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I'll take this chance to recommend the following linux distributions to those non-sysadmins who are wondering which one they can try out: - Fedora 17 with Gnom

I'll take this chance to recommend the following linux distributions to those non-sysadmins who are wondering which one they can try out: - Fedora 17 with Gnome. Out of the box it offers all kinds of installation options, like the one I always wanted and only found in Fedora (in my words): "Use all this but only this free space, and also encrypt it". The only downside is that out of the box it lacks some things every desktop user will want, like media codecs, but can be installed very easily. There are also tons of addons for Gnome that you will want to improve the UI (eg: get back the minimize button -.-), you can get them at extensions.gnome.org. - Ubuntu 12.04 server edition. I chose server edition because it has an option for disk encryption, but it will use the entire disk, which sucks unless you have two disks like I do. Then you install 'ubuntu-desktop' and you are done. There is also a problem with both server and desktop edition when installing into some HDD's, they fail to align correctly for different block sizes. Other than that, this is the perfect distro for me. It is LTS so it will be supported for 5 years, and I hope that by that time they have rolled back the crap that they added to 12.10. - Fedora 18. It should be released today, let's see what they got.

api 14y ago
Been using Fedora 17 for a while at work. Used to hate RPM-based distros, but I took another look about a year ago. It's actually pretty nice. I also don't hate Gnome 3. It's a bit immature, but it's pretty and fairly easy to use and stable.
bjustin 14y ago
If you can get used to Unity in a week or two, I recommend Ubuntu. Fedora has always worked fine for me, but Ubuntu tends to have fewer rough edges.
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
  I use Ubuntu and I can't stand unity. It's far too easy to do `sudo apt-get install gnome-shell` and do `sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable; sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install cinammon` and still enjoy the Ubuntu base (community, font patches, etc). I've bounced around between many DEs lately. Elementary is really great, especially when I was just coming from OS X, but I've been shocked at how nice Cinnamon is.
  - mylittlepony 14y ago
    I don't know why people hate it, I love it. It gives me so much more visual space. For example, with Unity I was able to start using Virtualbox VM's maximized instead of full screen, which is so much more comfortable. The host has the sidebar hidden (shows on hover), and the guest has it always visible (as hover wouldn't work for a guest). It really makes a great use of the visual space.
    - jarek 14y ago
      The alt-tab behaviour is borderline unworkable for anyone who's used Windows or Linux windows managers before 2011 and is trying to work with a case like several terminal windows and a browser window. My GNOME 2/XFCE/MATE setup has one bar on top of the screen and that's it, I'm finding it is pretty good for screen space even on widescreen laptops.
      - eitland 14y ago
        The alt-tab thing I think they copied directly from Apple (not necessarily a good thing). The thing that really hurts about the new alt-tab is that it breaks my mental stack. On Windows, in KDE etc I can switch back and forth between two browser windows easily. On Mac and Unity you either have to decide of your last app change was an app change or a instance change.
        drivebyacct2 14y ago
        I love the altered behavior. I want to switch to a different app -> Alt+Tab I want my other Chrome window -> Alt+` When I'm on my desktop, I switch between far too many windows to have a mental stack in my head of MRU applications, let alone windows. Not arguing one is better than the other, but I thought I'd offer my perspective as a user.
        jarek 14y ago
        And if you want to switch from a different app into the other Chrome window?
tikhonj 14y ago
I personally found Fedora 17 with KDE really awesome. It was both easy to install and configure, and is a pleasure to use. I would definitely recommend it as an alternative to Gnome.
spindritf 14y ago
> Ubuntu 12.04 server edition. I chose server edition because it has an option for disk encryption, Ubuntu 12.10 has options for disk and home folder encryption in the regular, GUI, desktop installer.
- mylittlepony 14y ago
  I know thanks, but I'm avoiding Ubuntu > 12.04 until they remove the crapware they added.

api 14y ago

Been using Fedora 17 for a while at work. Used to hate RPM-based distros, but I took another look about a year ago. It's actually pretty nice. I also don't hate Gnome 3. It's a bit immature, but it's pretty and fairly easy to use and stable.

bjustin 14y ago

If you can get used to Unity in a week or two, I recommend Ubuntu. Fedora has always worked fine for me, but Ubuntu tends to have fewer rough edges.

drivebyacct2 14y ago
I use Ubuntu and I can't stand unity. It's far too easy to do `sudo apt-get install gnome-shell` and do `sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable; sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install cinammon` and still enjoy the Ubuntu base (community, font patches, etc). I've bounced around between many DEs lately. Elementary is really great, especially when I was just coming from OS X, but I've been shocked at how nice Cinnamon is.
- mylittlepony 14y ago
  I don't know why people hate it, I love it. It gives me so much more visual space. For example, with Unity I was able to start using Virtualbox VM's maximized instead of full screen, which is so much more comfortable. The host has the sidebar hidden (shows on hover), and the guest has it always visible (as hover wouldn't work for a guest). It really makes a great use of the visual space.
  - jarek 14y ago
    The alt-tab behaviour is borderline unworkable for anyone who's used Windows or Linux windows managers before 2011 and is trying to work with a case like several terminal windows and a browser window. My GNOME 2/XFCE/MATE setup has one bar on top of the screen and that's it, I'm finding it is pretty good for screen space even on widescreen laptops.
    - eitland 14y ago
      The alt-tab thing I think they copied directly from Apple (not necessarily a good thing). The thing that really hurts about the new alt-tab is that it breaks my mental stack. On Windows, in KDE etc I can switch back and forth between two browser windows easily. On Mac and Unity you either have to decide of your last app change was an app change or a instance change.
      - drivebyacct2 14y ago
        I love the altered behavior. I want to switch to a different app -> Alt+Tab I want my other Chrome window -> Alt+` When I'm on my desktop, I switch between far too many windows to have a mental stack in my head of MRU applications, let alone windows. Not arguing one is better than the other, but I thought I'd offer my perspective as a user.
        jarek 14y ago
        And if you want to switch from a different app into the other Chrome window?

tikhonj 14y ago

I personally found Fedora 17 with KDE really awesome. It was both easy to install and configure, and is a pleasure to use. I would definitely recommend it as an alternative to Gnome.

spindritf 14y ago

> Ubuntu 12.04 server edition. I chose server edition because it has an option for disk encryption, Ubuntu 12.10 has options for disk and home folder encryption in the regular, GUI, desktop installer.

mylittlepony 14y ago
I know thanks, but I'm avoiding Ubuntu > 12.04 until they remove the crapware they added.