IT Professionals

Sometimes, It's Just That Easy.

Posted by on Jan 18, 2007 | 15 Comments

One of our Gnomies did a quick blurb about something called Linux Chooser. It’s a clever little Web site that asks you a series of questions to empower you in making the best distro decision possible.

So now for the big question – how accurate is it? Based on my last attempt, it was spot on and point me to Ubuntu. What shocked me is how it knew that Freespire was not for me and pointed me to Fedora and Ubuntu. Both answers were spot-on.

Have you tried this crazy thing out yet? If so, hit the comments above and tell me about it. I would love to hear about your experiences with its accuracy. Even if you are not a “Linux person,” it might be fun to see what it thinks you might enjoy trying?

[tags]Linux, tests, scripts, experiences operating system[/tags]

  • Mike Nelson

    I tried the Mint 2.0 version and I have to admit as windows user, I was impressed. As soon as I figured out the install features of the included software, I said WOW. I am still checking this baby out, but I hope that by turning on the auto-update that when more programs become available that it will continue to install possible combinations.

    One of the things I do need to learn is how to install programs with out the included install program. I am still hitting the help section pretty hard, so I am sure I will figure it out sooner or later.

  • http://home.nycap.rr.com/bkitterman/ Bill Kitterman

    I have Fedora mounted now, but the test gave the same results for me, Ubuntu and Fedora. The questions seemed logical and is a good source.

  • Martin

    Hi Matt,

    I enjoy your Linux posts a lot, since I am a linux user.

    My comment is : different distros for different hardware !

    Indeed, I test-drove most distros around, and here’s what I ended up for my 6 PC’s :

    -Ubuntu Dapper (not Edgy) for my laptop (old Toshiba Sat, Celeron 496Mhz, 192 megs of ram, wireless PCMCIA). With a special mention for Puppy Linux when I have to use dial-up, as it has the right drivers. I gave up on Xubuntu, as Xfce is unstable on the long-term. I’d rather a slower Gnome, but smarter.

    -Mandriva 2007 Free for my main desktop (AMD Athlon 2600+, 512 megs of ram, Lifeview Flyvideo 2000 TVcard), because as a RPM distro it allows me to use my Canon iP1500 printer, and it doesn’t have the little Fedora bug of OOo printing with Canon… (Note : I used & loved Blag before that OOo print bug).

    -Vector 5.8 Std Gold for my internet-café’s PC’s (2 Via C3 796Mhz, 256 megs of ram, ans an old IBM PC 300GL, with a Celeron 496Mhz, and 128 megs of ram). I installed Vector not too long ago, as it seems Vector is taking the lead for older PC’s. Xubuntu doesn’t cut it, I used it but I just don’t like it much. Zenwalk is nice, but they are releasing every 8 weeks, which is too fast, so Vector makes it, and has all the bells & whistles “out of the box”.

    So, that’s it, this is what I wanted to point out : different distros for different hardware. I took the test, and it gave me FC6.

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Mike: If I am understanding you, the repositories have all been enabled, yet you would like to install software not found from Add/Remove?
    Another source to browse around at can be found back in tute #3. It’s a great resource and will allow you to install a lot of great software with point and click ease. Short of that, be careful about trying to compile software this early in the game. For most people, it is a fast track to frustration. ;)

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Bill and Martin: I believe that for the most part, we are becoming the new norm in the Linux world. The expectations we maintain are fair and valid. But more importantly, it’s not just a Slackware kind of world any longer.

    As for other distros, I am going to look into Vector as I too, am not all that impressed with Xbuntu.
    Also, if either of you are a Puppy Linux fans and happen to be struggling with getting the wifi to work, I wrote a piece on this distro that offers some tips that you might find worthwhile. ;)

  • Duffy

    I use Mandriva and it was right on the money. It also included PCLinuxOS but I’ve never looked at that one.

  • Paul Horechuk

    Tried the linux chooser site and it came back with slackware or gentoo. Its close. I’ve been using FreeBSD for about 5 years now as my preferred home desktop. Lately I’ve been playing with Ubuntu/Kubuntu. I felt it was necessary to get good exposure to a very popular distro. I’ve played with RedHat, CentOS, Fedora 3-5, and even Ygdrasil Slackware back when it was v1.0! There’s nothing wrong with using a small clean distro (1 CD install/live) such as Ubuntu. It has a great repository and with a little effort, can be used for a full development environment.

    Paul
    ——————-
    Think Free
    Use Open Source Software

  • Bryan Ferguson

    I tried Linux Tracker about a year ago when I decided to go that direction. It pointed me to Mepis then Ubuntu. I went with Ubuntu (Since updated to Dapper Dan) on both my dual boot tower and my laptop. I love Ubuntu and use it for 90% of my computing. Linux Tracker was right on! I have also tried Kubuntu, Knoppix, Mepis, and Suce 10.1before I settled on Ubuntu (the one which worked best on both my “work computer” (an overclocked PIII @ 900 Mhz and my older Toshiba Laptop (PII 400 Mhz).
    I really enjoyed reading your Ubuntu Toot and always look forward to your articles.

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Loving the feedback everyone, thanks as always. :)

  • Paul Higgins

    I have been grappling with Ubuntu for a while now. I just don’t seem to have the time to really get at it! Because I know my way around windows, I always go back to do tasks. I know windows was just a mysterious to me first time and hope to dedicate more time to Ubuntu. But to the point, I tried and it suggested Ubuntu right off. Pretty good for anybody considering the change. I just hope you aren’t as busy as me and can spend time with your choice!

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Paul Higgins,

    I think you nailed it. As a Linux user, I agree that for most people, it’s not going to happen if they are not finding the apps they need, various actions has to be rethought out and so on. So yeah, there is no shame in this.

    Actually, for the longest time, that is what kept me using Windows. Then when I finally saw where Vista was heading, I had to make a change in my own life – personal preference of course. I was a part time/long time Linux user that just went full-time (outside of my reviewing Windows software in Parallels).

    But in the end, if an OS is working for you, there is no reason why a change is needed. I see nothing wrong with using Windows XP and on back. I simply don’t care for Vista’s direction. Now it’s not personal as I have “family” who happen to work for Microsoft. Won’t and can’t talk about it, but I will say that there is mutual respect even though we see things very differently.

    And then to make things really interesting, my girlfriend is a rabid Mac user. Linux is an “eh” in her world, but by the same token she will not use Windows at all.

    But you know what’s cool though, all the choices we have in 2007! It’s a great time to be computing! ;)

  • Jeff Husband

    This is great. As a life long Windows user, I’ve been wanting to get into the Linux world for a while. This will help me pick the right disto. Go figure that Ubuntu was in the list. I keep hearing alot of cool stuff about it. Thanks Matt.

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Hi Jeff,
    I have been pushing for Linux Mint (an Ubuntu derivative). Read the link above and you will understand why. Multimedia codecs, Flash 9 and wifi – all out of the box. ;)

  • http://twitter.com/liamgreen94 Liam Green

    Only only other monitor i would have for this is the 27inch Cinema display

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1330288691 Aidan Taylor

      apple nerd much?