What is the best Linux distro? (Full Version)

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EStan -> What is the best Linux distro? (4/7/2008 4:08:46 PM)

I've had very limited Linux experience, and want to play with it more. I've downloaded and tried Ubuntu, Mandriva, and I just recently tried out Xandros and Pioneer.

Which would be the easiest to set up and network? What's the difference between the Gnome and KDE interfaces? Are there better interfaces to use?

Thanks, Linux users! [:D]



Lurker -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/7/2008 7:56:35 PM)

What are you looking for?

For someone new to Linux I'd stick with Ubuntu. Get the latest beta of Hardy Heron and use that. :)
As far as Gnome -vs- KDE, it's really just a matter of preference imho.

I know Papa-san uses Linux as well, he might have more info for you



MWD -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/8/2008 10:31:14 AM)

A second vote for Ubuntu. Very easy to use and very capable. I've run Suse, Red Hat, and Mandrake in addition to Ubuntu. Ubuntu is the only Linux I run now.

Both KDE and Gnome are "fat" in terms of memory usage. Might want to have 512MB or more in your system, though 256 will work. There are other/leaner window managers out there. I've always considered Gnome to be a bit "opaque" compared to KDE, but it all comes down to personal preference.

Ubuntu does a couple of things a bit differently than the other distributions do. But it's all documented.



EStan -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/8/2008 12:19:31 PM)

thanks for all the info so far, everybody! [:)]



Papa-san -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/8/2008 10:29:57 PM)

I believe that Ubuntu would be a good choice as well. The community is really amazing, and if you run into problems, they are great with helping you get through the transition.
Ubuntu is on it's way to being as easy as Windows to use, but we have to deal with the difficulty of proprietary hardware drivers. Networking tends to be the toughest nut to crack, but many computers are fully supported right off the bat. I just bought my wife a Dell Inspiron 1525, and I loaded Ubuntu on it as a second OS (Dual booting with the Vista Virus.) Installed, re-booted, and everything just worked.

Ubuntu has mostly GUI's (Graphical user interfaces, like windows) so you can refrain from using the command line to do stuff. That's prolly the hardest adjustment to make; Windows users tend to be afraid to use a Terminal (command line), but I can assure you that once you get the hang of it, you will begin to use it rather than the GUI's! I would also suggest just sticking with Gnome for a while. KDE has more eye candy, but can get a little stickier when you have an issue. Once you get the hang of it, then it's a simple change.http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installing

Try to find out what wireless card you are using, and begin to do your research on it. You can also do a Live session of Ubuntu and see if everything works or not. (Just insert the CD and re-boot... It runs in memory with a tiny swap partition on your HD that is eliminated once you log out.) That way you can see if there are any issues you'll need to correct.

This is an excellent how-to page for installing... Use the guided partitioning at first. Then, after you have decided to keep using it, re-install it using the manual partitioning tool. Then you will make a "/" (root) partition (for the nuts-n-bolts parts), a swap partition 2x the size of your machines memory, and a "home" partition for all your data. Doing it this way allows for you to change to different versions (or re-install if you break it!) and you get to keep all your photos and documents and stuff...

Anyways... try a few distros as 'Live' sessions, and choose what you like best!

Good luck!



cwb -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/8/2008 11:04:05 PM)

Ubuntu.

Tons of help too at ubuntuforums.org



Lurker -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/8/2008 11:19:29 PM)

Later as you become more familiar with Linux you can try other distros, but Ubuntu is a great start. :) I still have one Ubuntu box amongst my Gentoo boxes. :)



called2valor -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/10/2008 8:33:02 AM)

I also vote Ubuntu

It is Debian-based, so it has the power and stability of Debian and Ubuntu is a generally friendly, well-documented, popular and non-proprietary distro as one could hope to get.

I have used it for a few years now after trying over 3 dozen distros and running a handful; of them for a long period of time over the years, I have happily settled into Ubuntu for now.

Many other people that I know that are also Linux users, even those in Security and Network Admin run Ubuntu on their personal machines.

It is a hard distro to beat, but everyone has preferences. [:)]



jonphillips -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/10/2008 12:35:57 PM)

Again, I would recommend Ubuntu, but if you want to try another disto that is very user friendly, check out Fedora Core.



uniteforlife -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/18/2008 12:49:43 PM)

I just started using centos on a server I run and Im very impressed so far. Dont know how it would be as a desktop system though. Ive heard really good things about Ubuntu, but Ive never used it personally. I setup a desktop with Fedora Core that was impressive as well. Quite easy to setup too.



PolarBear -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/20/2008 2:10:36 PM)

Yeah [K]Ubuntu is probably the best all-around way to get started in Linux. Some people rave about Linux Mint, as an "even easier to use Ubuntu" but I've never tried it.

Fedora Core is NOT for those just starting Linux. I would call it a "power distribution for geeks". I just switched back to it on my work desktop and probably will put it on my next desktop at home, but the laptop will stay Kubuntu for the forseeable future.

CentOS 5 is an awesome server, but as a desktop it is OK only if you have older hardware and don't mind older applications. It is over a year old and was stabilized sometime before that, so it's always behind the others. Desktop Linux moves so fast that to me it's painful to use something even that old. I do have CentOS 5 64-bit that I occasionally boot my laptop from, but I've never figured out how to get my Intel wireless card working with it (it's automatic in Kubuntu), and it also doesn't support newer Intel graphics chips.

Gnome vs. KDE -- that's a religious war of course. Personally I don't see why anyone could prefer Gnome though. [:)] KDE just seems vastly better to me!



neuronstatic -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/21/2008 6:39:58 AM)

I have been a long time Linux user, starting with Red Hat 4.x days (their beginning) and have used many distros over time. And a little over a year now, I have used Linux exclusively on the desktop at work. I think I may have booted into Windows 4 times last year at work.

For the first 6 months or so I used OpenSuse, but honestly I found it confining. I did not like the way they handled things. It seemed... too much like Windows, trying to control me, didn't like that feeling. Then I switched to Ubuntu and so did everyone else on our team.

For my older laptop I use Xubuntu which is a marvelous solid workhorse. Not as flashy, but definitely a serious contender.

All in all, I like Ubuntu more than the other distros I have used over time. Definitely my recommendation.

As for the flavor of Ubuntu, I do prefer Gnome, but that is just individual preference. I run about a half dozen KDE apps on my Gnome desktop with no problems and without the massive weight of the rest of KDE. I guess I just don't like the "1 click your it" manner of KDE (sure I know, its customizable somewhere).

In all, there are still bugs to work out of the desktops (yes KDE and GNOME and Xfce4 all have bugs). But its getting close to critical mass of Linux on the desktop for the masses.



uniteforlife -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/21/2008 4:48:46 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: PolarBear

Gnome vs. KDE -- that's a religious war of course. Personally I don't see why anyone could prefer Gnome though. [:)] KDE just seems vastly better to me!



KDE, love it!

Yes centos is awesome for running a headless server! But yes, a little behind. No packages so far for the newest apache or php that Ive found.

I never really saw Fedora as a "power distribution for geeks", I thought it was relatively straight forward. Although like neuronstatic, Ive started way back in the redhat 4ish days too, so maybe it's the curse of knowledge.

p.s., great idea on your website.



PolarBear -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/22/2008 1:28:46 AM)

I also started using Linux seriously as of Red Hat 4.1. [:)] Though before that I dabbled a bit with a 1.2 kernel based Slackware system in 1995, but not very much.

I say Fedora is a power distribution for geeks because it contains so freeking much stuff! It keeps up to date with cutting edge technology and keeps versions of software up to date throughout the release cycle (RHEL and Kubuntu just backport fixes, not move versions forward).

It maybe can be OK as a new user desktop, but one friend I installed it for was overwhelmed by it I think. Looking back I should have given him Kubuntu.

Oh, and on my work desktop I don't even have Windows to boot into. [:D] Linux 100.0%! (XP does infest my laptop, but only for GPS street navigation software, and I hardly ever use that anymore.



uniteforlife -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/22/2008 2:07:41 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: PolarBear
Oh, and on my work desktop I don't even have Windows to boot into. [:D] Linux 100.0%!


Now theres a man I can respect!

quote:

(XP does infest my laptop, but only for GPS street navigation software, and I hardly ever use that anymore.


Google Earth, Google Earth... [:D]



PolarBear -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/22/2008 7:58:11 AM)

Since when does Google Earth give you driving directions via a GPS? Also it needs to be constantly on the net.

It's kind of moot though, we got a Garmin in-car nav system.

Can't quite bring myself to delete the XP partition though, just because I paid for it and there's a small chance my wife or I may occasionally need it for something. Like, we used it a few months ago for her real estate practice test. And I may want to check some web work in IE at some point. That sort of thing. But for serious use? Never!



uniteforlife -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/22/2008 10:48:09 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: PolarBear

Since when does Google Earth give you driving directions via a GPS? Also it needs to be constantly on the net.




Yeah, guess I didnt read that too well.



DaveW -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/25/2008 10:18:58 AM)

So which linux distro will work on my old laptop?

Dell Latitude cpi
266 mhz, 8 gig hd, 32 meg ram cdrom drive

I have tried several but all fail to be able to come up with the right video config so it never finishes booting.

I can get a really old version of Vector up, but it had little in the way of the apps I wanted.

Feather will boot from cd and look ok but will not install on the HD and boot. Booting from the cd will not allow me to save to the disk.

What I need is a good bible program, a good office suite, and a sound editor/recorder. In that order. Something like Church Pup would probably be ideal, but....... it won't run on my hardware.



PolarBear -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/28/2008 9:15:14 AM)

DaveW: Would you expect to do anything useful with Windows on that hardware? 32MB hasn't been standard since, what, 1997? [:)]

Even if you get something working, you'll be stuck with late-90s era software. Modern Linux software takes nearly as many resources as modern Windows software.

With 32MB you should expect to be able to load the likes of KDE 1.0, but I'm not aware of any Bible software for it.

My recommendation: get a $300 used laptop from Craigslist. [:)]



DaveW -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/28/2008 12:43:24 PM)

LOL!!!

My wife keeps telling me I need to get a new laptop too. (was looking at a $399 acer the other day)

I just hate to give up the old beater.....



scoot -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/28/2008 1:31:31 PM)

Tried just about all the major distros over the years. Ubuntu's the best IMHO.



PGAGA -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/28/2008 2:43:19 PM)

Monday, April 28, 2008

The Linux distribution which appears to meet your specs is puppylinux.com.

Phil



DaveW -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/28/2008 3:19:26 PM)

quote:

The Linux distribution which appears to meet your specs is puppylinux.com.
Thanks. Tried it. Stops about halfway thru boot up and dies.



Lurker -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (4/30/2008 10:00:03 AM)

You know DaveW... I think I have a laptop with almost those exact same specs. Only I think it's got 192 megs of RAM. It's battery doesn't hold a charge though. If you'd like I can dig it out, make sure it's working okay (it was when i put it in storage a year or so ago) and since you're somewhat local, you can have it.

Or heck, I have a dell laptop that's 550mhz. It's got a working battery, but the LCD is cracked around the edges. I need to fix the master boot record from a bad grub install though, but if you want it, it's yours.



DaveW -> RE: What is the best Linux distro? (5/1/2008 3:06:07 PM)

My battery is still in good shape. maybe I can combine them........

I work in Silver Spring, right by the Metro stop.



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