LinuxQuestions Users Choose Their Favorite Distro: Slackware (zdnet.com) 145
ZDNet summarizes some of the surprises in this year's poll on LinuxQuestions, "one of the largest Linux groups with 550,000 member". An anonymous reader quotes their report:
The winner for the most popular desktop distribution? Slackware...! Yes, one of the oldest of Linux distributions won with just over 16% of the vote. If that sounds a little odd, it is. On DistroWatch, a site that covers Linux distributions like paint, the top Linux desktop distros are Mint, Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, and Manjaro. Slackware comes in 28th place... With more than double the votes for any category, it appears there was vote-stuffing by Slackware fans... The mobile operating system race was a runaway for Android, with over 68% of the vote. Second place went to CyanogenMod, an Android clone, which recently went out of business...
Linux users love to debate about desktop environments. KDE Plasma Desktop took first by a hair's breadth over the popular lightweight Xfce desktop. Other well-regarded desktop environments, such as Cinnamon and MATE, got surprisingly few votes. The once popular GNOME still hasn't recovered from the blowback from its disliked design change from GNOME 2 to GNOME 3.
Firefox may struggle as a web browser in the larger world, but on Linux it's still popular. Firefox took first place with 51.7 percent of the vote. Chrome came in a distant second place, with the rest of the vote being divided between a multitude of obscure browsers.
LibreOffice won a whopping 89.6% of the vote for "best office suite" -- and Vim beat Emacs.
Linux users love to debate about desktop environments. KDE Plasma Desktop took first by a hair's breadth over the popular lightweight Xfce desktop. Other well-regarded desktop environments, such as Cinnamon and MATE, got surprisingly few votes. The once popular GNOME still hasn't recovered from the blowback from its disliked design change from GNOME 2 to GNOME 3.
Firefox may struggle as a web browser in the larger world, but on Linux it's still popular. Firefox took first place with 51.7 percent of the vote. Chrome came in a distant second place, with the rest of the vote being divided between a multitude of obscure browsers.
LibreOffice won a whopping 89.6% of the vote for "best office suite" -- and Vim beat Emacs.
Boaty McBoatface (Score:2)
Yes we all know that on-line polls are so reliable. This is why Mt. Dew will be naming their new flavor either "Hitler did nothing Wrong" or "Diabeetus". The people never stuff polls. The reason Vim won is simple, all those unemployed people have a lot of time on their hands, like the Slackware slackers.
LibreOffice by the way blows chow. It's sole stated goal is to have the look and feel of Microsoft Word. Such an aspiration.
BY the way, is there any linux product that has the look and feel of Apple's
Re:So? (Score:5, Insightful)
Red Hat gave us RPMs,systemd and NetworkManager. If I was drawing up a kill-list for a Linux distro, those would be at the top.
Outside of their high-end enterprise stuff and the kernel itself, they don't really touch that much. I'm a network manager and have deployed and managed Linux systems, and still do (VMs make this much easier nowadays, alongside the traditional MS setup). I've never once touched Red Hat as a distro for that purpose.
But I've bought any number of Slackware DVDs. Just the fact that Slackware is clean upstream code and simple patches for the most part, rather than highly customised stuff to make it work for The One True Distro gets my money.
I'm sure they do invest and they have a lot of code spread around, but they clearly aren't after my money. They just want huge businesses and not smaller shops at all. The pricing alone tells you that.
But Slackware? I've bought CD's almost every year (that are basically useless as soon as they've published because they are out-of-date and I never use physical media anyway), and the amount of work that goes into making it *my* OS is what I'm rewarding.
Red Hat don't have a penny of my money, in comparison.
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Funny thing about Ubuntu/Mint switching from upstart to systemd : I found that I can now stop NetworkManager from the command line without jumping through hoops or uninstalling it. That has been the only user-visible change due to systemd that I noticed.
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Red Hat's developers work on almost every major open source project there is. They don't just work on the projects you listed.
Without Red Hat's influence, Linux would be dead or several years behind.
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For WiFi management on laptops, I have yet to find a better alternative for Linux than NetworkManager though. Do you have any better suggestions? (Yes, I know that NetworkManager had a lot of issues the first few years, and I know about e.g. wicd — but these days NetworkManager has been working fine on my computers, and automatically works with most WiFi networks, while e.g. wicd still refuses to work with my uni network.)
Same here. NetworkManager does a pretty good job of managing my WiFi connections. That includes roaming between a dozen APs in a 3-story office building, and automatically switching between WiFi and LAN when I dock and undock my laptop.
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Agreed, and in fact it's the ONLY instance I find NetworkManager useful. Luckily I only use Linux on the desktop these days, and the move to systemd only reinforced my love for FreeBSD on the server that's been strong for several years already (before systemd was a thing).
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i'm one of the people who hates NetworkManager with passion. BUT i guess, on RedHat, it's either that, or only only simple networking. i've yet to meet a RedHat person who can, without NetworkManager and/or without GUI, configure my standard server setup:
vlan interfaces on top of bridged interfaces on top of 802.3ad bonded interfaces on top of physical interfaces
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For some SytemD is a success and has 'won', for others, a number of distros have become redhat derivatives. For some, linux has been unified under SystemD. For others linux has been broken and the damage will be worked around, keeping production on long term support until the alternative infrastructures are up to speed.
We can choose who we work with, what we work with. Proof: slackware popularity.
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Do these users pay for it? No. Red Hat makes money and reinvests in Linux. Red Hat matters most, Canonical matters second, SuSE matters least. All others are just freeloaders whose opinions and usage don't matter. Proof: SystemD.
How about Oracle? They are the richest of Linux players, even if they do that by rebranding Red Hat and then making sure that their distro works w/ their software
Granted that Red Hat recycles money in Linux, but a lot of projects have nothing to do w/ Red Hat - such as Calligra, LibreOffice, KDE, LX/QT, Videoshot, et al. Yeah, it would be good if those projects had a stable income stream, and not have to depend on donations. But they are at least as important: if they weren't around, people couldn't do
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If you'd ever encountered the "fast food" that Macdonalds and the like replaced -- e.g. Howard Johnsons -- you'd probably have more appreciation for them. I don't eat Macdonalds often because they use way too much salt. But the food is cheap, consistent, and edible.
WRT to linux software distributions. I suspect Slackware ranks higher than one might expect because a lot of individual users have neither the brains nor the desire to be a Unix system administrator. Slackware is straightforward and well-beha
"Vim beat Emacs" (Score:4, Funny)
Re:"Vim beat Emacs" (Score:5, Funny)
Self aware text editors trouble me.
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Thou shalt not make a text editor in the likeness of a human mind.
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Be calm and know that unlike perl, lisp is immune to the dark influence.
Re:"Vim beat Emacs" (Score:5, Funny)
You might run Vim within Emacs.
Of course. You can run Vim on almost any operating system.
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true, vim will run anywhere, unfortunately my company view vim as a security risk because they believe any user can open a root shell so they only allow vi..
vi !=vim :(
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I ran Emacs on MS-DOS back in the '80s. OK... the first few years it was Perfect Writer but it was still Emacs as far as the user interface went. I can't recall ever running vi/vim on DOS. Though, TBH, once I learned Emacs, why would I want to? :D
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Slackware..... (Score:2)
It does seem sispicious to me. I download and try lots of distros (well, a few of the top 10, and occasionally some others), so I'm contributing to the numbers on Distrowatch. I don't keep using most of them, but FWIW I like vanilla Debian/KDE.
Re: Slackware..... (Score:3)
Yeah, not to mention. Ubuntu users are more likely to be on ask Ubuntu. Mint also had it's own forums. This is personal choice not server administration so redhat and centos are out...
The real question is how many prefer slackware for their personal desktop but use something else most of the time for some work reason or something.
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LinuxQuestions is a pretty Slackware-centric site. IIRC the Slackware docs say to go to LinuxQuestions for Slackware support. That may have changed since I last used Slackware, but I suspect that's the explanation.
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Slackware (Score:5, Interesting)
Slackware performs better on Linuxquestions polls in general because it's essentially the home forum for Slackware users. Ubuntu, Arch, Debian, and all the other major distros that are highly ranked on Distrowatch have their own forums, and they are usually very populous. The users have less reason to visit Linuxquestions. So in general, Slackware users will be over-represented.
I don't recall poll results from previous years, but unless there's a large skew, I would think that vote manipulation would be jumping to conclusions.
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unless there's a large skew, I would think that vote manipulation would be jumping to conclusions.
I agree and even distrowatch states:
They correlate neither to usage nor to quality and should not be used to measure the market share of distributions.
see: http://distrowatch.com/dwres.p... [distrowatch.com]
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Most of the Slackware users I know, including myself, use it day-to-day for pretty much every use case. There are exceptions, of course, like when it comes to cases that require excessive customization (embedded or small form-factor systems), since it's a bit harder to pick and choose packages for that kind of install. But in those cases, it would be more sensible to use a distro specifically built for the purpose. (Though there are spins of Slackware devoted to specific cases, such as a version for the
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I found out the hard way that Slackware is a gateway drug to the BSDs.
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Making Slackware perhaps the most unix of the Linux distros, and that should make many of us stop and think...
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I could not get Plex to install on Debian.
Gave up in frustration, went to FreeBSD. Plex installs, and works, on FreeBSD.
IMO: Debian used to be great, but it sucks now.
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No it doesn't work on FreeBSD. Doesn't even install. BROKEN. http://www.freshports.org/multimedia/plexhometheater/
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they just released 5.3 with the new notebookbar GUI. It's essentially m$ word's ribbon interface. You can enable it in the experimental features menu options. LO is slowly entering the XXI century.
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Sure, if you think having a shitty UI is what makes XXI century. I don't, so i continue to use a good, proven, professional UI.
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Thanks for the WARNING, when the notebookbar GUI is unavoidable, I'll go LaTeX exclusively.
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Nope, that would be SuperTuxKart [supertuxkart.net] and deservedly so. It's a better game than most commercial games.
Well of course VIM beat Emacs in a poll (Score:4, Funny)
VIM users couldn't figure out how to exit the polling mode and just kept voting.
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There is a reason why an old, rather odd text editor like vi is still so popular, you know. And I do mean vi, not vim; vim is not a bad effort, but most of the really useful functionality is already in classical vi - which is why somebody used it as the basis for vim, of course. (In case you wonder: you can turn vim into classical vi if you put "set compatible" in ~/.vimrc).
I don't mean to criticise emacs, BTW - I just don't know it well enough to have an opinion. But I use vi all the time, and it is really
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Of course VIM beat Emacs. If you want to interactively and visually manipulate your text "directly" - there are plenty of great, modern editors around (with masses of extensibility and customisation potential) of which Emacs is just one, rather dated, example. If, instead, you prefer to modify your text by applying functions to it - with visual feedback and interaction playing second fiddle - then VIM/vi is the only game in town.
The mistake is people in the second group (who might well tend to over-repres
Nope, just one (Score:2)
modern editors around (with masses of extensibility and customisation potential) of which Emacs is just one
You misspelled "the". There is no other editor (believe me I have looked) that is as extensible or customizable as Emacs.
If, instead, you prefer to modify your text by applying functions to it - with visual feedback and interaction playing second fiddle - then VIM/vi is the only game in town.
No, Emacs is VASTLY superior for that purpose. Like beyond vastly really... I have used Emacs quite heavily,
Cyanogen Mod Folding Isn't Surprising (Score:2)
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"Likewise, Linux hackers don't give a fuck if you start using Linux or not. Stay on fucking Windows and OS X. Please!"
Man. And people wonder why a lot of companies steer clear of OSS. Your juvenile attitude just says it all.
If all someone wants to do is some pet project then fine, do it. But don't release it to the general public saying, "hey , this is great, come on and use it guys, who needs XYZ Inc!" then a while later say "meh, we're not interested supporting it anymore, go screw yourselves". Sure - you
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Grow up and get a clue you stupid little child.
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Straight from the 4chan Insult Guide for kiddies.
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Ah, you've got to chapter 2 I see! :)
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No, I'm actually someone who's worked in IT in the real world (unlike you 2 kids) for 25 years and knows exactly how decisions are made when it comes to companies deciding what software to use. You might think you're smart but as far as understanding business thought processes go you haven't got the first clue. When you've actually had some relevant experience in the commercial world get back to me. In the meantime you'd better hurry along, I think I can hear your school bell.
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Do you really think someone cares if you chose to use software they released for free? If I painted a picture to hang in my house and you came by and said "man what a shitty picture you should change it or I wont look at
Re: Cyanogen Mod Folding Isn't Surprising (Score:2)
Why dont you help out instead of asking for free help?
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Perhaps it's good if you can run the latest version i.e. 0.11, otherwise the GTK2 version of LXDE will run fine and still is actively developed.
Only nerds without a job voted. (Score:1)
Slackware just worked on my laptop (Score:4, Informative)
I installed slackware 14 last year after trying ubuntu and fedora live disks and it was the only one of the 3 in which everything worked first time (apart from some minor printer issues which I discovered later).
Ok, hardly a representational survey and YMMV, but just saying. Oh, and there's no systemd. Win!
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Slackware is scorching fast compared to pretty much any other Linux distro and the only thing that is simpler than Slackware is probably OpenBSD.
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Slackware is the most solid and reliable distro out there, event the arm port works great on every arm board I tried - and I tried many. I do not event want to start naming those insane design choices that where introduced by Ubuntu people! RedHat is not bad but is still far behind...
I'm less surprized (Score:3)
LQ is one of the oldest forums - and have always been a bit of a goto place for slackware users, it may be the only place on the net where slackers outnumber other distros. This would also partly explain why vim would handily beat emacs. Emacs was never all that popular among slackware users, a mere text editor that took up an entire software category by itself (the (E) series) - and which, if installed, could easily double the size of your setup all by itself was not going to go down well with those who clung to slackware for it's extremely flexibility and tiny footprint after the big rise-of-redhat and domination-of-debian in the late 1990s. These days, of course, that's hardly true anymore - the (X) and (xapps) series alone could match (e) and that's without installing KDE (which is the only desktop slackware ships anymore and has been for quite some time). I remember it was big news on /. when slackware stopped including Gnome in the base distro - when was that ? Could be 10 years already...
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Its not vote stuffing (Score:4, Insightful)
Slackware is what weaned us into Linux two decades ago (Infomagic CDs). Slackware was easy to open and understand every layer of the OS, and even make packages for. It's also 'cleaner' for purists and still comes with sysv init system. If you're considering installbase as being equal to favorite distro, you're disregarding the enormous goodwill slackware still has from people who hardly use it anymore.
Re:Its not vote stuffing (Score:5, Informative)
I remember when Patrick Volkerding had some serious health issues and went missing a while back; the entire Linux community reacted like member of their immediate family had disappeared.
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Slackware is what weaned us into Linux two decades ago (Infomagic CDs).
I think that's why it holds a special place in my heart. Slackware 3.1 was the first distro I ever installed on my IBM Aptiva. Very quickly switched over to Redhat (i think 4.1 or 4.2) and never looked back. Redhat through I believe in version 9, then Fedora. This is all on the desktop. At some point I made the switch from Redhat on the server to CentOS (might have been around Redhat 8.0?).
Anyway, I digress. Slackware will always be that first Linux OS and that first exploration into feeling like I
In the other side, on Google Plus... (Score:2)
1995 (Score:3)
I started with Linux in 1995 when a housemate put Slackware on my computer for me. I'm glad he chose SW; back then almost nothing 'just worked' and you had to configure everything by hand, from the network card and the moden to X and Samba. I learned so much from that. In 2005 I was fed up with Linux and bought a Mac but I still use the knowledge I gathered in my Linux years to make the Mac do what I want. In the land of OSes Unix is emperor.
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There was Debian, wasn't there?
LinuxQuestions = Slackware central (Score:2)
Eh, LinuxQuestions.org is the de facto Slackware support forum, it just doesn't bear Slackware in the name. I mean, strictly speaking it's a multi-distro forum, but look at the number of posts in each subforum here [linuxquestions.org].
It would be like asking bbs.archlinux.org or www.ubuntuforums.org what their favorite distro is.
So many floppies (Score:2)
Porteus Linux (Score:2)
Linuxquestions users are... (Score:2)
... pretty know their way around Linux pretty well. I'm sometimes surprised by the sort of questions that self-proclaimed newbies ask there. It's not too strange, IMO, to find that the majority of its users would like Slackware.
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I'm assuming you're a mIRC user with the large trout reference. +10 nerd points for actually knowing what IRC is, -20 for not using a real OS and using BitchX or ircII.
Re: EditorDavid (Score:1)
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I switched to tmux mostly just to get easy vertical splits. The RPM based distros (fedora, centos) didn't have a patched version of screen so it was just easier to deal with. Also mouse control so you can easily drag around splits. You can also check out byobu [byobu.co] which adds some really nice features on top of tmux.
A lot of people have also ditched irssi for weechat [weechat.org] but I just haven't invested the energy because irssi works fine for me.
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First of all, people are going to answer Slackware even if they don't use it, because the Linux community is pervaded by a bunch of neck-bearded hipsters who liked Slackware before Slackware was cool. The reality is that they all run RedHat but are just desperate to look cool and unique.
The barb would have been sharper if the distro would have been Kubuntu instead of Redhat.