Recommended Linux distros for Desktop?

[Flux]

Here's the scenario:
There's a software I need that only runs on Linux. Currently, I'm using VMWare and copied VMWare virtual disk files (.vmdk, .vmem, .vmsn, etc) from a person (~30 GB) and it comes with a CentOS (I don't have the CentOS iso file). The problem is, using Virtual Machine is slow because there's allocated CPU resources running the Windows OS while running CentOS.

I'm thinking of dual booting instead (having 2 OS installed), but now, what Linux distro would you recommend? Should I still use CentOS or does it even matter?

 

[Deleted member 219079]

Ubuntu; google idk

 

[The_wand_mirror]

I understand the bigger names like Ubuntu, Debian, openSuse etc is just that they have a lot more software available.

But if you just need to run that one program why not try Puppy, it's supposed to be so small it can just run on your ram without needing to install on an hdd. Otherwise just try it out on a VM first. If it's still rather slow then do a dual boot with Puppy Linux, it's very light weight from what i understand.

 

[Emm-A-]

I have win7 and ubuntu together, but I cannot recommend the newest ubuntu distribution anymore. It is just flashy but designed rather stupid compared to earlier versions. then you spend hours resetting the UI and core features to what used to work nicely.

well, if you dont care aboout such things, ubuntu is pretty well documented and this is a big plus for this distribution.

 

[pyf]

Here's the scenario:
There's a software I need that only runs on Linux. [...]

I'm thinking of dual booting instead (having 2 OS installed), but now, what Linux distro would you recommend? [...]

Knoppix, maybe?

Haven't tested it in more than 10 years, though

 

[Deathcom3s]

My personal preference is Fedora, but that's primarily because it shares a common parent in RHEL/CentOS (which I use at work). However, you're pretty much safe if you go with either Fedora or Ubuntu.

Just be aware, everyone has their favorite distro, and you'll meet plenty of distro zealots out there. The best advice I can give is to just try out a few and see which one you like more.

 

[Deleted member 219079]

wand recommended puppy, I can agree with him I have ton of puppies on one USB. Then on another one I have tails. Windows on USB would cycle it out very fast, just like any day-to-day distro tbh (only a couple of months of daily boot-ups to die).

As to say something more about my suggestion, at least give Ubuntu a try, you might be amazed by how vastly it's supported. Linux Mint 18 is based on the brand new Ubuntu 16.04, you will find a lot of Ubuntu software working for it as well.

ot: I like the idea of Linux a lot but the community is rubbish and egoistic and not all software is supported even through Wine. But as an USB OS it is unbeatable, most likely for servers as well but I don't know about those things.