OK, here is my situation:

I've been a windows user all my life. I still have yet to work with linux in any form. I am, however, not computer illiterate. I was the tech support person at my high school (just graduated). Now I will be starting college, and I am buying a new laptop. I figured I would ditch windows once and for all. I see, though, that there are many distributions for linux. Please recommend me a distribution and give the reasoning. Thanks in advance.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/reviews/index.php

please read through some of our reviews, thanks.

I did that before posting the question. The reviews weren't very thorough. Basically, I am looking for the distro that is easiest to use without getting in my face.

Have a go at this thread: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=20451

Many others just like it in our distribution forum.

One thing to keep in mind is that going from Windoze to Linux is like flying to a country that has all different customs and speaks a different language. You will probably have a bit of 'OS shock' to start with. Expect to spend some time learning how to do very simple things that you took for granted in Windoze. This is not a bad thing, but many people think that they can just jump from Windoze to Linux and don't expect the learning curve required to do so.
As for which distro to choose, I think that most of the major distro's (RedHat, Debian, Mandy, Suse) will be just as foreign to you as any other distro, so the choice of distro is really just personal preference at this point. My advice would be to DL a CD based distro like Knoppix, so that you can give Linux a try without having to commit any HD space to it.

slight

If I download a free distro (like red hat or mandrake), will I need to buy their software so that I can actually get something running (I know that mandrake sells a power pack and other such things)?

no.. it wouldn't be free if you had to pay for something....

I know that the operating system is free, but are the other programs free (I know you can get openoffice for free, but all the little applets, tools, games, etc. that you would want in a computer)?

Free as in speech or beer?
My whole installation except tor the video card driver (free as in beer) is GNU (free speech) licensed.

The GNU Project

hundreds (thousands?) courtesy of gnu.org, fsf, and thousands of developers worldwide.

I meant free as in beer. Are all these programs packaged somewhere in some way that I can conveniently download them without having to do 100000000 separate downloads? I have broadband, so large downloads are no problem.

thats the idea behind the distribution, they come with the kernel,config utilities,libraries,compilers,etc. plus many 'user' applications all on one or more discs. http://www.linuxiso.org/ and if it's not included you can find it at www.freshmeat.net

# What distro should I use
A Beginner's Guide to Choosing a Linux Distribution

Thanks for all the help guys. I think that I'll just go with Mandrake and change later if I don't like it. The question is now whether to buy the "Power Pack." What exactly is this Power Pack? Does it just have programs on it? What would you recommend?

I know, it must be a shock coming from a windows world, realizing PEOPLE GIVE THINGS AWAY! (gasp).

Yes, a distro like Mandrake or Redhat will probobly give you every program that you would most likely need, and then some (hundreds).

Though if you find a specific program you really like, im sure the project would appreciate you sending them a thank-you email. Since they do this for free.


The Powerpack comes with documentation, and the higher versions come w/ StarOffice, a commercial vesion of OpenOffice.org .

It also comes with 30 days tech support, and you get to help a company that is in financial trouble.