Linux for a n00b

[IdahoB]

I'd consider myself a windows and hardware guru of reasonable experience, but I've never tried linux and feel I ought to give it a shot. Which distro should I go for? Xandros looks pretty good but then I feel that going for what appears to be a windows clone is a bit pointless. What would you lads suggest? I plan on dual booting it with WinXP.

 

[TheOmegaCode]

Knoppix, you run Linux off a CD. So you can get used to it w/out having to mess with your hard drive.

 

[bromer]

Originally posted by: TheOmegaCode
Knoppix, you run Linux off a CD. So you can get used to it w/out having to mess with your hard drive.

That's not a good idea. Part of getting to know linux/unix is to fool around with the partions and the harddrives. I would recommend gentoo or debian as these are you far the best dist. in the linux world. Also.. if you have the guts you could try FreeBSD or any other *BSD system.. it rock

 

[IdahoB]

I dunno - I have this thing you see - the more random patterns of letters in a product, the less inclined I am to believe it's welcoming to a n00b - and BSD sounds less comforting than Mandrake or RedHat. I'm downloading Mandrake as we speak and I'll see how I go with that for now. I want to get the hang of networking it because I intend to use it as an internet server primarily.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Knoppix and the SuSE live eval cd are ways to see linux from a distance. They are run off of cdrom so no tough installation is necessary. Of course, you do not get a real feel for the system, but if you stilll arent sure you really want to try, this is probably the way to go.

Choices like RedHat, Mandrake, and SuSE are generally what you hear given to newbies looking to dip their toes in the water. These three companies are breaking new ground in usability on the linux front. They each have utilities to help install software and maintain older software. Their gui tools are typically installed on only their systems, so moving to another distribution after using one of these may be sort of a culture shock, especially if you choose one of the other distros I mention. These distros also generally go with bleeding edge, or damn close to it, software. They are also known to modify the default kernels a bit, but its typically not a problem. If you want to use it without necessarily learning much, this is the way to go.

Debian, Gentoo, and Slackware are a different breed:
Slackware wants to be the most "unix-like" and may be tough for some newbies. I personally liked Slackware 7 better than the current RedHat (at the time) because it was tough. I got to do things by hand instead of letting a system that may fail handle them for me. It taught me a lot by forcing me to do things.
Debian is for the GPL nut (yes, I say that just to annoy Nothinman ). Debian has a confusing install, if you dont read the instructions. It forces you, like Slackware, to do the work yourself. However, unlike Slackware, Debian has one of the most advancned software installation systems out there, for *any* OS. Using simple front-ends you can select from thousands of software packages, have the software download that package and any dependencies it may have, and install them for you. Typically this is a pain-free procedure. It can also update the base system and all packagess you have installed.

I will take a break for a second before going on to Gentoo to make a quick note abotu both Debian and Slackware. Both of these ditributions are fairly serious. If you want to learn the nitty gritty, this is the way to go. A nice mix of pre-built system, with dependancy on knwoledge. Both distros are a bit behind, but security fixes have been back-ported. They are very stable (even their unstable branches are pretty much production ready).

And on to Gentoo. I have not used this distro yet, but I have heard good things about it. It requires software to be compiled locally (and most of the system from what Im told) using their "emerge" system (similar to BSD ports). It is supposed to be fast (unless you are waiting for software to compile ) and fairly stable. They do however, have some fairly bleeding edge software. It sounds like a mix between the Debian/Slack camp and RH/Mandrake/SuSE camp.

You can do a search and find this question answered many many times. But I bet thats a little tough for some people...

 

[TheOmegaCode]

Originally posted by: bromer

Originally posted by: TheOmegaCode
Knoppix, you run Linux off a CD. So you can get used to it w/out having to mess with your hard drive.

That's not a good idea. Part of getting to know linux/unix is to fool around with the partions and the harddrives. I would recommend gentoo or debian as these are you far the best dist. in the linux world. Also.. if you have the guts you could try FreeBSD or any other *BSD system.. it rock

Messing with the partitions/harddrives on debian is no more complicated than the DOS version of fdisk. As for FreeBSD it's no harder than Debian. OpenBSD is another story. If you love to read, then install Debian, Gentoo, or FreeBSD. If you like to install things, then figure out how they work, stick with something easier...

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: TheOmegaCode

Originally posted by: bromer

Originally posted by: TheOmegaCode
Knoppix, you run Linux off a CD. So you can get used to it w/out having to mess with your hard drive.

That's not a good idea. Part of getting to know linux/unix is to fool around with the partions and the harddrives. I would recommend gentoo or debian as these are you far the best dist. in the linux world. Also.. if you have the guts you could try FreeBSD or any other *BSD system.. it rock

Messing with the partitions/harddrives on debian is no more complicated than the DOS version of fdisk. As for FreeBSD it's no harder than Debian. OpenBSD is another story. If you love to read, then install Debian, Gentoo, or FreeBSD. If you like to install things, then figure out how they work, stick with something easier...

OpenBSDs install is cake. Some users make it more difficult.

 

[TheOmegaCode]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey


OpenBSDs install is cake. Some users make it more difficult.

The hardest part is partitioning your hard drive. Other than that, it's really easy, but the other's mentioned are all driven by some sort of menu system. Which makes them a lot easier to install. I can't speak for Gentoo though, I've yet to install it.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: TheOmegaCode

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey


OpenBSDs install is cake. Some users make it more difficult.

The hardest part is partitioning your hard drive. Other than that, it's really easy, but the other's mentioned are all driven by some sort of menu system. Which makes them a lot easier to install. I can't speak for Gentoo though, I've yet to install it.

Even partitioning is easy. If you read the instructions and K.I.S.S.

 

[bromer]

Originally posted by: TheOmegaCode

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey


OpenBSDs install is cake. Some users make it more difficult.

The hardest part is partitioning your hard drive. Other than that, it's really easy, but the other's mentioned are all driven by some sort of menu system. Which makes them a lot easier to install. I can't speak for Gentoo though, I've yet to install it.

Well.. That's not that difficult... just _read_ what the installation program says to you.. and you will be fine

 

[robisc]

Some good suggestions are posted here, FWIW SuSE is my favorite but I would have to say for a simple layout and ease of install Lycoris is showing a lot of promise, it's my second favorite, they are doing things right.

 

[Homer]

As one Linux n00b to another: I am trying Xandros right now, and I can't recommend it to you. Reasons:

It's a expensive experiment - 99USD

Although it installs like a dream, with an excellent (re)partitioning tool and an a boot loader for your (perhaps) dual boot, and has really good hardware recognition, once you're done you have Linux for idiots, with a very pretty GUI, and a proprietary and idiosyncratic back end, even if the kernel is Debian.

The only app that works really well is Mozilla, well maybe OpenOffice as well. Others are variable, some very limited in what they do, some primitive

There's very little on the Xandros Networks software list, no updates, little new.

Some of the downloads which are there and useful - like Evolution - either aren't all there, or the packages are flawed. I did the download/install (of Evolution) from Xandros and ended up with no Help, folders I can't access, although they exist in my profile, & etc.

Installing deb or other types of packages from other places is really really iffy, although they have a tool that's supposed to help. I did get Opera to download and install properly (whoopee! now I have another browser). On the other hand, a later (stable) version of Mozilla straight from Debian wouldn't.

"CrossOver" doesn't deliver. Says it supports IE 5.5, but in functionality it's a sorry version of IE, many options you don't have, and much it won't do. I stopped there, didn't even try to install M$Office.

Read MY Lips: N-O F-I-R-E-W-A-L-L

In summary, there's great promise in this distro as a replacement for desktop Windows, and it's reasonably priced from the point of view of a license that allows you to install one copy on all your personal computers and one "business" computer, but it's not yet ready for prime time in this, it's intended market. Probably a poor choice for a computer enthusiast to learn Linux on, even if you can get it up and running quickly.

 

[TheOmegaCode]

Originally posted by: bromer

Well.. That's not that difficult... just _read_ what the installation program says to you.. and you will be fine

You're preaching to the choir. I know that if you read, it goes a lot smoother. Which is why I got OpenBSD installed w/out having to ask one question. They have good docs, but it seems that a lot of people have problems installing GUI based distro's. If they have a problem with those, I'd imagine that OpenBSD would be hell.