Because it's not Slackware.

I use ubuntu and live-usb puppy, but my "...offers smth that others don't..." answer is based on ubuntu.

I just want a user-friendly distro that get things done, therefore ubuntu seemed perfect for me, as everything is neat and tidy into categories, and is generally suitable for a wider range of people. That being said, I'm probably moving to Mint in the next few days, have heard good things about it!

Yeah, you're free to choose second best if you want.

Yep, Mint is a great choice if you want to get a wide array of things done. I run Mint 9, 10 and Fedora 14. The only problem is that you can get used to running in Windows mode (using gui's only) which is one of the reasons that I run Fedora also. It keeps me on the edge and I like building my skills.

Enjoy

Arch.

- pacman
- AUR
- wiki
- no "masters"
- BSD-style scripts
- nothing out of the box
- almost original software

After I needed to get reinstall XP but could not because of my error in throwing away my key and then uninstalling XP in that order, I checked the internet to see which Linux distribution was most suitable and easy and Ubuntu seemed to be the one for me.

I am still surprised that the defaults I get are what I want, rather than what Microsoft thinks but is not. How does the Linux community know what computer users need and want?

August Guillaume

I also wanted to vote reliable and fun - so I voted reliable.

I am using Ubuntu 10.04 and it "just works" which is what I love. Also there is SO MUCH information on the web - whenever I need to know how to get something done, I don't need to look very long for the answer.

So far I've used (or in some cases, tried to use) 29 distros. I've been using Fedora regularly since version 1 because nothing has been significantly better, but I do dislike the pace of change.

The ones where everything worked straight off were Debian, DreamLinux, Fedora, Mandriva, Mint, PCLinuxOS, Sabayon, Salix, Ubuntu. Of those, Debian and Salix (and CentOS) offer long-term stability. So, I'm trying to decide whether to stay in Red Hat land with CentOS 6, or to move to Salix. With Debian, it's always been a case of "I do not love thee Dr Fell, the reason why I cannot tell".

I prefer Slackware because it always works, never breaks, and is easiest to configure. All you need is a text editor and google to make it do what you want.

My second choice is Debian, because it is also rock solid and never breaks and, like Slack, allows a root login--no mickey mousing about with sudo: login as root, do your admin stuff, logout, and use.

I use Ubuntu because it came factory-installed on my laptop and netbook and the wireless works. I've fought the wireless wars before. (I am not a Ubuntu fan, but working wireless trumps my objections to Ubuntu's apparent desire to be Apple-licious.)

I use them all with Fluxbox because Flux is light, fast, highly configurable, and does everything I need without toting around five steamer trunks and a knapsack full of stuff that hogs memory and slows down computers.

Because the developers ARE the users. We don't write software that sells, with shiny stuff that
looks good, we write what we need or want to use. Microsoft doesn't create software the
way they think you want it, that would be stupid for them. They write the software that a) they
think will look good in the package, so you'll buy it, and b) software that will keep you locked
into their systems for as long as possible.

There's a major BUT in this system, though. We can only do it the way you want it if you contribute
by at least telling developers what you want. Use the mailing list and forums to report bugs, suggest
ways to make the UI clearer, etc. Be as specific as possible and offer to help
any way you can. Read Eric S. Raymond's "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way" first,
though. Read with an open mind, it's full of good tips on how to get the help you
need, and also the features or fixes you want.

"Because it's fun"? That's interesting that any votes went that way. I most definitely do NOT want
my operating system to be "fun", I want it to be invisible. Right now I want to "answer questions on
LQ", not "use my operating system".

AFAIK, Fedora offers the largest RPM repository available and I prefer RPMs above any other package. That's why I voted for "It offers something the others don't," although it's extremely reliable too.

Windows is the default OS, which means all stupid computer users use Windows. I am not saying anything negative about Windows users in general--just that all computer users that happen to be stupid end up using Windows.

With that in mind, Microsoft must get an immense amount of feedback from people that don't understand the simplest thing. I suspect they spend more effort catering to them than to knowledgeable users.

Linux doesn't have that problem. You have to make a decision and go out of your way to get a Linux box. It's against the odds that any stupid user will end up using Linux. Therefore Linux developers have an easier time catering to the needs of serious computer users.

Fedora is extremely secure, reasonably up to date, doesn't get in your way, and I really haven't had much issues with making it do what I want. You have a firewall already installed and setup, SELinux, Policykit, and su -c raising privileges only as associated with a specific process unlike sudo's 15 minute global raised privileges. Plus presto, aka delta-rpms, is very nice for not wasting excess time downloading updates.

I'm however gearing up to switch over to Slackware as the base system as they have better documentation, are designed to give more power to the user (aka me), and the quirky aspects of it like the fortune cookies are endearing. Hardening it versus using the hypervisor server style with Fedora in a VM or whether to just leave it at properly setting up permissions is one of my current debates with myself.

My distro ATM is Mint, I picked "It offers something that others doesn't..."

I used to run Gentoo and Slackware on my two machines, distros I loved because of their unique features, but these days I don't have time to tinker like that at all anymore. I love Mint because everything "just works" out of the box, including mp3/DVD playback, flash, etc and it makes it very easy to install gfx/wifi drivers, although I suspect that particular aspect is common to Ubuntu as well. It's pretty much maintenance free too, nothing has yet broken on an update and I've had a minimum of strange behaviour.

In my heart of hearts, Slackware and Gentoo are still my favorites, but as I said before, from a usability standpoint (especially since there are people besides me who use the computers and aren't technically inclined at all) Mint is the one that's best suited to my needs.