Switching to Linux

[zainali]

Whats the best version of linux for starters? Where can i find guides and stuff to install it? Any help will be appreciated

 

[oniq]

FSF. Forum Search Function

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: oniq
FSF. Forum Search Function

A more subtle version of RTFM

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

Debian or Gentoo - I recommend Gentoo.

 

[Need4Speed]

mandrake is probably the most noob friendly

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n
Debian or Gentoo - I recommend Gentoo.

Bah, Gentoo takes to much free time to take advantage of its strength, I recommend Debian unless one has a whole lot of free time

 

[MournSanity]

M-A-N-D-R-A-K-E. Do I have to spell it out for you? Wait, I just did. Damn.

 

[shimsham]

redhat is pretty noob friendly also


edit: LinuxISrg good place to start.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Need4Speed
mandrake is probably the most noob friendly

mandrake is great for n00bs, ive been using it for a few weeks. lots of options, VERY easy to set up, configure hardware (for the odd piece that it wont recognize by itself) install/remove packages among other things
Ive also used debian, not as newbie friendly but you can still install a dekstop environment like KDE or Gnome and get going pretty quickly with it, wouldnt suggest it if youre absolutely clueless about linux though, thats what mandrake is for and is a fine distro

 

[jfall]

Redhat or Mandrake if your new to Linux

 

[thornc]

SuSe....

 

[bananaFish]

I'm working on building a Linux box and wondering who's version of Linux is best for a noob also. If anyone has the time please post or direct me to a post of the pro's and con's of Mandrake, Red Hat, Debian, etc...

 

[Vad3r]

Linux newb here. After a long time of looking into this myself, Mandrake or Redhat are great choices for newbies to learn. I choose Mandrake because both my brothers have/are using it, so I had somewhere to turn for help.
You could also give Knoppix a try. It's a linux distro you can burn to cd, boot from it, and you will have Linux up and running without installing anything. Reboot and take CD out, and your back to your currnet OS.

http://www.distrowatch.com/ <---- has links and reviews to nearly every linux distro out there.

 

[iamcanadian128]

Switch to Mac OS X its the best

 

[iamcanadian128]

Switch to Mac OS X..its the best

 

[Samsonid]

Hello everyone,

Mabe we should direct all newbees to this page for now and in the future.

All the information is there and we don't need to repeat ourselves ;-)

--

 

[Bleep]

Samsonid:
Well there is some informtion there that is not accurate. Not only that the poster wants opinions from users and why they like certain distros, not generic information that amounts to a commercial. It does not take much to advise someone that asks after all the bandwidth is free the board is free and your time should be the same, the willingness to help is a attitude that not all have and that is really to bad. If you dont like the question just stay out of the thread and that way you wont be inconvienced .

Bleep

 

[SpeedFreak03]

I just switched from Windows 2000 Pro to Mandrake 9.1 (now to debian lol). Anyway, I ran mandrake for the last 3 weeks to get the hang of linux. But, the downfall (i've noticed) to mandrake is speed. I just installed Debian, and it is sooooo much faster. Now I didnt think mandrake was slow (its much faster than Win2K pro on my computer), but when you compare it to debian it is. So, I would start out with Mandrake 9.1, get the hang of linux (ie learn some commands, learn how to set stuff up, compiling, etc), then switch to debian and stick with that. I tried to install gentoo on one of my boxes, and got confused and couldnt finish the install. I'll have to wait for that one (lol there is still some stuff in linux i need to learn).

 

[SpeedFreak03]

Originally posted by: iamcanadian128
Switch to Mac OS X..its the best

but that would require purchasing a new computer...not to mention an expensive one...

 

[Flatline]

I've always wondered how much of Debian's speed advantage comes from running it on ext2 (which was still the default for woody the last time I installed it) instead of a journaling FS; of course, there are many other reasons to run Debian than speed...

 

[mtnbikerjeremiah]

What is with you all?

Mandrake 9.1 is the easiest to set up and has a ton of included applications... and Wine is easy to install on it allowing for microsoft applications to be ran on it, if you decide to do so. Mandrake has a ton of support for newer devices...

MANDRAKE 9.1 is the easiest for noobs. Period.

 

[Spyro]

Mandrake 9.1 is the easiest to set up and has a ton of included applications.

This depends on your hardware, dude. While it was easy to set up on one of my systems, on th other three it was a long uphill battle. Of course it's always good to check your hardware compatibility before jumping into a distro, but I remember not having all of these problems in 8.0.......

Mandrake has a ton of support for newer devices...

So do most other Linux distros. The problem arises when trying to get something old to work.... Something that causes Mandrake's wizards to sputter and die. :/

 

[Panther505]

Originally posted by: mtnbikerjeremiah
What is with you all?

Mandrake 9.1 is the easiest to set up and has a ton of included applications... and Wine is easy to install on it allowing for microsoft applications to be ran on it, if you decide to do so. Mandrake has a ton of support for newer devices...

MANDRAKE 9.1 is the easiest for noobs. Period.

Easy is as EASY DOES...

Your are right Mandrake is easy. But depending on the amount of time a person has spent reading and doing their homework Mandrake may not be the answer. Opinions on what is the easiest Distro differ. I did not like Mandrake when I started because it was too easy. I could use it like windows and it didn't help me to learn how to use linux any better. I went to Redhat then Gentoo, then Debian. Why? Because each added to my linux knowledge and helped me to improve my skills.

So when answering which is the easiest, you need to ask how does the person learn, how much does the person want to learn, how hard does the person want to work to figure it out? With the answer to each of the questions it will help the person to narrow which distro to learn with.

 

[Flatline]

I agree. However, the graphical tools in Mandrake are basically just "window dressing"; you can still explore as much as you want, but there is an easier way to do things (for a windows user) if you want to go that route. In my experience, most people who stick with 'nix try at least a few variations before they find what works for them...I think that's really the best advice for most noobs: try as many as you want until you find one that suits you (bandwidth permitting, of course).

 

[Spyro]

(bandwidth permitting, of course).

CheapISOs