So who here runs linux and what distros do you run.
I am currently running Mint 14 and Back Track 5(I am looking to get a job as a system admin so it is good training)
I love the new mint 14, it fixed all the problems I was having. Only one nvidia hiccup after install and now it runs like a charm.
I have three different linux boxes, a Gentoo box (my desktop), I had a Fedora server which I just switched over to Lubuntu, and Ubuntu dual boot laptop and a Raspberry Pi running the latest version of the debian host. Of all of them Gentoo is my favorite, but is perhaps the most complex build along with the most time consuming to maintain, however it’s clearly the most slim and the fastest build. The regular Ubuntu build is the most bloated but it’s just so easy to work with. For my server the Lubuntu build combines speed with update ease.
For those of you who want to try out different things I recommend VMWare player which is just aces for practicing your linux skills without disastrous consequences. If you want ease of use, maybe to try one out without losing your windows partition I’d hugely recommend Wubi, an ubuntu linux installer that creates a dual windows boot system without altering the partitions. Write speeds and so on aren’t quite as good but on a decent system it’s hard to notice. If you try this and end up with a good build Wubi can write the system to the drive in full, repartitioning windows along the way.
Linux FTW!
Still getting the hang of Ubuntu 12.10
Suse 11.4.
Been running Suse since Caldera got taken over by the crazies a few years back. Not into building my own, just want something that works.
Don’t know your age etc, but if you are using linux and planning on a sys admin job you’d be further ahead going w/a mainstream product like RH (or Fedora), or Suse. That’s the type of experience companies look for when evaluating candidates.
Indeed, Backtrack won’t do much for you if you’re interested in being a sysadmin. It is aimed toward cryptography and computer forensics.
Long time Ubuntu user checking in.
Typically Suse, when I’m running Linux. Bought a Win7 license when I built my last machine and I admit it was a relief to not mess around so much at the OS level and to be able to install my licensed Adobe software instead of using open source alternatives like Inkscape and Gimp.
Do not enjoy Ubuntu. I know they are just protecting you, but I ALWAYS want to be super user. I know the risks; let me screw up my own system if I want.
Will be trying the latest Mint with a Virtual Box, and if I like it I may be setting up a second machine with it.
YAY
i’ve always run Ubuntu lts distros, but i’m gonna move to either fedora or mint soon, i can’t stand unity :-\
Right now I’m running Xubuntu.
I don’t understand the green pepper reference, thereby eliminating me from the race for most 1337. However, I still want to know what it means. 
FTFY
Unity is just a desktop environment. Install a different one if you don’t like it.
EXACTLY! Your wording still hits the mark! 
Sorry, I’m really confused:
$sudo -s
no?
It’s a brush in gimp.
You should try xubuntu. Just make sure to install synaptic when you get it…
Don’t think that’s the right switch, but I know what you mean… there’s a switch or option to keep you set as root. For some reason my brain is telling me it’s “$sudo su” but I can’t remember. I know that it’s not hard. But that’s sort of incidental to the point.
Once as a young QA tester, we were required to include Ubuntu in the test environment… our software required root access from both shell and the X-Windows session… and it was just a small annoying thing that always got in my way. Not insurmountable. Not even difficult. But annoying.
Sometimes that sort of thing just colours your perception. Then you start noticing other things you don’t really care for until this collection of small things just makes you go “NYAH” and shove it away whenever you can. Suse never made me feel that way. So… one distro that had niggling quirks I wasn’t a fan of, and one that just “clicked” for me. Why should I bother trying to “force” myself to like the one when the other works fine?
Some people don’t like Code 2. Other people love it! Why bother trying to convince them to use a Code 2 when they’re having just as much fun hucking around their Genesis?
I absolutely agree! Sorry I didn’t mean that people shouldn’t try out and enjoy different distro’s - I think my initial post suggests that I like others too, I just thought I was missing some fundamental ubuntu thing (I checked the switch before I posted by the way and sudo -s does the job, although maybe the other does too).
However, the reason I tend to suggest Ubuntu is not because it doesn’t have its flaws (clearly it does) but simply because it’s an easy switch from windows to Ubuntu - more so I think than to Suse, although I think Suse has come on a lot in recent times, and has become considerably more useable. I also really like the Ubuntu support, and Debian in general I appreciate for it’s simplicity.
Fedora I really struggled with actually. I tried really hard because of the RH link, but it just doesn’t do it for me. It’s got to be a good CV filler, but I’ve shied away from it now.
But I’m going to put one more plug out there for Gentoo. It gives you such a good understanding of how a system is put together, and gives you excellent flexibility to tune your system. It really is just the time issue for compilation that I know is a problem for a lot of people. But it just creates such a lovably rapid and precise build.
Anyhoo really wasn’t intending on rabbiting on for so long, but yes try a bit of everything and go Linux wild!
Mint 14 is great… except for in vms
Essentially mint 14 is ubuntu minus unity with a slick version of gnome called cinnamon
I really liked Cinnamon’s gloss just had a few bugs but considering it’s pretty new I could deal with it. I’ve been trying XFCE as of late and enjoying it.
I used to run XFCE as my windowing env when I used Caldera, but pretty much run the stock KDE env now.
I really like XFCE and have just started using LXDE which is really good and lightweight too