I'm really enjoying Sabayon so far. Pretty much everything on my laptop just worked right after install.

Quote: Original post by caldiar
What is your favorite linux distro?

Gentoo, at least on reasonably powerful boxes (because of the compile time). Though I have not really used any other distributions that much. I have Ubuntu on my laptop, but I do not really use it that much as I prefer having a comfortable, stationary computer setup (which I find harder to accomplish with my laptop), and Debian on my server. But so far, I am more comfortable in Gentoo, with, for example, its package manager, which I like more than APT and other package managers I have used (do not ask me for any specific reasons for this).

Quote: Original post by caldiar
What kernel is it based off of?

You can choose between stable and unstable packets for everything you install. The latest stable vanilla kernel at the moment is 2.6.21.6, and unstable 2.6.22.1, but it also has various patched kernels (like -ck).

Quote: Original post by caldiar
What do you use your distro for?

Everything I use a computer for. Music, movies, programming, browsing, chatting, etc.

Quote: Original post by caldiar
Which linux distro do you use to program C/C++ programs?

The distro I have at hand, which usually is Gentoo.

Quote: Original post by caldiar
Which distro provides the most development tools?

I would guess most large ones have about the same tools available via their package managers, and if they do not have a specific program, one can always get it from outside.

For my server:
Distribution: Debian GNU/Linux (Etch on the server).
Kernel: Linux 2.4.29.
Purpose: Web, mail, and file server.

For my desktop:
Distribution for C/C++ development: Ubuntu Feisty (based on Debian, so I feel right at home).

As far as development tools, virtually any distribution with a package manager should provide everything you would ever need.

I use Fedora 7 for all my Linux needs, its on Kernel 2.6.21 at the moment.

I have used Debian and Gentoo before, I've considered switching to Gentoo, but I am just too lazy to wait for it to compile the stuff I need, plus, I already have Fedora the way I like, don't want to start over.

Quote: What is your favorite linux distro?

I started off with Slackware but moved to Debian about a year later. I primarily use Debian for most stuff but also have Gentoo and FreeBSD boxes.

Quote: What kernel is it based off of?

I'm currently on Debian Etch so it's 2.6.18 IIRC.

Quote: What do you use your distro for?

Web server, file server and home security monitoring. Also about to embark on some PIC microprocessor stuff soon.

Quote: Which linux distro do you use to program C/C++ programs?

Don't really use Linux to do C or C++ . When I do have to do some (usually hacking something to make it work) it's Debian.

Quote: Which distro provides the most development tools?

No idea about other distros but Debian has an impressive amount of packages.

thanks for the replies so far guys.
It appears, based on this forum and other forums I have posted this same survey on, that Debian and Slackware are at the top of the list in popularity.

When I buy my new SATA drives for my windows machine I'm going to dual-boot Slackware and Debian on this old harddrive to experiment with.

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Quote: Original post by caldiarWhen I buy my new SATA drives for my windows machine I'm going to dual-boot Slackware and Debian on this old harddrive to experiment with.

Dual booting is so old school.

The best thing to do is to pack as much memory as you can into your Windows machine (at least 1 Gig, preferrably 2) and install your evaluation Linuxes into VMWare virtual machines. VMWare is free, and it allows you to do side-by-side comparisons while still picking up your email (or IM) in Windows. You can snapshot your vm so of you screw up an install you can revert.

--smw

Quote: Original post by caldiar
thanks for the replies so far guys.
It appears, based on this forum and other forums I have posted this same survey on, that Debian and Slackware are at the top of the list in popularity.

Neither of them are as popular as Ubuntu. It is by far the most popular Linux desktop. Slackware was the most popular at one point in time, but it's been a decade since that was the case.

Quote: Neither of them are as popular as Ubuntu.

That depends on what you look at. In this case the OP is asking software/game developers, not Linux users in general. Most Linux-using developers I know like Ubuntu, but don't run it as their main desktop or development environment for various reasons.

I like Kubuntu, which is Ubuntu + KDE. KDE is very nice, although it doesn't seem to like Beryl very much. I'd suggest avoding Beryl on a KDE system, but it could be that I just had bad luck. Either way, make sure you get updates regularly and learn the basic Linux commands before you install it. In fact, I highly recommend that you print that page before you install it.