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What Linux Distro Would you reccommend for me?


FreakyMac
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Hi There, Im FreakyMac (i sound like a noob) And i was wonder what Linux distro would be great for me and i want it to support ALL my hardware. Here are my Tech Specs

 

Laptop: Dell Inspiron 600m

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition SP2

Processor: 1.40 GHz Intel Celeron M Processor

Memory: 512 MB DDR SDRAM

Hard Drive: Hitachi HTS541040G9AT00 40 GB

CD-RW: HL-DL-ST CDRW/DVD GCC4244

Mouse: ALPS Trackpad

Graphics Card: ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 32MB

Ethernet: Broadcom 440x 10/100 Ethernet Card

Wireless: Dell Wireless 1370 MiniPCI WLAN

Audio: SigmaTel 9750 STAC AC97

 

Any Reccommendations?

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Any Reccommendations?

 

Debian 4.0 "Etch"

If you had a faster computer (especially more RAM) and a GeForce I might have recommended OpenSUSE, but with those specs I believe you'll be better off with Debian. You'll have to learn a thing or two, but it is worth it, IMO.

You could also install Debian with Kanotix 2006-01 RC4 (easier, plus better defaults and tools), but then you need to dist-upgrade to Etch. I would, if I were you.

If you decide to go ahead I'll help you with the next steps.

 

Edit: Mandriva 2007 Spring isn't bad either. It has some minor bugs, but other than that it is very nice. If you want the Powerpack, look at the green demon.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Debian 4.0 "Etch"

If you had a faster computer (especially more RAM) and a GeForce I might have recommended OpenSUSE, but with those specs I believe you'll be better off with Debian. You'll have to learn a thing or two, but it is worth it, IMO.

You could also install Debian with Kanotix 2006-01 RC4 (easier, plus better defaults and tools), but then you need to dist-upgrade to Etch. I would, if I were you.

If you decide to go ahead I'll help you with the next steps.

 

Edit: Mandriva 2007 Spring isn't bad either. It has some minor bugs, but other than that it is very nice. If you want the Powerpack, look at the green demon.

 

I agree, if you can take the complications. Othewise, take Mandrivia, freespire, ubuntu, or mepis.

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  • 4 weeks later...

i'd recommend Ubuntu 7.04 or POSSIBLY Sidux...they've both got pretty good hardware support and are pretty easy to use/install. I wouldn't recommend Debian 4.0 (Etch) because it's kind of difficult to use and it becomes out-dated very quickly...For example, it only came out about 2 months ago and already it's pretty out-dated...plus Stable is only updated ever year-year and a half...Ubuntu is updated every 6 months and Sidux is updated every few months.

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Come on! Installing deb etch in EXPERT mode would be easier.

 

Not by much.

 

My opinion: Threads like this are kind of pointless. Linux geeks are the ultimate fanpeople.

 

Everyone will stick by their distro though world war 3 depended on their changing to a different one. Myself, I'm a fan of Slackware (Runs on a 486 or an 8 core Xeon workstation, although it's x86-32 only so far.) but I also find that Sabayon (If you can get the bloody thing to boot) is an incredibly modern distro out o the box. Dreamlinux is an attempt at creating Mac OS X on Linux as far as I can see (As opposed to Sabayon, which is more of a vista clone) Slackware is OpenSolaris before OpenSolaris and Red hat/Fedora are Windows Server 2003.

 

To be honest, there's never a cure all solution. I can't stand Ubuntu - but most love it. You'll need to try out about 30 different distro's before you're sure which one you like best. Just have a play with a few of the suggestions in this thread, and you'll hopefully find one you can live with.

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Not by much.

 

My opinion: Threads like this are kind of pointless. Linux geeks are the ultimate fanpeople.

 

Everyone will stick by their distro though world war 3 depended on their changing to a different one. Myself, I'm a fan of Slackware (Runs on a 486 or an 8 core Xeon workstation, although it's x86-32 only so far.) but I also find that Sabayon (If you can get the bloody thing to boot) is an incredibly modern distro out o the box. Dreamlinux is an attempt at creating Mac OS X on Linux as far as I can see (As opposed to Sabayon, which is more of a vista clone) Slackware is OpenSolaris before OpenSolaris and Red hat/Fedora are Windows Server 2003.

 

To be honest, there's never a cure all solution. I can't stand Ubuntu - but most love it. You'll need to try out about 30 different distro's before you're sure which one you like best. Just have a play with a few of the suggestions in this thread, and you'll hopefully find one you can live with.

 

 

I'm not an exclusive fanboy. I say that windows, OSX, and linux all have their uses and are equal in some areas.

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Come on! Installing deb etch in EXPERT mode would be easier.

 

Actually installig Etch in expert mode isn't that difficult. It simply gives you more choice.

 

 

 

Not by much.

 

My opinion: Threads like this are kind of pointless. Linux geeks are the ultimate fanpeople.

 

Everyone will stick by their distro

 

Well, if you have tried literally hundreds of distros as I have, and always keep coming back to the same (2 in my case), it is only normal that you suggest others your favorite.

However I always take other people's needs into account. I won't hesitate recommending distros other than my favourites if that is in the user's best interest.

 

I also find that Sabayon (If you can get the bloody thing to boot) is an incredibly modern distro out o the box. Dreamlinux is an attempt at creating Mac OS X on Linux as far as I can see

 

Same here with Sabayon. As to Dreaminux it fails at installing a boot loader to partion.

 

I can't stand Ubuntu.

 

I couldn't agree more. Besides I totally fail to see why the bloody thing is "newbie friendly". There are plenty of distros which are more "newbie friendly" than Ubuntu. Even Debian isn't much more difficult than Ubuntu (no wonder, Ubuntu is almost a Debian carbon copy, without many of the benefits, especially stability).

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  • 1 month later...

Fedora 7.Fedora is one of the most secure distributions with things like SELinux and Exec-Shield plus has plenty of easy-to-use security tools. Fedora has some nice GUI tools for common and advanced tasks; unlike SUSE and Mandriva, however, the GUI tools aren't centralized into one fat control center that tends to be buggy and slow. Version 7 version speeds up package management speed multi-fold, which brings Yum (RPM) at least upto par with Apt (DEB) in terms of performance.Ubuntu is also good but it lacks security features that even Vista users have, while gathering more than it's fair share of hype.Ofcourse I cant tell you whether or not I prefer OS X or Fedora or Windows yet because yesterday was the first time I really got to try it.It seems OS X really packs a punch for visual appeal but I'm pretty sure a happy OS X on PC experience leads to a Mac sale later on?

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Hi,

 

I tried alot of different distros and must say I'm also waiting for the Sabayon 3.4 release in a few days.

 

I like the Opensuse 10.2 and Mandriva Sping 2007 Powerpack.

 

Right now I still have Ubuntu Feisty (7.04) installed which is also pretty nice.

 

Grtz and I would suggest you just dowload a few live cd or dvd and have a look at the different distro's, it's all about taste.

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Just don't OpenSuSE or Fedora... They're both at least as bloated as Windows, which defeats one of the main points of running Linux, really...

 

In terms of Linux (though I don't like Linux very much, mainly because of the GNU philosophy - I've always been a fan of BSD-style licensing), I've been a Gentoo person as long as there has been Gentoo myself, though that's only recently come into the realms of reasonable installation for a first timer. As somebody pointed out, Linux users are all zealots for their distro of choice and they will always recommend a certain one or two that they like, which is why no two responses to this thread have bourne the same recommendations. It's probably best to go somewhere like here, read up the goals of different distros and decide for yourself.

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