Re: new to linux

From: ray (ray_at_zianet.com)
Date: 09/27/05 

Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2005 17:17:35 -0600

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 13:11:28 -0700, bobrics wrote:

> Hi,
> I am new to Linux and was wondering which realease should I get:
> Mandrake, Redhat, or something else?

Yes. Seriously, if there were one distribution (that's what they're called
- each distribution has new releases or versions from time to time) that
was the be all and end all for newbies - you wouldn't have to ask. There
is actually a good reason why there are over 350 currently active Linux
distributions.

>Which one is easier to use? Which
> one gives better functionality/GUI/has some useful tools in a package?
>
> Thank you

Everyone is going to recommend their favorite. You're going to have to go
to www.distrowatch.com and do some homework. In general, the distros
higher up on distrowatch's 'hit list' are there for good reason. BTW you
can't get RedHat anymore without paying a bunch for it. It's free
replacement is now called Fedora. Also, Mandrake no longer exists - it is
now Mandrivel (excuse me, Mandriva).

I'd recommend you try at least one of the following: Ubuntu, Mandriva,
Fedora, Knoppix, Slack, Xandros, Linspire. It's often a good idea to boot
a 'live CD' - a distro which loads and runs from the CD with no
installation - first, as a hardware sanity check and so that you can have
a feel for what you're getting into. Knoppix is the standard by which live
CDs are measured - there is a CD version and a DVD version now. You can
install it to hard disk if you wish. Elive is making a bit of a splash now
as a live CD - it is a demo platform for the Enlightenment window manager.

If you have sufficient disk space, it's easy to install more than one
distribution and select which one to use at boot time. This allows you to
try several to see what you like and dislike - I heartily recommend this.

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