Im a complete Linux novice. I downloaded Suse 10 (Beta) and Fedora 4 but would like some advice on what might be the best version for a beginner. I currently have Fedora installed. I had no difficulty installing this. My problems however began when my wireless card was not picked up. I have a Ralink RT2500. I downloaded a version of the driver(.tar I think) but dont really understand the installation instructions so would be grateful if somebody could explain it very simply or else point me to somewhere where I can get a rpm version of the driver. The same goes for my GeForce 4 graphics card. The OS can detect it but I can not make full use of it. Think everything else worked fine.

Also could anybody tell me where I could get rpm software. Particularly looking for anti virus, peer-to-peer, dvd decrypting and shrinking software but again would prefer rpm unless any installation instructions assume the user is an idiot until I can get used to working with this OS.

Hope somebody can help.
Cheers
Paul.

For the wireless card ... on Fedora (Suse should be somwhere nearby)
http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/fc4ho...fc4_howto.html

To get software, you simply go to a repository (repo) for whichever distibution you're using and download it

Study on 'yum' for Fedora, and whatever package manager Suse uses.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in Linux-Newbie and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

For Suse, you should install most software through Yast.

"How do you install software?"

Very carefully.....sorry, very old joke...

Start with learning your built-in package manager. In the case of Fedora core 4, the slection is limited, but there is stuff to learn.

Then, search the web for .rpm packages. to install these, open a terminal and type rpm -i filename. Installation is automatic--at least most of the time. "man rpm" for smoe details on how this works.

The other methods include install scripts and compiling from source. Save these until you know your way around the machine..

As others have mentioned, try to use the built in tools to install software. Once you get more comfortable you can start compiling from source.

Cheers folks. I'm going to give it a shot now so wish me luck.