Linux distribustions?

2007-12-03 02:55:12 UTC

Well, I will list out what I liked in each distro that I have tried.

Fedora: It looks like a bit of resource hog. Also, installing and uninstalling softwares on it is kind of semi-automatic. Unless you have all the necessary softwares and libs installed, installing a new software is very hard. Pretty much the same goes for CentOS except that it runs a bit faster than Fedora.

Slackware: The best distribution if you are serious about learning the ins and outs of managing a Linux system. Does nothing to come in your way even if you are doing something potentially harmful. It firmly believes that you know all the rules and are aware of the consequences of your actions and provides you with all the tools to do what you want to do. That said, this is also one of the most respected distributions out there. If you are an expert Slackware user, it tells loads and loads about your knowledge in using a Linux system. There is very less package management support. But runs like a ccharm on systems with low resources. This is the oldest and longest standing distribution. Ever since distrowatch.com came up, its rating has never fallen below the top 15.

Debian: Installation and first time setting up takes a bit of work. But that is almost all the work you will ever need to do to manage this. Debian is at the top floor of a continuously growing building. You can get all the softwares in their latest versions right here( in the unstable branch). Then there is a mezzanine level where the softwares are less buggy but fairly new( at the testing branch). Then there is a rock solid foundation( the stable branch) where security patches are the only updates you will ever need. The stable versions are known to have worked for years together without any manual interruption. That said, there is a tool for everything in Debian. Package management is one of the greatest features. Upgrading or installing nwe softwares is just a click away. Downgrading is not as much automated though. Knoppix is a derivative of Debian in the Live CD/DVD form. Ubuntu is a derivative of Debian with a focus on new desktop users who migrate from Windows.

SLAX: I loved this live CD. I had chance to use it only for a short time.

OpenSuSE: Looks much like Windows. But it is hard to manage the system if you don't know the usage of indiividual tools. Its control panel like utility has miles to go before coming of age.

Presently I use Debian. I'll recommend Debian as well. If you take my word, look at http://goodbye-microsoft.com to install Debian on your system.

Linux Mint 11

2007-12-02 16:41:29 UTC

This is an ideal opportunity to try Linux Ubuntu 7.10

Ubuntu is free as it is open source, the download link is :

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Once you have downloaded Ubuntu 7.10, you will have an ISO image file. You will then need to create a bootable disc of the file.

This can be achieved by using Nero Burning ROM if you have it or MagicISO a free trial of which is available for download :

http://www.magiciso.com/

Once you have created the bootable disc, we are going to call it the LIVE CD.

Start your PC from the Ubuntu live CD, select start or install when prompted, once the Ubuntu desktop has appeared in the top left hand corner there is an option to install, double click and the installation screen will appear.

Once Ubuntu has asked you about regional settings etc. it will then take you into the partitioning table, if you select the default setting which is on the top, Ubuntu will then automatically sort the space it needs and install its own Grub bootloader.

I am so taken with Ubuntu 7.10, I have ditched windows altogether and I am now running Ubuntu as my primary operating system.

You can run quite a number of windows applications on Ubuntu using WINE, a piece of software that emulates windows. For details of this visit :

http://www.winehq.org/site/download-deb

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/wine

Using Linux may initially seem daunting in places, but you will get use to it, I did.

You can also run Ubuntu using the Live CD without any kind of installation. However this will be somewhat slower and you would be restricted as to running applications, it would just for browsing the web really.

I work with both Ubuntu and Vista, Vista has been an expensive disappointment for me and sits mainly redundant on my hard drive and I consider Ubuntu to be far superior of the two.

I will break it down in to categories and give each system a rating out of 10.

System resource friendly :

Ubuntu 10/10

Vista 4/10

Graphics (Eye Candy) :

Ubuntu 10/10

Vista 7/10

Ease of use :

Ubuntu 7/10

Vista 9/10

Software compatability :

Ubuntu 4/10 (Open Source alternatives in some cases are available) also WINE as described above can be used.

Vista 8/10

Wireless compatability :

Ubuntu 5/10

Vista 8/10

Networking compatability :

Ubuntu 7/10

Vista 8 /10

Security :

Ubuntu 9/10

Vista 8/10

Gaming :

Ubuntu 3/10

Vista 8/10

This category sourced from various sites.

Office software :

Ubuntu 10/10 (Free)

Vista 2 /10

Price :

Ubuntu 10/10 (Free)

Vista 2/10

Overall performance :

Ubuntu 9/10

Vista 6/10

Value :

Ubuntu 8/10

Vista 2/10

It should be noted that these ratings are based on my experience working extensively with both Ubuntu and Vista.

Of the two for me Ubuntu wins hands down.

Have fun.

inclusive_disjunction

2007-12-02 12:49:47 UTC

Unfortunately, recommending a distro is actually harder than using most of them itself. There are many options, and there is no single "please-all" distro that suits everybody. I tried several (about 10) before I found one I liked and was happy with. For me, that was Kubuntu

http://www.kubuntu.org/

But there are others out there that are very good. Ubuntu is nice, if you like the GUI that it uses (I don't). Some people like PCLinuxOS

http://www.pclinuxos.com/

Freespire has a lot of software available, and is very easy to install. I find the GUI slightly cheesy, though:

http://www.freespire.org/

PC-BSD is not a Linux distro (FreeBSD, actually) but it is just as easy to use as the others I have mentioned. It uses an installer format similar to the way Windows works, so you shouldn't get too lost:

http://www.pcbsd.org/

Those are the ones that I have tried and would recommend to others to try. But you should also venture out and see for yourself. You need to try more than one to even know what you are looking for!

2007-12-02 13:03:25 UTC

Hi, there r many Linux distributions and its is kind of hard to pick one that u like. Since u r new to Linux I will only recommend u 2 different distributions which r very easy to use and r probably the most powerful ones out there as well.

Get Ubuntu Linux:

http://www.ubuntu.com

Get Kubuntu Linux:

http://www.kubuntu.com

They r both the same but they use different desktops. Ubuntu uses Gnome desktop and Kubuntu uses KDE desktop which slightly resembles Windows. I find KDE applications to be better and I use Kubuntu 7.10 my self.

The other powerful distribution is OpenSuse and is probably the most polished distro out there as u will probably never need to use the command line but it takes time getting used to. If u want to use OpenSuse 10.3 visit:

http://en.opensuse.org

Download its KDE version as the gnome version sucks. If u want any more information u can ask me or anyone on yahoo answers. If u want to visit these distribution forums then visit:

For Ubuntu and Kubuntu visit:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org

For OpenSuse:

http://www.suseforums.net

If u need partitioning help just ask me.

I hope I helped, welcome to Linux.

Good Luck and take care!

ross

2016-11-13 11:57:45 UTC

32-bit domicile windows Vista domicile top rate SP1 [usual OS] sixty 4-bit Linux Mint 6 [Secondary OS][twin-boot] domicile windows 7 build.7077 [working merely approximately on Vista] domicile windows XP SP3 [working merely approximately on Vista]

ali

2007-12-02 12:49:05 UTC

Use Ubuntu 7.10.

it is fantastic.

2007-12-02 12:41:22 UTC

look at distrowatch.com, i would recommend ubuntu...