Ubuntu 16.04 on client and server. Just phenomenally stable on a basic laptop. Particularly when I hear about High Sierra and UWP woes.<p>Very much looking forward to Bionic Beaver and Mesa 18!<p>Am still looking for a good distro as bootable usb thumb with persistence. Alpine is very convenient if you just want a quick shell. Tails for situations requiring more privacy. But apart from running mkusb and creating my own ubuntu live stick. Is there anything really specifically tailored to this use case?
On my laptop I use Arch Linux,mainly because it doesn't get in the way installing any unwanted package or service. Should I need to configure a new laptop suddenly, I have scripts that provision the new machine <i>exactly</i> the way I want it in 1h~.
Another killer feature of Arch is its vast repositories of packages, I can install spotify, dropbox, skype the same way I install htop!
In 4 years of running it (and updating weekly) I have not had any major problems with updates breaking things, which is a common concern of newcomers to the arch rolling update system.<p>On servers I most often use debian, rigorously with unattended-upgrades enabled, for its stability and attention to security.<p>As a base image for containers I prefer Alpine for its slenderness and security, escalating to debian or ubuntu as a last resort when needed for exhotic packages and such.<p>Finally, when I setup a linux box for inexperienced users, I usually use manjaro for its ease of use and attention to the inexperienced-user-experience.
I have a few requirements when I choose my distro:<p>1. Ubuntu based, since I know where everything is. I don't mean to knock other great distros like Arch, etc.. but I'd rather do my stuff than try to figure out another package manager or another file system layout.<p>2. Customizable. I make my environment look a bit like windows, with the task bar and all. Not because I love windows, but because I have two laptops, one windows and one linux, and I need a bit of a seamless transition. I am sure if my other laptop was a fruit, I'd want my linux machine to resemble a fruit.<p>3. I need my desktop right click context menu, with a command line option.<p>For the longest time I used Xubuntu. I still think Xfce is the best out there, but its glacial rate of movement made me look in other places. It is falling behind in some things such as multi-monitor support with docking stations.<p>I now use Ubuntu 17.10 with Gnome shell. I was able to make it look almost like my Xfce setup. I had to turn off Wayland, since it was causing gnome to crash randomly on wake from sleep and close all my apps. It is also far less customizable than xfce, and some things are unexpectedly buggier (the terminal window loses cut and paste abilities randomly, and I cannot replace the console shortcut in the desktop context menu with Terminator).<p>I may yet go back to Xubuntu. Not sure.
Ubuntu because there are even fewer meaningful differences among Linux distributions than there are among operating systems in general...and the important differences among operating systems are mostly "Will it run on my hardware?" and "How much more or less of a distraction is managing operating system A versus operating system B?"
Ubuntu 16.04 (LTS), because it's the closest thing there is to a standardized, plain-vanilla version of Linux. I don't want to think about it; I just want it to work.
NixOS on both my laptop and all the servers I set up.<p>Declarative configuration, atomic upgrades, system rollbacks, a functional configuration language, excellent Haskell support, etc.<p>I used Debian and Ubuntu for many years, but now I wouldn't switch to any distribution that isn't inspired by NixOS.<p>I'm not usually opinionated, but as I see it, NixOS (along with Nix itself) is clearly a huge step forward.
Kali Linux on usb for pentesting<p>Ubuntu 17.04 for Machine learning/Cuda because anything else takes more time to work.<p>Alpine-Linux for Dockerfiles because it's the bare minimum.<p>Arch Linux for learning Linux, because you're responsible for installing what you'd like to have a stable machine.
Ubuntu LTS releases -- it's a relatively stable deploy target with a not ancient set of packages like on the enterprise linuxes.<p>The 2-year update cadence feels about right as well.
Xubuntu on my main development laptop, because I like its aesthetics and it's lightweight on CPU and RAM.<p>Ubuntu Unity on desktop. No particular reason for Unity, but I've become comfortable with it over the years and have no complaints or reason to switch.<p>Lubuntu on a secondary old laptop, because it's fast and lightweight.<p>ChaletOS on my father's old laptop, because it closely resembles Windows Vista/7 which he was used to, but unlike Windows, can continue to get latest software and updates. Can run all DOS and Windows programs using DosBox and Wine. ChaletOS is an Ubuntu variant - not sure if it's modified Xubuntu or deploys its own XFCE customizations over Ubuntu.
KDE Neon - the bleeding edge KDE experience. It's ubuntu LTS under the covers.<p>LineageOS - Nougat for 'obsolete' phones, though I might switch to postmarketOS if they get calls working!
Before Canonical decided to ditch Unity and go to Gnome I was using Ubuntu at work and Ubuntu Mate at home on laptop. Since Ubuntu dropped Unity I went full time to Ubuntu Mate and I am very happy with it. Apart from that I have KDE Neon on big PC that I hardly ever use. It's the least stable distro I use. There is always something to do on it, but I am using it only for gaming, so it's good enough. On servers I prefer to run Ubuntu LTS editions.
Gobolinux because i found the project interesting at one point and was fed up with Windows at the time.<p>Really exposed me to the sausage factory that is upstream userspace btw...
Laptop (x230)/Steambox+htpc(HP8300+GF1050): ElementaryOS - Looks nice, AppStore with native only-programs, Ubuntu underneath so I can find a lot of programs/information online in case of any problems, everything works mostly out-of-the-box<p>Desktop/Homeserver/VPS: VoidLinux + DWM(only on desktop ;)) - Simple (runit as init system, no default logging daemon [I'm using socklog on servers], LibreSSL), cutting edge and not bloated<p>Work: Ubuntu Mate LTS + ArchLinux in chroot - Ubuntu Mate - same reasons as with elementary on my laptop :)
ArchLinux in chroot - cutting edge, AUR with everything and because it's a chroot I can easily snapshot/share/move my development environment, lot of information/solutions out there<p>I also use:<p>Alpine - containers with weird things[LXC] on home server - small(almost nothing inside ;)), LibreSSL<p>Slitaz - old Pentium-M laptop without DMA(I don't know what happened - I got it for $0 so no questions asked), old P4 machine - perfect fit(and toy...) for those machines<p>LineageOS - no google inside, only f-droid
I use Fedora; this was my first Linux workstation. Fedora was the most painless to install on my at-the-time just released ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The OS was easy to get started with and very user friendly after sorting out some initial issues with firmware and wireless card drivers. I haven't felt the urge to stray to anything else yet.
GalliumOS boots 10 times faster than Ubuntu, because it is designed to run on ChromeOS hardware. Even if you do not like Chromebooks perse, this might be a good enuff reason to get one. For example the off-the-shelf linux seems to waste minutes installing and looking for weird filesystems no-one ever uses.
Debian. It's probably because I've gotten used to it so much over the years, it feels like a familiar friend every time I boot a new server on it. Rarely an error or issue I haven't encountered before, it just feels good being able to manage a system without much worry.
Ubuntu 16.04<p>Why? Because it worked when I installed it.<p>I never got into the whole install the hottest distro each season phase, so I've never actually tried anything else (other than my work servers which are running Cent-OS, but I didn't have to bother with the hassle of installing and configuring those)
Bodhi Linux. <a href="http://www.bodhilinux.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bodhilinux.com/</a><p>It's sort of minimal. It's a derivative of Ubuntu which means it's not Red Hat.<p>It uses Moksha for a desktop, which is a continuation of Enlightenment 17. You can read about Moksha here: <a href="http://www.bodhilinux.com/2015/04/28/introducing-the-moksha-desktop/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bodhilinux.com/2015/04/28/introducing-the-moksha-...</a><p>I use it because it's not annoying; it mostly works; I didn't have to fuck about to get it working; it's sort of minimal; it uses sensible defaults; I like the philosophy; I had a bad experience with Fedora and so I avoid anything red hat.
I use Bunsen labs Linux on my main computer, and Xubuntu on my gaming laptop. I'm gradually setting up a ham radio laptop and testing Devuan on that. All these Debian distros are just because it seems like it has just about everything and is wonderfully stable. I like being able to update without any surprises.<p>My phone is still android though! What are people's experience of LineageOS? Am I in for a nasty surprise if I try to switch without completely knowing what I'm doing?
Debian without systemd:
On an older Pentium4, just for web browsing although I just replaced it with OpenBSD. Its a great distro because of its age, stability and ease of use.<p>Gentoo OpenRC:
On amd64 laptops for learning how to build software.<p>I've installed and configured 80% of distros on Distrowatch.com. Its all the same pretty much. Linux from Scratch was a good experience as well. Recommended for anyone interested in the deeper reasons of a distro.
OpenSUSE with no desktop, just i3 on my development machine. Xubuntu on family machines and my travel notepad. CentOS on some server, Ubuntu on another.<p>Need to install Archlinux, because I need it at work. Want to install Gentoo, because it should be useful experience.<p>Its like with languages on earth. Many things might be easier if there were only one. But probably also something would get lost.
Fedora on my laptop and desktop, Centos on my servers, Debian based on my Raspberry Pi 3b and Zero. Been using Redhat based distros since 1998. I've tried others but never for very long. I know how to find help if something breaks which is very seldom.
Ubuntu because it worked first time on my laptop. Getting concerned about the end of Unity though. I don't like Gnome3 because it's to bar takes up too much of the screen. Ubuntu on desktop again because it works well in Virtualbox on Windows
Debian (stable, or old-stable) on servers. It's reliable, well documented and has plenty of software available in the official repos.<p>For most things not in the active apt repo, there's backports and/or a vendor apt repo.
Xubuntu 16.04 on my Dell Latitude 7240 which is a 99% OOB working system. Only the fingerprint scanner is not working. But that is a bullshit sensor anyway. I love the minimal XFCE desktop.
Fedora - because of habit, RPM distros feel like home to me as I started out with one.<p>Arch Linux - installed it as a rite of passage, works okay on my laptop, can't be arsed to install something else.
Tiny Core Linux, Alpine Linux, Yocto Linux - because they run from RAM and tiny operating systems appeal to me.<p>Ubuntu because it is a full featured workhorse and everything works on it first time.
Sabayon Linux, active community, you get both binary packages (from sabayon repos) and you can compile gentoo packages from portage, because sabayon is built on top of gentoo.
Fedora - Stable but still up to date.<p>I used to use arch, but you have to be selective and careful with updates otherwise you find you can't boot into x. Takes time to go and fix.
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, and mostly because it usually just works. I use a mac, but there is always an ssh shell open to Ubuntu where "the real work" gets done.
Looking at the answers, I've learned lots of new distros. Never thought there'd be still that many!<p>I personally use Arch on desktop/dev and Ubuntu LTS on servers.
centos: I am surprised to see that centos is not mentioned a lot. Anyway, I am in the animation/vfx industry and most of the vendors support centos out of all the other linux flavors.
sabayon as client: good package manager, up-to-date packages<p>rhel as server: long lasting projects/software because of long term support<p>ubuntu/debian as server: for smaller project