Wheatevo Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 I find myself looking for a new operating system, and I've been thinking of going somewhere different than the standard Windows route. Which version of Linux would be easiest to get into for someone that has never used any kind of Unix based operating system before? A friend of mine recommended Gentoo, but I'm not so sure I want to go any specific route without first consulting some people that seem knowledgeble on the subject (and hopefully willing to help ). And so I leave the question of where I should start in my *nix career to you. Thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 Yeah, don't go with Gentoo - you'll get really angry really fast (if it's your first time). I would recommend downloading Ubuntu and giving it a try. It's VERY user friendly and will make it easier for you to make the transition. Then, after you get used to it, you can begin messing around more with the UNIX innards. Welcome to the forum, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
U.C. Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 SUSE Linux is good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefWiggum Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 Depends what you want out of linux : Gentoo - Fastest. Good for people interested in learning/setting up linux. Allows you to have full control on your linux box. Lots of tinkering potential. Hardest to install and get running. Gentoo is a source based distro, so lots of compiling involved during installation. Support from other users is excellent. Ubuntu - Easier to install and normally results in a usable linux box. You can also dig under the covers to tweak it. Only draw back being its all shiet coloured. SuSe Linux - Installation is the easiest with the best interface. Very slick. In my opinion, the best distro to compete with WinXP. The best plug n play distro is SuSe Linux. If tinkering is something you are after, go for Gentoo/Ubuntu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baliw Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 For newbee friendly distro just one suggestion, give Simply Mepis a try its the easiest one by far . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 Yeah, I forgot about mepis. It's a live CD so you can just test it out and see what you think without having to install anything. If you decide to go with Linux, I'd ditch then ditch mepis for Ubuntu or Kubuntu (the KDE version of Ubuntu). When I tried SUSE linux a year or so ago, it was too buggy for a n00b like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheatevo Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 I think I'm going to go with Simply Mepis to get the hang of linux, and then move onto Ubuntu and (eventually) Gentoo when I'm ready. Thanks for the suggestions! :censored2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnniecarcinogen Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 just remember Mepis is KDE and Ubuntu is Gnome. I highly suggest KDE over Gnome but mepis is very ugly compared to Kubuntu or suse. Plus it is easier to get help from the 'ubuntu' community which seems to be the most helpful. With Kubuntu (or ubuntu) you can also get your multimedia codecs with 'easy ubuntu' with 3/4 lines copy+pasted into the terminal: http://easyubuntu.freecontrib.org/get.html edit: also the 'dapper' cd of (k)ubuntu is both a live cd and the install cd like mepis. http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/dapper/flight-7/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baliw Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 just remember Mepis is KDE and Ubuntu is Gnome. I highly suggest KDE over Gnome but mepis is very ugly compared to Kubuntu or suse. Plus it is easier to get help from the 'ubuntu' community which seems to be the most helpful. With Kubuntu (or ubuntu) you can also get your multimedia codecs with 'easy ubuntu' with 3/4 lines copy+pasted into the terminal: http://easyubuntu.freecontrib.org/get.html edit: also the 'dapper' cd of (k)ubuntu is both a live cd and the install cd like mepis. http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/dapper/flight-7/ When is the last time you tried Mepis? Did you know that Mepis is using Dapper(Ubuntu). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheatevo Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 just remember Mepis is KDE and Ubuntu is Gnome. I highly suggest KDE over Gnome but mepis is very ugly compared to Kubuntu or suse. Plus it is easier to get help from the 'ubuntu' community which seems to be the most helpful. With Kubuntu (or ubuntu) you can also get your multimedia codecs with 'easy ubuntu' with 3/4 lines copy+pasted into the terminal: http://easyubuntu.freecontrib.org/get.html edit: also the 'dapper' cd of (k)ubuntu is both a live cd and the install cd like mepis. http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/dapper/flight-7/ I have a small question about the version of kubuntu to download: If I have an amd64 processor should I go for the x86 or amd64 version? I'm assuming that driver support is pretty nil on the 64 one, but I'd like a second opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnniecarcinogen Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I have a small question about the version of kubuntu to download: If I have an amd64 processor should I go for the x86 or amd64 version? I'm assuming that driver support is pretty nil on the 64 one, but I'd like a second opinion. I would go with the 64 one personally, but I can't really vouch for driver support or anything since I don't have a 64 bit processor. Here is a good guide: http://www.krazypenguin.net/Ubuntu_Dapper_Drake_6.06_Guide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niveck Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 this is actually a similar question i had. i was thinking about running linux on a seperate partition but i didn't have a clue which way i should go. i'm a noob to *nix systems and after reading all this i think i might start with kubuntu since i'm also running an AMD64 chip. thanks guys without even trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icey-ice-ice Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 simply is terrible! i would go with Gnoppix its like knoppix in the aspect of the live cd and if you like it just install it off the same cd you use to boot! gnoppix is also based on unbuntu which is the hottest distro right now and uses a Gnome environnment which is better than KDE in my opinion. and it rune on athlon AMD chipsets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juan_cl Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 you can also try linspire, its quite good, and you can try xandros . Both are commercial though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRP Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 ...a Gnome environnment which is better than KDE in my opinion....But... but Linus ... Linus said that REAL friends wouldn't let friends use GNOME! (Sorry, just being a KDE fan over here ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhsh8r Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Try Knoppix if you do not want to touch your harddrive or if you are looking to install my first distro was SuSe 10.1 (three weeks ago) and I had no trouble with it. SuSe was a very full featured distro, especially with KDE. I had installed gnome first but figured out that KDE was better. Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Edubuntu/Server Ubuntu have the shipit program where they ship you *ubuntu (any flavor) at no cost to you, all you have to do is sign up. I am currently waiting on 30 cds of assorted archatectures and flavors (a little of each). I have read a ton about how Ubuntu's community is one of the best for n00b tolleration and support and that it is an extremely good distro. Oh, and if you have two partitions Grub makes dualbooting as easy as anything and if you decide to use *ubuntu (kubuntu is the best I think) then you can use this instalation guide http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Da...tallation_Guide and if you have any trouble pm me and Ill try to help Good luck migrating to Linux and I hope you find the right distro for your preferances bwhsh8r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhsh8r Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Also slax has a thing where you can put it on a usb stick, pm me as always for links.... max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhsh8r Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I just installed PC-BSD and i like it much better than linux (ok only a little) but it also good and comes with a full gui install, so you might want to look into that. oh, and post witch distro u decide on when you do max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhsh8r Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 also fedora core comes with abunch of programs out of the install so that it basicially comes with everything allready prepaired.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biped Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 LFS all the way, that is if your a dirty linux person sorry just being a BSD fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRP Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 You fail it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guttertrash Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 i would use ubuntu if i was you. 1. apt-get - it has awsome package management you will find installing proggys much easier than with other distros. 2. its based on debian, which is what everyone uses. (well mostly) lol 3. actually i thik everyone is using ubuntu these days so yeah go for ubuntu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhsh8r Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 i would use ubuntu if i was you. 1. apt-get - it has awsome package management you will find installing proggys much easier than with other distros. 2. its based on debian, which is what everyone uses. (well mostly) lol 3. actually i thik everyone is using ubuntu these days so yeah go for ubuntu. and theyll ship you cds for free (just got mine today) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRP Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 i would use ubuntu if i was you. 1. apt-get - it has awsome package management you will find installing proggys much easier than with other distros. 2. its based on debian, which is what everyone uses. (well mostly) lol 3. actually i thik everyone is using ubuntu these days so yeah go for ubuntu. 3 is more accurate than 2 (most geeks have gone to Gentoo, most users have gone to Ubuntu; Debian IMO has problems with staying cutting-edge and user support... and what I see as elitism). And yes, APT is better than RPM as far as I've ever seen in the past six years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pew138 Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 i can suggest Fedora Core, this is not very simple, but can give you some basic *nix knowledge. just dont give up at the beginning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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