Hello all,
I want to start using Linux, but I still cannot decide on a good OS. I thought fedora would be a good way to start but a lot of people are recommending ubuntu.
The issue is I've used ubuntu before and I find it a bit too much like windows. I'm looking for a free OS that can resemble redhat (but I don't want it to be too tough to handle either because I'm still new to Linux).
Some have also asked me to try out mint8.

I'm yet unable to decide so any help/ advice on this is appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

I am using Fedora 10 and I like it. I am new to Linux also.

You've already made up your mind; so, just go get fedora now, and ignore any further recommendations.

Hi,

I wouldn't go that far in advising the OP to ignore further recommendations. The choice of a distro is a pretty personal thing in my opinion and one can base himself on advise when it comes to stability, package management, package availability, desktop environment and all that.

On the contrary, I would advice any new Linux user or migrating Linux user to try out as many distros as he wants based on LiveCD, just to get a look and feel of the thing and ultimately choose the one he feels comfortable with, instead of just bluntly saying go with that and disregard the rest.

Kind regards,

Eric

Thanks a lot. I think I'll go ahead with Fedora but try out Ubuntu as well.

The fedora project site says 'Fedora Desktop Edition' (http://fedoraproject.org/en/get-fedora).
Just wanted to know if there are other editions of Fedora 12 as well. And if so what to chose.

Fedora has most new features but is not stable. I encountered several kernel panic by now.

It's recommended to use CentOS, which is like to RHEL. But it's free. The URL for its project is http://www.centos.org/.

FYI.

What's the last one mint8? I'd never heard about it.

Happy new year to all of you.

Hello,

I've never used Fedora before but when looking at the link you posted I'd go to the button on the right (show all download options) and look at the last two options on the resulting page:

Fedora Desktop Live Media -->> this is with Gnome Desktop Environment
Fedora KDE Live Media -->> this one comes with KDE

I'm not going to start a DE flame war here but if you only have worked with Gnome on Uuntu, I'd advice you to download both (installable) LiveCDs and try them both. There IS a world of difference between Gnome and KDE.

I personally use Slackware either with KDE or Xfce but that's my personal preference.

Kind regards,

Eric

Hello,
I think that choosing distribution you should have in mind two things. How big is community(are they any tutorials,wiki or booksor simply help) and what you want for your system.If you want from system just to works not going in depth into it use Ubuntu,Fedora, Suse. If you want from the system not only to work but get also a knowledge about how it works and why it works in that way choose Gentoo, PLD, Arch, Debian and many many others. I'm a linux noob too but I decedied that as long as google will be working and I will be able to solve my problem on my own or get help from this forum I will try to understand and use Gentoo as my main OS. And i believe that in few years(hope before 2012 the end of the world(: ) I will be able to use gentoo on my own(I mean to adopt it to suits my need and know how,where and what ) and I will start to help sb else. The way is hard to go through but it's worth it. Linux is not an alternative to M$ but it can offer to you the same that M$ and much much more. Require from you only will to learning sth.
Greetings
Artur

i would suggest making a live-usb:
https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/

thought I'd throw my two cents in. Fedora is great, but CAN be buggy. Debian is solid, stable, and has a large repository of great software. (ubuntu is based off of debian) Ubuntu is good, but also CAN be buggy. They all have differences, but ultimately are about the same under the hood. CentOS is also good, but did not recognize all of my hardware Out of the box. Recompiling the kernel fixed that, but I don't know if you want to do all that. (not that hard though). OpenSuSE is also good, but is setup a little different.

I kindly have to disagree... I do not use MS. I have completely replaced it with Slackware

That is such an unusual complaint, you probably ought to explain it. Any useful suggestions about what distribution you should use ought to be based on some real information about what you want and/or want to avoid.

Resemble or not resemble Redhat or Windows is too vague to lead anywhere.

Read this before you make a decision

1. Debian vs Redhat

2. Debian vs Fedora

1. Supports Debian over Red hat....

2. Gives facts and no opinion over witch is better...


My opinion is Debian over Red hat because I don't run a server at the house no need ... Got wifi laptop, desktop and Nettop for personnel uses and I don't have a bunch of people living with me that need a computer in there room.....

If it is for networking I go with Red hat ... If it is to entertain me I go with Debian..

If I were planning on running network via terminal I would go with Debian, Slackware, Gentoo with LXDE or XFCE to keep resource use low...

I have tried both lately and I am not too impressed by FC12. However I really like mint. Probably because it has flash working right out of the gate. It also has a great look and feel to it. I also like the mintIntstall which is pretty good and coded in python so any edits to it are easy.

I am currently using my Mint machine as a development, vmware host, and Windows replacement.

At one point I was a die hard BSD and Slackware fan but I got bored with compiling packages. So Mint had apt-get which is great. However I will say yum is really excellent and used by centOS / RHEL / and FC

So in short my vote goes to mint.

Another vote for mint. I personally prefer gentoo and arch, but if I had to pick a meta distro, it would definitely be mint. It's beautiful, easy to use, and has all the ubuntu repos at your disposal.

If you find Ubuntu too much like windows, you'll probably hate Mint. The third option you mentioned was Fedora, and you noted that you wanted something that resembled Red Hat. With that information, it seems your choice is pretty clear.

Cheers,

Evo2.