best version of linux for a new user 1

[spikestik]

I have ben a MS guy since the start...to remain competative I would like to start learing linux.
Everyone states that it is easy to learn; but I am having some trouble in determining what manufacture and version I should use.

Can anyone give me a suggestion?

 

[caimoss]

This thread over in the Linux(Server) forum might start you out with some ideas and what you should expect from asking that question (it's always a fun ride).

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?SQID=890137&SPID=54&page=1

I come from the same reasoning as you do. I went with SuSE, but that is purely because I work with two guys who are very knowledgable Linux users and that is what they are currently working with. It allows me to ask questions and we don't have to worry about the slight differences between distributions. While it (and many other distros) put a nice polished GUI overtop of everything, I can still dig into the "real" way to do things from the command line, which IMHO is essentially to really learning about Linux.

You might also check out

http://www.distrowatch.com/.

Click on some of the distributions listed in the ranking on the right side of the page and it might help you in your decision.

Above all, I would agree: it is easy to learn, because there are so many great people who have written so many howto's and help about it (check out

http://www.tldp.org/).

You just have to be willing to read the help, and take your time with it.

Good luck in your journey!

 

[jmtjet]

I agree with caimoss, SuSE is rock solid and the install is a breeze. Unfortunately, you no longer can download the ISO. You can get a demo. that runs from your CD-ROM drive but that's it. You're still able to get many other distros here:

http://www.linuxiso.org/index.php

Or pick up a copy of SuSE from eBay here:

http://search.ebay.com/SuSE-linux_W0QQsokeywordredirectZ1QQfromZR8

Or buy it direct from SuSE:

http://www.suse.com/us/private/products/index.html

 

[rrsub]

Start with Knoppix or Mepis, then

Go for an install with Mandrake, Redhat(Fedora), or Suse, then

When you're ready for hardcore, go Debian and Gentoo.

 

[franklin97355]

Or try:

http://www.cheapbytes.com

 

[chipperMDW]

The comment about not being able to download SuSE ISOs is true, but I believe there is a free FTP install of SuSE.

 

[rrsub]

I believe Suse is available here:

http://www.suse.com/us/private/download/ftp/personal_iso_int.html

 

[Visseroth]

Personally I recommend Gentoo

Reason being is that the install is as everything will be later on when you try to install or run other things through the terminal.

Also installing via text gives you a good idea as to where things are at, how the file system is made up, how it works and how to install things.

Also, Gentoo has this nice little option called "emerge" simply type "emerge kde" and it installed kde, or "emerege search kde" and it searches for kde strings.

I have run Suse, debian, and Red Hat and I very much prefer Gentoo.

On top of that Red Hat doesn't seem to support hardware (the new stuff) quite like Gentoo, being as my machine is only a year old and from the get go Gentoo reconized all my hard ware, just couldn't talk easily to things like my xD Card reader.

 

[rrsub]

Gentoo's great but not for a newbie.
Newbies on most OS's (except for a Mac) don't know where anything is anyway. They just need to get familiar with the interface first.

Especially coming from the Windows environment where the user is used to C:\, going to / and having to get the concept of /usr, /usr/bin, /sbin, /root, /boot from the C:\Windows is a major step and much more important than Gentoo's
tar -xvjpf /mnt/cdrom/stages/stage3-<subarch>-2004.2.tar.bz2

just to unpack the stage to start the install process.

I do recommend strongly Gentoo but not for newbies.

-------------------------------------------

http://www.affordable-stock-photography.com

 

[Visseroth]

that's the whole idea and there are step by step installation instructions for Gentoo that really make it understandable.

I say that cause I ran Suse, Debian and Red Hat and they were quite confusing and difficult to deal with. I guess the reason being is cause Gentoo has the emerge feature where as the others don't.

 

[jurgen36]

Use Suse. I found it is very easy to install and it seems to recognise all the hardware. I use it on my secondary system and spend all last night to download (56K connection) and recompile the kernel. It went very well without any problems. Suse also has an extensive help database in its man files. The only think I do not like to much is that it behaves like MS Windows. Regards

Jurgen

 

[cellgfx]

I'm running SUSE 9.1 Personal that I burnt from the ISO available from their homepage. That was after trying Xandros (hmmmm...) and PCLinuxOS. PCLOS is good for trying out Linux, as it doesn't install and can run from a CD. If you like it, you can then install it to your HD.

 

[pavNell]

I downloaded the free Suse 9.1 and was very disappointed. Not even a compiler comes with it. It's VERY stripped down from the previous versions. Then I bought the 9.1 Pro edition, VERY nice! It has so much stuff with it and the new kernel is great. It just doesn't come with mplayer anymore. But I use ogle now to watch dvd's.

 

[moldboy]

People always say debian is hard to install, what do they mean. I tried to install a very light version and it went well. Not like a windows installer, but it reminded me of DOS

 

[flugh]

I am a Debian guy at work, but I really like and recommend Fedora at home. The desktop is polished and works for me. I also recommend Knoppix for people wanting to try out Linux. The live cd-based distro is a no-risk opportunity to see what Linux can do.

----
JBR

 

[maslett]

I'm new(ish) to Linux and would say one thing - get ready to get frustrated! It doesn't really matter which distro you start with, I guarentee you'll end up installing it umpteen times - each time you learn more. It can be frustrating (esp with a dual boot) but also satisfying (I've just had to re-write fstab to get mine working) - you'll learn lots but the learning curve is steep.

Just jump in the deep end - you can get full distros free with magazines - try the first one you come across and get your feet dirty

 

[IPGuru]

1) insatll on a stand alone macine, if you dont understand the OS ( & i dont yet) trying to get it to run 2 seem sto be a recipie for disaster

2) stick with whatever distro you can get to do what YOU want I have tried Fedora Suse(desktop) and mandrake, sofar fedora seems to do what I want with least problems
FTP server Web server & mail server i do not need a desktop machine at present
( I suspect when I understand the OS better i will find one of the cust down distros would have been better)

 

[mbuell]

I stand on the side that says Linux is hard to learn. So I say stick with the gui until you can learn more.

I have a running copy now, of Debian "Sarge", but that was after unsuccesfully attempting Turbolinux, Debian "Woody", and Suse 9.1 personal. I have read my butt off, googled till the cows came home, and basically made this a full time job for 3 or 4 weekends, plus hours of study at my real job. It took all that to just get one of them to install!

However, now that I am past that initial hump, I have a command line interface and "Midnight Commander". MC is a Norton commander look-alike, if ur old enuff to remember. I feel like I'm back when I started with DOS. Not very exciting, but at least i've got mc, so I feel a little more comfortable. I can navigate now.

But my spleen is showing. I did also manage to get Samba running and can get to it on my LAN. Now I have to figure out how to shut it down so outsiders can't get in.

You can get SuSe personal 9.0 isos -- I did. If that would install, I would say go with any of the graphical interfaces that are currently being marketed. RedHat, Suse, whatever. If the gui approach makes it, you will be in an environment where you can drill down to find the plumbing without having to learn how to build the welder first. So I say go that way. Not Debian -- very little is intuitive there. Save Debian for later.

Mark

Mark
<O>
_|_

 

[Kubilus1]

Umm, Debian "Sarge" is pretty easy to install. Pop the CD in, reboot, then just answer the basic questions about how you want to configure your system. The software choice screen is blindingly simple; choose "Desktop System", "Web Server", "File Server", etc. The most difficult part may be setting up the video card. You may have to know what video card is in your system. Trick: when in doubt, choose vesa, all video cards are compatible with the vesa driver. It's not the pretiest thing, but the sarge installer is dead simple. This is NOT the case with previous versions of Debian, however. So if your going with debian, get "sarge"!

A trick for linux newbies. If there is a piece of software or a service on your system that you don't know how to use, go to a terminal and type "man <softwarename>". Replace <softwarename> with the piece of software you are interested in. Just about every piece of software on linux has a detailed man page describing how to use it and what it does.

My recommendation is Debian, since it has the best means of keeping your system up to date with apt-get. For the newbies, apt-get allows you to install/deinstall/update any piece of software on your system. It's very nice, Suse and Redhat don't have anything half as good.

P.S. Yes, if you're using linux you are going to have to use a terminal from time to time. Don't worry it's much better than that junky windows command box thing

regards,

Matt Kubilus

 

[chipperMDW]

> Not Debian -- very little is intuitive there

"Intuitive" is not the term I'd use. What a Windows user finds unintuitive might be taken for granted as "obvious" by a Mac user, for example ("The close button's on the left?! Why isn't there an X on it??"). The same goes for a Windows user and a Linux user.

Perhaps "unfamiliar" might be a better word to use in this case.