Open Source and Free Software

Aquavit

(488 posts) Mon Jun 1, 2015, 09:32 PM Jun 2015

Best Linux distro for laptops?

Does anyone in the group have a favorite Linux distro for their laptop? I've heard Ubuntu/MATE works well on most laptops, and I've got this brand new Lenovo laptop that is just crying out for some open source goodness.

9 replies

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Highlight:

Best Linux distro for laptops? (Original Post) Aquavit Jun 2015 OP

Check this list below... L0oniX Jun 2015 #1

Not using this laptop for media Aquavit Jun 2015 #2

The main difference is the default desktop Recursion Jun 2015 #3

Any fans of Elementary OS? Aquavit Jun 2015 #5

Is Elementary the one that uses Enlightenment DR17? Recursion Jun 2015 #6

Elementary uses Gala if I'm not mistaken? Aquavit Jun 2015 #7

I enjoy it when things break, sort of. Aquavit Jun 2015 #8

Linux does not break much any more PowerToThePeople Jun 2015 #9

on this one d_r Jun 2015 #4

L0oniX

(31,493 posts)

1. Check this list below...

Reply to Aquavit (Original post)

Mon Jun 1, 2015, 09:35 PM

Jun 2015

Ubuntu Unity standard version

UbuntuGNOME (Ubuntu with GNOME, instead of Unity)

Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE Plasma desktop, instead of Unity)

Xubuntu (Ubuntu with Xfce desktop, instead of Unity)

Lubuntu (Ubuntu with LXDE instead of Unity)

Edubuntu (specially designed for educational purposes)

UbuntuStudio (specially designed for multimedia production)

Ubuntu Kylin (optimized for Chinese users)

Mythbuntu (Xubuntu-based desktop with MythTV installed by default)

Aquavit

(488 posts)

2. Not using this laptop for media

Reply to L0oniX (Reply #1)

Mon Jun 1, 2015, 09:44 PM

Jun 2015

This will mostly be used for web development, and the Linux distribution will share space on the hard drive with Windows 8.1.

Recursion

(56,582 posts)

3. The main difference is the default desktop

Reply to Aquavit (Original post)

Mon Jun 1, 2015, 09:56 PM

Jun 2015

Basically, you'll either have Unity (ubuntu), Gnome (Fedora/Debian), or Cinnamon/MATE (Mint).

Among the less-popular distributions, I'm a huge fan of Slackware (that's what I run), but if you aren't familiar with it you might start with Salix, which is kind of a "gentle" version.

The other question is "how often do I want stuff to break"? Fedora will break often, Ubuntu and Mint less so, Debian essentially never (assuming you use the "stable" version), and Slackware absolutely never, but the price of less frequent breakage is more obsolete software, so weigh those options for your own use case.

Aquavit

(488 posts)

5. Any fans of Elementary OS?

Reply to Recursion (Reply #3)

Mon Jun 1, 2015, 10:04 PM

Jun 2015

I've used Ubuntu (and loved it) on a desktop before, and Lubuntu on a very old MacBook as well, but for this new machine I'm really intrigued by Mint and Elementary OS.

The thing that I'm most sensitive to is heat and battery life. Seems like Lubuntu felt it should run my old MacBook at about 400F at idle, and that really took it's toll on the battery.

Recursion

(56,582 posts)

6. Is Elementary the one that uses Enlightenment DR17?

Reply to Aquavit (Reply #5)

Mon Jun 1, 2015, 10:22 PM

Jun 2015

Or is that Saboyon?

Aquavit

(488 posts)

7. Elementary uses Gala if I'm not mistaken?

Reply to Recursion (Reply #6)

Mon Jun 1, 2015, 10:28 PM

Jun 2015

Not 100% sure I've got that right?

Aquavit

(488 posts)

8. I enjoy it when things break, sort of.

Reply to Recursion (Reply #3)

Mon Jun 1, 2015, 10:38 PM

Jun 2015

Because then it's time to figure out a way (or two, or three) to fix it! But then again that's probably why I'm seriously thinking about going back to school for computer science.

PowerToThePeople

(9,610 posts)

9. Linux does not break much any more

Reply to Aquavit (Reply #8)

Fri Jun 26, 2015, 07:04 PM

Jun 2015

5-10 years ago, you may have had to tweak stuff a bit. But rarely does anything break any more.

On that note, I Just updated a couple of my systems from Wheezy to Jessie and one of them is now having fits mounting NFS shares from my server. Hmm, time to dig in.

d_r

(6,907 posts)

4. on this one

Reply to Aquavit (Original post)

Mon Jun 1, 2015, 09:56 PM

Jun 2015

i have mint with xfce and I like it. I would probably do xubuntu the next time though.

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