Recomend a version of Linux?

[xguccishoesx]

I'm really anti windows atm, and my Windows has just crashed on my desktop leaving me with vista on my laptop argh!!

So can anyone recomend a good version of linux to install?

I have ubuntu on disk somewhere, but after a day of not being able to install MSN or my sound card drivers, I got fed up (got no patience at all!)

So can anyone recomend a more Blonde friendly version?

Laura xx

[knissel]

Ubuntu

[computoman]

Ubuntu 7.10 also know as gutsy. You can get a live version that has the install icon on the desktop. It is easy to install. You need to back up you files first. get a usb drive enclosure so you can back up files from your hard disk. If you have a geek around then get the trk( trinity rescue kit) cd from www.distrowatch.com and you can move your data files from the pc to the laptop real easily.

My distro of choice: for intel
1 Debian Systems less than 300mhz
2 Mepis Antix 300 mhz to 800 mhz
3 Ubuntu or Kubuntu 800 mhz or greater.

For PPC
I also use debian on my daughters g3 imac and edubuntu on our blue mac g3 tower.
g4 and g5 probably i would use an ubuntu flavor or fedora.

For Intel based macs,
Mepis is good.

For users that are a bit more tech saavy, There are a host of distros to pick from. I use a lot Redhat Fedora also. See www.distrowatch.com

[tehBoris]

Ubuntu

Second

[uteck]

I see that you did try Ubuntu, but I bet it is an older version. Ubuntu updates every 6 months with new features and support, so odds are the latest version will work for you (currently 7.10, first number is the year 2007, and the second is the month it was released, thus 7.10). But you may find Kubuntu more appealing to you, it is the same as Ubuntu, but it defaults to the KDE window manager. (Of course you can install each window manager on either one, so it really does not matter.) Many people compare the Gnome desktop to MacOS and KDE to Windows, but that is just the defaults. You can customize them to work just about any way you want.

[computoman]

I probably would not install knoppix or dsl but they are good diagnostic live cd's to find out what your hardware is and that it is working properly. If the hardware is not working properly, then no operating system can help you. Suse and fedora live cd's are also pretty good at it. Ubuntu works best with dells. Xubuntu has a lighter desktop that ubuntu or kubuntu and might install. even if you installed ubuntu or kubuntu, it is real easy to install/change to other desktops using the internet. I like edubuntu a lot but i am not a fan of gnome. so i apt-get install kde-desktop and viola i have kde instead of the gnome deskltop. gnome is more mac lookalike sort of and kde is work windows lookalikish. That is what I like about linux so much. You are not locked in on your application/desktop software. Rumor has it that kde is coming to mswindows. I would love to put it on an xp box, just to bug my brother,

[tokenuser]

I keep a copy of Backtrack on a USB key. Definately not a standard distro though.

[tehBoris]

I keep a copy of Backtrack on a USB key. Definately not a standard distro though.
If you where found plugging that in to a computer at school/work you'd likly be stabbed.

[tokenuser]

If you where found plugging that in to a computer at school/work you'd likly be stabbed.I am not a student. I work (from home) for a software company that deals in financials. I do carry it when I am travelling ... mainly for the aircrack type functionality (airport hotspots, hotel hotspots, tradeshow hotspots) that I can't run under XP (the promiscuous drivers needed interfere with my VPN), and as a password recovery tool (plus other things).

Definately not your run of the mill distro though.

I would definately point people towards Ubuntu if they wanted to get into Linux though. I still don't think that the FLOSS community has the right apps to make it a suitable replacement for business purposes, but it is pretty close for personal use.

[t0x2c]

Anything Debian based for a beginner (someone who's been using linux since 1999, that's an interesting thing for me to say, but it holds truer now than ever).

The userbase is fantastic, and programs that work on one Debian distro will pretty much work on any Debian distro. Good number of proprietary drivers work with it too (nVidia and Linksys were the two I've always had problems with on Redhat 8 / Fedora 3)

I like Ubuntu because of its insane simplicity, if you're just looking for a new OS, it's probably the way to go. If you're looking to learn a whole new lifestyle paradigm, 4.0 was released very recently.

[chuckles]

How about NetBSD (http://netbsd.org) or FreeBSD (http://freebsd.org)? Or the the desktop-centric PCBSD (http://www.pcbsd.org/) or DesktopBSD (http://www.desktopbsd.net/)?

-chuckles-

[brotherlu]

I suggest Linux Mint, it graphically pretty, it has improved integration with multimedia and it is very simple to use.

[darknessgp]

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/images/linux-distro-timeline-small.png (http://kde-files.org/CONTENT/content-files/44218-linuxdistrotimeline-7.2.png)

Click for the bigger version, and people complained that Vista has 4 different versions.

[jdhore]

and people complained that Vista has 4 different versions.

They did, because Vista has 4 versions, each of which costs increasingly more money and each of which determines how crippled (or lack thereof) your version is. With linux, for the most part, what you can get on one distro is the same as what you can get on another and so on, different distros are flavored for different people...I'll go over a few cuz i'm slightly bored:

Gentoo - For people who like wasting time and ricers...Though it is a good stepping stone to learn how a *nix system REALLY works, other than that...somewhat worthless. Rolling Release (Awesome)...This means they you don't need to do a full upgrade to get new stuff, new package comes out, it shows up in your package manager.
Ubuntu/Fedora - For noobs and lazy people
Debian/CentOS - For people who realized how crappy Ubuntu and Fedora are and want something similar, but better. Also, great for servers.
ArchLinux - For people who want a really fast system that works EXACTLY the way they want it. Slightly more manual than Gentoo, but just as fast and easier/less time consuming/binary-based. Rolling release (Awesome)
LFS - For people who REALLY wanna learn linux and can give up a box for 2-3 days to do so.
Ubuntu "re-rolls" - If you want Ubuntu+KDE or Ubuntu+XFCE or Ubuntu+Flash/Codecs ...pretty simple
DebianX (My project) - Basically, a combination of Debian Testing (but faster, more stable and more up-to-date), Ubuntu (except it won't suck cock like Ubuntu) and Arch (Basically, it's kind of ArchLinux plus deb, but based on Debian)

Basically every other distro was: "I don't like how *insert distro here* is doing things...Let's fork it and do it our way"

[tehBoris]

They did, because Vista has 4 versions

There is actually 7 including the upgrade versions.

[darknessgp]

There is actually 7 including the upgrade versions.

Why would you include "Upgrade" versions though? All they do is get you to one of the 4 versions. Also, I guess no one bothered to point out to you that every version of the retail Vista comes on 1 disc, either a x86 or x64 DVD.

jdhore, I am also pointing out that if you think people were confused by which version of Vista they want/need. How much more confusing is it for someone new to Linux to decide which distro? Which is my problem, which one should I use? I know, the standard response is "Ubuntu", but after trying it, I don't like it. It was slow, didn't like the color/GUI layout. Your small list is great, but I don't feel most people will get something that simplifies it. And being someone who has looked at different distros it's hard to know what you want without downloads gigs and gigs to find one.

Also, I thought it was a pretty good timeline and shows connections between distros. So, if you liked one maybe one in the same family will be good too.

[computoman]

One good thing ablout live diistros is that you can try it before you install it. Most every version of linux has one now. There might be a few distros, but it you only ise the desktop, there is really only four major ones, E17. xfce, gnome, and kde(3.5 and 4). Nine times out of ten if you get a garden variety linux it will be running gnome. If you look at it that way, there is not really that much external difference. one thing to remember is that each distro is watching what the others are doing and usually the leapfrog each other on what they can do. to me there are really only three or four major distros anyway (redhat, debian, slackware, gentoo, and I know i am forgetting one). If you can operate on, you can deal with any of it's cousins. Xandros is supposed to be very xp like. There is also another distro from russia called linuxxo that is supposed to mimic the windows xp desktop. Every distro has it's advantages. I prefer to use several depending on the situation. There is where the freedom lies. One thing is that you can try all the distros for free, You can not do that with MS Vista. Rumor has it that MS was planning to bring out MS Windows 7 (Vista replacement) early per Bill Gates himself. The company has since recanted that announcement. Because everything is becoming so web based, Operating systems as we know it are changing. The traditional client os will be pretty much replaced with a web browser machine. I have my own web server for home and most of the software (office applications, accounting and even some network games).

[darknessgp]

...
One thing is that you can try all the distros for free, You can not do that with MS Vista...

Umm, actually you can. There is a 30-day trial. Microsoft offers a "VHD" (Virtual Hard Drive) for Vista which will, I believe, create a partition and install Vista. And if you have an actual install disk, just install it without giving it a serial code and it goes into the 30-day trial.

[jdhore]

jdhore, I am also pointing out that if you think people were confused by which version of Vista they want/need. How much more confusing is it for someone new to Linux to decide which distro? Which is my problem, which one should I use? I know, the standard response is "Ubuntu", but after trying it, I don't like it. It was slow, didn't like the color/GUI layout. Your small list is great, but I don't feel most people will get something that simplifies it. And being someone who has looked at different distros it's hard to know what you want without downloads gigs and gigs to find one.

Also, I thought it was a pretty good timeline and shows connections between distros. So, if you liked one maybe one in the same family will be good too.

I agree that all that choice for someone new would be hard (and for you, i'd recommend Debian, prolly (Arch is faster, but quite a bit harder)), but if someone's installing linux, they're either already knowledgeable, it's installed by default (Ubuntu on Dell) or the local "geek" is going to install it for them so the choice is removed in a way. The problem with Vista is that it's a monetary choice and it's a lot harder to make a monetary choice: "Crap, i want all the features in Ultimate, but i can't afford $400...Should i wait or just go with Home Premium? Gah this sucks!". With linux you don't have the choice, the closest thing you have to a monetary choice is the cost of time, bandwidth and blank CD's to use new distros.

I agree that there's nothing that simplifies it for people, but things are coming along like the linux distro chooser tools that ask you a bunch of questions and tell you what distros you'd like: http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/ (Note, IMO, VERY Ubuntu/Mandriva heavy)

I also agree that the websites and screenshots/casts and DistroWatch can't tell you everything, but the reason i know a lot about all the major distros is basically...I've tried almost every distro that matters and i listed the good/decent ones in my post. That's how you have to do it...Try everything that you think is interesting and worth your time...That's how i learned and it's the best way to learn, you can't make a good decision about something until you try it...Hell, i HATE RPM and Slackware's package format, but who knows, you might like it. It's all about choice of everything which you have virtually none of in Windows.

As for the timeline...I think it's decent, but it's way too out-of-date and it's not really organized well...I think this one: http://futurist.se/gldt/gldt76.png Is much better.

[computoman]

If you really want an interesting time line. look at unix as a whole. As for 30 day vista trial, whooppee whoopee. I have been testing linux for at least 10 years. Microsoft on their trial server software gives you at least six months. I used to work for a small college where they had the msdn, so I was virtually had legal use of all their goodies. I was given a dvd of Vista, but i destroyed it without ever installing it when I left that position. I did not want to have to buy a whole new computer just to run it. If you have a few extra bucks and a student discount, it is worth it's weight in gold if you are a Microsoft fanatic. I did subscribe to it for a short time years ago. My Microsoft software sits in the drawer unused now. Even if you did not get it, Microsoft was selling Windows xp student version to cs students for under twenty bucks. Who cares. I love linux! We use it at both work and home without having to purchase a new computers.

[vanden]

Get Linux Mint.....BUt if it lack of drivers then eather seek help from the forums...Or run a distro like PCLinuxOS,openSUSE, Sabayon...

All have great hardware support,and are easy to installs Apps and are really really stable...

If you need help on anything I be here...

[computoman]

One thing you can do out of the box with edubuntu, k12ltsp, karoshi, and a few other distros with a bit of work is set up a lab of computers using thin clients, old diskless pentium1's or even old diskless 486's. You only have to install software on the server. The server would probably require the same horsepower to to speak as one decked out MS/Vista machine (Depending on the number of thin clients). This would be a great advantage for school districts where you have little or no budget for computers. An excellent way of recycling old computers, All the software is free. To do that with Microsoft the software costs alone could be exorbitant to say the least. I use an old duron 800mhz based machine with lots of ram as a server to four dirt cheap thin clients. The whole system consisting of the server, four thin clients, and the software cost me under three hundred dollars. When can you outfit a business for that price at a retail store lately. This would be a good subject for "systms". Edubuntu would not take much longer to set up than the ubuntu install. Help save our tax dollars!

[TSSaloic]

look at PCLinuxOS, its in my experience one of the most complete distros, and has a fairly good forum.
PCLinixOS.com
(I am not affiliated, I just like their livecd)

[linuxfiend]

It's hard to go wrong with Ubuntu. Linux Mint is also very good.

[geekdw]

Out of all the distros I've tried...Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS have the best hardware compatibility, and it's really easy to dive in and get your hands wet. I'm running Ubuntu 7.10 at the moment...does everything I need, so unless I completely screw up the OS I don't see myself going back to my windows drive anytime soon.

Also one of the big selling points of Ubuntu for me was it has so many communities and so much support on the net, you can find answers to just about any question you have.

[Cacogen]

Linux Mint 5, based on Ubuntu 8.04, should be out soon.

Mint offers some UI improvements over Ubuntu which improve useability in addition to looking better.

I also quite like Ubuntu Studio 8.04.

[hoofed]

I like Ubuntu, as far as I can like Linux with all its problems, but I did consider trying Fedora recently after trying to get Ubuntu to play nice on my wireless network. X|

[crater]

Helix Live Cd comes in handy when you're doing Computer Forensic work.

[computoman]

I have not tried it yet but the fedora 9 is supposed to be geared toward the novice. I probably need to dl/burn it to make sure.

[highlanderjames]

I happen to like Mandriva with powerpack,its nice. The live spring 2008 is good. Ubutu and others I had a huge problem trying to get wine to play simple windows games,or web based games like eudemons online and others.