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Which Linux?
- Thread starter Caveman
- Start date
I didn't like the open source version of Red Hat known as Fedora Core. For an rpm based distribution I would go with OpenSUSE 10.1 or the latest Mandriva. Ubuntu is the most popular Linux right now and it is based on Debian. Get Kubuntu if you want to go deb which gives you the KDE desktop which is way better than Gnome. For a Slackware based distribution get Vector Linux SOHO edition, it's excellent. All these and more can be found at distrowatch.com. You will be downloading iso images of cd's and burning them. Go to snapfiles.com for some freeware utilities to help you with burning the iso's. I've been on Linux for 4 years now, I never crash, get a virus or need to reboot. Bill Gates army of 20,000 computer scientists churns out lots of really shitty code. How could this be?
You might try Xandros for newbies. Xandros uses LINUX, but looks very similar to Windows.
http://www.xandros.com/
If you really want to get into LINUX nitty gritty, I would suggest getting a book such as Red Hat Fedora 5 Unleashed:
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Hat-Fedora-5-Unleashed/dp/067232847X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/103-9161159-3063057
The book will include a DVD with the Fedora 5 Distribution (free), along with installation instructions and plenty of reference material for most LINUX commands.
Then later, you can get LINUX Nutshell books for quick reference.
http://www.xandros.com/
If you really want to get into LINUX nitty gritty, I would suggest getting a book such as Red Hat Fedora 5 Unleashed:
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Hat-Fedora-5-Unleashed/dp/067232847X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/103-9161159-3063057
The book will include a DVD with the Fedora 5 Distribution (free), along with installation instructions and plenty of reference material for most LINUX commands.
Then later, you can get LINUX Nutshell books for quick reference.
I think Suse is tops too although I've been on Mandriva for years. For the newbie: the major difference between all these distros is the package management scheme.
Red Hat, Mandriva and Suse all use rpm's, which are precompiled binary applications. So for example you want to install a graphics viewer or a sound editor. You go to the package manger gui, select the app you want, and the manager downloads and installs the app and all the necessary support files.
The other big side of precompiled packages is the debian based world. This includes Ubuntu, Libranet, Debian, they all use a program called apt-get to download binary packages and their dependencies, install them and update your database of installed packages. The apt-get snobs claim they are superior to rpm's but I've found them both to work just as well.
Then there are the source based distros like slackware and gentoo. These install and compile from source. Often you have to do your own legwork getting the right dependencies installed first. This can be a real pain. But the resulting apps run faster because they've been compiled for your specific machine. Stay away from Gentoo because it's only for experts. Source based distros are not as easy and friendly as the binary based ones but the performance is better..
Hang out on distrowatch for a while and read lots of articles. Download a bunch of distros that you're interested in and burn them all. Try different ones until you find something that fits you. Use your other machines to get support from the community when you run into problems.
Red Hat, Mandriva and Suse all use rpm's, which are precompiled binary applications. So for example you want to install a graphics viewer or a sound editor. You go to the package manger gui, select the app you want, and the manager downloads and installs the app and all the necessary support files.
The other big side of precompiled packages is the debian based world. This includes Ubuntu, Libranet, Debian, they all use a program called apt-get to download binary packages and their dependencies, install them and update your database of installed packages. The apt-get snobs claim they are superior to rpm's but I've found them both to work just as well.
Then there are the source based distros like slackware and gentoo. These install and compile from source. Often you have to do your own legwork getting the right dependencies installed first. This can be a real pain. But the resulting apps run faster because they've been compiled for your specific machine. Stay away from Gentoo because it's only for experts. Source based distros are not as easy and friendly as the binary based ones but the performance is better..
Hang out on distrowatch for a while and read lots of articles. Download a bunch of distros that you're interested in and burn them all. Try different ones until you find something that fits you. Use your other machines to get support from the community when you run into problems.
