I can’t seem to get any responses other than OpenSuse Tumbleweed (even when selecting the option “never used Linux”) or Ubuntu MATE. I’ve tried a number of iterations with these 2 being the only results.
Try again, apparently some updates hadn’t been pushed to the site. If you’re still getting those two, could you get me the console log?
I am getting more results now, though I can’t say I agree that Mint and Debian are good options for Gamers (@JasonEvangelho’s recent results).
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I mean, Mint is just Ubuntu 18.04 with extra stuff thrown in, and SteamOS was based on Debian. It may not be as optimal as Pop!_OS or Manjaro for gaming, but they definitely get the job done
Having scanned the code a few days ago I am wondering if storing the information about different distributions in a table and running some kind of optimisation function parameterised by user input might not be more maintainable and extendible? Just a thought. Thanks again for your good work on this, everyone involved
In other words: have a distros=["Ubuntu", "Fedora", EndeavourOS", ...] and remove the distributions based on choices? Because I sort of implemented a dynamic version of that in the last release.
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Sounds good - I’ll hop on and have a look at the new versions as my feedback may be out of date!
I ran your system again - terrific improvements. The front-end has a more polished feel now, if I click in the bottom right to suggest an alternative it now cycles through all the initial recommendations without looping through a reduced number as it seemed to previously. The output in my case definitely made sense for the input given - thank you
Just reading through the code again I notice that to an extent your knowledge of the distros is embedded in the logic of the algorithm. I’m wondering if the attributes of the different distributions could be captured in table form, then an evaluation function is written that takes the input as weights against the different attributes and optimises based on the data in a table, a very simplified version of the evaluation function for choosing the next move in a chess game, for example? That might be easier to maintain as the logic of the selection process would largely be captured in the evaluation function and the merits of each distribution captured in a table of data, the values of which could be tweaked with more rows added when more distros are added, and more columns added when more parameters are to be considered.
Not sure if I’ve explained that well… Maybe the wikipedia explanation might be clearer, just as a thought:
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Version 0.5 is now live
What’s new:
- Ability to preview a distro by typing
?<distro name>in the URL bar try it here - Added distro logos for branding purposes, located in src/assets/icons
- Added screenshots for Xubuntu and Ubuntu Mate–more coming soon
- Changed wording on the “Computer Use” question
- Added “How old is your computer” question
- Some minor style changes
- Added Lubuntu as an option
Just reading through the code again I notice that to an extent your knowledge of the distros is embedded in the logic of the algorithm. I’m wondering if the attributes of the different distributions could be captured in table form, then an evaluation function is written that takes the input as weights against the different attributes and optimises based on the data in a table
Oh definitely. In fact, I think this is how Librehunt does it. Once I get the more easy stuff completed, I’ll look into changing the algorithm to something like this, but I need to get better at programming first, and I want to start getting the full framework of what I want started so that it’s more clear for any people who wish to contribute.
I appreciate the input and feedback 
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That’s a nice idea and it works ! I got Ubuntu Budgie and it was indeed the first distro that sticked when I starting using linux. Since that I got DHS but it’s another story 
Hmm, not sure - I tried a few times and it never suggested Debian 10 with Cinnamon, which is what I use. It surely is popular enough to be a suggestion?
I took me about 10 attempts to get to Debian with Cinnamon as an option. I think a lot has changed with Debian 10 - I found it much easier than Ubuntu and Xubuntu which I had been using previously for years.
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Debian is a lot easier than it used to be, but because it doesn’t have PPA support and needs tweaking to look nice, it’s not a “default.”
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I am not convinced - I am not an expert, but I switched directly from Ubuntu to Debian 10 a few months ago. I chose Cinnamon and selected a theme. It looks infinitely better than Ubuntu - I found Ubuntu/Gnome impossible to make look good or behave nicely. Debian is easy to install, you get a bunch desktop environments to choose (and you can choose them all and try them all out). My Debian makes MacOS, Ubuntu and Windows 10 cower for looks and functionality and I come from a Windows and Mac world for most of my life…
Linux Mint is what got me off Windows and gave me the knowledge to transition to Debian MATE which i’ve adored for the past 2 years. I agree it’s less likely to have DEs with comparably good defaults, no PPAs is also not friendly however compelling the argument against them is. The experience is smooth but not nearly as smooth as Ubuntu and others and to stay current Debian 10 users will need to switch to testing or sid shortly.
I really like the “[Click here] if you’ve tried this distro” option, maybe showing the top 2 or 3 choices on the same page may make people happier with the outcomes so they’re more willing to recommend it?
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I’m glad that Debian has been great for you, but this is more focused towards new users. Ubuntu just has more polish than Debian.
Precisely, this is why I default to Ubuntu over Debian. I like Debian, I just think Ubuntu is more friendly for people who are new to Linux.
I’m currently working on a sidebar that will pull 3 other distros from the list of results, so this will definitely be in the final product.
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I absolutely love Debian but I agree the purpose of the site is the provide tips to beginners who are considering “dipping their feet” in which case Debian, which will probably require some configuration based on knowledge of systems admin, should only be recommended for users who already have a lot of experience with Linux and are willing to do some admin initially as part of their setup.
In terms of smooth - I think yes, if you only use it for one day. I switched from Xubuntu to Ubuntu because there were just a few graphical glitches in xfce, although very minor. Ubuntu appeared to be very unstable over the 6 months I used it for. Applications would stop working for no good reason and I believe a big part of it was snaps.
The Ubuntu app store front-end pushes snaps versions of everything and they should be more stable in theory, but they are not in real use. I found they had poor desktop integration with Gnome and would bring up errors trying to access files and also look terrible often because of theming issues.
So while the merits are there on paper - lack of stability, snaps and overall an annoying experience to use as a daily driver really undoes those merits in reality. I really wanted to like it and I still have it on one laptop which we use just to browse the Web - it works ok for that!
Personal facepalm here, the reason why I adore Debian besides the devs and high support is the stability. I ditched Mint because there was a bug related to my motherboard that I couldn’t fix, no one on IRC knew either and even a clean install would fill my disk with log errors within hours. I had to make the log file read only and after 2 months of waiting I gave up and distro hopped. Stability sort of has a quality all of it’s own for a new experience. No idea on how much that should shift debian up next to “mostly” stable distros but you got a point @samsonite
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Debian is currently classified as a “stable” distro and Ubuntu is classified as “mostly stable” on the site - aka on the question “How quickly do you want your updates”, choosing the first option “When they’re stable” puts Debian in the results.
The rest of the discussion comes down to personal preference on the distros.