I'm not sure that the questions could be more stupid that are asked in that survey. They center on one's comfort level with Linux or computers in generel as opposed to what one wants to use it for. I installed Debian with relatively no problems, but it did not have a graphical install option so it was not selected. If instructions are clear, installation is not a problem I have found. Frankly I don't know if there is that big of a difference in the distros, but if there are, perhaps the questions should center on that. I noticed there wasn't even a question relating to a Live CD option, except at the end, which would be the obvious choice for someone just wanting to try Linux as opposed to install linux.
It asks enough about what you plan on using it for to get a good idea of which distro to choose. There's the desktop vs laptop question, which helps decide if you need one that's known to work well with laptops, the wireless question to see if you need one that works well with wireless hardware, the home/office/server question which really helps determine generally what kind of work you are planning to do on the computer, and the 64 bit question to see if you need a distro that supports 64 bit processors. That's plenty to help it choose a distro that's a good hardware and software match for you. I agree that the graphical installer question isn't really necessary, but some people are scared to death of non-graphical installers while others hate using graphical installers. It shouldn't be a big factor, but it is something to be considered, and if it's not important to you just select the "I don't care" answer.
The questions DO center on the differences between the distros, expecially questions about your level of knowlege and experience with Linux and computers in general, Gnome vs KDE or other environments, package management, and stable vs latest software. Besides, if the distro you choose doesn't come with all of the sofware you want to use, you can either download the software you want and install it through a package manager (if you chose one that uses pre-compiled packages like the Debian-based distros such as Debian, Ubuntu/Kubuntu, and Mepis, or the Red Hat-based distros such as Fedora, Mandriva, or SuSE) or you can compile the software yourself if you're not concerned with package management.
As for Live CD distros, all of the previous questions apply to them, so why should there be additional questions about Live CD distros and what should they be? There are basically three reasons why you would want to use a Live CD distro:
1. If you want to try out Linux before you install it
2. If you want to have a portable Linux that you can run on any computer without having to install any software
3. In case the OS on your hard drive has become corrupt and won't boot and you need to rescue some files (I have done this before using Slax)
If you don't need any of the above three, then you don't need a Live CD. If you don't need one, don't have them inculded in the results. If you need one othe the above three, then you should include them in your results. That's all there is to it.
Topic: Which Linux distribution (if any) is right for you? (Read 4692 times)