well i have been using win xp since a while and i never ever tryout linux apart from those live CD's (knoppix and knoppix-std).... well now i am looking for a linux distribution that i can use... i have never ever used linux before so i am going to learn on it... i have heard there is something called Lindows witch is linux but it has ease of winxp.... so guys i need some help down here to choose witch linux distribution would be best for me to use as a new linux bie.. ( or linux virgin an other words)

all helps and comments are welcome you can say anything as long as it has relation to this subject.....

what i am looking for

(1) i would like to find some help when i need
(2) some that easy to use
(3) i have bought my PC about 2 years ago and i have p4 2.2ghz and geforce 4 mx420, and 512 DDR ram
(4) something will teach me how to use linux....

hi doctor1986, welcome to lq. there is an excellent thread discussing this topic, i hope it helps w/your decision. you can find it here.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=20451

your concern about finding help when you need it should be satisfied within this forum. it is the best support system for any os that i've seen.
good luck.

This depends on what you are talking about. If you want to learn about the inner mechanism of linux, then slackware is the best. If you just want to learn to use it as a desktop system... I think there is not much need coz the GUI(Gnome or KDE is pretty intuitive nowadays)... anyway, Mandrake or Turbolinux F... may be good choices for the desktop purpose

There are many threads discussing this topic in this forum.... just look around or do a search.

Welcome to the linux world

well what i am planning to do is some creeae in ICT ( a job in ICT) so i in that respect i am trying to devolop my skill as wide as i can and such as:

1)doing some programming
2)when someone asks me for some help i wshoudl be able to help them as much as i can....

doctor1986; you are going in right direction. gather as much information as
possible, read any and all topics of interest with concept of attaining your goal. once that is done then immerse into doing it. advice do not plunge head first but step in carefully with a meticuosly method and plan to execute each step of advancement. this is more productive in long run. my past expeirence made large mistake dove head first and LARGE mistake forgot root password , now having to work around. morel should have been attentive to warings not to do : write password down,forget it , those were meant for users within large user base use and server-based.
single users omitted. so depending how and where you are using your pc is key!

1) you can do programming pretty easy with most of the distros....
I myself learned shell scripts, perl, c, java, pascal in linux

2) if you cant help them you can always bring your problems here and I think all the ppl here are willing to help

emm... as a conclusion... i recommend slackware

well it is depends that what do i do with my PC... i do watch movies do some downloads and read some stuff over the INTERNET and basically i do everything with my PC.. ( there are some days when i spend 15 to 18 hours on my PC) so as i said above i am using windows and i still believe that there are millions things that i have not been come cross with.... in-that respect I'm looking for a distribution of linux will that will allow me to do everything with it.......

Well as someone already pointed out, you've found LQ, and by way of community support I feel that it's one of the best (if not the best) place I've found.

If, by support, you mean on the end of a telephone type support, then it would depend, pretty much, on how much you want to pay.

Mandrake for example. Yes, they have the "free download" version available. Personally, for ease of config with a couple of thing's (your base system sound's similar to what mine was when it arrived, but your cpu is a little faster) like nvidia driver config, I usually get the mandrake boxed set powerpack dvd (I just get the disc only version, as I feel I know enough to get it installed and running to my satisfaction).

but if you want, you can get just about as much or as little support from mandrake as you want - obviously the more you want/need the more it would cost.

I suspect that the other "mainstream" (for that, I mean commercial) distro's there'd be similar arrangement's in place.

Lot's of people often quote mandrake as being a good "starter" distro - in truth, it pretty much has all the "big things" (servers etc etc) that the other commercial distro's have, plus a good reputation as being good for a desktop installation.

On the other hand, I've also used gentoo. Which is considered (as I understand it) as very much a "power distro". When it's installed, it's very easy to manage, but I'd say that the installation isn't for the "faint hearted". They offer 3 different type's. The stage 3 is supposed to be the quickest/easiest, but I never found it either quick, or that easy! The stage 1 and 2 are install type's where you'd need to know a considerable amount of stuff, but if you know the tech stuff then you do an install that is "tweaked" to the smallest degree for your system (but it can take a long time - a seriously long time).

regards

John

Where is the Mandrake "free download"? I have heard several people mention it, but i have not been able to find it yet.

Thanks

i did do a serch on the net with google and i have found the a web site called www.linuxiso.org
www.linuxcd.com or .org

you can get them for free

i'll only add one more thing, if you choose salckware, you will learn, but, be prepared for it. be prepared for alot of reading and research. don't get me wrong i love slack, it's my choice of linux distros for it's simplicity, however, from a newbie standpoint there is a learning curve w/it. as long as you know this upfront and are prepared you should be fine. hope that helps.
good luck.

Id take that further. Any linux will cause you to learn, it just depend's on what you choose as to how steep the learning curve is.

Mount Everest = Slackware, Debian, Gentoo

Disabled person's ramp = Mandrake, SuSE, etc (well that'd probably be most rpm based distro's).

The Netherlands/Belgium = Xandros, lindows/linspire

regards

John

Here's my file on distribution. It really depends on what
you want, how much you want to learn, etc.

Sheng-Chieh

-----

Here's my quick view of linux distributions.
However, do recognize that I runs Xandros, and in
the past, I ran Mandrake and Lycoris. I also used
Knoppix, Danix, and LiveCDdefender, all portable
CD distributions, briefly (to investigate a
problem with my wireless card). My comments on
linux distributions are what I observe, but did
not neccessarily used.

RedHat & Fedora
known for server, but starting to enter the
desktop market.

SuSe
known for server. Has some progress in the
desktop market.

Mandrake
known for desktop. Helpful if the user knows
unix already.

Xandros
known for desktop. Very easy to use by
beginners.

Lycoris
known for desktop. Very easy to use by beginners.
However, it is not suitable for advanced users,
i.e., old libraries (can't do geeky stuffs). I
recommend Xandros before Lycoris.

Lindow (Linspire)
known for desktop. It is bad security practice
to run as root. If you're going to take the
trouble to learn linux, you might as weel have its
better security. Avoid Lindow.

Debian
used by geeks. Known to be rock-stable. There
is no rush to fulfill commercial means, so a new
distribution comes out when it is ready and no
earlier. Also known for server.

Slackware
used by true geeks. Like debian except no GUI
(i.e., window interfaces).

Knoppix
known for bootable CD

Mepis
known for bootable CD

There are hundreds of other linux distributions.
I think I covered the bigger ones.

There is no one "best" linux distribution. You have
to decide what are you using it for, i.e., desktop,
server, or both.

If you want to test drive without installing linux,
go for CD bootable distribution like Knoppix, Mepis,
Mandrake Move, DaniX, LiveCDDefender, etc (Knoppix
or Mepis seem to be the big two).

I like Xandros, but then, I only do simple stuffs
and some programming (complex, but can do because
Xandros is Debian-based). Also, I do no server
stuffs.

You may wish to slowly transite from Window to
Linux by learning softwares that run on both
operating systems. I.e., learn

OpenOffice (word processor)
www.openoffice.org

Mozilla (web browser and email)
www.mozilla.org

Firefox (web browser)
www.mozilla.org

Thunderbird (email)
www.mozilla.org

Opera (web browser)
www.opera.com

Gimp (photo)
www.gimp.org

I use Mozilla for both web browsing and email because
Firefox and Thunderbird have not reached a stable
version as of early 2004 (i.e., stable version >= 1.0).
However, Mozilla will be discontinued in the distant
future and replaced by Firefox and Thunderbird.

Unfortunately, there is a lack of linux games. Also,
many software has not been ported from Window to Linux.
Again, think about what you need before shifting.

bigjohn & shengcheih; thank you both for a very well covered synoptic syllabus on most distro,s. great job! thank you again!

WOW when i read your posts i felt like i am reading linux manual.... that is SOO gr8 thanks you so much as well as big jhon.... well i what i will do is i will first make a list of all linux distos that i can find and start downloading them as theshengchieh said the ones for beginners first and then i will move on advance... buy the time i will be testting all the distros as well... ( now i feel like beta software tester...lol) anyway thanks alot guysss. i am very appiricated for yoru helps and i will be keep chekking this post if you guys put any more comments i will open all teh commenst please keep wrintting becuse thsi is the only way of our comminication......