The distros are definitely not the same. Look at security policy, developer community, drivers, and software maintenance.

1. Debian's security policy is totally different from Linspire's for example.
2. Gentoo and debian have giant, well established developer communites.
3. RAID drivers? Clustering? Difficult to do in Ubuntu, easier in an enterprise class OS like Red Hat.
4. Gentoo's port system is elegant and effective. I assume Ubuntu uses apt-get which is also excellent, but the two are dissimilar.

If you want to learn linux and play games, Ubuntu is probably a great distro, but if you need a server choose something else.

i'm just trying to learn linux, i'll keep windows for games, hw, etc. i just want the alternative os knowledge, and maybe one day i'll switch (though i'm mainly eyeing a mac, which i would dual-boot with linux if i liked it enough).

i've also dled simplymepis 3.3 which i'll try out. i don't really want to go through installing ubuntu then erased it, installing mepis, then deciding i prefer ubuntu. can i have some comparisons of the two? i only want to have one linux partition on my hd.

Very true, all very good points...Didn't mean to imply that they are all exactly the same, but tend to be very similar. The selling points <i>are</i> the fine (ok, so not that fine but subtle) differences.


Also, Ubuntu and Mepis really are pretty similar.

Mepis is a bit easier to use (for me at least). It comes with mp3 support out of the box, and a few other tools I like better (apt sources are set up for you auto) and also with KDE, as opposed to Gnome (of Ubuntu).. but Gnome is an apt-get away in Mepis (as with KDE in Ubuntu). They both have great hardware detection, and are pretty similar on the front-end. My opinion is this: if you're just starting out, go with Mepis, you can still play with everything, it doesn't make any real effort to hide what's under the hood, and is pretty stable so far... but if you really want to learn linux go with a harder distro, like Gentoo, Debian, Slackware, LFS (but only if you really aren't going to use linux all of the time)

There is a KDE version of Ubuntu out there...so you don't have to download KDE via APT-GET ... Its called Kubuntu, I don't know much about it because I don't care for KDE to much. It always seemed more unstable to me.

kde and gnome are just guis, right? can someone post screenshots of both? what's the difference between them?

they are GUI's yes.

www.kde.org/screenshots
http://www.gnome.org/start/2.0/screenshots/

When it comes down to it, it's up to you to chose your own GUI. There are major differences. You really should try them both out to see which one you like. They both are different, and it's just a personal preference... so no, which one is better... I use both.

how do you use both? can you switch between them like themes in windows?

edit: from the looks of them, i think i prefer kde. gnome looks like it's modeled after the windwos classic theme mentality, while kde is more colorful, etc. i do use windows classic as a theme, but that's just to save ram.

so i can use apt-get to get the other gui to try it out, and if i don't like it i can just switch back to the original? hmm, i really have to think about whether i want ubuntu or mepis....

When you log into your computer you can decide which one you want to use.
It's a Desktop Environment (as opposed to windowmanager...like ICE or Blackbox...which save on ram in you are worried about that).

They are also a bit more complicated than just theme/look.

When you boot your computer, you should be confronted by a log-on screen (unless you have auto login on..) and you can select which you want in the session menu.

I used KDE for a while, but started using GNOME more and more, I use them equally now... just depends on how the spirit moves me.

Mepis is a great livecd/install disk a la PCLinuxOS (which is based of Mandrake....so only quality there), and it's great to test your hardware without having to burn too many cd's (well.. 2)

You should try them both out and see which you like.. I've used about nine or ten distros before I found one I like. It's all about flavor and choice.(and it is a bit deeper than DE choice). If you are a newbie to Linux, I would recommend Mepis, simply because it comes with more preconfigured than Ubunu, but both are great distros.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME

KDE and Gnome can be themed... What it appears like in those screenshots doesn't mean much. You can make Gnome look exactly like those screen shots you saw of KDE.

Theres tons of things out there for both sides. Performance wise I'd have to go with Gnome though...to make my system pretty like Windows XP I'd go with KDE.. I have both but never use KDE much anymore...lol to use to Gnome now.

terminal is the linux versionof the windows command prompt, right?

what are some commands i should know and learn to love? are commands even necessary if you are using a gui instead of a text-based os?

Well your always going to need to know a a few of the following...people can correct me and add more plz.

Terminal commands need-to-know:

su root (works on all distros, sometimes you need Super User access)

mkdir (makes a new folder)

rm filename (removes/deletes filename)

adduser linux (adds new username linux)

passwd linux (changes username: linux password)
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Terminal is basicly like DOS...it verys a good bit though. If you goto your distros wikki they'll have more commands and things that work for your distro. I would highly suggest getting a distro that uses apt-get, it makes life good..lol

you need to use the terminal more than you think, although you can do a lot with a gui.

added to the list

cd - change directory

ln -s (symbolic link)

make installl

./configure (if you like to compile programs yourself)

http://www.ss64.com/bash/

list of tons of bash commands... (bash is the terminal)

apt-get completes me... use it! or not, the choice is yours.

k, i'll read up on commands.

can someone explain exactly what wine is (not the drink)? is it a windwos emulator for linux? i donub game performance would be very good with that....

Well I found "Wine" (Wine Is Not an Emulator) to be good for Windows programs rather than games. If your wanting to get into games, do it the right way and get Cedega/Point2Play from www.transgaming.com

Point2Play is a GUI (graphical program rather than terminal based) that makes installing your Windows game simple. Ubuntu has been the easiest distro I've found yet to use with Cedega/Point2Play. It cost $15 but its well worth it! It arranges your games very easily and configuring each game is differently is simple. Sure beats editing configs in text files!

Wine is ok for some games, but major 3D games normally have problems on it. I mostly just use Nero, DVDShrink and Photoshop on Wine.

i've heard cedega is a subscription service, not a pay-once, play-for-the-rest-of-your-life deal. i really can't do anything i have to pay for anyway. my parents don't like that i'm a geek and any gaming i do is done late at night or when they're out. they can just about deal that i spend tons of time learning about computers, how they working, etc. i don't think they know i stillplay games..