Giving Linux another try!
 

Hello there, i have been a Windows user for many a year, and have had a small amount of Linux experience.

I am one of those people who enjoys an operating system where i can fiddle around, and learn more about how the system internally works. That's what attracted me to Linux.

Many a time i have installed a Distro in the past when i tried it (2003-2005), including (What i remember)
-Slackware
-Fedora Core
-SuSE
-Ubuntu
-Mandrake/Mandriva
-Zenwalk

While i enjoyed very much the fiddliness and toying around with the operating systems, i could never find exactly what i wanted.

The problems i found were mainly (What i found the worst) were systems like Mandriva, SuSE, Ubuntu, and Fedora Core which i found terrible problems fiddling around with due to the fact that every corner i turned i would be denied certain administrators rights that only the system had.

While i found Slackware was a lot more fun, i also felt that i was a lot more in control of the operating system. Instead of every corner having "YOU CANT DO THIS" it was asking me for a password.

While Slackware i had the most success, it had its drawbacks in general (Mainly installing packages).

Basically i am doing what probably another thousand people have done here, and am asking for an opinion what kind of distrobution to try.

Basically what i am looking for is a nice fiddly operating system, but has a nice package manager, and doesn't make you really have to rely on you to do everything, where you feel in control.

Thanks in advance to constructive replies :)

Sorry, i realise i have posted in the wrong area of the forum :/

How can i get it moved to the Distributions part?

It's hard to tell. You seem to have some experience with linux. I can't figure out how you could do anything with linux, and still not be able to figure out the security with SuSE and Fedora. If you know something of linux, and you want a fairly standard distro, using the File System Hierarchy standard, try Debian. But make it easy on yourself: Just download CD-1, and do a net install.

Thanks, i found alot of answers pointing me in the direction of Debian.

I didn't mean i could do anything with Linux, as this is far from the case :P

I just meant how Slackware wouldn't have all these built in... "NEWB-BLOCKS" if you know what i mean, to shield newcomers from problems.

I heard Debian has a similar powerful feel as Slackware, but feeling less bare-bones. And also without the general Mandriva/SuSE clunky bubblewrap feel.

I would say give Slackware another go - with src2pkg and slackpkg and slackbuilds there are more choices for your package management.

And as to moving it, you can simply report your own post and request a move - I've reported it for you.

Xenarios,
For a nice package manager, look no further than Synaptic. It is the best, in my opinion.
For an OS, I would recommend Mepis, Debian or Ubuntu. Mepis uses a Live CD so you can try it out before installation.
Good luck with whatever Linux OS you decide to use.

If you've got the space, try dual booting Slackware and Debian.

From what you've described of Slack it sounds as though you liked it..
for your requested, I was also thinking Debian would be a good fit. A good package manager (aptitude) and pretty much everything manually confgurable, without the system fighting you over it.

Debian and Slackware seem to keep out of your way, when you want to do things manually.

I'm a big fan of multibooting myself, especially since hard drives are so cheap now. There's no better way to discover your favorite distro than to try them all.

My favorite Slack-based distro is Zenwalk; my favorite Debian-based distro (aside from Debian Testing) is Sidux. I find both of these to be very easy to install. But there are many distros to try...

Sometimes the choice comes down to particulars: if you prefer KDE or Gnome, that will steer you toward some distros over others; if you need bleeding edge versions of some things (or all things) that will lead you to prefer other distros; if you like to sample many different software packages or have exotic/trendy needs... well, you get the idea.

But the only way to learn your own preferences is to try a variety of distros for yourself.

I have settled on Sidux to try for now, since it seems to be a Distribution that you can get up and running fast, plus it has a nice NTFS Partitioner, since i will need to sort that out ^^

Thanks for everyones replies :)

Make sure you look into the smxi maintenance script, and learn how to update your system---Sidux is not as tame as Debian Stable or Testing, and you need to be more careful to prevent breakage.

Good luck and have fun :)

Sounds to me like you had more fun because you hadn't set up a regular user account? :)

I agree with some others, give slackware or zenwalk another go. I really like Zenwalk as a desktop to hit the ground running with a great directory layout. The package manager has made some good improvements with the expanding software options not to mention slackbuilds.org is a great resource.

It's a great option if you realize tinkering is beyond the scope of adding and removing applications. Drop the needle on Zenwalk 5.2 of you want to get up and running a little quicker. Otherwise go ahead and have fun with the original. I remember having a blast installing from source and playing around with build flags and whatnot. If one works better -- consider it, if one is more fun -- use it.

Why not try Gentoo?

fantastic documentation, fully customisable and you'll learn much more about a linux system just installing gentoo than if you used ubuntu or smiliar for years!

Always liked the idea of Gentoo, yet never bothered with it because i was worried about the long install/linux not picking up my drivers, but i have noticed in recent times with recent hardware linux picks everything up fine :)

P.s Another Devoner who uses Linux :o Brauntoner here :P

Nah, i had done but i found if i needed to do something i couldn't as my regular account, i could just switch to root and it was alot easier ^^