Re: What is best way to install with GUI??

Rastaman wrote:
Could someone please tell me the easiest way to get a properly working GUI
on the initial installation with a free distro?

I am completely new to Linux. I would like to learn how use the OS, install
drivers, applications, etc, but I am kind of dependent on a GUI to do this.

Get Ubuntu.
www.ubuntulinux.com
They'll ship you the cd's for free...

I recently installed Fedora Core 5 on a machine with a Nvidia GeForce 7800
Gt, and I could not get any GUI. I read the FAQs, and it appears that
there is an issue with nVidia and ATI display adapters.

There are far too many issues with Fedora to list.

At CompUSA and Office depot, all video cards are either nVidia or ATI - so I
purchased one of the ATI cards anyway, and I was able to get the GUI to
install, but the disply was like, 800x600 at 16 colors, or something like
that.

Yes; ATI support is... less than perfect :)

I was getting ready to install openSUSE, hoping that it would work better,
when I noticed on their website that there are nVidia/ATI issues with
openSUSE, as well.

Again - SuSe, not the easiest.

Does this mean that no Linux distro will install with a useable GUI with any
nVidia or ATI display adapter? Since 100% of the cards I can walk into a
local store and buy off the shelf are nVidia or ATI, it doesn't make sense
that these cards would not be supported with the initial installation.

That's completely the wrong way to look at the issue.
Linux developers are very seldom paid to write video drivers, and nvidia won't release the specs to their GeForce cards so you're 100% dependent on their binary driver in any case.
So what gets developed is what people who can and are willing to develop actually have access to.
They rarely have access to the latest and most expensive hardware, but for any video card that's been around for a few years, you'll find plenty of support.

You'll find this is the prevailing mode of development as regards hardware drivers in Linux - at least, unless the hardware manufacturer is willing to supply Linux developers with actual hardware (this does happen.)

If I buy an SiS video card or an s3 video card online, will Linux install
with a decent display??

As I said: that depends mainly on how broadly this hardware is deployed - the more people have one, the greater your chances that there will be a decent driver.

All that said, just get an nvidia card - it has the broadest support and the best track record under Linux.

And it will install flawlessly under Ubuntu.


J.
.

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