Which Linux distribution should I install?

[Shlomi]

I want to install linux on my computer as a virtual machine.
Since I dont really know the difference between them, and there are tens if not hundreds of different ones, can anyone recommend on a certain one? Or at least tell what is your favorite?

 

[VladimirBunicu]

The famed Ubuntu is my favorite so far. Haven't tried the server capabilities, but it works great as a workstation on my Thinkpad.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Ubuntu is by far the most popular for consumers. I got it dual-boot on my Thinkpad since 2006. The hardware support is great and the apps is plentiful.

 

[Sanket Patel]

I want to install linux on my computer as a virtual machine.
Since I dont really know the difference between them, and there are tens if not hundreds of different ones, can anyone recommend on a certain one? Or at least tell what is your favorite?

Shlomi wanting to install Linux? What's going on here?

 

[Eugene Krel]

shlomi you should definitely use arch linux, most definitely.

 

[Shlomi]

Shlomi wanting to install Linux? What's going on here?

I have a new Mac, so thought about having Linux on a virtual machine. I have 1TB hard drive and don't know what to do with all this space...

 

[alain]

Ubuntu all the way!!

 

[kirylm]

Ubuntu all the way!!

I would go with SuSE. I find Ubuntu is too simple for some and way not as simple for many other applications.

iMac doesn't come with OS/X?

 

[Sanket Patel]

I have a new Mac, so thought about having Linux on a virtual machine. I have 1TB hard drive and don't know what to do with all this space...

By the way, I recommend Ubuntu.

 

[doug reich]

Ubuntu. It's the most polished distro out there.

 

[Shlomi]

I would go with SuSE. I find Ubuntu is too simple for some and way not as simple for many other applications.

iMac doesn't come with OS/X?

It is, I don't plan to use the Linux as the primary OS

 

[Stefan Zota]

Ubuntu. It's the most polished distro out there.

Enterprise level Linux is provided primarily by RedHat. This includes the support and other belts and whistles around the core OS.
For personal use, Ubuntu is the best option.

 

[timothyko]

You can check this site for the popularity rankings: http://distrowatch.com/.
If anything, burn a couple of your choice and try out the live CD's.

 

[alain]

Enterprise level Linux is provided primarily by RedHat.

This is not entirely true. Canonical provides Enterprise support for Ubuntu Server across the world.

 

[doug reich]

You can check this site for the popularity rankings: http://distrowatch.com/.
If anything, burn a couple of your choice and try out the live CD's.

That's very true. I did that with a few distros recently and still came up with ubuntu.

I think the most important thing in Linux distros (in no particular order) is
a. hardware recognition
b. package distribution
I don't think anyone has better package management than Ubuntu. Obviously, very close to Debian, but I wouldn't touch Red Hat's with a 10-foot pole. They get you into those circular dependancies in which nothing works!

I was a long time DIY'er and I had to just wipe old distros (e.g. Gentoo) because I didn't have the time or interest to worry about all the little settings, and the time it took to install a piece of software... with no discernible benefit in performance!

 

[joshbaptiste]

I choose a distro based on its package management system, and by far apt is the slickest and fastest so any distro based on debian is fine, *buntu etc... rpm based derivatives come in second as they have the coporate backings as well as a large user base such as Fedora,Suse etc...