[Lvlug] Recommendations on a More Suitable Distro

[Patrick Bartek]

I've been with Fedora since Core 3 (I'm now at 12), but since they went to a 6 month release cycle and 15 month support, I've become increasingly frustrated and dissatisfied with it.  Each upgrade I've done (since FC6, I only upgrade every 3 release) has taken longer and longer to fix problems.  With 12, I even joined the Fedora mail list for help.  I realize that Fedora has always been the testing lab for cutting edge features, but it has gotten too cutting edge for me.  Computers aren't my business, I just use them for my business.

I want a rock stable distro that doesn't require upgrading every 15 months or so because support is dropped.  I want a distro that has the same life cycle I have with the personal systems I build: 5 or more years; and is only replaced when circumstances, progress or new requirements necessitate it. 

I guess what I really need is an Enterprise OS (free, of course), but for the desktop instead of a server.  To that end, I've examined CentOS 5.x and Scientific Linux 5.x, but they seem to be based on Fedora Core 6 code.  Too old for my needs.  Otherwise, their release cycle and support time are what I'm looking for.

(I hear a rumor that RHEL 6, when release the latter part of this year, will be based on Fedora 12/13, but I doubt it.  If that's the case CentOS or SL will be perfect.  We'll see.)

Debian has the reputation for stable releases, but they have changed to a 2 year release cycle with 3 years support.  That's still okay, but I would have liked 4 or 5 years support.

So, any other suggestions for me to look at.


B

(Sorry I haven't been able to attended any of the meetings the past 2 years or so, but work come first; however, I still lurk.)