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

Re: Distrowatch

#21 Post by Randicus »

When most people refer to major and small distros, it is a reference to the size of the user base, not the quality of the systems nor their age. If age and stability were the criteria determining whether or not a distro is a major one, then the list of major distributions would include Slackware, Debian and ...?

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iceman
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Location: USA

Re: Distrowatch

#22 Post by iceman »

Randicus wrote:When most people refer to major and small distros, it is a reference to the size of the user base, not the quality of the systems nor their age. If age and stability were the criteria determining whether or not a distro is a major one, then the list of major distributions would include Slackware, Debian and ...?
That is where I look at things differently. For example, Linuxmint wouldn't be around if it wasn't for Ubuntu, Ubuntu wouldn't be around if it wasn't for Debian. They are in the Debian Family, along with Knoppix, MEPIS, etc. But none of them would exist, none of them would have a user base, if it wasn't for Debian. Therefore the major distribution has to be Debian. Now the more popular ones may be Ubuntu or Linuxmint. But their user base is thanks to Debian.
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.

Randicus
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Re: Distrowatch

#23 Post by Randicus »

Then you are referring to something other than major. I do not know what the preferred term is, but I would use parent distros. Debian, Slackware, Red Hat and Suse (because I believe they are original). I apologise if I have not included anyone else who should be on the list, but my knowledge is far from omniscient.

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iceman
Posts: 354
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Location: USA

Re: Distrowatch

#24 Post by iceman »

It is all the wording. Parent is true as well, but for me that means major (not necessarily popular or most used.) But I see things differently, which doesn't mean others are wrong either :mrgreen:
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
---------
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A_T
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Re: Distrowatch

#25 Post by A_T »

There is little point denying that Mint has in Linux terms a huge number of users - just look at the amount of activity on their forums. You might not like it but that's a different issue.

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craigevil
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Re: Distrowatch

#26 Post by craigevil »

not sure if they still do it but the bit in the Ubuntu irc channel used to spam telling people to click a link to vote on distrowatch. My guess is Mint does the same thing. Debian is consistently in the 5-7 place has been for years.Can't remember the last time i went to distrowatch.

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iceman
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Re: Distrowatch

#27 Post by iceman »

craigevil wrote:not sure if they still do it but the bit in the Ubuntu irc channel used to spam telling people to click a link to vote on distrowatch. My guess is Mint does the same thing. Debian is consistently in the 5-7 place has been for years.Can't remember the last time i went to distrowatch.

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Didn't PCLinuxOS do something like that at one time, which inflated their numbers at Distrowatch? I remember the Ubuntu community was up in arms over that. PCLinuxOS must die was popular then :lol:
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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Thinking is over rated. Let the Government do it for you.

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dasein
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Re: Distrowatch

#28 Post by dasein »

iceman wrote:Didn't PCLinuxOS do something like that at one time, which inflated their numbers at Distrowatch?
They did something-or-another, back in 2007.

Now, 2007 was PCLOS' best year, in terms of generating user interest. But the meteoric rise to the #1 spot (and #2 for the year as a whole) was confined to DW, and only DW, which led skeptics like myself to note that DW was almost certainly being "gamed" somehow by some newly acquired PCLOS fanbois.

Randicus
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Re: Distrowatch

#29 Post by Randicus »

Maybe we should all go to Distrowatch and click the Debian link. Raise Debian to no.1; entice Ubuntu and Mint users to switch to Debian; they come here and post interesting questions. :twisted:

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dasein
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Re: Distrowatch

#30 Post by dasein »

Randicus wrote:...entice Ubuntu and Mint users to switch to Debian...
Yeah just what we need.... :roll:

vbrummond
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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

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dasein
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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
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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.
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dasein
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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
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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

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iceman
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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.

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iceman
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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.
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MALsPa
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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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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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