Developer Roadshows/Events/za/proceedings/DistroRoundup

How would you do a similar exercise today? What criteria would you use? Which distros are best under what circumstances?

Distributions Round-up

What is the Distributions Roundup?

The Distributions Roundup was an attempt to provide Ambient Knowledge in the area of Linux Distributions and Open Source Operating Systems.

The Process

A group of existing Open Source operating system users came together and decided on criteria to use to compare distributions that would be applicable within the roadshow. They then assigned scores from 1-5 depending on how well a distribution provides each criterion - 1 being very poor, 3 being about average for a distribution, and 5 being the leading lights in those areas.

The criteria

Suitability for LiveCD usage

• How well can the LiveCD be used as a desktop that runs from a
  • CDROM
    • Availability of programs
    • Detection of hardware
    • User-friendliness of environment

Suitability for Desktop usage

• How well can the distribution be used as a desktop for those new to
  • Open Source operating systems
    • Availability of programs
    • Detection of hardware
    • User-friendliness of environment

Suitability for Server usage

• How well does the distribution cover the needs of a server
  • Ability to customise packages
  • Availability of server-oriented packages
  • Non-reliance of GUI tools for configuration

Community support

• How likely is a user to get an answer to their question while enjoying the experience
  • Number of active support people
  • Quality of answers
  • Good attitude to support

Commercial support?

• Availability of support from companies that are considered reliable by bigger businesses.

Ease of Install

• How easy is it to install the distribution for someone not used to the distribution?
  • Understandability of UI and questions
  • Short path to install

User friendliness

• Once installed (out of the box), how usable is the environment.
  • How much can be achieved using only GUI or only a single program
  • How easy is it to find out what can be done on the machine

Default Desktop

The desktop installed by default by the distribution

• GNOME usability
  • How well GNOME runs on the distribution using the distribution's packages
• KDE usability
  • How well KDE runs on the distribution using the distribution's packages

Suitability to low-spec environments

• Ability to avoid using GUI or other high-memory tools
• Ability to easily choose only those packages you want.

Comprehensive package collection on CD

• How much can be achieved using only the packages on the CD
  • Does it offer alternatives for achieving the same task
  • How up-to-date/usable is the collection

Comprehensive package collection on Internet

• How much can be achieved using only the packages on the CD
  • Does it offer alternatives for achieving the same task
  • How up-to-date/usable is the collection

Availability of packages from third parties

• If there is no package for some software on the distribution, how likely is there a package on the software's home page for your distribution.
• (Includes proprietary software)

Matrix of Distributions and ratings

Criterion	Fedora Core	Mandrake	Debian	Ubuntu	Gentoo	Knoppix	SuSE	Slackware	FreeBSD
Live CD	0	0	0	5	0	5	4	2	0
Desktop	4	5	3	5	3	3	5	2	3
Server	4	3	5	3	5	0	4	3	5
Community support	4	4	5	4	4	3	4	4	5
Commercial support	(Y)	Y	0	Y	0	0	Y	0	0
Ease of install	5	5	2	5	1	0	5	3	3
User friendliness	3	4	2	5	2	4	4	1	1
Default desktop	Gk	Kg	0	G	0	K	K	0	0
Gnome usability	3	3	4	5	4	0	4	3	3
KDE usability	2	4	4	0	4	4	4	3	4
Low-spec	2	2	5	1	4	1	2	4	4
Packages on CD	4	5	2	3	3	4	5	3	4
Package Repository	3	4	5	4	5	0	4	3	4
Third-party packages	5	4	2	1	1	0	4	2	1