Is there a preferred Linux Distribution?

[carlspackler]

I am ordering a DRS® Armor X7 7" Tablet from eBay, with the intention of installing Linux / OpenCPN on it. Are certain distros better than others? For example would Navigatrix be best (I see only an August 2015 version, which pre-dates the latest release from Feb 2016), or should I go with Debian, Centos, or even Slackware?

Download OpenCPN | Official OpenCPN Homepage

Do certain distributions play nicer with building OpenCPN from source? I am willing to do a full compile from source so I could apply patches ASAP.

Or are PPAs really the best way to go about this?

[petter5]

Originally Posted by carlspackler

I am ordering a DRS® Armor X7 7" Tablet from eBay, with the intention of installing Linux / OpenCPN on it. Are certain distros better than others? For example would Navigatrix be best (I see only an August 2015 version, which pre-dates the latest release from Feb 2016), or should I go with Debian, Centos, or even Slackware?

Download OpenCPN | Official OpenCPN Homepage

Do certain distributions play nicer with building OpenCPN from source? I am willing to do a full compile from source so I could apply patches ASAP.

Or are PPAs really the best way to go about this?

I have good experience with Ubuntu - and since I like it light and clean that means Xunbuntu. For most users PPAs is the way to go for "production systems" What is your main goal with the tablet ? navigation, or "for all use" ? this also is factors in choosing distribution.

[carlspackler]

Originally Posted by petter5

I have good experience with Ubuntu - and since I like it light and clean that means Xunbuntu. For most users PPAs is the way to go for "production systems" What is your main goal with the tablet ? navigation, or "for all use" ? this also is factors in choosing distribution.

I hope to use the Armor tablet purely for navigation (not that I travel far). I'll find out soon enough if I can get the touch screen working.

[jdazey]

If navigation is all you're after, Navigatrix will do just fine.

After decades of running Redhat/Fedora, I had to give up on F23. I'm now running Kubuntu on one (multipurpose) machine and Navigatrix on the other.

Cheers,

[fgd3]

I'm another user who has had good results with Ubuntu and updates via PPAs. It makes the update process automatic and painless.

Fabbian