Hello,

I want to switch my computer to linux os, but since i am a newbie I don't want to end up recompiling half the code to get it to work the way I want it. Which of the distro offers the most newbie friends enviroment with all customization done through panels and not code. Also, I want to do a dual boot with my windows xp till I can get my feet on the ground with linux.

Right now I am deciding between debian, mandrake and suse. And maybe redhat but it's more of a server os.

Thanks for all your help

Redhat/Fedora SuSE Ubuntu Mandrake Mepis are all popular as Linux 'idiot OS' and should be graphically appealing

debian would not be a good fit for you

yes, redhat has moved to enterprise... their personal user systems have become fedora -- fedora.redhat.com

i would recommend mandrake. It is almost idiot proof. It will partition yourt hard drive for you and configure your dual boot with winblows XP. Also with the KDE environment(defualt) it wil be panels and should be easy to configure.

Also you might want to try knoppix or something with a liveCD this would mean that you do not even need to dual boot because you can just run off of your cd drive.

good luck

how does lindows\linspire compare to others?

lindows/linspire is the worst distro i have ever used it is slow and fragments like windows does plus it uses a swap file not partition mandrake is idiot proof but is easially hacked cuz everyone uses it but with mandrake being so "Windoze Like" it is hard to learn the underlyings of the os so the best for a beginner is fedora redhat free dl the enterprise if you buy it is like fedora but comes with spport to help you learn so pay about 30 usd ik linux is suppose to be free right but it beats the windows server 2003 weighing in at $1,248.00 usd and it likes to error out and you cant play as many games as you can with a linux server or homestation plus like any windows system it errors and at 30 usd as apposed to selling your house for an os i think the price is good plus you get support to help you learn oh yeah and windows xp is about 200 usd so yeah

Stream of consiousness?

I haven't used Lindows/Linspire, so I can't make any good statement about that. But Mandrake is no easier to hack than any other Linux. Nor is it hard to learn the underpinnings, if you want to. But it does provide easy-yo-use gui interfaces for most of the tools you need, so you don't *have* to be a geek if you don't want to be.

It serves as an excellent "newbie"-Linux, while offering a solid system to use in the office, or as a server, as well.I don't want to get into any distro wars, but it is certainly as good as Fedora for a beginner.

And Linux is "Free" (as in speech), not necessarily "Free" (as in beer).

The "which distro is right for me?" question is asked all the time, and there is no right or wrong answer. The only thing to do is try several on your own, then decide for yourself which one best suits your needs/preferences. Good luck with it and have fun -- J.W.

Many of the most popular distros are available at LinuxISO as well as our own LQ ISO

If they are idiot proof then I and many other would be linux users must be thick as pig droppings I have been trying to run a variety of linux distros without much success I have also tried Linspire and must aggree it's useless and am looking to download Susi 9.2 at the moment so if anyone knows a link to a free download that would be great. One problem that has flumixed me for ages is opening RPM's the messing about you or should I say I have had trying to open and run them is crazy anyway thats all I can say apart from whilst experienced Linux users may think that Susi, Mandrake etc are ideot proof more support to questions asked by neewbies on this forum would be wellcomed as I want to stop being a ideot user and start using Linux more compitantly.

As someone once said, "Once you make something 'idiot-proof', they go and invent a better idiot!"

No offense intended.

I'm surprised you hda such trouble with the *easy* distros. Maybe you are making it too hard? For instance, one doesn't "open" rpm files. They are "installed", either on a command line, or with a graphical package manager frontend. The *tools* do the opening and other hard work. Also, one *should* try to stick with rpms produced for one's system. Installing a bunch of "wild" rpms can bring your system crashing down due to dependency hell.

The installation are the idiot proof part. These distros have very easy installations. No compiling kernels by yourself or nasty stuff like that. the installation just has you choose options. However you still can run into problems after installing. After the installation they become less idiot proof.

I do not see myself as an ideot far from it but do seem to have problems getting distros to run correctly.

I am after Susi0.2 at prescent but obviously don't want to go into the expence of purchasing it if I am not sure if I can run it. Any ideas?

purchasing

if you are not sure whether you want to purchase linux why not download a free version yourself. just about every distro is free. Unless you buy the disks from someone it only costs a couple of cd's and a internet connection.

I know that sounds strange but as of yet I have not been able to find a download of susi Linux 9.2 thats why i've asked for a link.

I have tried to download it via edonkey but for some reason my network speed is low at the moment even though I'm on 1Meg Broadbamd

If you know of a link please post one up.

Right now, I am going with mandrake. I will also try suse a bit later. Is there any advantage of me getting the 6cd pack with everything or is everything easily downloaded?

bograt states:
I never claimed they were idiot-proof... i stated they were idiot OS because they lean towards the use of graphical utilities to manage your system, and concern themselves more with appearance than functionality in some cases... this does not mean that they are even half as idiot-friendly as MS