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USB Beginner Distro with all in the box features
I have a question, and i know some people seem to have issues with people asking for distro suggestions, but my question is specific. I have used linux on and off very little in the past 2 years. By very little i mean for about a month + or -. I would like to be able to try linux again, but not have to format my hard drive/dual boot. I did a little research on here, and like the idea of the bootable usb flash drive. Since I am a beginner, i would like(if at all possible) a new user friendly, free if possible distro that will be able to fit on a usb flash drive. Is there anything like this out there? Also what is the difference(package wise and performance wise) between livecd versions and full install versions. I have seen the full version usb install on wikipedia, and was wondering also how hard a full install to usb would be.
Thanks in advance, Nate |
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Your best bet would be to buy Xandros or Linspire. That way if anything doesn't work out-of-the-box, you get paid for support, just like Windows. |
ok, thanks for the help, and sorry to repost something already said.
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You could probably install Puppy or Damn Small Linux to a flash drive, but I've never tried to do it. I can perfectly understand not wanting to partition your hard drive windows drive. At least if you don't mess with t, you don't run the risk of cutting your "lifeline" in the event of a problem.
What are the chances of you getting an additional hard drive, and hooking it up as a slave in your current PC? You don't need a very big hard drive, I'd probably recommend a 40-80gig drive if you can find one on clearance. This is how I done all my Linux learning, kept things simple, if I had a problem, I still had Windows to fall back on. If your main drive is on the small side, try to catch a 120-160gig drive on sale, and move Windows to it, then use your old drive for Linux. If you do the above, you do the above, you could then try any number of full featured distros. Good luck IGF |
well i decided to just go for it and install it on my new hard drive(old one crapped out and can only be read half the time just tonight). I just bought a WD 320GB which im thinking about putting either ubuntu or xandros on. I think probably xandros, but i would have to wait untill next paycheck to get it. In your opinion, is it worth it to spend 50-100 for support for a beginner?(As in paying for xandros)
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A long time ago, I paid for Redhat 6. Came with a year's support ... Getting that support was like pulling teeth, but I bugged the heck out of them. To this day, I can't decide whether it was worth the $60 or so I paid them or not, but by the time that year was over, I had learned enough to carry on by myself. I think Xandros and Linspire actually offer phone support. That would be better. You'll get some disagreement here, but I think a paid subscription for beginners will only help Linux in the long run.
It doesn't mean you can't also come here or to other forums for additional help. Not that my opinion on this subject is important, but I think I would go with Linspire over Xandros. From questions I've seen here, Xandros has a tendency to do some things very differently from standard Linux distributions. An additional thought: I would only format about 80 GB of that disk for your first experience. That's plenty to get started and it leaves you some room to play around with other OSes as you learn. |
ok, yeah, xandros looked very M$ like. I havent checked out linspire, but sounds like its worth a try. I dont know if 80gb will work for me, i would like to be able to use x-plane which takes up 60gb(!) of space.
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I bought the Xandros Pro edition last year sometime, and its honestly pretty good. I liked it, but I prefer the Gnome Interface, as opposed to Xandros' "Windows-like" interface. Its easy to use however. IIRC, it uses its own package manager, as I don't recall ever seeing Synaptic or Adept on it, but it seemed to work well. If you get Xandros Pro, you get a free copy of Crossover Office, which is a great commercial Wine application(if you have programs that are absolutely 100% only Windows). Ive personally found I like Crossover more than wine, and when I switched to Ubuntu, I chose to purchase Crossover. My only complaints... There were a few programs I could never get installed right. The version of Xandros I had, shipped with Firefox 1.5, and I'd run the upgrade to the latest final release, 1.7, or maybe 1.5.x, I don't remember. Well, it would be fine for a few days, then one day I'd start up, and inexplicably, Firefox would not work, and I'd have to completely remove it, then install the old version to make it work again. Done this to me several times before I finally just gave up upgrading Firefox. The only Instant Messenger I could get to work on Xandros, was Kopete, which I absolutely hate. Repeated attempts to install GAIM never worked. I'd get an hourglass for about 30sec, then the program would crash. Other than that, Xandros worked fine. Since there are other options to the above programs, mainly Opera's web browser, and Kopete, it wasn't to big of a deal not getting those two programs to work. I GREATLY prefer Ubuntu, but if I had a 3rd choice, Xandros would be it(Second would be Fedora Core). The *buntus are about as easy to install as can be, and really are the way to go if you ask me. Great package manager, tons of support in IRC, here on LQ, etc. Just go with the current 6.10 version, and you'll be fine. If you ask me paying for Linux, is like paying to use a public drinking fountain.. :) http://www.codeweavers.com http://www.ubuntu.com http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Edgy (Man that ended up way longer than I intended..lol) IGF |
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