Which Linux distro has the best combination of customization and ease of use?

Question

There are Linux distributions with varying degrees of user-friendliness. The ones that are the easiest to use are generally the least customizable and vice versa.

Which Linux distribution provides a wide range of customizations without sacrificing a smooth user experience?

Answer 1

I think Ubuntu - it is well known for being very user friendly and like all Linux distributions it can be customized to the nth degree.

I'd pick it over other distributions as it starts with a very usable system and has huge software repositories. It also bundles GUI package management systems, which are a user-friendly way to remove/add any required software.

You can also easily install necessary compiling tools (apt-get install build-essential I think) and start compiling all of your hardcore customized bleeding edge software :)

I think its a misconception that distros like Arch and Gentoo are more customizable then Ubuntu or OpenSUSE. The difference is those distos assume you'll be customizing and default to minimal software whereas Ubuntu and similar default to sensible working systems but you can absolutely still get stuck in and customize the hell out of it.

Answer 2

Really, they're all equally customizable. The question is, how much of that customization is required? If you go with Arch or Linux from Scratch you'll be obviously be choosing everything yourself; Gentoo, Debian, and Slackware are more traditional in that sense; but even the slickest distros don't stop you from changing anything. So, I'd pick (K)ubuntu, Fedora, or SuSE but dump them if you find they're doing too much for you.

Which brings me to another point: with the abundance of free distributions, why convince yourself that your choice is permanent? I've been on Kubuntu for a year, but I've also used Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSE, and Arch with KDEMod. It does help to install /home on a separate partition or hard drive, though.

Edit: I see from your other question that you're already using Arch, which is interesting because in my experience it was rather smooth after the big installation and configuration hump. Have you used KDEMod? A higher-level distro? Or maybe this more of a poll question.

Answer 3

Ubuntu is (at least nowadays) probably the most prominent Linux distribution available. I used Ubuntu full-time for about 2 years a while back and found that it was easy enough to install and use as a primary operating system, yet had the customization needed to fool around with different packages, custom kernel builds, etc.

I would highly recommend taking a look at it: www.ubuntu.com

Answer 4

I've found that I like OpenSUSE when I need a balance of customization and ease of use. It is very easy to get up and running so you don't spend all that time configuring it, but its YaST tool (think "Control Panel" for Linux) makes it easy to configure things when you have to.