From my point of view, thats a fair comment, though my version is "too much choice, is no choice at all". I feel that this is especially true for those just starting out.

Unlike inspiredbymetal, I didn't even bother to research, I was given a copy of SuSE x.x (don't remember the version, might have been 8.0) and as I had absolutely no idea what linux was, I just booted the disc(s) and kept hitting enter until it told me to remove the disc(s) and restart the system.

It wasn't until about 2 days later, that I realised/understood what I'd done (and it's been downhill since then ).


It's a little hard to reconcile the various comments about various distros, because everyone has their favourites. Plus they like their favourite for very personal reasons e.g. Yes, when I had gentoo installed it was brilliant, but whenever I wanted to do something new, I had to "re-invent the wheel" in learning curve terms. The package manager (portage) is brilliant. I didn't even mind the compile times, but, to be honest, I don't really give a toss how something works, I just want it to work. I have enough stress just learning how to use the new applications (plus I'm very impatient).

Hence, last time gentoo was pissing me off, I just said bollocks and installed the mandriva 2005LE that was on a magazine disc (erm, yes I'll also admit that most of my linux experience is mandrake/mandriva related).

As for why people suggest that the n00bs start with something RPM based, well, I suppose it's because that until reasonably recently, the mainstream RPM based distros have been much more "polished".

Of course, that's not necessarily the case now. Though you'd probably find more support for mainstream distros, even now.

If I exclude nice, graphic installer, debian derivatives, debian itself, is as complex as gentoo to install. Plus, unless you're prepared to do lots of learning/mods/upgrading, most of the packages are rather "dated" (and yes, before someone "flicks the shit" I can recognise my own "sweeping generalisations").

Hence, I stick by my suggestion, that too start with, something like mandriva 2005LE (or current SuSE) is a good place TOO START. As long as inspiredbymetal installs the system with seperate /home partition, then it's not really so much of a jump to install one of the "power distros" (gentoo, debian, etc etc) over the top in the /root partition. Then as long as the same apps are installed, it's a no brainer to just carry on using any data/customisations etc etc from the previous distro (maybe excluding some backgrounds and stuff like that).

Right Ho! thats me done.

Good luck

regards

John

Yea, I quite agree amaroK is better -- but we all have our nostalgia, and the one thing I truly loved about windows was Winamp, and XMMS is very nearly a clone, with very similar interface and support ^_^

This is very confusing because ive been reconmended every different distrobution ?

and still dont have a clue

but know theres all the programs i need in linux

I can understand how you feel! Make your own opinion by browsing the Web site Distrowatch which has links to reviews for most distros. reviews are usually quite interesting.

They all say Mandriva is the best distro for newbies which isn't necessarily true. Don't feel you have to conform.

What you need is a distro that's easy to install and maintain, and makes it easy for you to partition your HDD. You need to get some information about partitioning and filesystem in linux.

I chose a Debian-based distro because this is the "system" I wanted -- very free, very stable and easy to maintain but of course I wasn't able to install Debian itself.

hey, ok, i could be mistaken, but I think there are two main distros that were recommended most:
Suse, and Debian-based. Suse has the easier install, Debian has the better package manager (though YaST is certainly no slacker)

If you have a permanent ethernet connection to the internet, I'd suggest Suse (You can only do an FTP install as far as I know). Debian supports wireless for its FTP installer, or you can download the ISOs and burn them to disc.


So, it's rather a toss up that can be determined by your network connection type ^_^.

My guess on this is that if they start off with something like FC3, there's a lot of help out there for them. I'm new and in my research to get up and running, I've noticed that many, if not most, of the how-to pages are written for Red Hat or Fedora. As to why I didnt' go to Fedora, I want to learn the ins and outs, and Fedora doesn't seem to let me do that.

F_M

As I say, too much choice is no choice at all!

If you're looking for a distro that is VVV clever, very very configurable, with a steep learning curve, then you should probably look into Gentoo/Debian (proper, not a derivative)/Slackware.

If you want something that will just "get you going" with a reduced learning curve, then SuSE/Mandriva/Fedora 3. I think (AFAIK) fedora uses Gnome desktop as default, whereas SuSE and Mandriva are both KDE default (of course you can use either in them all). IMO, KDE is closer to windows. The "feel" is similar. That still doesnt' make it a "no brainer", theres still a fair bit to learn. Also, the media thing you mentioned, isn't there some sort of issue as to why Fedora doesn't "do" mp3 as default?????

Which ever you decide on, at least you've come to the right place for an excellent amount of support.

Have you tried your local book store too see if they stock any linux mags to read reviews ??? Heres a link for an online mag, thats aimed mainly at the "uninitiated".

As for where you find support apart from here, well it seems most distros have their own forums (as opposed to the distro based forums here at LQ). Historically, Redhat/fedora was popular Stateside, whereas Mandriva (which originally was redhat but with kde - now it's entirely seperate/different) is based in France and SuSE (even though it's now owned by Novell) is based in Germany. Language isn't a problem.


If you opted for an RPM based mainstream distro, then if you like what you see, you can always upgrade/change distro later, or for that matter, learn how to install an additional distro so that you can get your head round the differing ways of doing things.


Recently, theres been a shitload of talk about Ubuntu it's supposed to be very easy to use/install - it's debian based. if you follow this link you should be able to get CD copies of it for free (sorry, don't know how long that will take though). It's also downloadable. Have a surf and see what you can find out about it (oh, it's gnome based as default, though if you checked out kubuntu, thats the kde based version of the same).

regards

John

I quite agree about having a separate /home partition, although I"ve never done it myself. I did it once, and it drove me nuts! I kept running out of space! So, I tend to just have /home on my root "/" partition.

I know. I can't install any other distro's over top of my current (gentoo w/ custom kernel) but at least it forces me to make backups every time I install a new distro

For me it's the one and only SuSE9.3

Wow, what a great thread - really.

Everyone seems so passionate about Linux, which is such a good thing. I said this in my first thread on this forum; I've never met a nicer one (forum)...

Now I know why.

Most Windows users bash the OS. Although I'm not one of them, I have had so many things happen with Windows, that I figured it was time to see what Linux was all about. I've had SuSE 8.2 for over a year now, and each time I would install it, I'd uninstall it due to it being so different from what I was used to. It's still difficult for me (been at it for a week now), but I'm trying my best to stick with it. I still have a lot to learn, and I do plan on keeping Windows around, but hopefully the ratio that I use both Windows and Linux will lean higher percentage wise towards the latter - which is what I'm ultimately shooting for.

Thanks for this thread and all of its contributors. I for one really appreciate it.

Jamie

No problem Jamie, that's what the Linux community is there for - help and support. There wouldn't be as many distros and this site would be nowhere nearly as busy as it is if we weren't passionate about what we do.

Good luck with your final choices on what distro you'd like and sourcing all the apps appropriate for you.

10x...

Has it ever occurred to anyone here that if perhaps there were more LUG's (Linux User's Groups) We could accelerate the rate at which linux is accepted? I mean. I live in Georgetown, Delaware USA and believe me. I'm one of 3 linux users for a good 100 miles (if you don't count my family, they're still quite inept ;-P). I believe that LUG's can help users in a way forums never could. It's so much easier to fix a problem if you're sitting in front of the machine in question. Besides, this way, those with dialup can get copies of huge distros like Debian (with it's 7 CDs, last time I checked). Hmm....I would start one, but then I might have to leave the house

thats an amazing idea

have u though about doing it ??

LQ does have it's share of "smashing windows" but I for one, don't feel thats necessary. Windows itself isn't bad, but the people who run the company and make the decisions might be !

It's fair to say, that windows/MS have done stuff to advance IT, because if it wasn't for their mass marketing doctrine (monopolistic attitude), stuff like hardware would still be as expensive (relatively) as it was 5/10 years ago, and that the quality of that very hardware wouldn't be as good, and linux mightn't have made the advances that it has.

IMO, AppleMac are worse than MS, fortunately "Jobbs and Co" aren't so good with the marketing thing. They don't only want to control all the software, a la Microsoft, but they want to control the hardware as well. Thank god that their market share is graphics Pro and niche!



LUGS are considerably more wide spread "this side of the pond". You have to remember that the geographical nature of the US is a disadvantage i.e. Theres lots of linux users stateside, but unless you happen to live in one of the more densely populated areas, you're just gonna find that you all live so far apart - christ, the US is a bloody big place!. My LUG, well lots of the members are IT professionals and as such, it makes life easier for me because of the depth of knowledge. Hell, one of "them" is on debians developer list (or was last time I looked) and runs a local debian mirror. We only meet once a month (I don't often get time to attend the meets though), and even though the county is only about 80 X 35 miles, most of the members find travel a pain, hence they don't mind if someone registers on the mailing list from outside the area. LUGS aren't a perfect solution for local support, but they are a good idea and do help quite a lot. It also depends on how the individual groups are set up (that means money wise). We usually try to "blag/borrow/steal" whatever to keep costs down. We don't charge a membership, but occassionally ask members for donations for specific items.

Hence more is "done" via the mailing list, than in any other way. I still feel that any support, however limited it might be, is better than none at all!

regards

John

I might be getting off topic and all but still, want to share my experience!

I began my Linux "journey" about a year ago when Windows was being an a$$ on my sisters PC. A friend of mine downloaded some porn on it and now she kept getting annoying pop-ups on the screen. Couldn't remove it with any anti-spyware software.

This was the first time I thaught about switching to a different OS. My PC was fine but my sister had enough of it. Formattedt the HD, downloaded Fedora Core 3, burned it, installer it.

As a newbie, I didn't know much about Grub and its configuration. Grub failed and I didn't know how to revert the settings. The whole PC went to a service.

I was done for a year until....

I read about Knoppix in Mays PC Magazine issue. It sounded so great, I downloaded it. It worked great from the CD. Installed it to my hard drive. I did whatever I wanted to. Installed crapload of software with klik, surfed not-so-legal websites, downloaded stuff that otherwise would have been destructive to Windows. I wanted more and more. I downloaded Kanotix, ran it, had some problems with it.

Right now, I am running Mepis and I have tried FC3, VIDA, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Kanotix, Knoppix and, today, I will try out Fox-Desktop. Gentoo failed me during the 7-day installetion (ROFLMAO), Ubuntu and Kubuntu kept freezing on my PC, Kanotix was just 'OK', Knoppix was too... Fugly.VIDA gave me too many problems (but it did work).

Here I am now, downloading Fox-Desktop iso...