Linux Distribution Choices for SCIT students

Linux Distributions

One of the strengths of Linux is that there are many different distributions available - a distribution (or distro) can be thought of as a set of packages / tools / etc. that have been gathered together into a CD. Distribution preference is a very personal thing - some are designed for scientific research, some designed to look as close as possible to Windows, some for other purposes. If one distribution does not work for you, another might, so don't give up on Linux if your first distro does not work or you find it difficult.

DistroWatch is a website dedicated to providing a full list of available distros, with details on which is right for which purposes.

Personal Distro Preferences

If you have a preference for a distro that you'd like to share with other students, please write it below, stating your name, the date, the distro and version and reasons why you think it is suitable for university students in their studies. If you have preferences for distros that are not specific to university studies, please make that clear so that novice users don't experiment with distros that might put them off if they don't work well for their studies.

The University installs SuSE Linux 10.0 in the student labs.

Ubuntu

• Matthew Green, January 2007, version 6.06 and 6.10
  • Reasons: I believe this is an excellent distribution for novice users, as I have had the most success on the widest range of hardware compatibility with this distribution.
• Aaron Jones, September 2008, version 7.10 (kernel 2.6.22-15-generic (From Gutsy repositories))
  • Reasons: Seconding the above, 7.10 works out of the box for my laptop with video, sound, wireless, etc working with just one reboot. It has a wide variety of programs for you to install to help you with your course; text editors, compilers, utilities to work on the university server (SSH, SCP), etc. More programs can be downloaded from the repositories if needed.
• Aaron Jones, September 2008, version 7.10 (kernel 2.6.24-19-generic (From Hardy repositories))
  • As above, exceptionally stable and very user-friendly. If you do install 7.10 I recommend you update your kernel by following this guide (select Option #1 if you are not a knowledgeable user).

Simply Mepis

• Matthew Round, January 2007, version ???
  • Reasons: Will Work better than UBUNTU on older computers as it can work on 64MB RAM if configured correctly.

Most distributions offer installation guides like PClinuxOS the guide can be found on their wiki here www.pclinuxonline.com and can be downloaded for free here www.pclinuxos.com

Debian

• James Anslow, August 2010
  • Reasons: Debian has access to repositories containing thousands of software packages ready for use. Debian has a history of good adherence to free software philosophies and focuses on stability and security. It is used as a base for many other distributions (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, gNewSense etc).

Arch Linux

• Jak Gibb, October 2010
  • Reasons: Arch Linux have a great philosophy: "Keep It Simple Stupid"

It is a light-weight, highly customisable distribution that allows you to build the system from, almost, the ground up; a base install includes only the bare essentials to allow the computer to bootup to the command line, from here you pick what programs you want to install.

A fresh install does not include the 'X' server, meaning you will not see any graphics at all on the screen, just a 'blinking cursor', from here it is all command line based and upto you to decide what you want installed. (No doubt you will want to install the 'X' server.).

Whilst the distribution is aimed at those with more Linux experience, it does offers a great home to those looking at learning how Linux works from the inside-out, and to those who want a operating system tailored to their personal needs.There is a great begginers' guide that will work you through the install step-by-step.