fedora or ubuntu?

[cricketfancy]

my question is ubuntu or fedora ?
which one is good?

to be precise fedora 8-werewolf or ubuntu gutsy?

people compare all os distributions but not these one.

i feel that fedora seems good.

if only desktop appearance count ubuntu might have an edge.

but in a broad aspect which one is good?

[jaygee432]

I think you could try 'em both

[ehawk]

If you are just starting into linux, I think Ubuntu is more beginner-friendly. It seemed to me that ubuntu had more repositories available and simply "commented out" in its package management configuration file, while you had to look on the internet to find and copy in many useful fedora repositories.

Also, you can do the full distribution upgrade in ubuntu over the internet, where as I think using yum to upgrade fedora is still prone to cause problems, and a CD upgrade is the approved method.

[techwise]

If your trying Linux for the first time, you will likely be impressed by both. You will also likely try a number of other distros in the future. But, if you also need to be productive in Linux and need to use it for more than fun then you will inevitably come around to Debian or a Debian based distro in the end (Ubuntu and others). So you cold pick Ubuntu now and save the the learning experience but you'd loose out on all that fun too.

[ph34r]

Try both, but I lean towards Ubuntu. I've had too many circular RPM dependency problems...

[nolimit974]

I have always used Fedora and haven't used anything else. It is very easy to use also so i would try it.

[OldAstrologer]

This is a question I've asked myself, despite having worked my way up from Fedora 1 to version 8.

Setting up multimedia facilities for Fedora is still tricky (see www.fedorafaq.org for advice) and I've had a lot of trouble getting Java to work with Firefox. Looking at the Ubuntu forums to see what troubles people there, it seems these problems don't exist. On the other hand, Ubuntu is vary variable: some versions have had few problems, others a lot. The lesson with Ubuntu seems to be "let other people try a new version and don't get it if it gives trouble"!

As for the idea that all serious users have Debian, I think the thousands of corporate users of Red Hat might be a bit surprised to hear that. And what is Red Hat but a stabilised Fedora with added support?

[bigboppercole]

I recommend Mepis. www.mepis.org

It is based on Debian Etch, very stable, and quite easy to setup/install.

I've tried many distros in the past, and have found this to be most to my liking.

Al

[nolimit974]

If you go with Fedora make sure you get FC8 I did a fresh install with FC8 and had no problem with java. FC8 comes with Icetea which is a java alternative from what i understand. You don't have to manually install if you select to have it installed when selecting the packages you want when installing FC8.

And as for the multimedia do you mean like amarok with mp3 support or just multimedia programs in general? If you mean for mp3 support here is a link to help you with that http://totallybeginner.blogspot.com/ it is the second post.

[Glennzo]

Fedora. It just plain rocks. Plus you'll learn something.

[gamblor01]

I like them both and have both of them installed. I used to be a huge Fedora fan but lately I have been using Ubuntu instead. I don't think it's as pretty but I have found that I like it better than Fedora lately. Either one is great though.

[programmingjunk]

Having tried both, I found the beta of Fedora 9 to work better on my laptop. I tried unsuccessfully to get the wireless working on Ubuntu, spet a couple of weeks trying but finally gave up. FC 8 and 9 both just worked. I did like the package management of Ubuntu but without the wirless I was not happy.

[cricketfancy]

got confused a lot?

now i feel i should use both

[gamblor01]

got confused a lot?

now i feel i should use both

I do!

The fact of the matter is that they are both great distros with a large user base. You will be able to find a plethora of information and support regardless of which one you choose.

One thing you could do is just pop in the Ubuntu CD, reboot, and run it as a live cd to try it out. Obviously when you reboot again none of your changes are saved but hey, it's a way to give it a test run. If you decide you like it then you just click on the install icon on the desktop, step through a few screens (7 I believe) and you're done. The main advantage I believe Ubuntu has is its ability to intuitively partition your hard drive for a separate Windows and Ubuntu section. In Fedora you have to be a little more savvy during the installation to correctly partition everything. So if you go this route just make sure you understand what the partitions represent (and that you have your data backed up just in case). I am sure you can google how to dual boot Fedora and Windows and someone out there explains the partitioning section of the installation.

I have also Found (as others have said) it's a little more difficult to setup multimedia stuff in Fedora. The Fedora project is particularly cautious of providing ANY information about third-party software. They make an effort to ensure that everything on your system is free and open source software. Ubuntu is a little less cautious about providing you the links to get proprietary code. So for example, you can't play an mp3 in either distribution when you download it. However, if I remember correctly, Fedora directs you to a page that basically tells you "We want to keep proprietary code off of our operating system. We recommend you use only free and open source software like .ogg files. If you want to play an mp3 file figure it out on your own." That's the impression I got anyway. On the contrary Ubuntu says something like "You can't play mp3 files...yet. But click this button and we'll download the software (for you) so that you can!"

Of course, it might be good to get experience setting up things on your own if you really want to be more proficient at Linux and understand what's going on under the covers. So maybe you want Fedora?

Bottom line though: I don't think one can go wrong with either distro.