Best Distro
 

I'm nearly sorry about posting this thread after reading the newbie stickies. But after checking out Distrowatch and numerous other sites i still can't decide which Linux distro to get. I'm looking for a mainstream distro to use while studying for compTIA's linux plus. Everybody has there personal favs, but i need one with as few unique quirks as possible. I'm looking at getting familiar with linux for work (networking). Sorry if you guys have answered this question a million times befor.

you cant really make a wrong choice when you are starting out. I would actaully recommend you try several to see what you like best(they are free so why not). However i think the simplest that isnt a liveCD is Ubuntu. If you want to just run off of a live cd while you test things out go for Damn Small Linux or Vector

I prefer Gentoo. Every program that is installed is compile by your system. To make Linux to be useful and keep the servers updated, you have to compile. Installing RPM, DEB, Slackware tarbels, you have to worry what library it was compiled with what version. One maintainer will use an old library while another maintainer will use the latest library. Gentoo provides a utility to do the configuring, compiling, and installing of every program. Setting up Gentoo for a desktop takes about 10 times longer than setting it up as a server. Gentoo developers goes for stability instead of speed even though many users here said Gentoo is fast. I did not have any trouble with Gentoo like I had with Mandrake, Redhat, Slackware.

I think CompTIA uses Redhat/Fedora.

Do not take my word for it. Try Redhat, Fedora, Mandrake, Suse, Slackware and compare it to Gentoo.

Ubuntu seems to be the favorite distro right now among people getting acquainted with Linux. It has obvious strengths such as based on Debian, large user base, great online forum support, ect. I agree with tamoneya in how it is arguably the simplest non-livecd.

I introduced myself to linux, and learned by taking what is now an older Knoppix and attempting to remaster it. I had the odd notion that I could make an easy to install Debian based distro already set up the way I wanted (mostly just the programs I wanted). I made a lot of coasters, but in the end I learned how to use linux and how to be comfortable with it. I ended up with a Knoppix remaster with everything I wanted, but then realized how much better off I was with installing from something other than a livecd. Of course, hd installs from livecds have come a ways since then and there might not be such a benefit anymore (I don't know, I have not installed from a livecd in quite a while).

This may not help you in your situation though as, I do not know what compTIA's Linux Plus is. Even so, I must agree with the other statement that was made, "try several to see what you like best," that is why everyone you talked to has their own favorites.

I currently mostly use OpenSuse and the 64 bit unofficial port of Slackware (Slamd64). (And I must endure XP as my wife is very s l o w l y switching over to linux - at least she can dual boot :) )

Basically, I'd just choose whatever distro you have already used(if any) and stick with it. If you started with a purely live-cd dist. like knoppix, however(yes I know it can be installed but it really isn't designed for it), you may want to switch to something like debian or slackware. IF you havn't used linux at all before, just pick something that sounds interesting, and get it. You will get all kinds of different answers when asking a question like this. It sounds like you are mostly going to be running linux as you learn your linux+ course, so ease of use shouldn't be a problem.

You know it's been asked a zillion times
You know that there are plenty of threads here on the topic
You did not ask a unique question

SO: How is your asking "which distro is right for me" going to clear things up when you asked nothing that others haven't asked scores upon scores of times already??????? I don't see how posting this question is going to make it any easier for you.

How to pick a distribution:

- check out distrowatch and various comparisons here
- Download several and Try them out
- Pick one.

my first distro was slackware and I'd say it teaches you a whole lot, it really depends on what you're looking for, but slackware will always be my pick for someone who really wants to learn and doesn't want things made too easy for them.

Go with Fedora, as I think compTIA also uses Fedora/RH

Leave the poor guy alone- he obviously didn't find what he needed in the other posts, so don't be rude. The goal here is to help newbs, not drive them away from linux.

If you're going to do the compTIA exam, the first thing to do is ask them for a recommendation (prob on their website somewhere).

If you want to learn to use linux, then I'd say you should avoid the easier distros like SuSE, Mandriva and Fedora. They all customize their installations a bit and then you end up thinking that all linux distros do this and that.

For learning I'd say go for Slackware. It is the distro of learning :)

i found my first distro (slack 10.2) to be great, it involves thinking and you can easily mount your ntfs partitions during installation process and use right after it is complete, one of my friends tried ubuntu and he said that there was no such option during installing (don´t know about other distro´s)...
i don´t know whether he´s right but i am greatly satisfied with slack, also when i installed it i was complete newbie and of the great help was the official slack guide on the slackware.com

There is no "one size fits all" answer to the "which distro is best for me?" question

The best approach is to try several distros, then decide for yourself which best fits your needs and preferences. Good luck with it and Welcome to LQ!

I recommend trying Ubuntu first. Then, once you get a good feel for the operating system, try something a little bit harder (like Debian...it's not really that hard actually). It will help you become experienced.

If you are on Linux just to be productive though (i.e. ... you don't care about learning Linux, etc.) then probably stick with Ubuntu. It's the most convenient.

www.ubuntu.org - GNOME ubuntu
www.kubuntu.org - KDE ubuntu
www.nubuntu.org - Fluxbox ubuntu - more for security...
www.debian.org - Debian

Ubuntu is Debian-based. That means you have apt, which I personally couldn't live without. The main difference is that Debian doesn't come with a GUI, you have to get one yourself. But Debian is my personal favorite.

Buddy let me make myself clear, I'm looking for a distro with as few quirks as possible so that i'll have a broad understanding of linux and not just the particular distro. Now everybody has an opinion on the best and this usually is the one they have become accustomed over time. I was looking to cut through all the personall favs. You may have come across this question befor being the world weary linux guru no doubt you are. Now I don't know what your problem is but to everyone else
Thank you