Hey Peeps,

Basically, I just recently switched to Linux as my primary OS (within the week), and it wasn't until post-installation that I realized that RedHat is no longer going to be supported. I already love Linux, if you can believe it. It feels right. Moreso even than Unix or Apple. That said, where do you all recommend a Linux convert go to begin his new journey. I am very computer savvy and am currently coinciding my new Linux install with an exhaustive study of C++ programming. I am a budding CS major. Needless to say, I am not intimidated by the command line, nor am I put off by the challenge to learn a new OS, or even (gasp) about how my computer actually works! This stuff actually excites me. I study it in my free time (for FUN) for crying out loud. Having said that, I am looking for a solid distro - something that I can stick with for some time knowing that (due to its support-base) is not going to become a drop in the distro bucket anytime soon. Basically, I would like a popular, but not gaudy, distribution. Nothing condescending. In other words, don't bother suggesting Lindows. I thought RedHat 'fit' well, which is leading me towards Fedora. In fact, this is probably what I'll do. I have some questions...

Is Fedora 1 as stable as RedHat 9?

Is Fedora 1 as device-compatible?

Can I update to Fedora 1 w/o having to delete my RedHat partitions?

I'm still open to suggestions though. I didn't mean to steal your attention only to ultimately ignore any input you might have. If you feel that someone in my situation and of my path should be using something else, by all means let me know. Now is the time!

Thanks,
-CAL

Fedora is RedHat preety much.

Yup it is just as stable and compatible. Try Fedora 2 while you're at it (not sure if it's beta or not)
You are able to update without reformatting.

Any distro will do, but support doesn't have much to do with redhat. It's more the community, and just because redhat won't doesn't matter.

I'd stick with it, there's no real rush to update (unless you want to, by all means then)

yes, yes, yes

Sounds like you should try Slackware or Debian. If you really want to get to know the nuts and bolts of Linux and are not afraid of the CLI, then maybe you should avoid the "newbie" distros like Red Hat/Fedora and Mandrake.

Baldrick

Slackware. I've used RedHat for about 4 years, Mandrake for about the same amount of time, and Slackware for about 1 year. Slackware is very easy to install and very easy to configure/setup.

Slackware currently is providing security updates for 2 older versions which means you could run a system for around 18 to 24 months without needing to upgrade. Fedora will have a support timeline of around 8 months as I currently read it, it mentions support for 2 months after a new release. I usually upgrade quickly but if I don't feel like doing it for a while I won't have to with Slackware. If you want to stay on the cutting edge you can keep up to date by running packages in -current. If you want extra packages for Slackware, there are a ton to be found at www.linuxpackages.net.

The *nix admin I work with decided to give Slackware a try on his laptop about a month ago. He manages our 25 node cluster which runs custom RedHat installs. He's now hooked on Slackware.

The biggest advantage of Slackware, IMHO, is that it uses pristine sources. The software in Slackware is the same source you'd find on the developers page.
Give it try. I think you'll like the simplicity in it's setup and configuration.

I bought redhat 9 just so I could always have a CD before they Supposedly "ghost out".