Desktop Linux - Ubuntu vs Fedora

Since I started this blog I've mostly been covering the server-side of Linux, not so much the desktop side. My recent switch from Ubuntu(LTS) to Fedora as my main Distro on the Desktop(s) gave me the idea to write about that. Now, I know that this kind of comparison has been done probably a thousand times but I thought I write about my experiences with these 2 great distros.

First of all, why Fedora?

Well, by now I know the Red Hat Ecosystem fairly good and Fedora is pretty stable while maintaining very recent versions of almost any software that I deal with. While Canonical delivers a new version of its OS every 6 months, same as Red Hat with Fedora, I found it to be not as stable and reliable as Fedora.

What are the differences between Fedora and Ubuntu?

From a visual point of view, it's probably the Desktop Appearance. Since I'm using GNOME as my desktop, I'm only able to compare it within these 2 distros. Fedora ships a more basic and default setup with GNOME while Ubuntu adds quite a few extensions and themes out of the box. While GNOME is definitely not lightweight, it feels faster on Fedora compared to Ubuntu. Of course, I can't prove it with any numbers since I didn't run any benchmarks, so take my words with a grain of salt.

The next big difference is the package manager. If you're just using the GUI-Application to manage packages and update, you won't notice the difference. On the command line, there is a difference since Ubuntu is using apt with .deb-packages and Fedora is using yum with .rpm packages.

The syntax does differ a bit from one another. Let me give you an example:

Ubuntu - updating the system:

 $ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y upgrade && sudo apt-get -y dist-upgrade

Fedora - updating the system:

 $ sudo yum -y update

Ubuntu - installing a local .deb package:

 $ sudo dpkg --install /path/to/package.deb  
 $ sudo apt-get -f install

Fedora - installing a local .rpm package:

 $ sudo yum -y localinstall /path/to/package.rpm

In my opinion, yum is the better option when compared to apt because yum offers a lot of plugins or options to reinstall, manage and update packages. Also, the commands to manage packages are shorter but I'm lazy ... so, yeah.

Which choice is more user-friendly?

Ubuntu wins, hands down. It's automatically detecting drivers and will download them when installing the OS. With Fedora, you are more prone to face problems with 3rd party drivers, such as nVidia Graphics. Also, Fedora does have a 6-month release-cycle whereas Ubuntu gives you the option to either, update every 6 months or stick with the LTS-Versions which will give you 5 Years of patches if I'm not mistaken.

Conclusion:

In the end, Fedora is the better choice for experienced users that know their way around a Linux system. Ubuntu would be my choice for new users since it's more friendly towards new users than Fedora might be. One more thing that makes Ubuntu more interesting on paper, is that it's the only distribution officially supported by steam (valve) besides their own SteamOS which is based on Debian.

Feel free to commnet and / or suggest a topic.

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