which is the best linux distro

I use Puppy Linux. It is a small distro (about 100 MB) yet has everything you need to do most tasks a computer user needs (i.e., a web browser, office tools [word processor, spreadsheet, etc.], paint program with layer support, media player, email, IM, Calendar, games...). It is really fast. The reason that I use it is because until I get my grant money for school next month, I do not have a harddrive for my laptop. So I run puppy from a live-CD, and during bootup it detects the save file on my flash drive that has additional programs that I have installed, customized settings, and documents. Has been a real life saver for me until I can get a hard drive. I have had such a positive experience with puppy that I may even stick with it then. Although I have also been considering switching back to Ubuntu. I am not sure. Whatever operating system I get, I need to have a free OS, I know that much!

I tried many Linux, and I am using Gentoo 10.0 now : it needs more time to install than Debian and a more powerful computer but it is a very good distribution with more possibilities. However Debian is another challenging distribution for a serious Linux user.

This is a fairly common question and there is no definitive answer. The choice of distributions is a personal preference and many people will always disagree on which is best. My own preference at present is Ubuntu, although I have used Mandriva, Xandros a several others, all which have their own good points. There are quite a few Linux distributions that I have tried and did not really like, such as Slax and SUSE, but I would not criticise them because they suit many users.

i think haiyaku is new developing OS that you may want to feel to find that it is free open source completely writen in c++ and one of my favro languages.

most people go for ubuntu,but i dont like ubuntu a bit,i love debian,i really dont like cent os ,as it's a cheaper cousin of red hat only,debian lenny is very stable,and provides atleast 18.6 GB of stable packages,tony keep up the good work!

yes truly this is a most common issue discussed between linux user's and developers.. well what i think as long as you know to use it and enjoy it. it doesn't matter. For those people that want to play with linux and learn some new stuff I'd prefer use both (ie Fedora and Debian). I believe there is a bit more difference in them than package management.. like the X11 configuration files, pam.d etc... If any one is looking for a replacement for windows and use just like a normal user, better go for ubuntu. And i have read an article in LFY that Arch linux is most favoured by linux geeks. But i say try using everything, you will learn a lot of new stuff... enjoy.. linux rockss... ;)

as regards linux ditro i think is a persona choice naturally i liked many distros based on linux kernel i think my favourite ones will always be Ubuntu,Fedora and openSuse as well!! A sregards servers and business needs i agree that redhat is rally useful and smart!!

I quite like CentOS 5. I just used that to set up quite a complicated server for my organization and it's working fine. The likelihood of getting a virus on Linux is practically non-existent and Linux distros in general are so customizable that you can use them for a specific purpose unlike with Windows for example where you have to install everything whether you're going to use it or not.

I think the redhat is popular,but the centOS begins to be popular. I have not play debian.