BEST LINUX DISTRIBUTION
BEST MOBILE OS Google Android
Ubuntu
Honorable Mention: MeeGo
Honorable Mention: PCLinuxOS Times they are a changin’ (just a bit) in the distribution department this year. Although Ubuntu in all its tasty flavors remains the Roger Federer-esque champion of Linux distros, the dynamics of this category have changed from the past two years. In 2008, Ubuntu was dubbed the “big distro that did” for “unexpectedly leaving its myriad ‘rivals’ as mere dots in the rear-view mirror”. Then in 2009, Ubuntu received the “Energizer Bunny Award” for increasing its popularity and becoming untouchable (for the time being). But what a difference a year can make (just ask Tiger Woods). Ubuntu remains in the commanding lead, but it slipped a considerable 13% from of your votes last year. Meanwhile, a feisty, upwardly mobile distro, PCLinuxOS, grew from the single digits to a full 15%, meriting a worthy honorable mention recognition.
BEST DISTRIBUTION FOR NETBOOKS/LIMITED HARDWARE Ubuntu Netbook Remix Honorable Mention: Android OS New for the 2010 Readers’ Choice Awards is the category Best Distribution for Netbooks/Limited Hardware. This will be an interesting category to monitor as time goes by, but the current leader is Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which got a commanding 36% of your votes. The honorable mention winner, Android OS, was far behind, but it broke the 10% barrier. We predict that this category will become more fiercely competitive in the future.
Last year, Android and the T-Mobile G1 smartphone took home Linux Product of the Year honors, despite being absent from every other category selected by us (point taken, dear readers). One year wiser, we present a new category for 2010, Best Mobile OS, and its logical winner is Google’s Android. But wait! Although Android’s vote haul was impressive at 66%, the new MeeGo made a strong showing for honorable mention, which is noteworthy in its own right. The upstart MeeGo, a fusion of Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin projects, garnered 10% on its own. Then, add the 7% of you who selected Maemo and 3% who selected Moblin individually to arrive at a healthy 20%. Meanwhile, old-timer Symbian missed the cut.
Best Desktop Environment TIE: GNOME and KDE The results from the Best Desktop Environment make more intuitive sense to us (and to this KDE fan) than in the previous two bouts, when GNOME edged out KDE by surprisingly healthy margins. In the 2010 battle royale, KDE jiu-jitsued GNOME and gobbled 7% of its lunch (as well as 3% of Xfce’s) to even the desktop score from last year. No other desktop surpassed the 3% mark.
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