Recommend me a Linux distro...

[Inventive Software]

I've been dabbling with Linux for a number of years now, and have switched allegiences between distros. However, my recent distro, Fedora Core, has let me down considerably with it's slowness and horrible upgradeability, specifically the kernel. Before that, I used Mandrake10.1, and that wasn't too bad to upgrade, but was quite old.

I'm now looking for a Linux distro that's recent, not slow, and has great upgrade paths including the kernel. Generally I upgrade things from source, as that's how I've known the easiest way to do things. It also stems from not having the internet on my Linux box.

[Teegedeck]

That does sound like you're talking about Gentoo.

On the other hand, if all you're looking for is daily Kernel-upgrades (...), there's also a 'Kernel-of-the-day'-repository for SUSE.

[Inventive Software]

Last I heard, Gentoo needed a full compile from source, which apparantly could take days. Is this the case, or have I been duped?

[nm]

Yes, Gentoo is usually built from the source code completely and it will take a long time depending on your machine, but building from source seemed to be what you asked for. However, Gentoo needs a good internet connection to be usable.

If you meant that you upgrade the distro from a bought or burned CD/DVD and only build some programs yourself, then the package management shouldn't matter much. I'd recommend Ubuntu because it is well designed overall and you can even order the basic installation discs (https://shipit.ubuntu.com/) completely free of charge (even the mailing costs will be paid for you). It will take a month to get them though. The biggest problem with the free distros is that they do not include support for MP3 and some other proprietary media formats out of the box. You'll need to download stuff to get those working. Fortunately (at least with Ubuntu) the binary packages are not that big, so just read the Wiki (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats) and get the packages (http://packages.ubuntu.com/) required. Ubuntu also has very good documentation and support forums on the internet.

Slowness is due to the user interface you are using. Both GNOME and KDE need quite a lot of resources, especially RAM. Instead of them you could try Xfce (http://www.xfce.org/), for example.

[mod]

I agree with nm. Ubuntu is a good distro imho, and the support is really good. Of course for the updates you need a good connection, but the cds are sent free at home, and there's everything you need for a daily use.

[Henrikx]

@Inventive Software
Kanotix is a rock-solid Linux based on Debian-Sid, which contains the newest packages and recognizes more modern hardware than any other operating system in use today.
http://kanotix.com/

[Teegedeck]

Kanotix, Ubuntu and SUSE (especially SLED 10) are really, really good.. On www.distrowatch.com there's a database with up-to-date reviews for all of them.

You could also indulge yourself and give it a weekend or two to try all of the likely candidates out. :) Oftentimes there comes a free Linux CD with a computer-mag or you can just order a whole package of distributions for little money from some stores (see the adds at distrowatch).

[Sirber]

Ubuntu is too noob oriented to be useable...

Videolinux seems cool

[nm]

Oh, really?! I think Ubuntu is very close to Debian under the skin, just easier to install. I've started with Yggdrasil Linux and Slackware ten years ago, then moved to Redhat (think it was 4 or 5), then to Mandrake, Gentoo and finally to Debian Sid about 4 years ago. For me, Debian has been the best of these (Gentoo is close though, if you don't mind the compiling). I wouldn't mind switching to Ubuntu any time, but it's essentially the same as Debian, so switching would just be unnecessary work.

I've only installed Debian once or twice from the installation disks and after that copied it to at least 5 different machines through LAN and upgraded with Apt. With Sid you need to know your way around because every now and then there may be some broken essential packages, like X.org was for a short period of time a few months ago. I also use a self-built kernel, but only because I like to tweak some things there. Ubuntu has a fixed release cycle and almost as up-to-date packages as Debian Sid, so I think it is a very good compromise between stability and the bleeding edge for end-users.

IMHO package management and contents of the repositories are the most important things that separate the distributions from each other and Debian-based distros (like Ubuntu) generally do those well.

[shevegen]

I've been dabbling with Linux for a number of years now

That sounds as if you arent a newbie anymore, and thus, welcome to the real world of Linux, where you are free to alter everything that you dislike.
You arent alone, there are MANY people who work to improve certain things. And if you tested several distributions, participated in their community here and there, you probably know the multitude of different solutions for problems.

Fedora Core, has let me down considerably with it's slowness and
horrible upgradeability, specifically the kernel.

I believe in case of problems such as this, you should consider to switch
to a Distribution that is more "advanced", but which may also mean that you as end user have to put a bit more time to solve issues.

Personally, I recommend Archlinux, Gentoo or Kanotix. If you are speaking german, then I think Kanotix is the best choice. ;)
Archlinux is rather similar to Gentoo but I feel that Archlinux' design is cleaner than Gentoo's solutions. However, nothing can beat the wikis of Gentoo, even though the wiki solutions are VERY Gentoo specific, this is probably the biggest plus of Gentoo. Thus I think you should give Gentoo a try.
I also think you dont HAVE to compile anything anymore, I think that was changed with the latest install CD, where the default mode is to just copy.
In my opinion, compiling the smaller applications from source isn't giving you any real big performance gain at all, and if you want to learn something, then Linux from scratch is better than Gentoo. ;)
But compiling KDE from source definitely can make a big difference.

If Gentoo isnt to your liking, try Archlinux. Upgrading with pacman is trivial as well.
Archlinux has a very good Wiki as well, and a good active IRC community.

[Sirber]

I found a great distro: Kororaa.

Based on gentoo, coming in a livecd with XGL (3D acceleration) enabled, really kicking! :D

I'm currently emptying my XP JBOD (200+300GB) then I format everything in ext3 while keeping 10GB for windows 2000, in case of.

[nfm]

I can boot up Ubuntu on my xbox :D What should I install, SUSE 10.1 or Ubuntu?

[Henrikx]

@nfm
Run Linux On Your Xbox
YES - You can run Linux on your Xbox!
YES - You can do it without a modchip!
YES - You can do it without opening your Xbox!
YES - we can do it for you - for free!
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Main_Page

Xebian HOWTO Debian Version for Xbox
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xebian_HOWTO

[nfm]

@Henrikx
I'm running Xebian already on my xbox :D (ran GentoX before too) I was just checking out Ubuntu on xbox by booting it of cd.
As for my desktop, I've installed Suse v10.1 but I often use Windows XP :devil:

[Henrikx]

but I often use Windows XP ...I make the same..
Most programs here, are for Windows.

[Sirber]

Wine and WineX is there for that :)

[Henrikx]

I know,Shrink runs fine , but the others....?
Current example :
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=113810

Other examples :

VirtualDub ?
AviSynth 2.5 ?
megui ?
StaxRip ?

So it´s better to use Windows for this Programs ?

[nm]

Or you could just use native tools, like Avidemux. AviSynth should work decently with Wine.

[Hard Core Rikki]

The most Windows-programs friendly GNU/Linux distributions available nowadays are Linspire and Xandros. But that's more for 'regualr users'. I Didnt try those DVD softs though. Anyone did?

http://www.linspire.com

http://www.xandros.com

[Henrikx]

@nm
decently ?
I tested many tools
http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=24212 (Forum Gleitz / german doom9)
but there is nothing like AutoGK,megui,StaxRip
I think we must speak not over linux, but Wine...

[nm]

@nm
decently ?
Some versions should work perfectly, others might not. See this discussion for instructions: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=81793

I tested many tools
http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=24212 (Forum Gleitz / german doom9)
but there is nothing like AutoGK,megui,StaxRip
I think we must speak not over linux, but Wine...
I don't see Avidemux (http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/) listed there. That's the tool you seem to be looking for.

[Henrikx]

@nm
THX
I will test it

[Amnon82]

Ubuntu 6.06.1 is a good choise. I'm running it atm. Starting to code a DVDShrinker for Linux right now. I'm working on the ShrinkTo5.dll atm.

[Inventive Software]

I got that delivered this weekend, and it's pretty good!