Hi all,
sorry,i know this has probably been asked loads of times before. I'd really like to make as near permanent as poss switch to linux from Xp. I have dabbled before and have used Mandriva and Ubuntu. I have the current Ubuntu on an iso file on CD waiting to do a full install. As a newbie,which distro is probably the best for me,for a fairly trouble free migration from XP/ Also, all i really want software wise (apart from the usual web browser/email client) a newsreader like forte agent,an ftp client like Wsftp, a web site development tool like front page and an office suite like MS Office. Also chat stuff like MS messenger/yahoo messenger. When ever ive triedin the past, the Linux versions seem to have slightly less functionality or maybe dont quite work as well. Am i asking too much to make a full migration from MS Xp or will i forever be going back to windows to do stuff that Linux doesnt do so well?

ta

joe

Well, burn the iso to cd and you will find out for yourself. I assume you got the liveCD so that should run wihtout installing anything to your hard drive - just set your BIOS to boot off cd and you can start exploring.

Pan.

I've heard Nvu is supposed to be good.

OpenOffice.org

GAIM.

If you want trouble-free out of the box and you aren't into figuring out how to make things work better, you might be better off to stick with Windows. Windows software almost always works "good enough" without tweaking. Or else it craps completely. In contrast, if a Linux application doesn't do what you want it to, either you need to find a better package, or you need to do some tweaking. Linux is not for everyone.

Suse is good for new users at least I found it. Very user friendly.

Hi, I myself have been using linux for 3-4 years. I migrated from Windows, and started with completely blank pages - knowledgewise. I have been installing, testing and using ALOT of different linux distributions. I've found that there's quite a bit of differences, when it comes to user-friendliness, tweakability (for new users - not "guru's"), software-handling, hardware-compatibility, and so on.

In my own experience, starting with Linux for the first time, I would HIGHLY recommend the following (in this order):

1) PCLinuxOS (i.m.h.o. maybe the "best" allround system for a new linuxuser)

It starts directly from CD first. When started up - then you have the option to install it to harddisk (if you want). It comes with multimedia-support already installed (so you can play mp3 or DVD immediately). Most linux distros don't have this ready installed - you have to install the right codecs and sofware yourself. It also comes with OpenOffice ver. 2.x.x (don't know exact version) - as an Microsoft Office alternative.

2) FreeSpire - one of only two debian based distros I liked (my personal taste, of course).
3) Mandriva
4) OpenSuse or Mepis

Personally, and I mean personally - I've never liked the debian-based distros - except for FreeSpire and Mepis. Generally, I wouldn't recommend Debian, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Gentoo, Slackware and Fedora as a newbie.....


Today, I'm using Fedora - the music-production version from PlanetCCRMA, and I'm happy with it.... but this is not a recommended place (distribution) for a linux newbie to start.

Regards
Ingar

Hi!

I can say from experience that I wouldn't recommend openSuse right now. It seems to be in a transitional, incomplete stage with versions 10.1 and 10.2. I've heard good things about Mepis, and I've just tried Ubuntu, and find it very user-friendly myself.

I heard NVU won't be maintained for much longer. There are still Bluefish, Quanta, and OpenOffice (I think it handles web page development too)

Sam