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Distribution: Fedora Core 5, Ubuntu 6.06 (Breezy), testing Solaris 10
Posts: 22
Rep:
Each distribution of Linux is different from the others in some way, whether it be GUI (Graphical User Interface -- i.e. some use Gnome and some use KDE). To learn about different distributions of Linux, I would go to the home page for each until you find one that suits your needs. You can do this by obtaining a list of the most common distros and Googling for the websites on which each can be located.
SuSE linux is very user friendly, designed to be as easy to install as possible with good hardware support, and defaults to running something that looks like Windows. The retail product also comes with installation support via telephone + e-mail, something most other distros don't provide. Each Linux distro will look at a little different, have slightly different ways of configuring things and installing software, but deep down are all very similar. Have a read through some of the sticky threads where comparisons are drawn between different distros, but it's all down to personal taste and what you're wanting to achieve. For what it's worth, SuSE is a good starting point though!
Also different distros will support different drivers. Like i have intergrated sound and i put Gentoo on my computer. I had no sound, but when i put suse 10 on my computer it picked it up
Although not directly related to your question, checking out the "chooser" at the site below will give you a decent "thumbnail" view of the different distributions. It guides you through a series of questions regarding what is important to you, and that, in turn, reveals the differences between the distributions.
The link may also be helpful if you are sitting on the fence and would like to decide which distribution would be the best to try first.
Let me add that what I consider to be two main advantages of SUSE were already mentioned--its support and its superior ability to configure hardware. Just looking around this forum, hardware configuration seems to be one of the most frequent causes of difficulties--especially for people who are new to Linux, who would just like to get their computer up and running.
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