A Few Questions About Linux.

Okay, Windows is starting to tick me off. I mean, I will deal with it if need be; but I have been looking at Linux for a while, so I thought I'd ask some questions. What is the best Linux distro in your oppinion? I know this will change from person to person - But I would like a general concensus. I have seen Redhat stuff, and I have seen Knoppix and some "ubunto" thing... I would like also one that is bootable from live disk or whatever. I want to be able to check and make sure that I really like Linux before I install it as my main OS.I also would like a GUI. I know, I am not a die hard that will work with text very easily... So a GUI is necessary.None of the Linux distros cost anything... Right?Okay, if I remember any other things to ask questions about I will post them. Thanks!

This question has been ask many many times, yet I will still answer you. I always recommend SuSE Linux because of it's easiness, out-of-the-box usability, great optimization for everyone, etc.There is GUI if you want, just select it during the installation process, it's default anyways.SuSE Linux doesn't cost anything, but you can't ask Novell for technical support unless you're willing to shell out money. That's why http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ was invented.xboxrulz

I too have been looking for a linux distro but for a server computer.It will need to be able to run lots of servers with great stability.I've been looking at the fedora core 5 distro, it looks alright actually.The main task of the server in my case is to pretty much act as a server, but sometimes i'll need to get on it to do stuff.I've heard alot about fedora though, i'll have a look at SuSE too but personally fedora is my choice for now. The only real downside i can see is the download size, 5 cds where 4 of them are 650mb and the last one is around 90mb (I think)-HellFire

Not exactly. Some Linux distros are commercial based like Red Hat and they do charge you for using it.I always tell users to go with Mandrake if they are a newbie. Need to take a look at SuSE Linux...maybe this is easier to use. Still a newbie Linux user myself.Keep in mind that Live CDs like Knoppix will have a different GUI to it and it will be different from SuSE and others. Test the Live CD out to get a feel of Linux...If you have a free partition that you can use, I suggest installing one of the Linux distros there (SuSE maybe) and see if you like it.

Fedora Core 5 is my favourite distribution and I'm quite bias in that respect as I've been using Red Hat since the early days when it was near impossible to get anything to work on Linux, now look how far they've come, it's amazing.Ubuntu seems to be rising in popularity, for new comers looking for something to run their desktop machine, I'm not sure how well it is to be used for a server, Red Hat/Fedora seem to be the server type distribution, also Debian, but I think RH/Fedora have a higher edge. Suse also seems to be quite good, it's probably one of the better Networking Operating Systems, thanks to Novell development.To me Knoppix maybe the best LiveCD, if not, then they are the most known for being LiveCD, however you can order Ubuntu CDs for free (includes shipping, which is also free) which comes with a hard drive install CD and a LiveCD that you can test before you install. This might be a reason why for it's popularity because those with slow internet speeds would not mind waiting 2 weeks or more for their CDs.I could say what Fedora Core 5 can do to tip the scales that way, but to be honest, most Linux distributions are capable of doing what it does, or similar, or even better, but I know if you did use it and had problems with it, I know that there are a few who use it here, including me, who could help you with it.Cheers,MC

See the coolest thing about Linux is whatever GUI & Packaging Method every distro uses - there's this baseline conformity amongst ALL of them. All use the very same kernel with very minor modifications. Switching over from one to the other can be done without the slightest hiccup.But I gotta agree with MC - that on the server front FCx and RHEL - have a distinct advantage, as their kernels are really well-optimized for networked computing. I'd last used RHEL AS3 and then tried out FC2 and haven't looked back ever since. Now I'm using FC4 and wouldn't think of switching over to any other OS even if I was paid a million bucks.. (a billion?? umm.. maybe.. but still doutbful) MC's post tells me that I need to get a taste of FC5 soon

I don't really like FC at all since Redhat made their kernel slower than SuSE Linux. I don't know why but it happens on my desktop and my laptop.xboxrulz

I always tell users to go with Mandrake if they are a newbie

Same for me, I always tell people to go with Mandrake first. There is no "best" Linux distro.
Most of them are free, the installation is easy and harmless, so you should try several ones until you find the one you like.
Of course, you can ask other people their opinion, and you will see all of them are different.
I love Mandrake, I can work wir Redhat, i hate Suze and I simply was not able to put gentoo to work. Honestly, this is simply my own experience, you should really try in order to have your own opinion.
Regards
Yordan

truely said, there IS NO such thing as the BEST Linux distribution. Only the user can decide.xboxrulz

If you want a live cd to try, I would check out this site: http://livecdlist.com/
Slax is a real good live cd, it's based on slackware and using slaxcreator you can even add programs, it's simple. It should give you some idea about how slackware will work.

Ubuntu getting more popular, so you could check that one out too.

Other one's to look for:
Suse Live-Eval -> Suse Linux
Kubuntu -> Ubuntu with KDE (instead of GNOME)
MandrakeMove -> Mandrake Linux

I've tested quite some distro's (ok, compared to what is available I only check a tiny bit ) and for beginners I would suggest using Suse Linux or Mandrake (ow, it's Mandriva now).
If you want a workstation, only to work on, I'd suggest RedHat or Fedora, but overhere it's the same as xboxrulz, they run rather slow.
If you're more advanced (or realy want to learn it and you have lots of time), then Slackware should do .

Mandrake 10.1 ! Superb useability and very less learning curve for a Windows user. Apart from that, the tools it comes packed with is simply tempting.Hey I don't know how many of you have tried ELX, but I found it to be the BEST Desktop Linux I have encountered till date. From the moment you install, you will know that it was meant for converting a Windows user to Linux. It has exactly the same outlook and comes with Wine pre-installed, with Wine-tools also. Plus there are the best tools for playing Video and Audio. Although it didnt prove to be a good Development environment so I had to ditch it.But I will in the end suggest Mandrake. You will not have any problem migrating to it at all. I dont know whats the deal with FC/RHL, they don't have good Multimedia support (specially audio). KDE is simply awesome, and the tools for KDE are undoubtfully the best(my POV). And Mandrake is packed with all of it as default.So a newbie from Windows wont have any trouble kicking off with it. Usually what any Windows user wants is an MP3 player and a Video Player that will play any codec. Mandrake comes with Amaroke and Kaffeine for the purpose.Best part is Mandrake is hell easy to configure and navigate, so a newbie wont face any problems at all.