It’s 2017... which distros work consistently out of the box?

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by mattdocs12345, Nov 2, 2017.

  1. mattdocs12345

    mattdocs12345 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2013
    Posts:
    1,892
    Location:
    US
    Im looking for stable Linux distribution. Stable not in the classic terms of how long distribution XYZ can run without error but stable in terms of having consistently good releases and working out of the box. I don’t want to install (name your Linux distribution here) only to find out that WiFi, Bluetooth or Samba is not working... It’s 2017 already...
    What would you guys recommend?
     
  2. fblais

    fblais Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2008
    Posts:
    1,340
    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    Linux Mint.
     
  3. illumination

    illumination Guest

    Ubuntu has always been the leader of the pack when it comes to this, not to mention one of the largest communities and repositories.
     
  4. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2005
    Posts:
    1,926
    Agreed. Talking about consistency, Ubuntu is second to none.
     
  5. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2010
    Posts:
    4,417
    Try several live USBs for yourself and decide for yourself what works best for your hardware.
     
  6. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2013
    Posts:
    1,267
    Location:
    Southern Rocky Mountains USA
    In terms of plug and play hardware recognition, Mint. I've created portable installations on USB drives and it never fails to boot quickly on different systems and recognize the different hardware and have it fully working. Ubuntu isn't quite as portable, it gets most but not all hardware in a portable installation. Both are fairly easy distros with good DEs.
     
  7. mattdocs12345

    mattdocs12345 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2013
    Posts:
    1,892
    Location:
    US
    I’m getting a thinkpad so probably most will work out of the box. But that’s not the issue. I want a consistently good releases so I can just stick with one distro. Too many distros out there push half cooked distributions (just read through Mrk reviews) and I don’t really want to hop back and forth. Don’t have time for it.

    Seems like Ubuntu/Mint will be my installation choice then.
     
  8. fblais

    fblais Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2008
    Posts:
    1,340
    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    IMHO, Mint is the most polished.
    It's based on Ubuntu but it gets through a lot of work to smooth things out.
    They also have a Debian edition but it gets less attention. (in fact they're still keeping it in case Ubuntu is abandoned)
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2017
  9. Kerodo

    Kerodo Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2004
    Posts:
    8,013
    I'd vote for Mint too... it pretty much just works.
     
  10. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2008
    Posts:
    8,625
    Location:
    USA
    I'd go Ubuntu. I wanted to like Mint but for testing purposes I keep a Mint VM and an Ubuntu VM and the Mint ones always end up hosing themselves after updates to the point where they won't boot. o_O
     
  11. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2007
    Posts:
    1,812
    I have had the same problems with Ubuntu as with Debian. WiFi drivers on broadcom hardware.
    For some reason they just refuse to address this issue even though the Linux forums are full of threads about it and it is very aggravating when your internet access is wifi and the distros still do not include the B43 package.
     
  12. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2005
    Posts:
    3,418
    Location:
    Slovakia
    Linux Mint Cinnamon or Kubuntu.
     
  13. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2005
    Posts:
    5,554
    Location:
    USA still the best. But barely.
    No guarantee. But Linux Mint is most compatible. Best suggestion LiveCD first then install. Be willing to learn.
     
  14. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2008
    Posts:
    10,239
    Location:
    Lloegyr
    My vote would be Ubuntu.
     
  15. AutoCascade

    AutoCascade Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2014
    Posts:
    741
    Location:
    United States
    Mint if you want the Cinnamon DE - Ubuntu for everything else. I run Mint with the XANMOD kernel so that I get the latest drivers, security features etc. It's built for Debian so I've never had any usability issues with it. Running 4.13.11 right now. You can enable AppArmor and make that work with firejail so there is pretty good security. They have also addressed most if not all of the problems that were sort of amplified through discussion in the community when a hacker took over their images last year (was it last year?).

    For any other DE - its Ubuntu. If Ubuntu had Cinnamon out of the box as an option I'd go that route. There is a Cubuntu but its French and seems a bit behind things.

    There are many excellent distros out there though that also 'just work'. Fedora, Antergos, Solus among them but the easiest 'just works' is Ubuntu or Mint imo.
     
  16. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2012
    Posts:
    1,718
    Mint Cinnamon or Ubuntu Mate.
     
  17. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

    Joined:
    May 9, 2005
    Posts:
    10,215
    Uh, difficult one. Probably Ubuntu 14.04 or Kubuntu 17.04.
    Mrk
     
  18. mattdocs12345

    mattdocs12345 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2013
    Posts:
    1,892
    Location:
    US
    I read Mrk reviews. Seems like recent Fedora had some issues. Solus and Antegros also.

    Also are Ubuntu releases upgradable? Let’s say going from 17.10 to 18 LTS?

    All I want is to just upgrade when needed without reinstalls or anything like that.
     
  19. Palancar

    Palancar Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2011
    Posts:
    2,402
    Balancing this thread you have to figure that if something always works out of the box on "most" hardware, it must mean that it contains lots of stuff that isn't really needed on your particular machine. I do understand wanting to just "open a box" and load a working system, who wouldn't. A lean system disk where you load a few drivers and avoid lots of stuff just hanging out on your disk never being touched is another perspective. I know this thread is about the reverse of what I just typed, but I felt it pertinent to share the "counter". Sorry for the "derailing".
     
  20. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

    Joined:
    May 9, 2005
    Posts:
    10,215
    Matt, Ubuntu upgrades work fairly consistently well.
    Mrk
     
  21. chrome_sturmen

    chrome_sturmen Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2006
    Posts:
    875
    Location:
    Sverige
    openSUSE ?
    solid distro and great support forum
     
  22. AutoCascade

    AutoCascade Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2014
    Posts:
    741
    Location:
    United States
    If we all used MRK's testing hardware his reviews would be perfect.
     
  23. mattdocs12345

    mattdocs12345 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2013
    Posts:
    1,892
    Location:
    US
    I assume you mean that if all developers used MRK's hardware reviews would be perfect?
    Yes. I agree with the above but I am still confused.
    How can one Ubuntu version work flawlessly on MRK's hardware and the next one is a total crap? I think the problem is not the hardware, it's the way the community is releasing their distributions. Their release cycles are total crap, they release unstable Linux distributions. For someone that uses their OS for work, this is completely unacceptable. Even for someone who wants to do occasional web browsing, email and shopping this is pain in the @$$. They waste resources pushing out those distributions instead of concentrating on what they already have working well.
    Seems like entire industry was revolutionized by stupid Chrome release cycles. The bigger the number the better we are... right...
     
  24. taytong888

    taytong888 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2006
    Posts:
    168
    I am voting for KDE 64-bit openSUSE Leap 42.3 and openSUSE Tumbleweed. These distros have been residing in my box for the last few years. They've been working out of the box consistently.

    Cheers!
     
  25. fblais

    fblais Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2008
    Posts:
    1,340
    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    If I wanted to use Linux for serious work, I'd probably look at CentOS.
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.