What flavor of Linux should I download and install?

[Zebo]

I need to know what the best looking version is and one that comes with a good suite. No problems with confiq because my brother is the unix admin at out local university but he wants me to find the version I want for him to config. I will probably start by using staroffice and mozilla just to familiarize nyself with the whole UNIX/LINUX/X-Windows enviroment...

 

[Presence]

try Mandrake or Redhat

 

[neuralfx]

do a search for this, also check out http://www.distrowatch.com .. opinions will vary, some will say mandrake, some rh, some slackware, debian, caldera, heh someone might even suggest Turbo=) .. basically there isnt a ridiculously large difference between any of them, just different philosophies, all will run the same programs etc .. well good luck ..
-neural

 

[AtomClock]

I just started with linux about 2 months ago and I had a lot of trouble trying to get redhat 7.2 to install. I subsequently
tried Mandrake 8.1 and I really like it. After only 2 months, I feel that I am fluent in compiling kernals and installing both
source packages and rpm packages. Also, just as a side note, I have been able to get software to do anything
in linux that I can do in Windows. The only real problem that I am having is that there aren't any packages which will
write to MS/Office file formats. This is only a problem if your are going to be working under both operating systems.

Mandrake 8.1.... it is really great!!!

 

[Zebo]

<< I just started with linux about 2 months ago and I had a lot of trouble trying to get redhat 7.2 to install. I subsequently
tried Mandrake 8.1 and I really like it. After only 2 months, I feel that I am fluent in compiling kernals and installing both
source packages and rpm packages. Also, just as a side note, I have been able to get software to do anything
in linux that I can do in Windows. The only real problem that I am having is that there aren't any packages which will
write to MS/Office file formats. This is only a problem if your are going to be working under both operating systems.

Mandrake 8.1.... it is really great!!! >>


Try staroffice

 

[AtomClock]

I have tried staroffice (6.0 beta) and while it advertises that it will support those formats, it really doesn't. I have spent a lot of time trying to find a format which both Staroffice and Word/Excell can both read and more importantly SAVE.

If you use Staroffice to save in an office format, the office (office 2k) product wanrns of lost data and then results in a damaged file.

 

[EmperorRob]

StarOffice? I don't know about that. But I'm all about KOffice.

I run Red Hat 7.2 My friend at work runs Mandrake 8.1

6 one way/ half a dozen the other.

 

[Halogen]

definately mandrake, last i tried was 8.0 and i loved it, perhaps 8.1 is good too i dunno

 

[robisc]

I'm pretty new at Linux too, even though I have been playing with it downloading and buying different distros for a couple years. I second that Mandrake is pretty good but I have had problems with it trying to get everything to work with it so now I am running Suse 7.3 Pro and I love it, it has everything and all my HW is compatible with it, seems easier than Mandrake to configure with the YAST tools, it's also pretty packed with software and features. My vote would go to Suse.

 

[Nothinman]

Debian.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Debian rocks. Debian and Slack have become the 2 linux distros that I like. Im not quite sure what brought Debian into that position... OpenBSD if you dont want a linux

 

[marat]

If you are trying linux go with Mandrake 8.1 or Suse 7.3. They both are good. In some things Mandrake is better, Suse in others.

1. Debian is a very stable distro, but it is not for you, since you aren't familiar with linux. Nice for servers though. Same thing with Slackware - not for you.

2. Redhat . Well one of the servers i have is still running Redhat 6.1 and I have no problems with it. But their 7.0 version was a disaster (to buggy). 7.1 is better (although it is VERY hard if possible to compile anything with default upatched gcc 2.96. And kernel headers aren't correct). Besides that, they Really want you to register (or you won't be able to download updates) and it is free for 1 computer only. I didn't try 7.2 and I don't want to - all they have is a name - other distros are much better.

3. Mandrake 8.1

Good:
I don't know, but i consider installation process of Mandrake 8.1 to be perfect. Easy for newbie, still gives you options if you know what you are doing. Several operating systems? No problems. Raid 5 array with NTFS partition on it? Here you go. Funky video card? I know what to do. A bunch of packages and most of them are the latest and greatest.

Bad:
Some packages might be buggy (Although there is always an update). Linuxconf and Mandrake control center are good, but not as good as yast2 in Suse. Very desktop and KDE oriented.

Summary:
It is not good for server but perfect for you to try.

Suse:
Good:
Very easy installation. Yast2 lets you do configure everything in text mode too. 2.4.10 Kernel. A lot of software and it is nicely compiled. Stable. Great documentation for a novice.

Bad:
Installation doesn't give you a lot of options - it might be very bad in some cases. It comes with sendmail and i prefer something smaller, faster and more secure.

Summary:
Good very good. But i guess they made it too easy, so it lost flexibility and fun.

Hard to say which is better - Mandrake or Suse. Try both

 

[n0cmonkey]

marat, I actually found Slackware easier to learn than both Mandrake and RedHat. It feels a lot cleaner than either of the other distros and is much more straight forward. That is why I recommend it. And are you referring to the gui thing that Mandrake uses for an installer? I found it horrible. Too buggy and did not make much sense to me, whereas both Slack and Debian have *GREAT* installers.