[ubuntu-in] If not Ubuntu then what

[K Ramnarayan]

Hi

This isn't exactly a poll but thought that it would be good to know what 
people would choose if they had to move away from Ubuntu.

Before saying anything i want to put this on record. Ubuntu is one of the best 
distro's i have ever used. , its ease in installation, responsiveness to 
multitude of hardware, the incredibly large and varied repositories, the very 
decent derivatives (Mint, Ultimate etc) . The huge forum and support. 
Basically i like it very much

Over the recent months there has been a lot of chatter about minor and maybe 
not so minor aspects.

First there was the dropping and inclusion of different programmes (e.g. GIMP) 
not big things but when many small things add up they become to big. 

Then there is this
Ubuntu is not a democracy, Mark Shuttleworth

Sounds crazy saying it like that but to read what he had to say check out

Mark Shuttleworth: "This is not a democracy" 
http://www.webupd8.org/2010/03/ubuntu-is-not-democratic.html

and some related discussions

http://www.osnews.com/story/23039/Kicking_in_Open_Doors_Open_Source_Is_Not_a_Democracy

and

http://www.itworld.com/open-source/101641/open-source-not-
democracy?source=smlynch

**
There are many reasons to use Linux and one of them, for me, is not to be told 
what to do by a corporation. Sure Canonical is not the new M$, i doubt it can 
ever become that. (hope not)

But what makes me uncomfortable is the extent of control Canonical is exerting 
over its user base. Many Linux folks , now, are first time linuxers changed 
over from Other OS' mainly because of Ubuntu.

So not debating the specifics of Mark Shuttleworth's comments and the reactions 
and the interpretations, I am getting an uneasy feeling. That maybe just maybe 
we are becoming Ubuntu dependent and too complacent. 

I can walk blindfolded through a typical Ubuntu install and its subsequent 
setup of additional programmes, tweaking programmes to work like they should 
for me.  Knowing what repos to add to get exactly what software and where to 
source software (tuxwire, zyware).

I cannot be happier with what i have. But what if we need to move to a freer 
system. Are there any other distro's out there. Sure there are 600 plus many 
of them with a passionate user base and with its attendant problem. 

My questions are how would people feel about trying out a distro other than 
Ubuntu (specially first time users), in fact have first time linux Ubuntu users 
tried other distro's and what do they feel.

I started of with fedora 1 and went through a variety and can make another 
distro do to my bidding.

My other question is how many of us dual boot a second linux OS and is your 
secondary OS as well set as your primary, are you comfortable with it, under 
all conditions.

My 3rd question is what would you suggest people try as a fall back option in 
case people want to try and alternative.

My suggestions are Pardus, Mandriva, OpenSuse, Fedora, Knoppix
Others have suggested Arch Linux

The few times in the recent past when i tried another distro i very quickly 
reverted back to Ubuntu, since i was uncomfortable around my system but now i 
think its worth exploring an alternative in great earnest.

look forward to reactions

ram