by ArsGeek

Created on: May 24, 2007   Last Updated: September 11, 2011

Ubuntu has a lot going for it. A rich benefactor-cum-space tourist, a huge and rapidly growing user base, a sleek look and an easy install. So why is it the best in Linux operating systems? Simply put, it's not. That's right, Ubuntu is not the best Linux distro.

Is that a strange concept coming from a die-hard Ubuntu user like myself? Let me explain a bit. I've installed Ubuntu on three of my laptops, and at least five desktops that are in use by me. I use it as a server, a filer, a desktop system and my laptop's primary OS. I've also deployed it to a number of faculty, staff and graduate students at a prestigious, ivy league university. The reaction I've gotten from users who run the gamut from temporary staff assistants to CS professors who teach kernel hacking has been overwhelmingly positive.

I've also worked in many other distros, including Debian, FreeBSD, Gentoo, Red Hat, CentOS, IBM's AIX, Suse, Knoppix, Damn Small Linux, LinSpire, Mandrake/Mandriva, DesktopBSD and for a period of several months, Linux From Scratch. That's a bunch of different distros and each of them have their high points and their low points. Technically some aren't even Linux (the BSD systems). Some are ultra-configurable. So configurable in fact (LFS) that you have to compile everything from scratch. Some are not very flexible on the surface (RH, CentOS, Ubuntu, LinSpire) and come with much sleeker installs and a larger base of premade packages ready for install.

Let's face it, though; they've all got a kernel under their hood and a bunch of applications and daemons that run on top if it. Eye candy is optional. User experience varies as much as the users available. The most complex distro to install, arguably Linux From Scratch, can look ultra slick and extremely polished. I've also seen some god-awful looking Ubuntu installs out there.

The point I'm moving toward here is that there is no best in Linux. There's options. Configurability, ease of install, control over your outward appearance, control of the inner workings of your machine. What will translate into a good user experience for those in the Linux community differs throughout our community. Some favor complexity and control, others favor minimal configuration and ease of use. Many of us use Linux not only to accomplish tasks on our computers but to learn more about the inner workings of our computers.

So why is Ubuntu becoming so popular with many, and so overdone with some? It's got several things going for it that have

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