Another year, another totally different top 10 Linux distros - langleyyoushothe

Between the rising innovations that emerge practically day-after-day and the fairly constant charge per unit of change in general, things ne'er stay the same for long in technology.

Pillowcase in point: DistroWatch's Sri Frederick Handley Page hit rankings for Linux distributions. I've covered DistroWatch's top 10 at the death of each of the past two years, and the differences never fail to be striking.

In September 2010, the top 10 looked like this, as I noted in an article at the time:

1) Ubuntu

2) Fedora

3) Linux Mint

4) openSUSE

5) PCLinuxOS

6) Debian

7) Mandriva

8) Sabayon

9) Archway Linux

10) Pup Linux

The rankings in 2011

A year later, information technology was already a very different picture. In late December of 2011, DistroWatch's top 10 looked more like this:

1) Linux Mint

2) Ubuntu

3) Stetson

4) openSUSE

5) Debian

6) Arch Linux

7) PCLinuxOS

8) CentOS

9) Puppy Linux

10) Mandriva

Locked forward to tardily 2012, and the rankings accept varied yet once more.

Top 10 for 2012

It should be noted, of course of action, that DistroWatch lists are simply page hit rankings and therefore are not needfully indicative of employment or veridical-world popularity. Nevertheless, as one of the few measures we possess here in the Linux community, they're particularly interesting for the changes they reveal over prison term.

Without farther ado, so, here's where things sub DistroWatch's six-calendar month rankings at the end of 2012.

1. Linux Mint

Holding strong in its position of authorisation from last year, Linux Strike continues to claim the No. 1 berth on DistroWatch today. Currently in version 14 "Nadia," Ubuntu-based Mint has seen a number of exciting developments o'er the past class, including the launch of both the mintBox and the Linux Mint Store.

2. Mageia

Perhaps almost intriguing of all on this year's list is that Mageia has rapidly rocketed up into the No. 2 spot. Though it was born arsenic a fork of Mandriva in 2010, Mageia did non seem in DistroWatch's clear 10 list in either of the past two years. This year, however, Mandriva disappeared from that lean, while Mageia jumped in precise close to the top.

3. Ubuntu

Ubuntu may be in the No. 3 situation at the moment, simply it continues to dominate numerous Linux-related headlines. With the release of Ubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal," many consider Ubuntu a echt competitor to Windows at last. Meanwhile, individual decisions made by Sanctioned over the past year have sparked refreshful disceptation, even on the far side what its Unity interface has generated.

4. Homburg

This free, community of interests version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux has remained constituted as a leader on DistroWatch's list, and this year it cruel just one place to No. 4. Currently in version 17, Beaver State "Beefy Miracle," the computer software's many strengths admit top-notch surety, good usability, a choice of desktops, cloud capabilities, and strong business features.

5. openSUSE

Besides property comparatively stable is openSUSE, which has shifted down simply one spot since parthian year. Faster speeds and a more advanced substructure are among the new features added in openSUSE 12.2, which was released in September.

6. Debian

Then, to a fault, there's Debian, which has alternated 'tween the No. 5 and 6 muscae volitantes terminated the past few years. Widely considered the granddaddy of Linux distributions, Debian habitually wins top honors in popularity contests of many kinds.

7. Superior Linux

Arch is another Linux dispersion that has placed well in some popularity contests over the past twelvemonth, which has seen it change over pull down just a single place to Nobelium. 7. A brand-new distro named "Cinnarch," meantime, adds the new Cinnamon desktop to this popular billowing release distro.

8. PCLinuxOS

Dropping just a little bit from where it stood last yr, PCLinuxOS remains a very popular Linux distribution complete with some the fascinating KDE desktop and a ignitor-weight "MiniMe" version.

9. Zorin OS

Just as challenging as the appearance of Mageia therein year's top 10 list is the appearance of Zorin Operating system, which is presently in version 6.1. Ubuntu-based Zorin is particularly well-known for offering an specially easy passage for Windows users.

10. CentOS

Last but certainly not to the lowest degree, now holding DistroWatch's No. 10 dapple is CentOS, which ranked at No. 8 on the list last year. Released in July, CentOS 6.3 is an endeavour-class Linux distribution derived from Red Hat Initiative Linux 6.3.

Top image quotation: Adriano Gasparri on Flickr