Ubuntu and SUSE, its developers are working on making it OEM (original equipment manufacturer)-friendly. I won't be surprised if I see at least one vendor offering pre-installed Mint over the next few months.
OpenSUSE
OpenSUSE, like Fedora, is also a major distributor's community Linux. In this case, Novell is the company behind this distro. But unlike Fedora, openSUSE tends to be less bleeding edge and more stable. It also includes software like Mono, which brings .NET programs to Linux, along with other Windows-friendly software. Free-software purists hate this and so tend to avoid Novell and openSUSE. Personally, I have little problem with that, and I like openSUSE a lot. The latest version, openSUSE 11.2, is almost ready to go. I'm not ready to review it quite yet, but I can tell you already that it's a winner.
Also, if you're looking for PCs for business, Novell is the only company that offers a Linux desktop, SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop), with all the enterprise support trimmings and Windows domain and AD (Active Directory) compatibility. If I were running a business today, my desktops would probably be running SLED.
Fedora is Red Hat's community Linux distribution, and it's a winner. It's also a cutting edge distribution. You'll find new features in the forthcoming Fedora 12, like kernel memory management via KSM (kernel samepage merging), that are may be a little too bleeding edge for some users. I like Fedora, but its target audience is Linux experts, not Linux newcomers.
MEPIS
MEPIS isn't that well known a desktop distribution, but it should be. This Debian-based distribution doesn't have the newest features it still uses the KDE 3.5.x desktop but it's as stable as bedrock and runs fast and well on older hardware. I've been a MEPIS user for years, and while I review every major (and many of the minor) Linux distributions every year, I always find myself coming back to MEPIS. It's the most dependable Linux desktop I've ever used, and I suspect I'm going to continue using it for many years to come.
Mint
Mint doesn't get a lot of press either, but this Ubuntu-based distribution has a lot of fans. It's easy to see why. In addition to all of Ubuntu's goodness, Mint has browser plug-ins, media codecs, DVD playback, and Java and other proprietary-but-handy parts built in. While you can't get Mint pre-installed on a notebook like you can with Ubuntu and SUSE, its developers are working on making it OEM (original equipment manufacturer)-friendly. I won't be surprised if I see at least one vendor offering pre-installed Mint over the next few months.
OpenSUSE
OpenSUSE, like Fedora, is also a major distributor's community Linux. In this case, Novell is the company behind this distro. But unlike Fedora, openSUSE tends to be less bleeding edge and more stable. It also includes software like Mono, which brings .NET programs to Linux, along with other Windows-friendly software. Free-software purists hate this and so tend to avoid Novell and openSUSE. Personally, I have little problem with that, and I like openSUSE a lot. The latest version, openSUSE 11.2, is almost ready to go. I'm not ready to review it quite yet, but I can tell you already that it's a winner.
Also, if you're looking for PCs for business, Novell is the only company that offers a Linux desktop, SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop), with all the enterprise support trimmings and Windows domain and AD (Active Directory) compatibility. If I were running a business today, my desktops would probably be running SLED.
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