Table of contents
Comprehensive Database
DistroWatch provides a thorough list of active Linux distributions, which is helpful for users seeking to explore various options and find the right one for their needs.
Distribution Popularity Ranking
The site features a page hit ranking system that gives an indication of the popularity of distributions, which can guide users toward more widely supported and updated options.
News and Updates
Regularly updated news and release announcements keep users informed about the latest developments in the Linux and open-source software world.
Reviews and Summaries
DistroWatch offers reviews and summaries for many distributions, providing insights into their strengths and weaknesses without needing to test each one individually.
User Resources
The site includes links to official distribution sites, download mirrors, forums, and documentation, making it easier for users to find support and further information.
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DistroWatch is generally considered a good resource for users interested in exploring the diverse world of Linux distributions. Its comprehensive database and news updates make it valuable for both new and experienced Linux users. However, the site should be used as a starting point for research, and users are encouraged to seek multiple sources to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of each distribution.
We have collected here some useful links to help you find out if DistroWatch is good.
Check the traffic stats of DistroWatch on SimilarWeb. The key metrics to look for are: monthly visits, average visit duration, pages per visit, and traffic by country. Moreoever, check the traffic sources. For example "Direct" traffic is a good sign.
Check the "Domain Rating" of DistroWatch on Ahrefs. The domain rating is a measure of the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. It shows the strength of DistroWatch's backlink profile compared to the other websites. In most cases a domain rating of 60+ is considered good and 70+ is considered very good.
Check the "Domain Authority" of DistroWatch on MOZ. A website's domain authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). It is based on a 100-point logarithmic scale, with higher scores corresponding to a greater likelihood of ranking. This is another useful metric to check if a website is good.
The latest comments about DistroWatch on Reddit. This can help you find out how popualr the product is and what people think about it.
Maybe not, but also polishing of the Linux desktop has happened regardless of this. In fact, it is what drove SteamOS. Please refer to the items on [1] as literally the top 8 distros were developed for this explicit purpose (making Linux more user friendly). [0] We can determine it to be true or false. [1] https://distrowatch.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 9 days ago
This, but here are some things I've learned to do: * Use a .local directory under my home directory instead of ~/bin. That's a great prefix when installing from source or tarball at the user level, keeps the top-level of the home directory from getting cluttered with /share /lib /include /etc /lib etc. etc. * Reach for the package manager first when installing new software, unless there is a good reason not to. It... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
Picking a starting distro is like playing a game, it does not take long for us to stay in our starting town. With various informative sites like DistroWatch, and even a testing site like distro test, our options are endless. Beginners should not get too hung up on deciding which game they want to play as there are tons available. Sooner or later in life, some even leave their starting towns, and even their countries. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
The common sense I advocate mainly revolves around DistroWatch. High ranking distributions (indicated by the hits per day chart) are generally more favorable for many reasons; stability, support, user-friendliness, friendliness of other users and so on. Over the past few years, I have usually recommended the three major M named distros; Mint, Manjaro, and MX. They have had high favorability over the past decade. A... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
The broken headline (should say Linux Gaming Distros) reminded me of DistroWatch's value to the community, aside from its unusual ranking system: https://distrowatch.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files. With ventoy, you don't need to format the disk over and over, you just need to copy the image files to the USB drive and boot it You can copy many image files at a time and ventoy will give you a boot menu to select them. You can also browse ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files in local disk and boot them. x86 Legacy BIOS,... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
Distrowatch.com is a great way to learn about each distro (or at least the big ones) and get all the details about what is in them. Source: over 1 year ago
I wonder why do people keep mentioning about Kali Linux. And I hear almost nobody talk about PCLinuxOS (distrowatch.com top 21) or about OpenMandriva or about Mageia (distrowatch.com top 17). Source: over 1 year ago
Go to https://distrowatch.com and learn how to use the site. Source: over 1 year ago
I agree... So if you use the GUI, the window manager has a lot to do with it (hence the other posters comment about wayland). The author also notes the size of the download/distro, which is not equal to install size. If you wanted to go really crazy, perhaps install gentoo and only put in the packages you absolutely need? I still find this site terribly useful, and parse through distros probably once a month.... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
For several days now I have been unable to access distrowatch.com using any Mullvad server (I haven't tested all of them, but a lot of them). Source: over 1 year ago
Distrowatch is a good place to get an overview of pretty well every Linux distribution ever made, with links and a bit of background info on each. https://distrowatch.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
MX always seems to be Distrowatch's most viewed Linux distro: https://distrowatch.com/?newsid=11903 The #1 ranking is mysterious, and doesn't jibe with how MX gets almost no attention here at HN for various reasons, but it is a great distro anyways. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
Just pick one of the top 10 on https://distrowatch.com/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
And while u're at it, go to distrowatch.com search page to find more distros. Find distros with support for old computers. Remember, though, search results from here should be treated just as a starting point. Lots of times the results will not be entirely accurate. Well, u can read some infos about any distro u want there; including their websites and download pages; so it's a good enough place to start your search. Source: almost 2 years ago
The entire Linux system here is a bespoke custom setup or 'distribution' as they're referred to and yes there are a lot of them with the most well-known flavors probably being Ubuntu, Debian, Arch and Fedora. Source: almost 2 years ago
Like DEs, there are lots of WMs available for u to play with. For example, I3WM and Qtile. Go to distrowatch.com or google the shit out of them to find more, whichever u prefer. Enjoy. ;). Source: almost 2 years ago
Great site to checkout: https://distrowatch.com/. Source: almost 2 years ago
Starting point: distrowatch.com search page for a concised version of distro listing with any use case scenario u want. It is not a complete distro list by far, but u have google for the rest. Source: almost 2 years ago
> Glancing at the new Debian 12 screenshots, I realised that in the past years most major desktop OSes transitioned to a macOS-esque (middle-aligned, bottom) large icon taskbar. Why? That's a misinformed take, Gnome is not the only desktop environment available on Debian, it just happen to be listed first in the installer, it's a DE agnostic OS If you look at the most popular linux distro, the 3 most popular ones... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
It's ranked #1 on https://distrowatch.com/ since forever. Source: almost 2 years ago
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Is DistroWatch good? This is an informative page that will help you find out. Moreover, you can review and discuss DistroWatch here. The primary details have not been verified within the last quarter, and they might be outdated. If you think we are missing something, please use the means on this page to comment or suggest changes. All reviews and comments are highly encouranged and appreciated as they help everyone in the community to make an informed choice. Please always be kind and objective when evaluating a product and sharing your opinion.
