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Distrowatch

Off-Topic discussions about science, technology, and non Debian specific topics.

Do you still check out Distrowatch?

Yes, all the time
14
21%
No, not anymore
7
10%
Once a week
9
13%
Once a month
8
12%
Once every few months, give or take.
17
25%
Only for Distrowatch Weekly.
1
1%
Never did.
9
13%
What is Distrowatch...
2
3%
 
Total votes: 67

Message
Author
vbrummond
Posts: 4432
Joined: 2010-03-02 01:42

Re: Distrowatch

#31 Post by vbrummond »

As far as google searches are concerned we are all fairly close.
http://www.google.com/trends/?q=debian+ ... all&sort=0

This surprised me though. Debian stomps that stupid meme. :D
http://www.google.com/trends/?q=debian, ... all&sort=0
Always on Debian Testing

User avatar
dasein
Posts: 7680
Joined: 2011-03-04 01:06
Location: Terra Incantationum

Re: Distrowatch

#32 Post by dasein »

At the risk of bursting your bubble...

The only one of the terms that really needs disambiguation is "mint." Adding "linux" to all three queries "overfits" the results.

Here's an alternative view:

http://www.google.com/trends/?q=debian, ... all&sort=0

vbrummond
Posts: 4432
Joined: 2010-03-02 01:42

Re: Distrowatch

#33 Post by vbrummond »

In the interest of fairness and due to mint being a common word I opted to add linux to all of them. Ubuntu is not exactly common but it is used outside of the distro being a popular brand of cola. Debian I never heard of otherwise.

I do not have a bubble to burst, I only posted these for fun.
Always on Debian Testing

User avatar
dasein
Posts: 7680
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Location: Terra Incantationum

Re: Distrowatch

#34 Post by dasein »

vbrummond wrote:In the interest of fairness and due to mint being a common word I opted to add linux to all of them.
Sadly, this is one of those instances where fairness may occlude (or even preclude) accuracy.
vbrummond wrote:I do not have a bubble to burst...
Yikes. No offense intended. These are just ideas we're talking about here.

vbrummond
Posts: 4432
Joined: 2010-03-02 01:42

Re: Distrowatch

#35 Post by vbrummond »

I am not like an eggshell. It is difficult to offend me so I am not sure what you mean. :)
Last edited by vbrummond on 2012-04-18 06:58, edited 1 time in total.
Always on Debian Testing

User avatar
iceman
Posts: 354
Joined: 2010-08-19 23:14
Location: USA

Re: Distrowatch

#36 Post by iceman »

Great links to add to this thread, thank you.

My thoughts... I noticed that Debian declines but there are two major reasons I think with that. 1- (A)Debian users don't need to search Google. We know where to find all the information we need, many of us just know what we are doing. (B) Most of us do not trust Google anyways and use alternative search engines, such as Duck Duck Go, etc. 2- There has been a serious increase in Debian based Distro's. This may have taken a few away, but I honestly think 1 is most likely for the decline.

I counted the number of distro's at Distrowatch's top 100. There are so many that are Debian, Ubuntu/Debian and Mint/Debian based, it is amazing.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
---------
Thinking is over rated. Let the Government do it for you.

User avatar
iceman
Posts: 354
Joined: 2010-08-19 23:14
Location: USA

Re: Distrowatch

#37 Post by iceman »

While looking for alternative Linux lists I came across this one. No votes in and out, just lists and categorizes. https://lwn.net/Distributions/ I mention this only since I don't really use Distrowatch and there are other alternatives out there if one really feels the need for it. This link shows Debian at the number one spot, so of course I love this place :wink: https://lwn.net/Distributions/#lead
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
---------
Thinking is over rated. Let the Government do it for you.

MALsPa
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Location: albuquerque
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Re: Distrowatch

#38 Post by MALsPa »

iceman wrote:While looking for alternative Linux lists I came across this one. No votes in and out, just lists and categorizes. https://lwn.net/Distributions/ I mention this only since I don't really use Distrowatch and there are other alternatives out there if one really feels the need for it.
Nice list, but it makes me wonder, is there anyone else out there putting together information about various distros like DistroWatch does? Their tables showing a distro's features, packages, and releases, and the other info you find at each distro's DW page, like links to forums, reviews, etc. -- there's nowhere else where I've seen so much info all in one place like that.

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dasein
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Location: Terra Incantationum

Re: Distrowatch

#39 Post by dasein »

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not seeing the "added value" in LWN's alphabetical sorting. Their list seems to make no meaningful distinction between active, thriving distos and moribund or even nonexistent ones. For all its faults, at least DW makes that seemingly important distinction.

MALsPa
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Re: Distrowatch

#40 Post by MALsPa »

dasein wrote:Maybe it's just me, but I'm not seeing the "added value" in LWN's alphabetical sorting. Their list seems to make no meaningful distinction between active, thriving distos and moribund or even nonexistent ones.
Yeah. For example, the link they provide for Klikit Linux doesn't work. Is that distro still active? I found http://www.klikit-linux.com/. And also, they list Linspire, which is long gone.

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demosthenese
Posts: 168
Joined: 2009-07-12 14:39
Location: Liverpool, UK

Re: Distrowatch

#41 Post by demosthenese »

My take on the 'major' thing is this.

If Ubuntu and Mint disappeared tomorrow, then the good ship Debian would sail on as if nothing had happened. If Debian disappeared in a puff of smoke, there would be major holes in Ubuntu and Mint.

Debian is major distro because of its wealth of package maintainers, without whose work the derivative distros could not exist.

User avatar
iceman
Posts: 354
Joined: 2010-08-19 23:14
Location: USA

Re: Distrowatch

#42 Post by iceman »

demosthenese wrote:My take on the 'major' thing is this.

If Ubuntu and Mint disappeared tomorrow, then the good ship Debian would sail on as if nothing had happened. If Debian disappeared in a puff of smoke, there would be major holes in Ubuntu and Mint.

Debian is major distro because of its wealth of package maintainers, without whose work the derivative distros could not exist.

Words of wisdom :D


Poll results so far.
Yes, all the time 11% [ 4 ]
No, not anymore 17% [ 6 ]
Once a week 14% [ 5 ]
Once a month 8% [ 3 ]
Once every few months, give or take. 25% [ 9 ]
Only for Distrowatch Weekly. 3% [ 1 ]
Never did. 19% [ 7 ]
What is Distrowatch... 3% [ 1 ]
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
---------
Thinking is over rated. Let the Government do it for you.

User avatar
emoric
Posts: 72
Joined: 2010-10-03 17:29
Location: Katy, TX

Re: Distrowatch

#43 Post by emoric »

I actually do tend to check Distrowatch every other day or so. I'm always curious to see what is new and what not. I'm always trying new distributions in Virtual Box but none of them give me reason to leave my current Debian install.

User avatar
62chevy
Posts: 1589
Joined: 2009-10-25 01:09
Location: West Virginia

Re: Distrowatch

#44 Post by 62chevy »

Do you still check out Distrowatch?

Yes, all the time 7 15%

No, not anymore 7 15%

Once a week 6 13%

Once a month 4 9%

Once every few months, give or take. 12 26%

Only for Distrowatch Weekly. 1 2%

Never did. 8 17%

What is Distrowatch... 1 2%


Total votes : 46





I only go if someone gives a link to an article. I use linuxquestions to find out what others think about a distro.
Debian Buster

debianized
Posts: 278
Joined: 2009-01-07 07:56

Re: Distrowatch

#45 Post by debianized »

I check it all of the time and have for years. I don't install or play with much found there these days though, for numerous reasons.

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dasein
Posts: 7680
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Location: Terra Incantationum

Re: Distrowatch

#46 Post by dasein »

I realize that this thread has been dead for a couple of weeks now, but in case someone stumbles on it in the future...

Several people commented in the thread about just how easy it is to "game" Distrowatch HPD stats. Well, sure enough, there's a small one-man Debian-derivative distro that had its first and only release a few days ago (May 2012), and that has been in the Distrowatch database for all of one week. Said distro is currently at the #2 position at DW for the last 7 days, ahead of everything except Mint. Clearly, there is no way that a distro with < 300 forum members (and < 50 "backlinks" on the Web) is receiving 2,500 genuine DW hits per day, every day. There is unquestionably a massive and organized Distrowatch-spoof campaign underway.

Image

The bottom line: Distrowatch "popularity" says nothing about the actual popularity of a distro. And it never will.

(Aside: I wish fanbois would think about the "message" that this kind of behavior conveys about a distro. I was actually thinking that it looked like a nice newbie-friendly alternative to Debian. But I can't recommend in good conscience any distro whose community is made up of PCLOS-style fanbois.)

MALsPa
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Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Distrowatch

#47 Post by MALsPa »

I think that in this case the page hit ranking (over the 7-day span) might really reflect a huge amount of interest in this new distro. Based on Stable, uses GNOME 2, and the dev (Doherty) is well-known from Linux Mint. Maybe there's no foul play involved here.

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dasein
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Joined: 2011-03-04 01:06
Location: Terra Incantationum

Re: Distrowatch

#48 Post by dasein »

Interested in buying some land? ;)

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62chevy
Posts: 1589
Joined: 2009-10-25 01:09
Location: West Virginia

Re: Distrowatch

#49 Post by 62chevy »

dasein wrote:Interested in buying some land? ;)

This is one of the reason I pay little attention to DW. Give it a couple of weeks and see then. Time heals all wrongs or so I've been told.
Debian Buster

Randicus
Posts: 2663
Joined: 2011-05-08 09:11

Re: Distrowatch

#50 Post by Randicus »

62chevy wrote:Time heals all wrongs or so I've been told.
I thought time allows bitterness to grow and anger to spread its roots deeper. Maybe I am just cynical. :lol:

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