I think it’s time to finish survey that was started at Linux Screw a month ago and announce it’s results. First of all thanks for all people who took part and gave his (her) vote, it’s really appreciated.
So, most of people (251) tried from 2 to 5 Linux distributions on their way to freedom :). The second place was taken by geeks who checked from 6 to 20 distros (184). I’m one of them (among distributions I tried are: Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RedHat, CentOS, Knoppix and many others that aren’t so widespread). 25 people tried only 1 (one!!!) distro… I guess it was pre-installed Linux…
Nice to know that there are people who tested more than 20 distributions. Good luck to you, people!
Um… and 5 people who tried no distros at all… Welcome here! By the way, M$ Windows sucks!
I can count myself in the 6-20 category. Yes, I know Linux 'Is Not Windows' but there are a lot of people out there who would like an alternative to MS if only to get something for nothing. I tried loads of cover disks and downloads and none of them passed my test of providing a workable OS without asking techy questions – I deliberately put myself in the position of 'interested amateur with no command line knowledge' – and they always let me down, sometimes at the Grub stage, sometimes refusing to complete installation, sometimes ignoring some component or other (usually networking that made all remaining steps impossible).
So far the only one, and the one I am typing this reply on now, is Linux Mint. Astonishing ease on installation and everything is there, working, automatically. Easier than Windows. There I said it.
All power to the Mint development team – they deserve it!