Is Ubuntu for Noobs?
 

In the Linux community, is Ubuntu considered the noob distro? Or the easy way out distro? I'll be permanently installing a distro on my main notebook soon, but I don't want to be a wuss and learn something that holds my hand much more so than the rest of the bunch.

I was thinking Ubuntu because it seems like it "just works" compared to all the other distros I've tried that give me so much trouble.

I wouldn't say it is for "noobs". There are a fair number of experienced UNIX/Linux hands that love Ubuntu.

Personally I prefer Fedora Core (FC) / RedHat Enterprise Level (RHEL)
but the number of folks singing the praises of Ubuntu suggests that it is a fairly good distro.

Of course if you don't like "handholding" maybe you should try a distro that doesn't "just work". You learn a lot more from what goes wrong than what goes right.

You might even try Linux From Scratch (LFS) so you see all the pieces.

I don't know what the community considers it, but I consider it a useful general-purpose distro. I've been using Linux for almost 10 years, and all of my machines currently run Ubuntu. For me, it's just the best tool to get the job done. I've run Debian, Gentoo, Slackware, and Red Hat before, so I've had a full array of experiences. If you want to use something more complex to learn more about how Linux works, more power to you, but there are plenty of learning opportunities on Ubuntu as well.

People who say that ARE boobs IMHO. Personally I prefer Fedora but Ubuntu is a very good distro. Don't listen to unnecessary whiners, use what works best for you.

actually he is correct in saying that ubuntu is for noobs ...


but i have also seen masters(not computer related) like to do "stupid" things ...


.

Linux has broken my heart too many times, I just don't know if I can learn to trust again... lmao.

What does Ubuntu do so differently?? To me, CLI is CLI is CLI.

Are you saying that running Ubuntu is "stupid"?

There is nothing wrong with using Ubuntu if it meets your needs. I run it on my laptop simply because when I am on the road I don't have the time to fiddle around with the OS. I just want it to work as it's supposed to work. Ubuntu comes prepatched and configured with a lot of nice little things that make my laptop work properly without a lot of additional tinkering. I can make Slack work just as well if I care to spend the time patching the kernel and installing/configuring additional items that come in Ubuntu already (Slack uses a vanilla kernel).

I run Slack -current on my home PC (as well as 64 bit Debian and a couple of others) and Slack will always be my favorite distro, but Ubuntu is a nice desktop distro that works pretty well for me.

If your goal is to just get a good working desktop OS on your machine you could do far worse than Ubuntu. If your goal is to learn a lot about Linux in general I'd say install Slackware or Debian and go from there.

I want to learn as much about Linux as I know about Windows. With that said, its really frustrating to use something that has a steep learning curve (which I agree, is the best way to learn), and at the same time use it for general purpose.
For instance I'd like to chat with my friends using Pidgin, while I tinker with something in the system. But it took me a whole week just to get Pidgin working (damn dependancies).

Then I'd suggest using something like Ubuntu for your general purpose OS and install something like Slackware or Gentoo for your learning OS. That way you can have the best of both worlds as you need.

You mean you can run two operating systems on the same machine?!

jk.

Actually, that's a good idea. But unfortunately hard drive space is very limited at the moment (4 Gb!). In another month or so I should be buying a larger hard drive.

If you are talking command-line, there are very few fundamental differences in distros.

The biggest differences I have seen are in how the user interface is set up, and what functionality is enabled by default (including decisions to include proprietary drivers or non-mainstream SW.)
Case in point: I've been testing OpenSUSE 10.2--very impressive, can't find a single flaw...but wait, where is escputil and/or mtink (for maintenance on Epson printers)? not in the baseline install and not even in the repositories---dumb!!
And hugin is not in the repositories either....

For a newcomer, anything in the top ten on the "hit list" at Distrowatch is going to be fine.
For a newcomer AND Windows expert, there will be something to complain about no matter what.

Hey EC...

I started out with GNU/Linux using Ubuntu. However, I eventually learned the ins and outs of many other distros. I lean toward Slackware as a fav these days, but I use them all. I'm booted to Fedora Core today, for instance.

Under the hood, Ubuntu is everything that any other Linux distro is. You can learn most everything you need to know by tinkering with Ubuntu. I would recommend other distros eventually, though, because you'll need to understand about other package management environments other than just apt, which is used by Ubuntu and other Debian-based distros like Mepis and Knoppix, etc.

Ubuntu, to me, was an excellent way to break into GNU/Linux for someone who did not want to use Windows any longer. Ubuntu leans heavily toward graphic users, like X-Windows point n' click zombies. Like I said, though... everything that Linux is can be found in Ubuntu.

Whatever you choose, enjoy your GNU/Linux experience. Learning should be FUN! :)

Regards,

~Eric

I am talking about command line. No matter what distro, its seems like BASH's (or which ever shell is being used :P ) response is always, "Nope! You're a Dumbass, Try Again!

I'm not quite sure I follow exactly...
would you please explain a little more?

And.
Crap.


Note: Already I want to thank everyone that has posted so much already on this topic. I appreciate your opinions, suggestions, and explanations!

Also of course you don't HAVE to do CLI. Most of today's distros come with GUIs (Gnome and/or KDE) out of the box. I've seen many noob on these forums that isn't willing to try CLI at all.

The deal is that Linux can be run on almost anything. Due to that most distros (or more properly the kernels) choose to run on what they think most people have but you can always fit it to what you actually have. This is unlike Windoze which makes you upgrade your hardware for their newer releases to the point where you're better off just buying new hardware.

Also the CLI gives you one hell of a lot of power over the way things work to the point where you can rewrite the program if it doesn't suit your needs. In Windoze its their way or the highway (and oh, by the way we'll sue you if you take the highway).