Did you all face a problem in choosing the suitable distro ?
 

I was wondering...... and maybe i am right.

The most difficult thing in starting as a newbie in linux is to choose the suitable distro for yourself.

When i ask people in forums about anything considering linux i never find them agree on something like when i ask " which is best windows xp or windows 3.11"?

The whole world will agree that Windows xp is better than Windows 3.11 due to reasons not(opinions) but scientific reasons.

That is why i trust Windows but i dont respect it, and vise versa i respect Linux but i dont trust it. (This is the disadvantage of open source to a simple user because he doesnt understand the goal of open source)

Why?...............let me see the really reason not all but i will just name the one which make (windows users) afraid to take the step towards Linux and surrender themselves to Linux and give their total trust to it.

Because when i ask in forums which is better distro A or distro B you find people talking about distro C and distro D but no sharp edged answers very rare to find users agree together.

I know it is difficult to find a sharp edged answer because Linux is open sourced and all foundations work on it to get the best distro they could make....... with advantages and disadvantages while others work to produce another distro which its advantages solves the others disadvantages and its disadvantages meets the other's advantages.

So it depends on the user himself his needs fits this distro but not the other( one likes this distro the other likes this just becase the advantages meets their needs their abilities).

So thats why when you ask a simple question related to linux you will totaly never have a simple answer where all users could gather around agree with.

Although for some it is just difficult while others including me it is hell on earth especially when you know totally nothing about linux really nothing at all
and not only this......................... let me entertain you.

I burned many ISOs till now and ((like a dog who keeps circling around himself chosing the correct form and place to lay down and sleep))

But because i know nothing so it was just the same as if i dont have them at all
i really dont know what i want.

yeah yeah i want to be the linux genius but it wont happen in just a minute.

And on second thought i couldnt afford time and effort to start with the most roughest distro on the planet and hitting hard on it so..............

I give up i just want the...... slimist.... simplist....fastest......easiest lightest........ distro which might kill the fear inside me
the fear that i cant trust linux the same way i trusted Windows

I want a distro which could take me by the hand show me the way through, the same way windows did and gained users trust.

.........and i must confess that yeah i am afraid to take this step not afraid from taking it as a step but i am afraid that linux wont do what windows done with me killed my fear.

The fear of trying something new, like almost all of us when we alll remember.

The first time ever i saw the computer and this shiny screen browsing the cool GUI desktop at this particular momment, arises this particular question............(can i do it , could i be a pro,.... no......no.....no....no...lets not dream somethng hard make it easy on yourself......could i be just a simple user? nothing more nothing less.

And guess what the answer just came when i hold the mouse for the first time and moved the pointer to the start menu.

There i realized that the secret lies in "How to make people love my product"......this is what Bill Gates said to himself.......it is to make my product a user friendly.

Thats why Windows and other products are popular more than Linux and its stuff because all people could work on windows environment but not all could work on source code.

This is also why you find that a high percentage of Linux users are programmers (they live with codes and scripts).

This is my own opinion it just popped in my head and i just wrote it share it with you and this is what i was thinking about when i decided to try the master of all masters the king of all kings.

Which is off course i mean Linux because frankly Windows is nothing really nothing compared to the open source abilities in Linux.


So i hope i would take the correct step in the Linux world choosing the suitable distro.

Hoping that linux would be user friendly as Windows is and have more popularity than Windows.

After knowing and understanding me what is the most suitable distro you find it suitable for a person like me?

Check this out maybe it will help you a little bit in choosing a suitable distro for you;)
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/in...firsttime=true

but i wanna meet someone who suffered like me and maybe he could help me choosing

All people can drive a 4 cylinder automatic, but it takes someone with talent to drive an 8 cylinder 5 speed manual with 400 hp. You have to get used to all the speed and power before you put it to the floor. Windows is like a trashy slut. She will do anything for you, before you have done anything for her. She's naked and willing, but everything you say to her she blabs all over town. You think you can trust her because she is so easy, but she's that way with everyone.

Linux is like a woman with class. If you don't give her what she wants, she won't give you what you want. She is mysterious, and that is one of the great things about her. She tests you to see if she wants you. If you fail, she dumps you. That's because you can't get in touch with who she really is, and she knows, eventually, you will be back in bed with Windows, the trashy slut. Linux doesn't want that. Linux demands loyalty. If you are willing to stop using prostitute operating systems, which charge money, then linux is for you. Linux doesn't charge, but demands talented users. The prostitute doesn't care about anything besides the $20.00. Linux is a privilege reserved for those who want class. Linux isn't a bunch of eye make-up over a spyware trojan. Linux is open source, so everyone knows the truth about it.

If you want an honest operating system, quit using excuses and go get it. You don't have to burn CD/DVD's because SuSE, Mandrake, Fedora, Debian, and a few other distros have a network install CD. It is usually called boot.iso, and you can find it on any download mirror. I have to say, currently, Fedora 5 is hot. I had to say goodbye to Debian for a while because it was not good. FC5 is great, for now. Redhat makes Fedora. If you go to Linux repository, such as ftp://mirrors.kernel.org you will see the names of some distros. If you poke around a little bit in the Fedora directory, and go a few directories deep, you will find boot.iso. You just burn that to a CD, boot with it, and it installs FC5. If you only have one PC, I would advise not doing this, but rather try the SuSE 10.1 boot.iso, to be found several levels deep in the opensuse directory on the same mirror.

Ever tried to search for simplest, slimest, sexiest, most beautiful, best cook ... girlfriend/wife ? (sorry, couldn't resist it, just joking)

Fact remains that making a complete transition from windows to linux can be difficult but there is no reason why both can't co-exist while one learns the ropes, incidently basic install & basic desktop use remains as simple in all distros as in windows and enough help is available all over
I suggest you select a distro and see/test for yourself, I use Fedora Core 5, which is again a good starting point
Best of luck
Regards
sn68

Awesome machine good Metaphor i really started few minutes ago by downloading ubuntu as i read some articles and reviews about it and it took high ranking as a user friendly one
so i am downloading it as i am typing this post now
but if you say FC5 or suse then i might have a second thought but i would like to ask you a question first
why is it most linux users in USA recommend suse

To amsunaakage:
Yu're ignoring me and a lot of other people. Windows XP and 3.11 are so different types of things that you possibly cannot compare them. It's pretty much the same as if you would try to compare KDE with DOS -- no sense there.

Another thing is what "user-friendlyness" is. If you've bought Bill's ideology, it's called Vista in the future. If you think it yourself you find it's not as easy to determine as one might think -- as it's said, simple questions almost never have simple answers. It's about how deep you want to go: how precise will you want to be?

I've said this multiple times already: nobody can tell you which is the best distribution. They all offer the very same things, it's up to you how you make them do what you want. When you get used to some distribution you begin to defend it: "it's the best", but after all it's about who chooses to try it. If you feel there are too many alternatives, just go and pick up the most commonly chosen -- google can surely tell you what it is at any given time. As with mathematics, the most probable choice is the best try if you're totally unsure, and if that doesn't fit, you're free to choose again.

And if you really think Windows is that good for you, then it is -- you're free to use it. Nobody forces you to use Linux, so you have just created this problem inside your head: if you know what you want, there is no problem -- if you don't know what you want, you can either try and see or give up.

Well this is how I started:
Aprox. one year ago a tweaked the whinsh*t for more than 2 weeks (digging the registry etc.) until I had the OS that I wanted, but 5 minutes on the internet without the firewall on, turned the whole system in a big virus database... that pissed me wrealy off so I called a friend who is a software engenier and I asked him a Linux.. I have to mention that at this time the only thing that I knew about Linux was that is an OS like winblowze. He gave me a copy of Mandrake LE 2005, but the DVD was not written corectly and it didn't boot... so I spend the whole night in trying to install and after 10 houres of frustration I managed to install it whitout any help... The first thing that it suprised me it was that the sound and videos worked out of the box without bothering with soundcard drivers codecks and so on like in winblowz... So I dualbooted my PC for a couple of months till I got the basics of Linux... At the point when I managed to run my first winblowz game with wine (Carmagedon2) I just throw the winblowz away... I tryed several other distros to such as Kubuntu, Suse and Slackware but none of them was for me.. so i downloadet the Mandriva 2006 (wich is the new name for Mandrake) and I'm wreally happy with it... it dose everything that I need from browsing the net to playing games... Now I'm gonna upgrade it to the 2007 version... so I recommand you Mandriva 2006 or 2007. It worked for me...:)
Wish you luck in choosing a suitable distro and don't be disapointed if the first one is not what you're looking for...;)

After (NOT) reading the first post, It was tempting to dive in with the old line: "Could you repeat the question?" That was a real mouthful.

My advice---which I have not always followed---is to stick with one distro until you know it reasonably well and/or some shortcoming motivates you to try something else.

If you are like me and cannot resist trying everything in sight, then multi-boot is your friend. I'm now running FC5, SUSE 10.1, Arch, Mepis 6, Zen, Dream, Ubuntu6.06, PCLOS, and Freespire. FC5 is the default.

Every one of these distros is in a state of partial configuration or disrepair, but a simple "reboot", followed by a trip to the bathroom or the coffee pot gets my back to FC5, which--while NOT my current favorite--at least is working and configured.

The real decision for me is not "which distro" but rather: "When will I bite the bullet and stop using Windows?" It may be in just a few days when I get Wireless working on my laptop. The pleasant surprise at 3AM was that Intel has Linux drivers for the Wireless.

Heh, Slackware for me... I hop from distro to distro but Slackware keeps pulling me back to it :D

Basicly I'm a control freak, I truly hate when windows update or something like it make a forced reboot without any warnings or some program start to run without me knowing it or something.

Slackware is easy to install and all but to configure it to your needs, you need to get your hands dirty.

If you like just distro which just works and is newbie-friendly I'd suggest trying the Ubuntu, SuSE or Mandriva. All of those are good choices.

I first started with mandrake 8.0 then to 9.0 .9.1... I used mandrake for over 2 years before I got my second computer. Then tried Redhat AS2, Fedora core 2, that was a little buggy so I tried SuSE 9.2 for over a year. And a number of others including Slackware, FreeBSD and a few others, my home servers currently run Slackware. FC4 and Redhat,

Mandrake help out alot in the early stages because it was a good balance between a GUI and the command line, as your experience and confidence grows the more you venture out to do new things. I don't think there is a right or wrong distro to start using as a newbie. For me, because so many distro are available and they are all quite good and offer things that like, I find it hard to stick to just one. I think it also comes down to what you want to do with your computer, is it just for surfing the web, do you need a server for a particular service. Until you experience them you don't which ones is right for you.