What is your favorite linux distro?

I personly am very fond of Linux Mint. Based off Ubuntu so it works well out of the box, but is full of many useful tweaks that make it so even as an intermediate user I don't have to change very much.

As a beginner Linux user I would have to say Ubuntu. But I might start playing around with other distros in the years to come.

Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and my favorite PC Linux OS. Of course there is Puppy for all my older computers. Knoppix for trouble shooting MS boxes.

I like so many of them. Right now Linux Mint and PC Linux OS. Linux Mint works on the greatest number of computers with no tweaking (Gateway, Dell) PC Linux OS works on Laptop Dell 1100 with no tweaking and finds/connects my wireless effortlessly.
Love Dream Linux as it works best with Google Earth and best with all the eye candy effects. I must have tried over 25 linux versions over the years and these are the best. Sorry but Ubuntu does not like my video cars. Too much hands on but Linux Mint and PC Linux OS give browser plus-ins built in and install effortlessly.

I'm answering this question as a professional Linux admin - I work for NASA.

My preference of distro changes depending the situation. For desktop users I recommend Ubuntu (the latest version is excellent btw). Ubuntu has the best user experience along with a thoughtfully designed GUI (Gnome is clean, simple, and as Apple-like as Linux gets). The package management system is easy to use for non-admins, so adding software and installing patches painless. And if you're a beginner, it helps to use a distro with a large and helpful user community - Ubuntu shines here!

On production servers where high availability is far more important than user experience I prefer CentOS. There are some very specific reasons... Most of the high performance machines I maintain have esoteric hardware (high speed fiber channel, SAS RAID, 1553 cards) and I find that RedHat has the best hardware support in these situations. We sometimes even receive binary drivers from manufacturers that were compiled against a RedHat kernel. We prefer to use a free OS, so instead of purchasing a RedHat license we use CentOS which is binary compatible with RedHat (CentOS is created from the RedHat source - see CentOS.com for details). Fedora, another RedHat based distro, is not an option for me because of it's short life cycle. We need an OS that will have security patches provided for at least 5 years.

I'm in no way saying that I think Ubuntu and CentOS are the only way to go. I also enjoy playing with odd distros in my spare time. In fact I have a cheap little Acer netbook that I've been testing BackTrack4 on, cracking WEP networks.

For me when I was learning linux a ways back it was with Suse. But preferably nowadays it is ubuntu. Specifically Ultimate edition 2.3 4 bit for my AMD 3000+ desktop. And a 32 bit version for my laptop over here. Works well on both systems. Red hat Fedora is another alterative for those who know red hat and have it on servers at their work place or are using servers that are beuing used for web pages and all that. I've tried a a couple of cariety over here to see which one I like. I guess it is also a matter of taste as well of which one suite an indivisual best. There is no right or wrong version of distro of linux.

hmm, thinking back i'd have to say my favorite Linux distro is backtrack 3, everything seemed to work for trouble shooting

The thing about linux distros is there is flavors for different occasions. Ubuntu has come so far i truly believe for a standard desktop mom and pop can use, 10.04 LTS works great. It's integrated social networking features, the newly refined add/remove and the network manager just work. Thats just for starters. However lets say you have a old p3 gathering dust in the conner. Theres several distros that can live-in that baby up to decent speeds take DSL (dam small linux) for instants. With DSL you can have a fast browsing experience for a visiting guest. You could also teach kids how computers work and OS's interact with the hardware. If your a small start up of any sort theres flavors for very specific needs like IPCop, OpenSSH and thin client distros like DIET-PC for encryption, single signon, clustering, advanced printer management, and integration between different systems and services. As previously mentioned for penetration testing theres several out there but i have a hankering for backtrack my self also. So it is hard for me to determine what my "favorite" would have to be. With in that lies why the idea of linux is my favorite. Its open and versatile.

ubuntu is my choice have tried the other prefer ubuntu overall