ZenWalk is excellent. I used v. 3.0 for about 2 months recently, just before v 4.0 was released this month. Detected all my hardware, even set my monitor settings exactly right. The official ZenWalk forums are also first-rate.

Ok, well, I think I'll take all of your advice and give distro hopping a try until I find something where all my hardware works without any manual configuration. I guess I'll start with Fedora since it's been the most recommended, but I also want to give BSD a shot as I like the fact that BSD puts less emphasis on ideology. Anyway, thanks to everyone in this thread who didn't act like an asshole just because I disagreed that Linux was better than Windows in every concievable way.

You know what, nice thing about linux is it's very easy and fast to install. I don' really know how long it takes to install Windows, but from start to finish, I installed Vectorlinux in 15minutes plus/minus 2minutes or so.

Configuration can be either a walk in the park or a living nightmare. I've pulled an all nighter once because I couldn't figure out a problem I was having, and couldn't sleep because I kept thking about it (yes, I have an obsessive compulsive nature).

Absolute power corrupts absolutely!

I've noticed more and more arrogance in this forum.

Sure you conquered Linux and feel superior. Maybe you were lucky!

Linus problems vary from hardware to hardware.

Let us help newbies with a positive, friendly attitude lest

our numbers diminish!

I remember the Linux guy in his mother's basement in the movie

"Score" with DeNiro and Ed Norton.

One can spend lots of time learning Linux admin but my universe

is programming C++ C# and learning RDB.

There is also OOP patterns, XML/XSLT and UML.

Qt is now its own universe!

Qt is a great alternative to MFC.

Cheap name-calling is childish and makes people think
(1) you've fallen off your ADD medication...or

(2) your skateboard.

Teamwork is synergism and allows us to make great accomplishments!

yaeh yeah I know! I cannot type!

I type dyslexically (sp)! Even my own name!

and "s" and "x" are next to each other

I read a comment once in this forum and after thinking bout it I tend to agree. the comment was something like.. "Adapting to Linux is more difficult for Windows power users than it is for someone that is not as experienced with computers. " The reason I agree with that statement is that I was and am a Windows power user. I struggled long and hard to learn Linux when I started out so I can understand your frustration.

Keep in mind that I manage a Network of Windows machines and spend 40 Hours a week supporting Windows servers, workstations and end users. I'm constantly amazed at the ignorance of people. While you mention struggling with configuring items in Linux which is by no means a small task for a new users. these people I support struggle to sort an Excel Spreadsheet. They have to ask for assistance every time they want to do a mail merge.. It's sad really that they lack the basic computer skills that their job requires. if anything doesn't work like they think it should or an error message pops up they immediately call all befuddled. If their windows machine at home failed to boot they wouldn't even be able to complete the re-install on their own..

I have been running Linux at home now for several years, and have removed windows from 10 of the 11 PC's I have on my home network. The one windows machine that is left is for Gaming at LAN parties and rarely ever gets turned on at home. It's actually NICE to come home to a network of machines that just work, that don't do bizarre things, that I don't have to open task manager and end task on explorer to unfreeze my machine a dozen times a day.. My Windows experience seems to mirror your Linux experience.. heh go figure. I actually find Linux to be more stable than windows by far. I agree with your zeal to stay away from Vista due to the bloat and the restrictive DRM. I'm considering buying multiple copies of XP and hoarding them at work for new machines rather than be forced into Vista..

I currently run Debian on my home PCs, which I find to be incredibly complete. the Ubuntu distributions are based on Debian but don't touch Debians repository size of over 15,000 packages. for this reason I have rarely if ever had to actually compile anything to get it running. Most installed applications have sane default configurations and rarely require tweaking (Xorg always requires tweaking..) . I can install Gnome and KDE at the same time and choose which I want to run at login time. I can also install any number of other desktops to experiment with. While I don't purport to have the answers to all your problems I just wanted to say stick with it. You may discover, as I have, the more you work with Linux the more natural it becomes and Windows actually starts to become annoying in the way it does things.. Linux is definitely a steep learning curve for new users, but I feel the payoff is tremendous. Linux is not Windows so you may as well give up any preconceived notions that it is going to do things the same way they are done in Windows..

Best of luck in your search for the right Distro. I went through about 4 before I settled on Debian and I've been very happy with my decision.

I really don't know what to make of this forum sometimes. Someone new to Linux, struggling with a relatively user-friendly distro, and people are trying to shove the real hard stuff like Slackware, Gentoo, etc down their throats, or saying "stick to windows". My suggestion to the original poster is: ignore this elitist crap, Linux is for everyone, you've just got to find what suits you. That said there has been some good advice in this thread.

My favourite is PCLinuxOS, it runs as a live CD so you can use it before you install it. It contains a program called Synaptic which will enable you to add packages (a package is a program, a group of programs or even part of a program). If one package won't work without another, that is called a dependency, Synaptic takes care of all that, so you don't have to worry. As long as you have a fast internet connection, everything needed is just pulled off the internet.

One of the packages is called "multimediapack" and uses a trick involving dependencies to install all the stuff you need to play DVDs, and use multimedia. You can also install RealPlayer for Linux from synaptic, and all your browsing stuff should work.

The disadvantage of PCLinuxOS is that the current version is coming to the end of its life and you may have to install the new version in a month or two, but don't let that bother you, I would recommend you spend the initial period dual booting with Windows and getting used to Linux, before putting all your important stuff on Linux.

You will find reviews of PCLinuxOS on this site here:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/review...hp?product=674

The first review is mine and is maybe biased, the others are genuinely from people who had just tried it, so you can see how easy it is to use.

There are others, too. Never stop at the first one you find.

If Linux is your hobby, using many different types is great!

However, if you want to put Linux on your resume, Redhat is

best I think.

I found a job in Dallas where 5+ years C++ was demanded.

They used some variant of Red Hat that had many things missing.

I need a good book on Linux network admin and driver installation.

I have no idea what modprobe is!

Somewhere I heard that SUSE is not really Linux...what does that mean?

There is a book (author Liberty) on C# that gives commands for mono.

I tried to install Oracle 10g under FC5 and the installer said "NO!"

Yes I know rambling!

Red Hat is a commercial distro designed for business. The free version is called Fedora and this should also be OK for a beginner though it lacks a disc partitioner, and I reckon anyone new to Linux should shrink their Windows partition and install Linux in the space freed up, and only go 100% Linux when they feel ready.

SuSE IS REALLY Linux, but Novell its owner has signed a deal with Microsoft which has led many people to call to boycott it (myself included) but that does not change the fact that it's Linux.

Linux is not for a newbie who expects everything to work out of the box. In order to use Linux (any Linux distribution) you need to know your system, the components, have a basic knowledge of filesystems, how linux boots, init scripts, kernel and much more. So, yes, the process can be tedious for the newbie - but it is extremely rewarding. You'll learn a lot about your computer and how to identify and troubleshoot problems. If you're not willing to invest time to learn and are not an computer enthousiast at all, then don't do it and stick with Windows.

If you do decide to go the "Linux way", I suggest you get a good book to accompany your distribution of choice (Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSE) and read.

The great thing about Linux is that once configured to suit your needs, it is completely transparent. No more "weird" background processes, like in Windows, where your HDD starts to spin out of control, no more defrag (Linux filesystems are never fragmented), no excessive maintenance, virtually no virus/security threats and greatly improved reliability. All this at no cost to you - plus a respository of FREE software that rivals their Windows counterparts (a $3000+ value).

The closest distribution that works "out-of-the-box" is probably OpenSuse where little knowlegde is required, thanks to YasT. SuSE is completely Linux, but it a lot less transparent, because a lot of background processes (like Windows) pretty much take control of your system. This tool in SuSE is called YaST.

Hope this helps.

OK, here's my 2 cents worth.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a Linux expert. I'm not even a C programmer.
However, I feel the same way about Windows.
Over the last ten years, I have installed many distributions, including all of the popular ones... too many to list here.
All of them missed my expectations in some way.
I have only found one that really works out of the box for me and that's PCLinuxOS. I have no problems with it. But then I am not running exotic hardware (just a couple of Thinkpads).
Application installation with Synaptic is easy and the great configuration program with the distribution takes care of the rest.
Based on my experience, I would really recommend trying it for anyone who has Windows frustration and wants a well working, no hassle Linux.
You can even start with the live cd to get a feel for it, then double click the desktop install icon if you want to install to hard disk.
Free, simple, and fast. www.pclinuxos.com

Yes. But if the problem-solvers make it easier and more accessible for the average person, more regular people will use it. That's a three way win for Linux tinkerers, power users, and open source software developers:
1. Some of those average joes will become open source software developers and contributors. That leads to more fun software for us to use.
2. More Linux users means more reasons for open source teams and software businesses to write applications for Linux. That's another way we get more software and improvements to existing software.
3. If more regular users are already comfortable with Linux, it's easier to sell your employer on using Linux at work. I don't hate Microsoft or think it's "evil", but in my opinion being a power-user in Linux gives you a lot more flexibility, convenience, and speed for doing your work than in Windows. But I can't use Linux on the job, because I'm the only person in our small office that knows it and 15 Microsoft operating system licenses every few years is cheaper and much less time consuming than a week of training for 9 employees.

I think anything non-proprietary that makes Linux more accessible to new users is wonderful.

I think it is a common misconception that an OS has to work right "out-of-the-box". A computer, unlike a microwave or VCR, supports tens of thousands of components. A lot of people just buy an off-the-shelf PC in the hopes that everything works with little to no knowledge about either the hardware, the OS or without even reading the directions. We just expect everything to work - right away. It just doesn't work that way.

What does the complete newbie do when things go wrong? With Windows, there is not much that you can do, except "plug and pray", re-install and try again. In Linux, you can pretty much make it work your way. Sure, a lot of it is text-oriented, but it just works. Period. What do you do when a device malfunctions in Windows, except to re-install the driver? And what do you do, if it still doesn't work? The great advantage of Linux is that everything is transparent.

I have been working professionally with both operating systems and currently support around 14k of workstations and servers. Guess what is more stable and easier to maintain?

You very well may have picked the wrong distro. I tried Ubuntu and found it to be a right piece of crap.

I tried PCLinuxOS and it has everything I want. I also partitioned my harddrive recently and I'm now using that extra partition to experiment with Slackware. Both are awesome. They have their challenges, nevertheless they WORK.

Joel

Cover my expenses and I'll burn CDs/DVD for FC6

(that is Red Hat Fedora Core 6)

and mail them to you.

My current DSL is slow 40 mB/sec and it took 25+ hours

to download the ISO for DVD. It also took multiple trys.

The blanks cost up to $4 each. Priority popstage is $4.xx.

FC6 has some minor problems not present in FC4 and 5.

Grub no longer works as in the past.

Unless you have a super weird hardware, it should install

fast.

I miss my cable internet!