Hey, I've been messing around with linux now for about 2 months. I started using Knoppix 3.7, and for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Seeking a more permanent distro ( along with some more programs that actually worked... knoppix didn't seem to run very much ), I downloaded and installed FC 3.

The installation went smoothly, and within a couple hours, I was wandering around Fedora. I found FC to be.. I dunno how to put it... klunky? I just... wasn't extremely impressed. I decided that I would look for a distro that would fit me like a glove. The only problem: I'm a linux newbie, and there are too many distros out there to choose from.

So, I thought that asking a few questions about which distro would be best for certain tasks / characteristics, and I would then come to a conclusion on which one would be best for me. So... What distro is best for...

- Writing code ( java, c++, eda, perl... I'm a computer science major, can you tell? ):

- Lightweight feeling ( screen isn't cluttered with stuff, speedy loading, organized... though I don't care about the actual size )

- General ease of use ( running / installing programs, optimization / configuration, organization... again )

- System optimization ( making each component of my computer run the very best it can, the feel as if the distro was made just for my computer )

- General speed / ability to play games ( I would like to be able to game on this computer, and if the distro doesn't matter for this... nix this question )

- Sorta newbie friendly ( when I install and use the distro, I don't want a whole lot of this )


p.s. Don't be afraid to answer just one of these questions... any input is most appreciated

Side question: What is the difference between KDE and Gnome?

- Writing code ( java, c++, eda, perl... )

you could do that in any distro

as for your other requirements you could try mandrake (but it isnt very fast) , if you want speed there is slackware (but it isnt very easy)

Ask the question 5 times, you'll get 5 answers. I once asked a friend of mine which distribution is "best". After a good chuckle at my expense, he explained that the "best" distribution to use is the one your friends use because they are the folks that will support you. Soo... having said that, here's my view...

If you want bleeding edge, stick with Fedora because you'll have the latest and greatest with the least amount of hassles (but always hassles). If you want the system to be a living, breathing, daily system that you don't even think about, choose an older distro. By that, I mean something like RedHat or SuSE that have a corporate feel. They can't put the latest stuff in there because it's untested so it feels "older" but are generally more polished looking.

As a student, I ran RedHat 6 and could program until I was blue in the face... that means ANY distro of today's generation will be fine for you. We are leaps and bounds ahead of RH6!

Lightweight feeling? Simply switch to a different Window Manager. Honestly, if you setup fluxbox on RedHat or Ubuntu, you wouldn't know the difference unless you had to configure the system. The WM is what makes it feel lightweight or klunky and you can customize any distro to fit your requirements.

Ease of use? Hmmm... this is a very personal choice. I choose RedHat for the sole reason that I have used it for a while and know where things are. I don't have to hunt over another file structure to find my config files etc. These days, I find yum to be very friendly for installing and updating software but similar comments lead me to believe that apt-get is just as easy.

System Optimization is only as good as the person optimizing. Next question. Sorry, nothing of value to add.

General Speed... oh boy. Toughie. Speed of what? Again, depends on how you're using it. I think most systems are pretty close... but from a user perspective they will feel different. i.e. my SuSE 9.1 pro install on my AMD 1.4 feels kinda sluggish with KDE because I had switched from a Fedora Core 1 machine with XFCE! haha, not a fair comparison because it doesn't tell me one is faster than the other, just what it appeared to be. In general, most people find slackware, the slim and trim slackware, to be darned quick but a lot more as you put it.

Ability to play games... I'm no gamer. Sorry.

Newbie friendly, RedHat, SuSE and I just tried ubuntu this week and it seems really newbie friendly too. Again, Newbie friendly all depends on your support base... lots of redhat information = newbie friendly. intuitive, clean interface = suse newbiew friendly... etc.

And your bonus question... what is the difference between KDE and Gnome? Too many differences to list. They are both desktops... apart from that, everything is different but does the same things? Does that make any sense? Try 'em both out and pick one you like.

distros I tried:

1. Slackware - sparse packages.
2. Libranet - good!!
3. Simply Mepis - very good.
4. or, try FreeBSD. Excellent!!

Not recommending just sharing my experience. For me I tried a bunch of distros. Mandrake, RH 6 to 9. Slack to 10.1, but only got one distro to really work and that is SuSE. I have used 8.2 for some time and now today installed 9.3. Marvelous and it just plain works for me. none of that head scratching that all other distros threw at me RH worked good except never could get my modem up and running. Same with the newer Slack and Mandrake. Why it only works with SuSe I no clue yet! Good luck.

Arch is fast, very up to date, i686 optimized, and has a fairly good number of packages. If not, you can always compile.

It's a little tricky during install for a newbie.. but if you have another box, sit in #archlinux on FreeNode IRC, and we'll be glad to help.