openSUSE is best wreck-proof Linux distro
I’ve spent the last three weeks installing, testing, and wrecking various distros on purpose among three machines of various ages and here’s what I found:
- Ubuntu/Kubuntu had the most bugs and Kubuntu the most aggravation with KDE;
- Fedora is quite good (as it is every other release) and has a strong integration of KDE;
- Mandriva/Mepis/Mint are fine but they don’t run on some hardware, making them hit or miss;
- sidux is a solid little KDE distro that many should consider over Ubuntu.
But openSUSE is hands down the best as Zayed’s review and my informal tests show, and enough to make this confirmed distro-hopper settle down.
Its excellent installation routine along with its strong partition abilities get you off to a good start. Repositories are easily found on the openSUSE site, and yes, its implementation of KDE is by far the most polished. openSUSE also automatically places your /home folder on a separate partition, which allows you to freely install and test other distros or OSes without touching your data and settings. However, for the sake of newcomers, more emphasis should be put on reading the Release Notes immediately after installation. There you will find information you’ll need to work around any issues. Like Ubuntu, openSUSE has an excellent forum.
If you haven’t seen Linux in a year or two, check out openSUSE. You’ll be surprised how far desktop Linux has come in such a short time, and surprised that more people aren’t using it.